Whirling Hollyhocks - A Textile Necklace

 

I remember making hollyhock "ballerinas" as a child and I decided that hollyhocks would be focals for this particular piece.

 

But how to do that exactly?

With mid-19th century fine dressmaking techniques, of course.

I started with the three dimensional center of the hollyhocks, using a technique more commonly used for creating fancy needle woven buttons (I plan a post regarding the buttons soon). I stuffed a circle of silk taffeta with wool roving and then used silk thread to add the needle woven embellishment. The addition of a silk taffeta rosette with self fabric fringe (two more Victorian techniques) formed a textile hollyhock. The teal version just has an oversized center and a minimal ruffle petal.

The base of the necklace is a corded ruffle, with the layers offset and, again, self fringed. The base also forms a loop, near center front, half of the closure, the other half being a slightly larger hollyhock center.

Available for purchase in my Etsy shop - Backward Glances.

In a Natural Vein - January 2014 Art Bead Scene Submission

"In a Natural Vein" is my submission for the January Art Bead Scene monthly challenge. Here's the inspiration piece:

It's a textile design for cretonne (a heavy unglazed cotton, linen, or rayon fabric, colorfully printed and used for draperies and slipcovers), circa approximately 1928. It's by Lois Mailou Jones, in tempera on paper.

Loïs Mailou Jones wanted to be remembered as an artist, not an African-American or woman artist. Her life spanned almost all of the twentieth century—a time of unprecedented changes in American history—and she was an active participant in the development of African-American influence in the arts. She was a trailblazer, a respected college professor, an artist ambassador, and an international expert on culture who documented everything she saw and did as a painter in the Harlem Renaissance, as an illustrator for Carter Woodson, a colleague of Alain Locke and Langston Hughes, an educator and mentor, and a champion of black artists in Africa and the Caribbean.
I was fortunate to have a perfect focal piece in my stash for this month - a porcelain cabochon by Nancy Schindler of Round Rabbit. It not only had the veined leaf motif, it also had the black and grey of the predominant design of the inspiration piece; I surrounded it with a beaded bezel in black and chartreuse. I used veined grey and black jasper beads and black stone nuggets for the bulk of this asymmetric piece. But it needed a bit more color...

And of course, I to find some more chartreuse!

The enamel over copper clasp and bead are from BeadSwedeSupplies and proved to exactly the punch of color this piece needed.

Available for purchase here.

Tri-Level

"Tri-Level" is my entry for the November Art Bead Scene challenge.... and it most definitely was a challenge!

Here's the inspiration image:

It's "Three Worlds", 1955 by M C Escher; "Three Worlds" depicts a large pool or lake during the autumn or winter months, the title referring to the three visible perspectives in the picture: the surface of the water on which leaves float, the world above the surface, observable by the water's reflection of the forest, and the world below the surface, observable in the large fish swimming just below the water's surface.

For me, the biggest challenge this month was the lack of color, for me, neutrals are just a necessary evil that I need to use to make my beloved colors pop.

I used three of my own images that fit the theme, taken as part of a photography challenge years ago, to create three pendents. I transferred portions of the images onto silk fabric, attached the fabric to thin metal and then finished the edges with beaded bezels, all in shades of grey and black.

I decided to join the pendents into one, large, over-sized pendent and mounted it on a simple Italian mesh base.

This is very different from my usual approach, very modern and stark, but I'm very pleased with the pendent technique - I'm sure I'll be using it more in the future.

Available for purchase here.

Teal Texture

I haven't participated in the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge in a long time, but I found that this months inspiration piece really spoke to me and I managed to squeeze it in to a very busy month!

"Revolving" by Kirt Schwitters dates to 1919 and is an assemblage of wood, metal, cord, cardboard, wool, wire, leather, and oil on canvas. Schwitters's use of fragments reflects a society shattered by World War I. "Out of parsimony I took whatever I found . . . because we were now an impoverished country," he wrote in 1919. "New things had to be made out of the fragments." This work reflects Schwitters's self-proclaimed "love for the wheel," and its title refers to a poem by the artist from the same year, in which he wrote, "Worlds turn the new machine to thee. To thee. Though, thine the new machine space."

My necklace is also a bit of an assemblage, consisting of a large variety of beading techniques, including three types of peyote stitch, twisted tubular herringbone and two kinds of fringing.

I found my main focal point in my "stash": a vintage handblown Venetian "bumpy" bead, as well as two smaller coordinating bumpy beads.

