Cunning marketing tactics

To use a cat very similar to my own one was a very clever way of catching my attention. But it wasn't really necessary since I already had discovered and fallen in love with Bullfinch & Barbury. All thanks to Lorelei's Blog. Thank you Lorelei! And Lia, I might come by and do some shopping one day in a not too far future.

C as in C-Urchin, Conrad and Cute birds

Look at that! Am I lucky or what? It will soon be arriving in my mailbox. From England and C-Urchin. Absolutely wonderful stuff she does! I would like to have everything she does. And I would like to write an article about her. Maybe I will. She lives very near my parents-in-law in Somerset, England. So I hope to get to visit her studio next time I'm there. You can check out her amazing things on Etsy and on flickr.

Conrad, my soon 8 year old son, wanted to try wire-working. I gave him some bronze wire and tools. This is what he did. An earring inspired buy that Klee painting on the ABS April Challenge. He wants to add some beads and send it in to participate. Mum is very proud!

Conrad has taught me about this very cute bird. It is named Qetzel, and it is the national bird of Guatemala, and they have also named their currency after it. I think I could easily be inspired by their great apperance when I make jewellery.

Art Bead Scene Blog: Designer of the Week: Malin de Koning

Art Bead Scene Blog: Designer of the Week: Malin de Koning

Bracelet Paul & Polly

My entry for AprilABS is kind of my own personal/private fun experimental workshop put together in a bracelet. I have spent a lot of time scrutinizing Klee's painting. There are so many forms, colors and details in that painting you will never be finished looking at it. Always something new to experience and so many different ways of looking at it. It has really grown on me. (Although I have always been a fan of Klee.)

I made the curve and one of the beads myself in transparent polymer clay which I colored with Copic markers (that worked really well by the way, they contain alcohol).

Other materials/supplies I have used are black leather cord, recycled sari silk from Objects & Elements, an enamaled bead by Barbara Lewis at PaintingWithFire, various beads of wood, glass and brass, waxed linen cord and bronze wire.

For the "leaf dangle" I used a brass folded leaf from Objects & Elements and added an enameled headpin by Barbara Lewis. I made a spiral shape of the headpin.

Please write a comment! I would be very happy to hear what you think of this.

Links:

ABS - Art Bead Scene Blog

ABS - Art Bead Scene April Challenge

ABS - Art Bead Scene flickr page

Barbara Lewis - PaintingWithFireArtWear Blog

Objects & Elements Blog

Ginnys beautiful beads

Look at these beautiful beads! They are made by Ginny Henley. I just looove them and wish I could make something vaguely similar for the ABS April Challenge inspired by this painting by Paul Klee. Ginny has been very generous and told me the whole process of how to make them. But I am soooo far from that level of skill that she has when it comes to polymer clay bead making. And I don't even have a pasta machine yet. (Ginny told me to go and get one straight away.)

So today I was playing around with transparent polymer clay (which is actually more semi-transparent) and Copic Markers instead of colouring ink. Ginny had mention something about alcohol in the process, so I thought I could try the good old markers which my husband and I still have a bunch of since the days when we went to Art and Design college. And it worked really well! Just a tip for all you Polymer Clay artists out there. I am certainly going to continue experimenting with them and the clay. I played around a lot, which was great fun. And this one here I might use in my design of a bracelet for the challenge. It is a curved link which also follows the form of the wrist. I am very pleased with the form. (But it IS a crappy photo - I know. )

New Earrings & The Outrageous Neighbour

My latest design. I haven't come up with a good name for them yet. I am very pleased with these. They look great on, and they are not heavy. The wonderful milky light green side-drilled stones are Prehnite - from Happy Mango Beads. I am in love with those stones and any prehnite now-a-days. The stones are dangling from a brass bar chain - from Ornamentea. Brass earhooks. The ear-rings are about 6 cm/2.3 inches long.

