Persephone's Return

Persephone's Return was created for (and WON!) the Bead Mavens Vernal Visions Challenge.   I like challenges because they provide inspiration and purpose for my evening's play with beads, and this particular challenge was especially appealing, because I live in the frozen north land of Minnesota.  Here's the view out the door next to my beading bay.  This is on track to be the snowiest winter on record where I live, and personally, although I find beauty in almost every landscape, I have had enough of this season!

Below is the inspirational image the Maven's posted for their contest.  Is there any question about why I'd rather live in their world?  I find myself anxiously awaiting a day when the walk with my dog does not entail long underwear, hooded parka, scarf and boots.  I felt the Maven's imagery provided a content and a color scheme I was totally ready to embrace.    

              

Well, OK, in all fairness, there were two images provided.  March is the month of, "In like a lion, out like and lamb," and the other image is colder and wintery.  But I am ready to move forward, and so it was an easy choice for me.

This work of mine is a sister piece to "Zephyr's Spring Flower Neck Lace," created last year, about this same time.  It is based on a piece of hand painted lace from Etsy seller Jennie's Heirlooms.  I find working from the lace is a labor intensive process.  I think most bead embroidery allows the application of many beads at a time, backstitching 3, 4, and even 5 in one needle stroke.  Given the softness and vulnerability of the lace, I find I can apply just one bead at a time, stabilizing the lace as I go, and placing the beads in different relationships to the edges of the lace, depending on the result I want.  When you examine the work from the front, I did not want the lace visible, and from the back, I did not want stitches visible. I found I frequently had to reinforce the lace with a darning stitch to give it the stability to allow me to embroider on it, and I tried to disguise that as well, but if you know what you are looking for, you can see it. 

As a sister piece to Zephyr, and to honor the Vernal Equinox and return of springtime, I named the work for Persephone, the Greek goddess of springtime. Persephone was the unwilling wife of Hades, king of the underworld. Mythology says when she was stolen from the earth to live under ground with her husband, the flora of the earth died, and slept below the ground through the winter. Her return brought the rapid growth of flowers and grain.

My piece, designed to honor the balance that is the equinox, has formal symmetry, yet is organic in character. The delicate loveliness of Persephone’s Return springs forth from the slumbering earth in full bloom almost overnight.  I anxiously await the vision of the first crocus, peeking out of the snow.   And in the meantime, I have captured that joy in beads.

After a Long Silence...

Finally, a new post and a new piece.  I spent all of January and most of February pursuing a project that I was simply unable to realize in the way I thought should be possible.  I eventuallly set aside my fourth attempt, took the hundreds of dollars worth of pearls I had purchased for the "IP," ( impossible project) and decided I would enter the March Etsy Beadweavers Challenge, "Fashion Through the Ages."  I purposefully used the biggest and best of the pearls, so I could not revisit "IP" without re-investing. 

The March Challenge was to choose a historial fashion style and create a piece of jewelry in that style.  I found this beautiful painting by Victorian artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter very inspiring.  I loved the bare necks and beautiful soft shoulders and wanted to create a pearl choker with a three dimensional feeling that would embellish all that lovely bare skin from all angles.

I used triangle weave, one of my personal favorite stitches, to create the choker, and then added drops all the way around the base, so that there would be something beautiful to see from the sides and back, as well as the front.  This is my second attempt, and I was glad to start again after nearly finishing the first time, because it allowed me a opportunity to perfect the design, which had potential, but needed cleaning up.

Then I visited my favorite local bead store, The Bead Monkey and found this splendid sterling silver clasp, shaped like a little heart.  I was thinking my piece would be a great wedding necklace, and the clasp seemed perfect for that purpose, as well as continuing my "beautiful from all angles" idea.  And then of course, it needed a little extender chain.  I tend to design jewelry with my own skinny neck in mind, and like to make it possible for others to adjust the work to fit without alterations to the weaving.

On a side note, I just read about the tiara likely to be worn by Kate Middleton when she becomes a British Princess and, in the process, stumbled across this photo of a necklace worn by Queen Mary, with one of the tiaras under consideration.  According to Wikipedia, the neckalce is from Garrards, Inc, "Crown Jeweller of the UK, charged with the upkeep of the British Crown Jewels, from 1843 to 2007."  Very similar to my own attempt, but made of silver.  Wonder if the stiff, cold metal would be uncomfortable?  Too bad they didn't beadweave this piece!  Take a look.  The design inspiration must have been very similar to my own!

