I am Featured Designer

I have been chosen Featured Designer of the Week over at Art Bead Scene Blog.

Thank you so much! It makes me so happy you know.

This is what ABS Editor Rebecca Anderson had to say about my piece:

"I absolutely adore these earrings! I love the vibrant yet rustic shades that Malin has picked out from this month's beautiful challenge piece, I love the painterly texture that the verdigris patina gives MissFickleMedia's swirls, I love their simple elegance and the embellished earwires.....and last (but certainly not least) I love how Malin has set them for this photograph. The thin branch is the perfect place to display these earrings. These are eminently wearable earrings! Fantastic work Malin."

I am honoured!

Link to my own original blog post about my contributions.

All my best,
Malin

2 pieces for Art Bead Scene March Challenge

Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge for March is this painting by Marc Franz, called Deer in Forest.

I have made two pieces inspired by this painting. First off is a bracelet.

• Deer/fox by TreeWingStudio
• Saffron colored patinated chain by MissFickleMedia
• Dark blue colored patinated chain by MissFickleMedia
• Purple colored patinated toggle bar by MissFickleMedia
• Forest green metallic matte Magatama beads
• Rusty red metallic matte facetted czech glass beads

Isn't it a little bit funny that I all along have seen that creature as a deer. It was only when I was looking at the close-up photo belo, in my computer earlier today that I realized that it actually has a thick tail and that it instead of course is a FOX. It doesn't matter in the end. It is so sweet laying there all curled up. And foxes also lives in the woods.

And as I was going I suddenly found myself having made these earrings too. Sort of picking up, shape wise, on the swirly white lines in the painting, in which I kind of see the sound of the wind blowing through the tree leaves, and a just in general a magical and mystical atmosphere of the woods.

• The verdigris green patinated swirls by MissFickleMedia (there's three on either ear ring)
• Earwires and large jump rings from Vintaj
• Rusty red/brown seed beads
• Oxidized brass wire

Check out some more contributions in the ABS flickr group. There will be more of them coming until the end of the month.

All my best,
Malin

Art Bead Scene Challenge February 2013

Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge for February:

Heijinja, 1941

Tōshi Yoshida

Woodblock Print

(Please note this art is copyrighted and is to be used only as inspiration.)

What first caught my attention was of course the beautiful and striking color scheme with the orange-red buildings and all the subtle hues of beiges, pinks and greys. Secondly I was attracted to the people in the picture, and particularly the lady and the child feeding the birds, and also the beautiful blooming tree. And in fact I started there, and I have a few more sketches laid out for two or three more bracelets that I don't yet know if will end up completing.



But then I somehow ended up with this bracelet. It came about because I one night, as I so often do whilst sitting in front of the TV in the evenings, was making beaded beads. I thought I could maybe make one especially inspired by this challenge. And so, after a few attempts, a new design was born. One that I am very pleased with, and I believe I will end up making many of, but in different color constellations.



I saw the beaded beads inevitably combined with the round opal pink beads in a bracelet. And as a final celebration to the bloomy-ness in the inspiration picture I added one of Joanne Tinley of DaisyChainExtra's absolutely beautiful handmade copper clasps.

On a final note:
I have given myself the task of making at least one piece for every month of Art Bead Scene challenges this year. And I did indeed also make one for January. But for some reason I was never pleased with the photos I took, and the month went by and I had missed my chance to present it on Art Bead Scene. Never mind, it is still sitting here on my table, and when I have the photos I find good enough I will show it to you.

I was inspired to give myself this task by the always inspiring Cece Cormier of The Beading Yogini. She did it last year you see. And I find that for myself I always stretch a bit further for these challenges when I participate. So, there you go. I hope I will be able to live up to my task for all twelve months of the year.


All my best,
Malin

Art Bead Scene Challenge for July - Necklace

Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge for July 2012. How could I not be inspired by this painting by Picasso? I just fell for it. Couldn't resist it. Two Acrobats with a Dog by Pablo Picasso, painted in 1905. I am a big fan of Picasso just in general. In this painting what stands out for me is firstly the checkered pattern on the clothes, and then just the general color scheme of blues and beiges with a few daubs of yellow. I also get this matte dryness feeling texture wise. Coming I guess from both the actual materials used, gouache on what looks like card/paper, but also from the painting's motif. It looks like they are standing in a sort of desert like landscape just outside a village in the Spanish countryside. Mid day. Dry dry air. Dry soil.