I'm particularly pleased with my clasp: it features a pair of ruffled art beads from mermaidglass on Etsy. So many women have short hair, which means the back of the necklace is on display nearly as much as the front and this clasp system gives a seamless look to the necklace.

I've many large projects to work on in the next few months; I'm probably not going to be able to participate every month, but I will be making an effort to whenever possible.

Available for purchase here.

Sunshine on the North Shore

Summer's nearly over, we're quickly moving toward fall. But the colors of summer linger here and there, especially within this clump of  black eyed susans growing along the north shore, like a bit of sunshine caught on earth.

I really enjoy creating these mixed media pieces; the challenge of finding just the right thread, stitch or bead to enhance the image is endlessly satisfying!

Available for purchase here.

"Maple Sugar" - A Mixed Media Necklace

I've been revisiting a technique I've used in the past - mixed media pendents.

This photograph is my starting point:

It's Sugar Loaf, one of the many geological curiosities here on Mackinac Island. It stands 75' tall and in the fall is surrounded by a patchwork of bright maples and the greens of pine and cedar. The best view is from Point Lookout, which gives a panorama of the woods with the lake in the background.

I transferred the photo onto silk and then embellished the details with embroidery in silk and cotton and, of coarse, beads!

 A simple Italian mesh chain is the perfect answer to making this piece functional.

Available for purchase here.

The Green Lady

"The Green Lady" is my submission for the November Art Bead Scene monthly challenge; here's the inspiration painting:

Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni

by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927)

Watercolour, gouache and gum arabic, 30.9in × 24.1 in.

The woman is a character from the Italian poet Dante. She was described as a heartless lady dressed in green. In her hand she holds a crystal bowl reflecting the figures of Love and Dante.

The artist, Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, later Stillman , was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter of Greek descent, arguably the greatest female artist of the movement. During a sixty-year career she produced over one hundred works, contributing regularly to galleries in Great Britain and the United States.

The artist, herself:

She and her two cousins, were known collectively among friends as "the Three Graces", after the Charities of Greek mythology, as all three were noted beauties of Greek heritage.

It was in the house of a Greek businessman, in south London, that Marie and her sister Christine met Whistler and Swinburne for the first time. They were dressed in white with blue ribbon sashes. Swinburne was so overcome that he said of Spartali: "She is so beautiful that I want to sit down and cry". Marie was a tall, imposing figure, and, in her later years, dressed in long flowing black garments with a lace hood, attracting much attention throughout her life.

The subjects of her paintings were typical of the Pre-Raphaelites: female figures; scenes from Shakespeare, Petrarch, Dante and Boccaccio; also Italian landscapes. She exhibited in England and at various galleries in the eastern USA, including the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. A retrospective show of her work took place in the United States in 1982.

My goal was to create a piece that looked as if it might have been worn by the lady in the painting. I started by creating a base grid using right angle weave, which I filled with olivine fire polished glass beads. I transitioned into square stitch to form the clasp, which also incorporates an antique button.

The star of the piece is the amazing pendant, formed of bronze metal clay and a real peridot from Etsy artist Wanda Cardenas at Epiphany of a Dragonfly.

I think the result is worthy of wear by a lovely Pre-Raphaelite lady!

Medieval Twist

"Medieval Twist" was intended to be my submission for the July Art Bead Scene monthly challenge - obviously, I'm a bit late!

The inspiration piece was this beautiful painting, Morning in the Garden at Vaucresson, by Edouard Vuillard.

I choose to emphasize the cool blue/grey and the brilliant chartreuse present in the painting.

The pendent bead is from my stash and pulls in the blue sky just barely visible amongst the garden abundance.

I tried a new technique - twisted tubular herringbone - and it was a great choice, the tube is completely self supporting and quite strong.

The bangle bracelet is form I've not tried before, not my favorite style to wear personally, but works nicely as a part of this pair.

Finally finished - yeah!!!

Bird Song

"Bird Song" is my entry in the April Art Bead Scene monthly challenge, and I decided to add an additional twist to the challenge: no seed beads!

Here's the inspiration piece:

Finches and Bamboo, is ink and color on silk and dates to the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). It illustrates the suprarealistic style of flower-and-bird painting preferred by Huizong's Painting Academy. In such works, the artist displayed his intimate knowledge of the appearance and growth of plants and his ability to render accurately the movements of birds as they hop about or stand poised ready for flight.