Fortunately, stepping away from the "IP" has been refreshing, and I am happily working on another new piece as well.  Maybe someday, I will revisit "IP," and by that time, I will either have a more realistic expectation, or the techincal skill to reach my goal.  Do you ever get stuck?

Let me add a note here: this is a contest entry, and you can choose your favorite piece and have your voice heard!  Please visit http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ by March 15th and vote for your favorite entry on the right hand side of the blog in the poll!!!

On Cloud Nine!

I just returned from collecting the work I had taken to the Minnetonka Center for the Arts "Arts of the Holidays" show and sale.  This is the first time I have entered this juried show, and I was pleased to get in.  The Center is in a beautiful location, just steps away from Smith's Bay on Lake Minnetonka.

The opening night was elegant and very well attended, and I heard lots of great things about my work while I stood there and smiled, but in the two + hours I was there, none of my work sold.  I thought, "Ah, well, maybe not the right clientele..." and I didn't have high hopes when I walked in today.

The outcome was beyond my wildest expectations.  First, three of the four pieces I created for the show sold, so I must have had my finger on the right pulse after all!

Jasper Tear in Dark Gold Set created for the MCA Holiday Show - SOLD

Jasper Pendant and Earring Set created for the MCA Holiday Show - SOLD

Rocky Butte Jasper Pendant and Earring Set created for the MCA Holiday Show -SOLD



 Then, some of my personal favorites sold!  I find it's always the work I know to be my best that people buy.  (I have a blog post begun about how to know when to stop working and rethink, when something is not making you drool as you finish it.  Gotta finish that one day!)  Anyhow, I said good-bye to these as well!

Amazon Jabot Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Pepper Profusion Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Aqua Frost Necklace - SOLD



Emerald Enigma Necklace and Earrings Set - SOLD

Bermuda Triangle Necklace and Earring Set - SOLD

And one of the best things is, this gallery takes a VERY artist-friendly percentage of the proceeds.  I have to write a heartfelt thank you note to the wonderful Bob Bowman, who was kind enough to feature my work front and center in the gallery show. I feel as though I was treated very well!  And maybe I will see about the possibility of having a few things in the gallery gift shop this year.  Positive feedback feels great, and I am now inspired to pick up my needle.  I can't wait until I can get back to my beads!

Give Credit ReDux

In my last post, I showed a work I created as an entry to a juried exhibit called "Beads of Whimsy."  This was among my very first beading projects and I was very proud of myself for making the effort, but sadly, I knew nothing at that time about copyright or appropriate beader's ethics.  Everyone who voted in my poll either thought the necklace in question was my own design, or that I was crazy to have asked the question.  I agree with that assessment.  But the more deeply I explore the subject of copyright and ethics, the more confused I find myself.

In this post, I will first show you where I started with this second (and not so blameless) entry.  One of the very first things I saw in a beading magazine was this gorgeous front page Bead & Button necklace by Linda Gettings.  The project was called "Bead Around the Bend", and you can see the front cover of the magazine and purchase the tutorial at this link.  I fell instantly in love and immediately tried to make the project with the result pictured here.  The pretty curved center section is created by beading around a bendy straw.

 Now to me, this was a copy of her necklace, indeed the most accurate copy I was capable of producing at that point in my beading career.  Obviously, I didn't have the same piece of glass she had used.  I found two focal beads instead of just her one, and the colors, while similar, are not the same.  I strung my entire neck strap with bigger beads, because my peyote covering of the bendy straw from the dollar store was done with size 8 seed beads, and their size gave the piece a nicer flow and proportional agreement.  I was new, and didn't yet realize the benefits of magnifying glasses, hence could not imagine using size 11 beads for ANYTHING!

