Get On With It, Mikki!

Well, as I have mentioned I've been down and distracted in the last week or so but I'm feeling very revitalized after starting work on the mathematical beads. Of course I still have a couple of things to finish with deadlines looming.

Artbeads sent me the beads I was missing to finish the JOGS competition piece, not that I couldn't have done another part of it in the meantime. I've had trouble picking it up and working on it and I've had to wonder why....I think it's a couple of things, self-doubt and fear. The self doubt comes because when I've been working on a piece for a while it begins to feel very ordinary to me. The fear is actually my old demon, fear of success. I'm actually scared about winning this one, and yes....it's a big 'what if'.

As I think about it I realise I've been avoiding entering the big competitions. People are always surprised I'm not more successful....they see my art and sometimes even get angry with me about it. I tried to put how I feel into my self-portrait "Artist Bound"....the feeling of being trapped within myself. I'm really trying hard with the beading to break free and live up to my potential, it just ain't easy!

So, the plan for the day is to at least get some of the JOGS piece put together. I'm bribing myself....if I get the last three urchin wings made I can play with the mathematical bead ideas and work on the chain for the Dalek Deca Vessel Pendant.

It's a bugger when you have to bribe yourself.

Dalek Deca Vessel

So...I decided to turn the Dalek Dodecahedron into a decahedron....lost two pentagons, changed two to squares and made this cute little vessel. It stands just 1 3/4" tall.

The pearl topper is hinged and does open, it 'clicks' shut without needing a locking mechanism. I added some 3mm Swarovski mystic black pearls at the points and put a loop on each side ready to attach a cord or chain, maybe it'll be a small twisted herringbone rope with some staggered pearls. I don't know what to put inside this little gem...maybe you have a suggestion?

I added a loop through the bottom of the vessel so I can add some kind of drop. I used the Delicas that just arrived from Artbeads through the blogger program, they send me free beads so I can give an honest review and I'm not paid to endorse them. It's always a thrill to get a little purple package from Artbeads whether it's the blogger program beads or just one of my regular orders, always free shipping...which is so good for me because I always forget something.

I love working with Delicas, how can you not? They are THE bead to use when you need uniformityI think the simple colorway of shiny black and galvanized silver works really well. I forget where I got the tip....I think it was from Melinda Barta on Facebook but it's a very useful little bit of info about how many Delicas it takes to go around a bead. A formula!!! Simple too....you just take the diameter of the bead in milimeters, and multiply it by 2.5. So, if you have a 10mm bead it takes 25 Delicas to go around it, 12mm takes 30, 8mm takes 20. I love formulas!

Hooked on Dodecahedrons & Teacher Tuesday

Way too many ideas on this one. The possibilities are endless and designs are whirling around in my brain....if only I could bead that fast!

So, I finished the extended dodecahedron and started working on my Dalek Dodeca. Ok...I'm English, I grew up watching Dr Who and hiding behind the sofa when the Daleks were on and I love the updated version of the show on BBC America. If you have no idea what I'm talking about Dr Who was/is a sci-fi show and the Daleks were the bad guys....ugly little creatures that were embedded in metal machines that had bumps all over them. Can you see the similarity?

I think this one will be a vessel pendant....ha, maybe I can find a little plastic ugly to go

inside to totally make it a true Dalek Dodeca.

Teacher Tuesday
When I started this last week Coolmoon suggested I check out Tatiana Van Iten's work. I wasn't familiar with the name but as soon as I Googled her I discovered I knew her work. Tatiana takes many prizes for her gorgeous work and I scooped this gem from Bead & Button's gallery. You can find her in contests like Bead Dreams and the Toho contest.

Apparently Tatiana learned how to bead from her grandmother when she was six years old, so she's not new to the art. Her work is definitely exquisite and she certainly has a style of her own. She started entering competitions to become known to boost her classes....gee, that sounds familiar. If you want to take a class with Tatiana she will be teaching at the JOGS show in Tucson in January. I haven't found a website for her but Googling sure turns up a lot of info on this very talented bead artist.

Mathematical Beading

I was feeling depressed this weekend, I didn't even have the will to bead. Maybe I just needed a break. So, I went browsing the web and stumbled on an interesting lamp by Bathsheba Grossman who is an "artist who combines math, science and sculpture, to make objects like this lamp. You can only produce the shape of this lamp with a 3D printer (rapid prototyping)." Hmm....that's a challenge if ever I heard one!

