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A desert scene

February 9, 2010 in Wall pieces | No comments

I recently mailed a gift for a friend. I spent the most time on the desert scene below, creating prickly pear cacti in a sandy desert scene. I was inspired by Joanne Bast, and her mastery of brick stitch. I do use brick stitch, but not as she does to create scenes. This is comparatively quite simple:  I created an outline of the cactus paddle in brick, and then filled it in. I tried to create the right angle weave background of sand in the same plane as the cacti, but it blended too much. Mounting the cacti on the right angle weave background was much better.

The mix of beads for sand includes Japanese 15s, Czech and Japanese 11s, and French 10s. The cacti are a matte ab Czech, and the blooms are a gorgeous transparent French 14. French seed beads are no longer being manufactured, and I love it when I can find a use which highlights their beauty.

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Foot in the Door 4

February 7, 2010 in Museums and galleries, Vessels | No comments

The Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program (MAEP) at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts hosts a show every 10 years called Foot in the Door, an open exhibition for all Minnesota artists.  It is unjuried, the only requirement is that the finished work be less than 12″x12″x12″.  Today, I dropped off the vessel I display on the front page of my website and as the header in this blog, Painted Vessel.

This is 5″x3.5″x3.5″, a self-supporting vessel in brick stitch.  I completed it in 2007.  This and perhaps 3,000-4,000 other works will be on display at MIA from February 19th-June 13th.  All pieces will be displayed in the three MAEP galleries.

I am very glad I was able to be in line shortly after it opened, as I had to wait only 45 minutes.  The line was perhaps 2.5 hours long when I left.

This is a large circular rotunda.  At the upper left, you see people bent over the receiving tables; there were perhaps 8 staff accepting works.  The line wrapped 2.5 times around this rotunda when I started waiting in line — at this point, I am on the last leg of that wait.  You see the line continuing downstairs through the railing, so it was around the rotunda 2.5 times on the 2nd floor, down the steps (these are tall ceilings, so a good number of steps), twice around the lower rotunda, and out the door into the exterior courtyard!

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Use the Muse III – the completed project

December 17, 2009 in Jewelry | 7 comments

Muse-barrette-full-web

The copper color of the Muse is a richer version of my hair color, and I surprisingly have never made something beaded for my long hair.  Butterflies belong amidst flowers, so I made some flowers (documented previously on this blog), and settled the Muse on the largest bloom.  The flowers are constructed using peyote, brick, herringbone, and netting stitches.  Except for the yarn, I used all of the components provided in the kit.  The completed elements are mounted onto a large barrette that works wonderfully in my hair.

The winners of the contest have been posted, the A-M gallery, and the N-Z gallery.

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Voting for Haute Couture contest

November 24, 2009 in Jewelry, Necklaces | No comments

Voting is now open for the Haute Couture beading contest, hosting by Good Quill Hunting.  I entered with the green ruffles necklace, just completed.  Go look, enjoy, and vote!

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Green ruffles, completed

November 21, 2009 in Jewelry, Necklaces | 4 comments

Good Quill Hunting (music plays) is hosting a Haute Couture contest — “inspired wearable bead art.”  Participants are to choose any one of 36 different Haute Couture pieces, and make something inspired by that photo.  Here’s what I chose:

Click on the photo to see two detail shots.

Two things caught my eye with this dress – the basic color, which I like and have in beads – and the style.  For Haute Couture, this actually looks wearable!  And, I thought I could translate it into beads.

It took me a couple of attempts to get irregular ruffles that were reminiscent of this dress. The dress has some light cream in the base skirt, which I translated into a spiraling band of like colored charlottes.  I felt the mass of green, between the “skirt” and the tapering square stitch tube, needed a larger offset of color than the relatively small bodice in black, cream, peach, and sea green.  So, I changed the proportions and shape to make a larger beaded bead.  The cream in the skirt ties it to the cream in the bead, and I used 4 beads to make each randomly placed flower.  The last design challenge to be faced was the clasp, which is visible as a band of silver at the front, balanced by a silver bead peeking out at the base of the ruffles.

Heller-Haute-Couture-2

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