This was the first magazine project I had attempted, and I was not very pleased with the directions.  They suggested (I am paraphrasing here) that I should increase and decrease as needed to make my peyote fit around the curves in the straw.  WHAT?  So I blindly faked my way through that process, quickly discovering the difference between even and uneven count tubular peyote stitch.  I developed a very clear understanding of when a step up is necessary and when it is not.  But, as I worked along, I thought to myself, this is just not a very good solution to this technical problem.  At this point, I had learned peyote and netting, and I thought the netting would be a much better solution to covering a curved surface.  So I gave that a shot with this photo as the result.

I was pretty pleased with myself.  The netting adapted easily to the shape of the glass without increases or decreases, and I thought that seeing bits of the glass straw through the netting was a nice thing as well.  I gave this necklace a more casual feeling, using big ceramic beads and matte glass in the focal area and in the stringing.  Here's a peek at the netting up close.  As you can see, I was still not keen on size 11 beads, (didn't know what a delica was) and I liked the chunky effect the larger ones provided.  Ms. Gettings had done several configurations with her straws and used several different color schemes in the article, and this is one of the possible configurations, but the technique and overall feeling of the end result are really quite different. 

When it came time to start the second Beads of Whimsy necklace, I thought I would do a variation on this work, but I would use a configuration that Ms. Gettings had not used. Plus, since the theme of the show was "whimsy" I thought the beaded bendy straw might represent a really bad hair day for an insect; antennae gone completely out of control.  I hunted around until I found a cloisonne ladybug and leaf bead, and set off on "Ladybug's Bad Hair Day" below.

I tried yet a different technique for the covering of the bendy straw, using Russian Spiral Weave, which is a netting variation, to get a denser look than what the netting had provided, and a nice texture I imagined might simulate a bug's feeler.  I think my bug bead was pretty dwarfed by the necklace, and my intention was probably illegible, but I found it a whimsical idea, and had done my best.  And remember, in my worlds of fashion and theater, both designs and ideas are freely copied, and I didn't yet own the cheaters required to read the copyright info in the magazine. So I entered my work.  Thinking it was MY work.

Are you holding your breath?  Do you think I was busted in some significantly horrible and public way?  It didn't happen.  I have no idea if my work was considered plagiarism or not by those who juried the exhibit, it may have been. I was not accepted to the show, which was OK with me.  I was proud of my effort and looked forward to trying again. 

At this point I should ask you if you think my entering this necklace in a juried show was unethical.  Some of you would say "Yes, absolutlely!" Some of you might think this work, with its color scheme, whimsical intention, different technique, and double strand configuration is sufficiently different and vote me a thumbs up.  But Ms. Gettings would disagree with you.  Let me share her perspective with you.

A year later, I thought I might be ready to sell my second bendy straw effort. I loved the first (my "copy"), and I wanted to keep my Ladybug, but the one with the ceramic beads I could part with.  I had my Etsy shop open, and I was a few months into my Etsy Beadweavers membership.  By this time, I was aware of copyright law, and when I thought about posting the necklace for sale, I was not sure whether it was a violation of Ms. Gettings copyright or not.  So I posted a picture of the piece for my Etsy Beadweavers Team members and asked what people thought.  Some members suggested I contact Ms. Gettings and ask her, so I did.  I found her response surprising.  I don't know if there are ethical reasons I should not post her words, but it seems better to me than paraphrasing, so here they are:

"Marsha, You are quite correct. I have copyright's on all my designs. A few years ago I traveled to different bead societies and shops with a copyright lawyer explaining exactly what copyright means in the beading world.  It is actually intellectual property belonging to a designer. In this case, the intellectual property is the use of the bendy straws as the unusual part of the design. Since I don't make duplicates of any of my designs nor do I sell them, and, you were kind enough to ask, as long as you give me design credit and list the following web site to see more of my patterns, I am happy to give you permission to sell your piece (nice job by the way!) at your Etsy store. http://www.bead-patterns.com/  Thanks for asking me first. You have no idea how many emails I get from people telling me where they have seen people selling my designs or teaching classes without my permission... Cheers! Linda G"

She was kind, pleasant, informative, and even supportive, but I was puzzled.  My understanding of copyright law at that point included the idea that the use of a material could not be copyrighted.  But here was an artist, who had an intellectual property law professor (I looked up the lawyer's credentials) backing her up, saying that anything I might do with a bendy straw would fall under her copyright. 

