Happy days

You may recall my 'Sunflowers' neckpiece and my contemplation on entering it in the Sydney Bead & Gem Competition?

Well, I entered...

And I am now a proud finalist in the Finished Jewellery category!

*grin*

I am utterly delighted.

But with the delight comes some minor disappointment...I won't actually be able to attend the show in person. We are in Brisbane until Oct 16, so I will miss the entire Bead & Gem Show (and the opportunity of seeing my work on display with the best of them) by a measly four days.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

This is the first time I have put myself out into the public arena. What a thrill! But damn, it's terrifying. The fear of rejection, and of being 'judged', was almost enough to stop me from entering in the first place. But on the advice of the lovely and ever-sage Bianca, I donned my beaded armour and decided to just go for it.

And now I'm really glad that I did... :)

My shiny new light studio

Ok, well it's not really shiny. And it's not really new either.

It's a cardboard box and some tissue paper.

Pathetic, eh?

Surprisingly (not least to myself), it is not as pathetic as it sounds.

Courtesy of the fabulous and forever informative Strobist website, I have created my own nifty light studio for under $10. I figure the thousands of $$$ saved on expensive lighting and studio gear can go towards my bead addiction.

Choice.

Whilst I will always jump at the chance to take my beadwork and my camera into the great outdoors and take photos courtesy of the ever-bright and shining Sun God, truth be known, he ain't always willing to co-operate. Too many cloudy, overcast days have cramped my style of late, and being the impatient person that I am, I figure a 24/7 light studio is just what I need.

I'm still working out all the settings on my husband's DSLR camera. Which is taking rather longer than it should because the instruction manual is in Sydney. And we are in Brisbane.

D'oh.

But here is a sample of what I've managed so far:

This is Myrtle the Turtle. She likes to hang out on a roll of paper towels and watch me whilst I bead. Our not-quite-a-baby-almost-a-toddler daughter, India, would love to make some turtle sushi out of her. She's tried to bite her head off on more than one occasion. Myrtle's got a heart of Gladwrap, but don't hold that against her.



And playing dead...so India won't try to eat her:



I re-shot some of my other pieces also. Here is a close-up of 'Celtic Twilight'. I believe the colours are more true to life in this photo than previous photos, especially the scrumptious green iris czech seedies. *drool*



And lastly, 'Dracula's Tango' in ze light box. I'm quite happy with how this photo turned out. The clarity is far better than the original photos.

Another lovely win

What a thrill...my 'Celtic Twilight' necklace received the most number of votes in this week's YOJ poll. So I have another lovely banner to add to my blog.

There were some beautiful pieces created for the Tuatha De Danann challenge, which makes my win all the more humbling. I don't feel as though my necklace was better than anybody else's. But it was a subject close to my heart...I do hope that my Celtic ancestors are pleased.

I enjoyed this theme and found it so inspiring that I'm planning on creating many more Celtic pieces. A Green Man is also on the cards. As always, so many ideas, so little time...

Celtic Twilight

The 'Tuatha De Danann' are an ancient race of Gods and Goddesses who feature in Celtic mythology. They are also this week's YOJ theme on the Beading Forum :D

Being of Celtic/Scottish descent, and a long-time lover of anything mythological and archaic, I couldn't pass up the chance to make something with a distinctly Celtic flavour.

And 'Celtic Twilight' is what I came up with:








I was particularly inspired by Brigid (pronounced 'Breet'), one of the more well-known of the Tuatha De Danann. She is considered a Celtic Triple Goddess, and I wanted to represent the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone into my piece...hence the three glass drops. The Celtic knotwork is a design which I found and modified to suit my design, and it hangs from an antique copper chain.

Doorways...

My first tutorial is in the works...

A little premature, you might say? Or vain?

Perhaps... but there is valid reason for doing so...

A lovely Beading Forum member adored my Sunflowers neckpiece so much that she requested a tutorial of my design. Not willing to provide step-by-step instructions for my entire piece (as I was contemplating entering it in a beading competition), but nonetheless flattered that someone was inspired by my design, I happily agreed to see what I could come up with for the centrepiece sunflower.

So stay tuned for my free sunflower tutorial in the coming weeks :)

Not long before making my necklace, I had bought a wonderful book by master beadweaver, Carol Wilcox Wells. Something in her introduction really gelled with me and stuck in my head... each of us opens doorways for others to pass through…

Her words really struck a chord in me, and rather than try to selfishly keep my designs and my ideas to myself for fear of being copied or outdone, I was inspired by Carol’s words to share what I know (which, mind you, is very little…but you never stop learning, no?).

I like the idea of inspiring others to find their own creativeness, spurred on by something I have designed. I don’t like the idea of others ‘copying’ my exact design (another reason I will only provide a blueprint for the centerpiece sunflower, and not the entire neckpiece). Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I prefer flowers and chocolates, thank you very much.

Although I own a rather ridiculous amount of beading magazines full of beautiful beading designs, I have never made one of them. Not one. Zip. Zilch. Rather than copy what another artist has designed and created, I prefer to create my own interpretation of the part of their work that inspires me. By generously providing a tutorial on an element of my own creation, I hope to inspire others to create their own interpretation of my work. If someone is going to take credit for my design, it is more a reflection on the sort of person that they are. And besides, I hear Karma has a rather nasty bite ;)

If no-one ever shared their knowledge of beading, the art would eventually disappear and be lost forever. For the continuity of the art of beading, I am happy to pass on what little knowledge and ideas I do have. And I hope that they will be appreciated.

Ding, ding, ding - we have a winner

What do you think of my shiny new banner?

My 'Sunflowers' necklace received the most amount of votes in this week's YOJ challenge on the Beading Forum, so I got to take home this lovely banner.

Noice.

I'm particularly chuffed about winning this week as I put well over 30 hours work into making this piece...many hours of sleep were sacrificed during it's creation, so it's nice to have my peers recognise and appreciate the amount of work I put into it.

Sunflowers

Here is my latest and greatest.

Entitled 'Sunflowers', it was inspired by the sunflowers series of paintings by the master, Van Gogh. And predictably, it was made for another YOJ challenge on the Beading Forum...yes I know, I know, I'm an addict!

I started the large sunflower on Wednesday night, and the entire necklace was finished by Sunday morning. How's that for efficiency! Well, I haven't been getting much sleep lately with a teething 10 month old terror, so I figure I should make the most of my late nights by doing something constructive.

At this point, I'd like to thank my ever-supportive husband for putting up with my beading madness over the last few days. This necklace was BEGGING to be made, and it would still be a work in progress if it weren't for him. Thanks darling! *mwah*











I'm toying with the notion of entering it in the Bead & Gem Show Competition this year. However, as I only started beading earlier this year, I've never even been to the Sydney show and have no idea what the level of competition is like. Anyway, I may just try my luck...