Blame it on Marcia DeCoster

It really IS her fault!  In the fall of 2012, Marcia DeCoster, internationally famous beader, jewelry designer, teacher, and author of many fantastic beading books, contacted me to ask if I would be a part of her book "Marcia DeCoster Presents."  If you read my blog, or know me at all, you can imagine my surprise and my concerns. (Did you mean ME?  I am just a hobby beader you know...) But I was so honored and thrilled to be asked that I said "YES!  PLEASE!".  This was, for me, a substantial undertaking, including photography classes, a fancy lens for my camera, and trying to write responses to her fantastic interview questions that came from my heart.  Once all the work was done, I didn't give it much thought until the book appeared in my mailbox last month. It is awesome, and I highly recommend it!  I am ashamed to admit that the first thing I did was to find my own pages and ogle the pictures and read my words.  The pictures were OK!  And the words rang true...

But my words raised a question.  I wrote "My day job is designing costumes, but I try to keep my beadwork separate from that.  Using fabric would be logical, but my desire for separation keeps my beadwork fiber-free..."  This struck me as an outdated idea.  Originally, I kept the two worlds separate because I didn't want to be tempted by the beadwork that I love to do, when there is WORK to be done.  But in my many years of beading, I have always managed to do my work first, and bead second.  So maybe it was time ro re-examine that separation!

The Etsy Beadweavers 2014 February challenge theme is "Warmth."  Early on, Chris Boyer Maj produced a piece of beadwork inspired by crazy quilting, and I found it very thought-provolking and inspiring.  I love quilting and combining quilting techniques with clothing.  Here's a little reversible vest I made in college, which my sister returned to me when I was cleaning out my mother's house after her death.
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Although the fabric itself is pre-quilted, and a print that represents crazy quilting, I created the details: the reversability, the welt and patch pockets that work together from both sides, the corded velvet edge, the cross-stitch detailing... and so forth.  I began to think how I might apply this to beadwork.  I wanted to make something that would actually be warm, inspired by warm handmade quilts, and the random fun of crazy quilting, which uses whatever you happen to have in your scrap box and lots of embellishment with bits of lace, and embroidery stitches.  I resolved (in the spirit of the thing) to go through my scrap boxes and purchase nothing I did not already own to create my collar.  I found lots of good stuff, patterned a snug warm collar and made a start, somewhere around January 20th.

Now, I really had very little time, and I was playing loose and fast, so I did NO planning. I know this the modus operandi of many bead embroidery buffs, but I never do my best work without at least a little forethought.  I had purchased a piece of shibori dyed ribbon I had planned to use with some Crystal Astral Pink sew-on jewels I had left over from a costume project, so they were added to the pile.  I cut out a simple collar shape with a snug neck (warm being a proirity!) and started basting on ribbon and lace bits.  Before I even had it all on, I started beading the lace.  I regret my haste now, as the bit of embroidery I am least pleased with ended up front and center and my favorites do not play starring roles, but I will write this up to research and development for future projects.

One thing I absolutely love is beading into lace.  I have done so in the past, and this time I really let myself see what the potential of a piece of lace might be, depending on what is revealed and what is hidden.  In the past, I have entirely hidden the lace, but this time I decided, fiber is my friend, and I let it shine.  Here are two examples of what I mean.

The above flower is made from the same bit of lace as the one below...

...just embellished differently with different parts covered and revealed, and surrounded by different bits of other supporting lace.  Loved this!!  I really love trapunto, which is a sort of quilting that is stuffed, and the lace provides great stuffing and dimension for the beadwork.  I also used trapunto technique with my shibori ribbon, stitching it down, stuffing it, and then, quilting into it with drop beads, which I also loved!

I created rivers of the ribbon, that coursed through the work, sometimes bridged with lace and beadwork, and sometimes, almost laying over edges of the beadwork. Finally, I quilted my silk base fabric with beads.

And there are the sew-on jewels I mentioned!

This photo also features the ONLY thing I went out to buy.  I didn't have an elastic cord the right size to fill the corded gold edge, and I do not count that as cheating, since it is not visible.  You may if you like!

I had hoped to create some sort of fancy button loop or bound hole, but I just ran out of time, and finished the piece with hidden snap closures.

I gave it a test wearing.  EVERY DAY this winter has been SO FREAKING COLD that I didn't have to be choosy about the day.  My collar was toasty and comfy and I cannot wait to try again.  This time with several technical improvements in mind, and a less crazy mood for the work.  Yummy!  Thanks so much Marcia DeCoster... because it really is your fault, you know.

In a late afternoon sun beam, in the kitchen... warmth indeed!

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.