The artist, Emperor Huizong (November 2, 1082 – June 4, 1135) was the eighth and one of the most famous emperors of the Song Dynasty of China, with a personal life spent amidst luxury, sophistication and art but ending in tragedy. Born Zhao Ji, he was the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong. In February 1100 his older half-brother Emperor Zhezong died without a surviving son, and Huizong succeeded him the next day as emperor. He reigned from 1100 to 1126. Huizong was famed for his promotion of Taoism. He was also a skilled poet, painter, calligrapher, and musician. He sponsored numerous artists at his court, and the catalogue of his imperial painting collection lists over 6,000 known paintings.

"Bird Song" is a mixed media piece, starting with a base I hand knit using two colors of silk thread. Using two threads resulted in a lovely random coloration effect and gave extra "heft" to the base. Leaves formed of triple layers of silk taffeta; they are intentionally random and frayed. Driftwood forms the branches for my birds to perch; the bird beads are hand cast pewter from mamacitabeadworks on Etsy.

The clasp is also formed of driftwood and highlights one of the lampwork glass beads from mattskiss99 also on Etsy.

This is a really different piece for me; working without my seed beads was very difficult - and no, the small red beads are not seed beads, being perfectly round, they're just small.

Available for purchase here.

Mackinac Spring

"Mackinac Spring" is my entry in the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge. March's challenge piece is by Paul Gaugin, entitled Nave Nave Moe (Sacred Spring, Sweet Dreams). Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin, 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903, was a leading French Post- Impressionist artist. He was an important figure in the Symbolist movement as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramist, and writer. His bold experimentation with colouring led directly to the Synthetist style of modern art while his expression of the inherent meaning of the subjects in his paintings, under the influence of the cloisonnist style, paved the way to Primitivism and the return to the pastoral. He was also an influential proponent of wood engraving and woodcuts as art forms.

I choose three colors from the painting, red, yellow ochre and pewter grey to use in my piece. I decided to reinterpret the idea of "spring" and island" to fit Mackinac In northern Michigan, spring is slow and subtle and on Mackinac, one of the first signs of spring is the gradual exposure of the limestone rock which forms the island.

Our first plants to appear often do so from the protective cover of the previous seasons growth. This is the inspiration for the color palette of this necklace: a base of a neutral pewter grey, with touches of subtle, yet rich wine red and ochre yellow. This base is highlighted with two lampworked floral beads, peeking from a freeform backing."Mackinac Spring" is a beadwoven necklace starting with a herringbone chain in three colors and sizes seed beads. It is enhanced with freeform peyote stitch "leaves" and two lampworked floral beads from Lisa Kan's "Botanical" series.

Available for purchase here.

Night Garden

"Night Garden" is my submission for the February challenge at the Art Bead Scene.

I was really pleased with the inspiration piece, "Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose" by John Singer Sargent.

Sargent is one of my favorite artists and this is a phenomenal painting - the ethereal lighting, the beautiful children framed by a garden just slightly running wild.

I knew from the start I wanted to evoke the duality of the garden, the sense of Victorian restraint combined with the wildness of Nature - but I was quite sure how I would manage that look.

My starting point is the bead embroidered lily. I anchored one side of the lily with very freefrom beading in green and white, a bit of excess with a sense of some restraint.

The other side features a band of rosy right angle weave, resembling a brick walkway. It is joined by some large brass filigree beads and moonstone lampwork beads from catalinaglass - my glowing lanterns, especially the one dangle at the clasp.

This piece is carefully weighted and can be worn with either the wild or the controlled side more prominent - two looks for the price of one!

Available for purchase here.

Aswirl

"Aswirl" is my entry for the January Art Bead Scene challenge. This months inspiration piece is "Brown River by Wayne Thiebaud.

I love the intense colors, but I really needed to be selective - so I tried to limit myself to the colors in my chosen art bead. (I failed, there's no hot pink in the bead!)

I purchased a set of five coordinating lampwork beads from Etsy seller MichalMenahem.

I've used two in this piece, one as a focal and one in the construction of the clasp. I've plans to use the remaining three in a necklace to match the bracelet.

The bracelet is constructed using freeform peyote stitch; it worked well to emulate the curving forms of the inspiration piece as well as the texture.

Available for purchase here.


And I actually managed to finish the necklace in a timely manner!

It's not typical to butt to focal beads together like this, but I liked the way they flowed together and anyone familiar with my work knows it's seldom typical.

I kept the focus front and center, with just a simple strap for the rest of the necklace; it goes well with the bracelet without being to heavy or overwhelming.