I decided immediately that I did not want to sell her design, and I never posted the necklace to my shop.  I began drawing ideas for designs with bendy straws. There had to be things that could be done with this material that were not a part of Ms. Gettings intellectual property!  I came up with a couple I really loved.  Here's my favorite:

But I never could actually bring myself to make this piece.  I bezelled some rivolis, but I was too uncomfortable to net the straw and install them.

I began to understand Ms. Gettings position.  The shape of those bendy straws is recognizable.  And in Etsy's explanation of copyright , it suggests that if a work is recognizable, it's a copy and not usable by anyone for selling or even DISPLAY, except the original artist.  So potentially, my display of these images is illegal.  But I'm going to take a chance on that, in the interest of making my point, and given that I have mentioned Linda Gettings name and credited her with the design involved repeatedly.

While I now understand the concepts involved a little better, and I respect Ms. Getting's right to her intellectual property as she has claimed it, I'm not convinced that this is in the best interest of the beading community or even the artists involved.  Here's a wonderful article on why the absence of copyright in the fashion world is a good thing for the industry.  I stumbled across it when someone mentioned after my last post that clothing was exempt from copyright protection.  It contains links to other equally interesting articles, so if you want to keep reading, have at it.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/should-fashion-be-protected-by-copyright-laws-a-guest-post/

I've decided a second poll would be inappropriate.  I think what I did was wrong.  And my ignorance was really no excuse.  I know what my own ethics are at this point in my beading career.  I scan my beading magazines quickly and put them away.  I have stopped buying beading books, although I have an impressive library because I was initially a voracious consumer.  I consult my beading library for technique information. I take an occasional class, in the interest of technical advice and skills.   But I find my design inspiration outside my window, in books other than those which feature beaded articles, in the beauty of the beads and stones I work with, and inside my own head.  I am all done with making the designs of others.  Life is too short, and my beading time too limited.  I have plenty of my own ideas waiting to be made, and I don't want to wonder if I have achieved "de minimis," a tiny enough percentage of someone's design to be free of infringement. And I think when I am entering a design contest of any sort, there is even more reason to be sure my entry is my own design.  For me, if it looks enough like a duck to be recognizable as one, then it's a copy of a duck.

I really enjoyed the the many perspectives, and range of ideas in the comments on my last post, and although I am not giving you a chance to vote, I welcome your words again, if you have something to add.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

I want to think and talk,  for a couple posts, about plaigarism and copyright in the beading world.  I recently read, in Beadwork Magazine, an article by Marlene Blessing, the editorial director, which includes the following:

"A BEADERS CODE OF ETHICS
- It is unethical to copy an artist's work without that artist's permission.
- It is unethical to copy any work that has appeared in a magazine, book or website and represent it in any venue as an original design.
- It is unethical to teach a beading project that has appeared in a magazine, book or website without that artist's and publisher's permission.
- It is unethical to teach a beading project learned in another teacher's class."

Since I have named my source and quoted directly, I sincerely hope that my using these words here is not illegal in any way.  But I have to wonder, why is this information not front and center in the magazine? Why is it not on the page that tells me it is illegal to copy any part of the magazine in print so fine I need my magnifiers to read it?  Maybe it should be obvious to all concerned?

I'm going to tell you a story about how easy it is, especially as a new beader, to run afoul of these ethics.  And in another post, I am going to show you how I believe I did so myself.  In this post, you get a chance to vote on whether or not I did in the case presented here.  I don't think so, but your thinking may be different from my own.  It all involves judgement.

I started beading in August of 2007. Almost immediately I stumbled upon a call for entry for a local bead art juried exhibit called "Beads of Whimsy."  I decided, why not give that a try?  Two entries could be submitted, so I decided I would create two pieces.  In retrospect, that was both a bold and a foolish move for a spanking new beader.

The first piece began in a Right Angle Weave Workshop class.  The class was two sessions, and we could make a necklace or a bracelet, creating the RAW base in the first class and then embellishing with bicones in the second.  I got home after the first session, which was my first introduction to RAW, ripped out what I had done in class and decided I would use the technique and basic necklace shape taught to create a piece based on one I had seen in a book, and admired. I think most beaders begin because they love something they have seen and want to make something similar. 