Here is my new neighbour, Radka, just after she has said something absolutely outrageous about some of my beads. I HAD to take her picture, since Barbara Lewis had posted about one of her rude-funny friends I felt Radka could match that easily. Hold on, I will let you know soon. Radka, her husband and their young dog moved in a couple of months ago. She is a landscape architect. Has worked in New Zeeland among other places. AND she is from Czheck republic, and her late aunt used to work in a bead factory. So when she pops in to me for a cup of coffee she wants to sit in my studio with all the beads around us. She is always very positive, outspoken and enthusiastic about things. It is great to be in her company. Anyway, suddenly she lays her eyes on these particular beads on my desk and says/screams: "WOW, look at these ones - they look like an old virgin who is really horny!" It took me a moment to kind of settle again after that. Then I had to look at the beads of course. What on earth was she talking about? But do you know? She was absolutely right! They DO look like an old virgin who is really horny. Some people are just blessed with a wonderful way of putting words on visual impressions. That comment made my day I tell you.

Art Seymour - Solo Performance

If you are interested in beads and beading you HAVE to see this film. Or if you are just interested in interesting people who are doing interesting things. You can download it or watch it directly via the web. I found this film yesterday and downloaded it from iTunesU and watched it on my iPhone. I know I will watch it again. Click on the image above or go to iTunesU. So much passion! So much craftmanship!

www.seymourchevron.com

Beads & Design classics from my childhood

The other day I ordered these beads from Blue Marble Beads on Etsy. I instantly fell in love with them when I saw them, and I could easily see different ways they could appear in my jewellery. But they did remind me of something I had seen before ...
This is a coffee cup we had in our household when I grew up. It is called Spisa Ribb and is designed by Stig Lindberg. It is consider a design classic in Sweden. I have always loved the design, and a long time before I knew it was considered special. My mum still have them in her house.

This made me think of some other Swedish design classics I grew up with. And suddenly I was very proud of my mum and dad who picked all these nice things over the years. Some of them are actually in my own house nowadays, and some of them still at my mum's.

Pernilla Chair by Bruno Mattson

Kobra Telephone produced by Ericsson (can't remember the name of the designer at the moment). We had a red one.

Salt, pepper and sugar produced by Gense. From one sheet of stainless steel folded to a cone. This design is magnificent! The salt and pepper are in my house today. I love them.

Glass table on birch-construction by Alvar Aalto.

Chair Lamino by Yngve Ekstrom with sheep wool. It is standing in our lounge now.

The glass table by Alvar Aalto I actually managed to sit down on right in front of my parents when I was about 12, and of course it crashed, and I sat there with glass bits all around me being more ashamed then ever.


I bought some more beads the other day. From Humble Beads these beauties - I am soooooo exsited for them to arrive

You can tell she really likes and is influenced by Vincent van Gogh in these ones above. And she only made 3 sets of them. I am soooo happy and lucky I managed to get my hands on one of the sets.

Bracelet - Take a Chance

I have entered my first competition ever with one of my jewelleries - the Art Bead Scene Challenge for March. Inspiration this month is a painting by Vincent van Gogh called Almond Blossom. The other entries can be seen here. (But you might not be able to see ALL of the entries unless you are a member of the Art Bead Scene group on flickr.)

I have made the branch and the flowers myself in Polymer Clay. Other materials are Dupioni Silk from Ornamentea, waxed linen cord, copper chain, 3 seed beads and Fire Line thread. On the picture below you can see how the branch with the flowers is constructed.

The Branch has five holes. It is made of a mixture of brown and golden clay. After being baked it was sanded for a smooth even curve, and then varnished for a shiny surface.

The flowers are made from six "worms" put together and then thinly sliced. I have mixed colors in the worms for a more lively color. After that holes in the middle. Baked. Sanded. Varnished

.

No extra paint has been added.

The Bracelet is named after Magic Number's song "Take a Chance", because that is what I feel I am doing, taking a chance with this entry.