So, roaming around my stash I found this large rectangular button by Tracee Dock of Classic Elements. It's been there for a good while, being absolutely lovely and all, but I have just not known what I would do with it. So perfect for this project isn't it! Starting there I wanted to add a fabric or textile element to my piece, to mimic the checkered pattern on the boy's clothes. So I started playing around with some waxed cotton cord. Not yet knowing what kind of piece I would have in the end. A bracelet, or a necklace?

Yes, I could have different colors going through the holes of the button! And then YES! I could braid the cords so that the button would become a pendant hanging from the braids. What a revelation that was for me. I love how the braiding mimics the checkered pattern in the fabric. It worked out so well also, because I was using three colors of cord in the first place. Now I could just let them continue into the two braided sections.

I have never used braids in my own jewelry before. But I just love Erin Siegel's creations when she does it. I'm such a fan of her work in general! So thank you for the inspiration Erin! :-)

Because I only had that length of the yellow cord, but still wanted the necklace to be a bit longer I added some chain around the neck. A nice brass chain with some rhombic links in there too. A swirly brass hook from Vintaj makes the clasp.

I see this necklace being worn with white summery clothes in "airy" cotton. What I would wear in a Spanish hot and dry countryside landscape :-).

Check out the flickr page for Art Bead Scene to see some more jewelry pieces inspired by this painting. There will be more of them turning up until the end of the month.

All my best,

Malin

Designer of the Week :-)

What a treat! Heather Powers has picked my necklace for this week's feature on Art Bead Scene. I am proud to say the least. 

She made that nice photo montage you see above. And she wrote so very nicely about my design:

"I love how Malin color blocked the beads, it leads the eye around the necklace like a little stroll through the French neighborhood in our inspiration painting.  The art beads/focals off to the side add interest and movement.  I love that while the design seems simple Malin managed to use three art beads paired with glass and stones that sets the necklace apart."

It's a bit funny with this necklace, and how the design happened. It was one of those times you know, when you afterwards really can't remember how it went as you were making it, or how you were thinking. It just worked out by itself ... coz it was obviously meant to be. It seems your body, limbs, fingers are moving all by themselves. And when it's finished and done, you take a step back and look at your creation sort of as for the first time. It's almost uncomfortable in a sense. Like you weren't there during the process. But at the same time it's a great feeling. Especially when you are pleased with the final result. And I must admit I really am with this necklace.

It's called "flow"I believe. When you enter that stage of out-of-your-body-feeling whilst in the middle of something. You completely loose sense of space and time. And when you "wake up" again, you notice you are super hungry, and really need the toilet. But you didn't know that for at least a couple of hours or so.

Anyway,
here's the link to my original post about this necklace.
Here's the link to the post on Designer of the Week on Art Bead Scene, ABS.
Here's the link to the Art Bead Scene, ABS flickr group.

All my best,
Malin

ABS March - Earrings

This month's inspiration painting on Art Bead Scene is one by Vincent van Gogh. He's a favorite artist of mine, and I even did a speech on him, his life and his art back in school when I was around 16. Read more about the challenge on Art Bead Scene's page here.

In fact these earrings are just a sort of coincidental accident. I have so many things laid out on my table to play around and work with for my challenge piece/-s. What I was looking for to create yesterday was something else, but suddenly these beads were just laying there next to each other, and VOILÁ , it just happened. I think they look really nice and very French ;-). But I'll keep working on one or two more pieces still. Hope to get them ready and present them here in the coming week.

I used:

• Pomegranate red with white heart lamp worked beads by BoulderGlassMonkey
• lucite marbled ivory and grey round and hexagonal beads
• blue large seed beads
• Rosey Copper head pins by E2SSupplies
• French Lily Copper ear hooks

All my best,

Malin

My Own Bangle From Rebecca's Tutorial On ABS

Yesterday Rebecca Anderson gave us a tutorial on Art Bead Scene. For a bangle bracelet including art beads and using the Vintaj hoop as a base. I have since a while admired this design of Rebeccas, AND I have played around a few times trying to create something useful with the hoops I have in my own stash. I never was pleased enough however, always took apart what I made.

So yesterday I thought, I must give this style a go. Now that I have a great tutorial to use. Check out Rebecca's tutorial here.

