Art Bead Scene Collaboration Exploration

Beads for the ABS Collaboration with Humblebeads and Lorelei

I have the good fortune of being a part of the Art Bead Scene Collaboration Exploration with Humblebeads and Lorelei Eurto We all have the same set of artists beads(see photo above)--some made by Heather and some by me. I received mine in the mail a few weeks ago with the May 5th deadline. Excited and nervous best describes how I have been feeling since. I have been very challenged by this project and have been pretty pleased with the results. I love working with Humblebeads. The colors have been delicious and I have enjoyed every moment playing with the beads and possible combinations of colors. Since I am not used to making jewelry with other artist beads, this was a very new experience and rather inhibiting at first. I think I began to loosen up somewhere along the way and that was good. I tried some materials I had never used and that was good. In fact, I found ways of stringing my pendants I would have never explored if it weren't for this project. I found my pendants hard to work with and all along I have been wondering what in the world Heather and Lorelei will make. It has been an interesting inner dialogue thinking of our parallel experiences and it has felt like I had company on my journey. I can't wait to see what they have made.

Here are my collaborations.

Heather's lovely brown beads and my Clover pendant and raku beads.

Here I have wire wrapped the Humblebeads with copper wire and copper flowers. I love the way the copper contrasts with my large round bead's shades of green and brown. The brass colored chain seems to pick up colors in both of our beads.

Here Heather's lovely disk beads and long tubes pick up the colors in my Thistle pendant. The dark green fiber chain complements her beads well. See what I mean about delicious colors!!



A close up of the Clover Pendant necklace.



The freeform peyote stitch necklace I began first and finished last. I actually worked on all 4 pieces at the same time so that I would be able to have some of Heather's beads for each piece. I figured the peyote piece would use the most and that seems to be true. I don't have any of her beads left over. I struggled with this piece and had to add a pendant to the front that was not one that others had. I love the way the colors have gone together on this piece and I totally enjoyed making it once I was over the hard part. But that seems to be the way it is with freeform. Always a point in the piece when I think I will have to throw it away (figuratively) and then if I persist and wait a while it will come together.

Close up of the peyote necklace.

Thank you Art Bead Scene, Humblebeads and Lorelei for being in this project with me. It has been a super great experience.