So there are my code violations.  First, I tried to make something like an award winning necklace I admired, and second,  my work began in a class.  Although not specifically spelled out in the "Code," original work probably only rarely begins in a class.  But in my defense, my finished piece is not remotely recognizable as a project from the class, which included bicones (or stone chips) and no fringe.  I can't show you that though, because I'd have to copy the class material, which is protected by copyright.  You would have to take my word on it.  Or since a class was involved, I am condemned.  Your judgement is called for.


My "DaVinci Code Book Club Necklace"

As my homework, I created the base for the necklace and in the second class session, I made a start on fringing the piece, and then worked on it for weeks.  I have always loved gradation as a design element, so I thought I would gradually blend my colors.  As I worked on the piece, I listened to The DaVinci Code on CD.  The black and white became symbolic in my mind of the men and women in the ritual ceremonies in the book, and the apple focal, which I had made for me by lampwork artist Marcia Parker, was the perfect touch.



 I think publishing a photo of the piece that was my inspiration here would be illegal, as I would have to scan it, and that act alone would constitute copyright infringement, but I was able to find a photo of it on the net (please click on this link) with a thank you to our friends at Fire Mountain Gems, who sponsor the Bead and Button Magazine Bead Dreams competition.  This work won a second place award for finished jewelry in 2004.  Copying this piece would have been in violation of the "Code of Ethics" for sure.

But did I know that?  Now of course, at this point in my beading career, I had not read the fine print in the magazines and books I was looking at.  And I also had not read copyright law.  I had been costume designer for competitive ballroom dancers for twenty years, and in the fashion world, design trends come and go very quickly in the form of knock-offs.  A professional dancer appears on the circuit with a great gown, and everyone wants to look just like her!  I had personally designed a gown that was copied so frequently in the course of a few months that all 6 finalists for the national championships of the American Smooth style one year were wearing a knock-off of my design.  The next year, it was all over Europe as well. And I have copied as much as I have been copied.  But for me, it is business as usual.  I am not saying it's right or wrong.  It just is.

Test this for yourself.  Watch a big awards show, the Ocars, the Tonys, Golden Globes; you pick.  Observe how the ladies are dressed, especially the ones who look really fantastic.  Then visit Macy's or Bloomies or even JC Penney in a couple weeks, and I guarantee knockoffs of the best looks with be on the racks for you to purchase for your prom.

So the idea that I might have done anything wrong here, especially given that my outcome is both structurally and visually different than the work that inspired it, did not even occur to me.  But if you look closely, the basic design elements are the same.

In retrospect, I believe this piece is my own. I don't think it is a result the teacher of the class would ever have expected, and I do not think it is a copy of my initial source of inspiration, even a "derivative" one, for those of you who know copyright law. But as I said earlier, this all involves judgement.  I show you both here, and invite you to vote in the poll.  Is it a copy?  Is it an original work?  Should I be crediting the artist who made the original necklace with the design or inspiration?  Should I have asked for her permission to sell the necklace on Etsy in my shop?  It is for sale.  I didn't ask for permission.  Am I ethical?  What do YOU think?

In my next post, look for the other "Beads of Whimsy" entry, which I think DID cross the line.  Check back in a few weeks and vote again.

A New Skill Set

I have this idea for a piece, but I don't think it can structurally be beadwoven.  I think it will have to be embroidered in order to maintain its shape.  I really want to make this piece, so, time to learn bead embroidery. I have bead embroidered on lace with reasonable success, but that was soft and flat. This will have to be done on a stiff backing and then have a layer of support inside as well as a lining.  So I decided it was time to acquire a new skill set.

I chose a cabochon I really loved, so as to make sure I would give this my best effort and finish instead of giving up in frustration, which I wanted to do several times, even with the cabochon of azurite with malachite inclusions leading the way. 

I had purchased some backing from Nicole Campenella at Beadwright on Etsy, and chose a beautiful turquoise piece.  I ransacked my bead stash for likely suspects, guessed a layout, and glued on the cab.  I had some unpolished malachite seed beads and used them as part of the bezel with pretty good results.  OK, so far so good.  But I didn't like the feel of the backing in my hands.  It's wonderful backing, mind you, and is available in a multitude of colors.  But I like the feeling of woven glass beadwork in my hands.  Something to adjust to.