I followed Rebecca's advice to start off with finding the main art bead. And I chose Claire Maunsell of StillPointWork's large hollow polymer clay bead. It's irregular, mystical and wonderfully beautiful. There's something about Claire's work that always makes me feel like the things could have been found in an obscure and not yet discovered place in nature. Or like they are reminescents from way back in time. Long before the dinosaurs even. When the earth was forming different materials and structures. I have noticed that I have a particular weakness for components with that feel in general. There is more of that style in my stash.

Anyway, after the focal it was time to pick the other parts, for the dangles/charms. The focal gave me the overall color scheme, which I stuck to, just adding a few dashes of color here and there.

Here's my result:

Looks neat ey!? Sort of Christmassy. Or just wintery.

Art Beads included are:

Large hollow polymer clay bead in white, grey and black - Still Point Works

White Stoneware Flower Bead/Bead Cap - ChelleV2

Black Stoneware Ring/Star - Starry Road Studio

Robins Egg Blue dangle/charm with enameled parts - Miss Molly's Design

Enameled ring - C-Koop

I think I will wear it on Christmas Eve, which actually is the day when we celebrate here in Sweden. And probably also the other days. Have you made any jewelry to wear for Christmas?

All my best,

Malin

Art Bead Scene November Challenge

ABS Monthly Challenge for November. Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni, by Marie Spartali Stillman. A painting in the style of the British Pre-Raphaelite movement, which in turn was inspired by the Rennaissance and also the Post-Rennaissance movement called Mannierism. The Pre-Raphaelites were around in the second half of the 19th century. Spartali Stillman was considered the greatest female artist of that movement (I just read up on that).

Apart from feeling very Pre-Raphaelite I definately get a Rennaissance feeling from this painting. Mona-Lisa clearly comes to mind. And Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. But if I take away all my art history connotations and just look at the picture I think of words like noble, elevated, serene, class, stillness, gossamer (the white flowers) contrasting with density (the fabric in her dress, and an overall somewhat mystical air, you don't really get close to that woman do you. Then I look at the colors also. Hm, very interesting, not my common scheme. Olive green, ochre, rusty brown, wine red, lime green, white sprinkles, and the more blue-ish colors in the background landscape.

So ... how about my own creation then? Well, it contains all the elements I mentioned above, in the parts. But as a whole composition it is far more robust, and maybe even rustic, than the feeling you get from the paiting. And that's something I like about it. A feel of today, but inspired by and connected to something in the past. I am very happy with this piece. :-)

About the beads I used

Art Beads:

• I just very recently got the golden swirly shell-ly beads from MissFickleMedia. I had thought to use them in a pair of earrings ...
• The dark metallic green facetted nuggets are made by Floridity, from her Erudite collection.

They marry so well those two! Don't you agree.

Other beads and components are:

• Waxed linen
• Magnetic ball clasp
• Hydro Grossular Grenade rounds
• Rainbow Moonstone facetted Heishi
• Carneol roundels
• Twisted Hex Miyuki white on gilt beads

The bracelet is sitting just a little little too tight on my own wrist. I can wear it, but ... I would like another half a centimeter. I might get around re-stringing it. Unless I make sure to sell it soon to someone more thin-wristed. I think it is a perfect piece to wear for the season coming up.

All my best,

Malin

My love affair with Art Bead Scene pt 1

Ooooohhhhh! Look! Another interview with me. This time on Art Bead Scene! I'm excited to say the least. Very honoured indeed. Thank you sooooo much Erin!

Art Bead Scene Blog: Meet the Designer :: Malin de Koning

Art Bead Scene has been an inspirational place for me ever since I first discovered them in early 2010. A leading star! I don't remember how I even came across them. Probably from searching for and about HumbleBeads or Heather Powers who I'd discovered on Etsy about a year earlier. I think it was one of the first times I was actually on Etsy, in late 2008, that I came across one of her Dandelion Beads, in a turquoise color she hasn't done for a while now.

At the time I had no idea of the concept of Art Beads, or of Bead Artists. I was looking for bargin deals and as cheap as possible beads, findings and components. Oh yes, I had not yet figured out some very important things about jewelry making. But I fell helplessly in love with these. I'd never seen anything like it. I mean just look at the picture. So I attempted to make a purchase. My first one ever on Etsy. Imagine that, me who wanted to pay no more than 10p per bead, was suddenly prepared to pay 8 dollars! Don't know why, but something screwed up so it didn't go through. I guess I didn't understand totally how to go about it, being a beginner and all. Then it must have sold to someone else very shortly after, coz I remember keeping coming back to Heathers shop ever so often to look if she put some new ones out for sale. And no, I didn't know of custom orders either yet. Otherwise I would of course have contacted Heather, but ...

