To Tell the Truth...

... I was not really planning to kit a new color of my vertical ombre dragon necklace right now.  BUT... Dreamscape Dragon has a shiny new, wintery friend. Meet Paradise Dragon.

How does one end up with a new set of kits without planning to do this?  One of my buyers found mistakes in my text.  Again.  This was the last tutorial I released before the advent of Marie Weakland,  beader extraordinaire, who agreed to help me test my tutorials in early 2017.  I admired her complex projects and lovely technique, and asked her if she would be interested, and she has kindly, (and dramatically!), improved my tutorials with her intelligent suggestions, and wonderful editing.

So I set aside my new colorways for Caramel's Claws and instead worked my way through this tutorial in a new colorway I had been thinking about for long enough to already have scales.

A Paradise Shine Swarovski Fancy Stone provided all the color inspiration for this pretty gal, and while Dreamscape is vibrant and bright, I tried to give this version depth and darkness.  It's still an attention-getting neckpiece, but a little more subtle and rich.

In the photo above, you can see the vertical gradation in the rope, with teal outside edges that fade through turquoise to sapphire to violet at the inside edge against the neck.  I have kept the bezel simple in these dragons, to feature the pretty shapes in the dragons wings and tail, and the hand-painted color.  It also gives you a simple and workable bezel for this Swarovski jewel, which you could play with and embellish as you choose.

I believe I have sent every buyer of this tutorial a corrected copy via e-mail.  But if I missed anyone, please let me know, and I will send you a fresh copy right away, that also includes the materials list for Paradise Dragon.   I want my instructions to be right for you, and I am so sorry for mistakes!

I will post a set of kits for this Paradise Dragon Necklace on this Saturday, November 4th at 9am in my Etsy shop, and I will come back here and add a link.

NOTE:  If you own the Springtime Dragon tutorial, it is correct.  

But it is a 4 color gradation.  

It is light, warm green to dark, cool green in three steps, with a pink belly.  It looks like this in text: AA, BB, CC, DD.  Dreamscape and Paradise color shift much further.  Dreamscape moves from light yellow-orange to purple and Paradise moves from a green-blue to purple, and so I added a FIFTH color to the top side of the rope.  The text chart for these dragons is: AA, BC, DD, EE.

 If you have purchased the Springtime Dragon tutorial,

and want an upgrade to this new tutorial, 
I offer you a deal!

Convo me, from the receipt for your purchase of Springtime Dragon, and I will make you a Custom Listing for this new FIVE COLOR dragon tutorial at $5.00.  That is the only way I can do this quickly and expediently, so the deal is only good via that process.

Now, back to painting dragons!  I promise to get to work on the new colors for Caramel's Claws the second these kits are done.

Missing...

I am proud to announce that my piece, "Missing" survived the first cut in the 2012 Battle of the Beadsmith International Invitational Beading Tournament on facebook, and of the 80 original entries, it is one of the 40 that will continue to round 2 of adjudication.

Back View - I like to close my bezels to prevent wear.

When I set out to create my piece, I thought it would be a representation of my home, Minnesota, Land of 10,000 Lakes.   I imagined a work with many bezeled Bermuda Blue rivolis, representing lakes, and lush greenery swirling around those lakes in elegant twists like naturally occuring fibonacci spirals.  I had looked at many examples of fractals in nature and mathematics, and I had a sketch that gave a rough impression of what I was hoping to accomplish.  I hoped to suggest a waterfall, like Minnehaha Falls near my home, as the focal component.

About half way through my project, my mother passed away.  My parents were both very supportive of my artistry, encouraged me to pursure a degree in theater, (when many might have suggested learning to type) and my mother gave me my love of handcrafts, teaching me to knit, crochet, embroider and sew. For Christmas of my Senior year of High School, they gave me a sewing machine.  It was an astonishingly expensive thing, and competely out of line with what Christmas gifts usually were, but it was also a confirmation of their support for my chosen career, and it meant the world to me.
Suddenly, my work was not about Minnesota any more.  It was about my mother, or more important, the absence of my mother.
The lively, curling greenery idea disappeared.  The beautiful blue components rearranged themselves into a soft circle of life, with a smaller supporting outer ring for me, and a larger inner ring for her, which merged into one single line at the base of the focal, as I realized I am now the family matriarch.  The negative space in the center of the focal created a soft heart impression.  Then the waterfall became a curtain of tears, falling from the circle. 

The blue was just the perfect color.  My mom's kitchen was always blue.  And I associate her with that room.  She loved to cook and bake, and so many photos of her were taken in that room.  She owned a set of beautiful, cobalt blue dishes.  Let me show you!  These were in the kitchen, but I moved them to the dining room while I prepared the house for sale over the the last month, because I thought they were so beautiful in the china cabinet she was so very proud of. For Mom, preparing and sharing food was an act of love!

And here's the kitchen. See the blue gingham curtains she made?  The pale aqua figure on the  backsplash tile she chose?  The adjoining wall has paper with a delicate blue figure on it.

And the dining room chandelier?  Gold, of course.  And there have always been golden yellow accents in the kitchen too.  Mom had beautiful blue eyes as well, but she was legally blind when she began to fall, and the third fracture of her pelvis was just too much to recover from at 89.

I think although it began as something quite different, this is the most personal and deeply felt work I have done as a beader.  I always create with wearability in mind, and have worn each piece I have made at least once.  Initially I din't think this particular piece would get a public wearing.  But I did put it on... and asked The Best Man Ever to take a shot for me.  I also thought I would never sell it, but a time comes to move on through life, and it is now listed in my Etsy shop.

So, there you have it.  A very personal piece, about an empty space in my life.  I tried to make the empty spaces, the negative shapes in the work, (the "missing" bits if you will) speak as loudly as what is there.  I wish I could share it with her.  I think she would approve.