This just spoke beads to me and sent me off on some research. I came across the website of mathematical sculpture artist Vladimir Bulatov

I was fascinated by his sculptures and once again thought.....beads. I've always been a bit of a math geek...I used to do something called 'crossfigures' which are like crossword puzzles but with numbers and clues like "square root of 4 across". So, while putting together these shapes is challenging for me it's still quite doable.

Here's the first one, almost finished. It's an extended dodecahedron. I'm not crazy about the colors but it was just a prototype to see if I could actually make one. There's a very intricate weaving pattern that goes on with this but once you understand the pattern of the weaving it kind of falls into place.

I think, once I've worked out all the glitches, these will make great pendants and if I can make them small enough really nice beaded beads. There seems to be no end to the things you can do with dodecahedrons and if I don't restrict the size and do sculptures it could really get interesting.

Bead Dreaming

I'm considering entering Bead Dreams 2010. Kind of a scarey thought, as I think that's the ultimate in bead competitions but, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I have a couple of ideas about what I'd like to enter and at $30 for one or two entries it makes sense to enter two. I have four months to the deadline, plenty of time to make something or two somethings though at the moment neither of the ideas I have are jewelry. Interesting.

I am almost finished with the JOGS competition piece....just three more components to make(I'm waiting on beads) and then it all comes together. I'm also trying to decide what designs to put into kit form in case I actually won the JOGS competition as there is hardly anytime between them announcing the winner and the show. Part of me thinks if I am prepared I probably won't win but if I'm not prepared.....I just might, I attract stressful situations!

After class last night I came home and researched fabric beads. I was surprised that there wasn't more of a selection out there, it seems everyone is making them the same way three ways. At least it gave me a place to start when designing my own fabric beads. I plan to teach one type of bead making a month next year. We'll start with resin cabochons, and then move on to polymer beads, wire beads, paper beads and fabric beads. The goal is to add a more personal design element to our jewelry.

Birthday Surprise

Yes, I turn another year older today, but I got a nice surprise this morning when I found myself featured on Beading Daily's Facebook page.

Yesterday I was released from the confidentiality agreement for BeadStar magazine. This is a competition I entered back in May and I won first place in the glass category but had to keep it a secret until the magazine was published. Though it might not hit your newstand until December 8th BeadStar has been available in some places for about a week.

My design, "Spring Flowers", was something I came up with when trying to translate daisy chain, a bead weaving stitch, into wire wrapping.
The tricky part was getting the wires to end where they needed to be to make the connecting loops.

Now, it would be a real birthday gift if my prize arrived today....a $500 gift certificate to Beadaholique

It's been an interesting year. Finances have been up and down, mostly down, but I think that's natural when you take on a new venture. I have learned a lot and achieved a fair amount....published in three national beading magazines, starting a bead society, have my beading in a gallery, collected a great group of bead students & started this blog. If I make as much progress in the coming year I'll be very happy.

Bead Artists Who Teach

Something Cyndi Daniel of Jewelry Tales said to me the other day has been brewing in my mind. She said there were two types of beader the ones who share and the ones who don't. This was in regard to teaching, doing tutorials, selling patterns, etc. Cyndi creates some fabulous beading designs inspired by lace and she sells her patterns at her Etsy store. She also sells the rights to sell her designs with her patterns and I have to say she's the first designer I've come across who does this, and all she asks is that you don't mass produce her work.

So, basically the two types of beaders are the ones who never tell how they make things and keep what they learn to themselves and the ones who do share. The latter tend to be about spreading the knowledge, keeping the techniques alive, stimulating others to create. Cyndi and I are both lovers of lace and are very aware that lacemaking is an art we really have to keep alive. Someone who is doing a good job of this is TotusMel over at Etsy who is a tatter extraordinaire and featured on The Beading Gem's blog today.

Though I do tat lace I haven't done anything more than edgings, however I also crochet lace and pictured are a few cufflettes I've crocheted. I love cufflettes, they are so fun to wear and dress up simple clothes to make them special. The last one is actually beaded, it has hundreds of crystal AB seed beads worked in. I haven't taught crochet but I do sell my patterns.

I'm going to make Tuesdays "Teacher Tuesdays" and feature someone who is out there working hard to spread the knowledge. Support the teachers out there, like Cyndi and TotusMel, by buying their patterns, learning a new technique and passing that knowledge on.