Then in the summer of 2009 I went into a magazine shop here in Stockholm. I found a whole section of magazines on beading and jewelry. Bought a bunch. One of them was Beads 2009. And there I saw Heathers Turqoise bird. Ooooohhhhhhh! Instant love again! Same artist! Went to her Etsy shop to buy the bird instead. None there. :-( I kept coming back, but no luck. Then somehow I found out BelloModo was also selling Heathers beads. Voila! I made my purchase from them. And early 2010 or if it was late 2009 I had bough my first Art Bead.

That's what I thought anyway. But actually I had bought some other ones before, without even knowing they were art beads. By Maureen Thomas Designs, in May '09. At the time I had gotten a larger sum of sort of backtracked money, and I went a bit crazy with my bead shopping for a period. Building up quite a bit of my stash. But mostly still looking for cheap deals ... (if I'd only known then what I know now, but I gues you can only live and learn). These ones I couldn't resist though. I still have the necklace I made from them in my drawer. I never wear it, and I don't want to sell it either, so maybe it's time to take it apart and reuse the goodie goodie goodies. YUM!

Anyway, back to Art Bead Scene. In early 2010 I first came across the blog. And their challanges. Oh, there were beads one could win. Oh, there was a possibility to be featured. Oh, Heather Powers was one of the contributors. Oh, and Lorelei Eurto too (I will come back to her later). Oh, I really like what people are doing for the challenges. Oh, there is something called flickr too. Discoveries discoveries discoveries! Art Beads!?! What is that? Artisans!?! Learning, exploring, incorporating, expanding. A whole new universe had opened for me. Inspiration! WOW!

WOW!

So I dared! In March '10 I submitted my first piece to an Art Bead Scene Challenge. I was sooooo nervous. I had to open a flickr account. I had to add to the group. Name the piece and tag it correctly to be accepted. I even named the piece "Take A Chance" after a Magic Numbers song. And I wasn't refused! Happy happy happy!

So with my newly achieved confidence, I submitted a new piece again the next month. This was fuuuuuun! It is so great to interact with others. To get feedback, and to give feedback. But guess what happened?! Lorelei picked my piece for Designer of the Week! I was astounded! That was kind of never on my agenda to happen.

She said:

"That curved focal is what draws my eye into this piece, as well as the curved

lines in the Klee painting. I love the bright and happy colors Malin uses to emulate the painting. Bead placement is so great, and draws your eye around and around, so many interesting things to look at here!

Always a fan of mixed media, Malin throws in some soft silk too, and that

addition makes this divine!!"

(Or check here for the featured article on ABS).

So now I was definitely hooked. I had started my own blog in the beginning of 2010, and more people started to visit it regularly. I was in flow sort of. Art Beads, Art Beads and mooooore Art Beads! I just couldn't get enough. I still can't to be honest. Oh, how they make jewelry making fun and exciting. I am collaborating with people from all over the world when I make my pieces. I LOOOOOOOOOVE IT!

Now, I have so much more to tell you about how I feel about Art Bead Scene, Heather Powers, Lorelei Eurto and more things related. I think I will have to make that into a part two of this story.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Don't miss out on reading the interview with me on Art Bead Scene.

And here's a link to another interview with me on A Jewelry Accord.

Please come back soon!

I am featured on Art Bead Scene Blog: June Monthly Challenge Blog Tour

I can not enough underscore the importance of Art Bead Scene for my creative journey in jewelry making. So when I am featured on their blog I am always exceptionally proud and happy. And now it has happened again! Yihaaaaaa!

Go and check Erin's post and wrap up list that will take you on a very inspiring blog tour indeed, with a good bunch of participants for the challenge for June. I am honored to be one of them.

Here's the link to the blog tour post on Art Bead Scene.

Here's the link to my own post for my contribution.

All my best!

ABS June Challenge Necklace - Somewhere Down The Crazy River

My contribution for the June Challenge at Art Bead Scene became a necklace. It has undergone a few transformations on it's journey to the final piece. Started off as a bracelet with Gaea's green button as the clasp and center piece. 7 strands of waxed linen cord strung with Delica beads size 11/0. But I couldn't make the clasp solution look good. Gave up after trying about 10 different ways. Moody about it of course. I really like all those strands.
One of the first things I picked out from my stash when starting on the challenge piece was the multi-holed pendant from RoundRabbit. Hey, look at that. I can combine them! I like!!!!