I felt OK about what I did as I went along, but realized there was a skill to the layout that I lack.  I read the experts, Kummli, Seraphini and Eaton, and they all said "just play with the beads" so I played along.  I discovered that it might be best to complete one  phase and tie off my thread before starting something new, so if I change my mind, I can rip without worrying about what came before and after.  I also realized that a color contrast in a bead used to secure another was a LOUD statement, and somewhat playful in effect.  Good info as well.

When it came time to finish the edge I was dumbfounded.  There HAS to be a better solution than brick stitch or picot with stitches visible on the back side!  But no, that was the consistent recommendation.  I could not do it,  I did an invisible pick stitch on the back side.  I will have to do some playing with that because I just don't think that visible stitch will ever feel good to me.

And then, time to add fringe.  Had to be through the brick stitch edging.  I like layers of fringe, but settled for one BIG layer.   Another thing to figure out!  I used an attachment directly from Jamie Cloud Eakin, which works well with the mega-fringe, and strung a neckband from the leftover beads.

I'm glad I kept going and didn't allow myself to give up.  I like the result, but see TONS of room for improvement.  I learned alot!  Experience is so different from thinking you understand, from reading about it, how something is done.   Best do it again and get a little more of that under my belt before the pearls arrive.

Serendipity For My Sister

Two years ago, my sister Cara gave me three cabochons for Christmas.  She told me that my mother loved one of them, and she loved another.  I made up the one my mom had indicated she liked, as a gift for her 87th birthday.  It's always good to know what might be wanted when trying to create a gift, even for someone you know well.

Last summer, my sister told me that what she most wanted for her December birthday and Christmas combined was the cabochon she had given me, transfomed into jewelry.  I got it out and thought to myself,  "OK, so you don't find instant inspiration here.  Just make a start, and something will occur to you."

It was dark Payne's gray and creamy white, maybe a little like dalmatian jasper, but the domed surface was pitted and I was having a hard time getting past that.  I tightened the bezel at the front and flipped it over to close the back, and EUREKA!!!  On the back side was a nearly perfect image of Mount Helena, as seen from the front yard of the house my sister and I grew up in, located in Helena, Montana.  I looked for a picture of this mountain to show you, but all the ones I found online are of the East slope, and our house is on the North slope.  Sigh.

Mount Helena - The  Flat Side of the Cabochon

The shape is just right, the tree line is almost visible, and the mountain looks like it usually looks about this time of year, with a dusting of snow.  Had my sister seen this?  I had not.  Wow.  I quietly proceeded to finish the bezel and then decided to apply some snowy branch fringe to the bottom, as though you might be viewing the mountain in winter through frost or snow covered trees and shrubs.

The domed side of the cabochon, with its pits, that I didn't love,
with the twisted 8-strand rope.

Then I had another EUREKA moment, as the fringe looked both a little like the branches I was aiming for, AND roots!  MY roots.  MY SISTER's roots.  We grew up on that mountain.  Amazing how things take on meaning and beauty.  How a duty can become a delight, if you give it a chance.

Mount Helena side up , on the cubic right angle weave  rope

I made a woven bail and strung a delicate 8 strand necklace I thought would be pretty with the pendant.  This was after a lengthy struggle with the bead crochet rope I thought I would try for the first time.  Turns out, knowing how to crochet is far from all that is required for this technique. FAIL!  I liked the 8 strand, but the scale of the bail meant that it had to be twisted to hang nicely and I was still wishing for that bead crochet rope I could not do.  So I looked at Heather Collin's brilliant and clear tutorial for cubic RAW  (Thank you 'Mam! What a fun and fast technique!) and made a second, interchangeable neck strap for the piece that I like even better than the 8 strand.  But I'll send her both, since either could be worn by itself as well.

The 8 strand rope and the CRAW rope, without the cabochon pendant.

My sister does not read my blog, so even though this is a Christmas gift, I think I am safe publishing premature pictures of it here. Don't spoil the surprise for her.  Shhhhhh, do not share with Cara until Christmas!