Battle of the Beadsmith

I kept a few guidelines in my mind as I worked on this piece- a comment from an interview with Kris Empting-Obenland about having stayed within her comfort zone when choosing colors to work in, Steven's sage words to "just make something pretty," and my own idea that the entries for this competition are all over the top in terms of the amount of work and the complexities of the designs. Originally I thought I should attempt to make something that had red carpet glamour. Unfortunately, that isn't my style. Having gathered lots of shiny baubles and gemstones I spent many directionless days wrapping cabs and playing with crystals with very little satisfaction. Finally I gave up and started using my favorite colors from the beads that I had picked out to correspond to the Pantone colors of the year. Since I have been on a flower trend, and there was a time limitation, I decided to eliminate the learning curve and make what I was comfortable with.
 I am drawn to using primarily seed beads without a fabric base in my work. I had a difficult time finding some of the colors I needed in Miyuki beads since both local bead stores closed in April, so I used some Toho beads I had in my stash. I was able to convince my daughter to pose for the photos, and she gave me her top model poses and faces, somewhat obscured by foliage and flowers.
The pictures of the designs are being posted on Facebook this week, and the work very impressive. I am excited to be included in this group of talented bead artists.

Haute Couture Reveal

My entry for the Haute Couture contest was actually done a day earlier than I had expected which turned out well as it took all day Thursday to take the photos. I seriously took over 800 pictures. The light changes the colors, especially the background, and the pictures from different times of the day reflect that. Also, I think the memory card makes a difference too, kind of like using Fuji film compared to Kodak. I was having problems with the colors but it wasn't until the camera kept freezing that I remembered I had switched the Sandisc extreme 3 card for a pro master card the other day. When I switched back the color was more saturated and also more representative of the actual bead colors. I had been experimenting with the magic wand tool in Photoshop but I didn't like the posterization effect so I left the backgrounds alone. Like I said, I am glad I saved a whole day for photos because I certainly needed it.

The finished necklace was pretty much what I had envisioned, only less embellished. I had wanted to add the stars behind the crystals on the braided chain but that looked wrong. In the end the necklace was more understated than I thought it would be, but I like the outcome. It is extremely wearable and somehow the colors work well together.   

The entries are posted on the Haute Couture Beading Contest Facebook page.

My daughter, Autumn, was kind enough to be my model.