Also tried quite a few different solutions for the chain/ribbon part. Ended up simplifying it more and more. Now it's only a chain and a leather ribbon. And I kept shortening it too. I generally don't make necklaces as short as this one. But with a pendant like this you want it to sit higher. And you want the fringy bit to hang by the clevage.
Here's another pathetic try by me to take a photograph with myself as the model. This was the least bad one anyway. I might have a new solution to this "show the piece on" problem. Will see tomorrow how it works. Now I must add a note to this paragraph. I just realized this particular photo wasn't taken by myself at all. My 7 year old daughter took it for me. I guess she didn't keep her hand all that steady either ... Sorry for being unclear.

Below is the art piece by Odilon Redon we are supposed to be inspired by. It's a lovely lovely painting/pastel. And it was very easy to be inspired by it. I do have some more things simmering on my bead table for more contributions. We'll see if I finish any more of them off.Here on flickr you can see some more contributions from other jewelry artists. More will be added through until the end of the month. So keep coming back if you are the curious kind.

All my best!

Malin

Inspired by ABS June Challenge - outside competition

A beautiful painting/pastel by Odilon Redon is this month's inspiration art piece on ArtBeadScene. It creates a huge lust to create jewelry in me. Yellow-yellow-yellow. And some gray and white and black and sharp blue, and ....

I also drifted away in my thoughts about this artist. I had never seen this piece before. When I think of him I think mainly of mystical (obscure) surrealistic (before the real Surrealists entered the scene) drawings/prints in black and white. I went on a hunt on the internet and gathered a few of the things I am referring to.

I just happen to have quite a few beads and stuff in my stash that would go perfectly with the style of the pieces in the collage I put together. Just look at these buttons, which I purchased about 6 months ago, with, among other things, earrings in mind. At last I got a reason to actually put them together. Thanks ArtBeadScene! Due to them not containing any Art beads as such I can't put them in the competion. But who cares.

Of course they are called Odilon. Dangles nicely. I'll wear them tomorrow when we are going to the technical museum here in Stockholm. Meeting up with my mum and brother there.

I was chosen Designer of the Week at Art Bead Scene

Thank you so much Jennifer! This feels really great. I had a few days of feeling great doubt about myself and my abilities. For no particular reason really, just coz I do sometimes. I mean I question myself! Not feeling like I do enough, do interesting enough, develop, amaze, inspire and so on. I bet you all know what I am talking about. I've been given great support from dear friends and the community over these days. Wise things have been said. Thank you all of you! And now THIS is the icing on the cake! Feels great! :-)

Here's the link to Art Bead Scene.

It's a bit funny that I went through a questioning period, coz I am really thrilled about the design of this bracelet. I love how it looks, and it feels great to wear. And now I do wanna try the concept with other components. I guess the doubting is not related to reality and the now, but to how you feel inside. It's about the future, about longing, wishing, analyzing, developing, thriving, visions and so on. What's your thought on the subject?

ABS May Challenge - Bracelet

My contribution for Art Bead Scene's May challenge is a bracelet. I named it "Hide and Seek", just like the painting by Berthe Morisot. Read about the piece and the challenge here.

I just completely fell for the color scheme of strong green, very light grey and touches of ochre in this painting. Or at least those where the colors that stood out to me as the ones I wanted to work with. A somewhat unusual combo in a jewelry piece maybe. But oh so yummie!

I am very pleased and excited about the solution with the three leather ribbons/bands going in and out of Round Rabbit's beautiful porcelain rings. They are playing hide and seek with each other :-) .

Look, I tried to take a Lorelei Eurto-esque picture of the bracelet on me. I really like her style when she photographs the pieces on herself. No one was there to help me, so I ended up with a bunch of pictures of the wall behind me and a little bit of my nose in one corner. I didn't bother with setting up the camera or programming it for delayed exposure. Simply held it myself with a stretched out arm. This one worked out ok anyway.

The pattern on the porcelain rings works perfectly to capture the romantic atmosphere in the painting, don't you agree.

The green dangle bead is a Swarovski milky green facetted round. The rest is copper components.

If you wanna see all the current contributions for the challenge go here.

And don't miss the blog hop about all the contributions that has been blogged about, starting at Art Bead Scene at the end of the month.

All my best! Have a great weekend. Mine will be very busy :-)