Wedding Jewelry

My daughter is getting married soon and she loves green. Her dress is white but will have an under ruffle of green tulle, green shoes and a beaded green necklace and hair comb. The bridesmaids will be in short green dresses with different colored shoes and their own beaded necklaces. I get the job of making the beaded necklaces as well as gluing rhinestones on the differently colored flip flops for beach wear-yes, 15 min ceremony on the beach and then party in the beach bar-NJ not CA.

Bride and flower girl:

Details; bead embellishment over backing of right angle weave, Swarovski crystals as well as Czech pressed glass:

Bridesmaids sets, purple is junior bridesmaid:

Closures are vintage glass buttons from an old color sample button card with counterweight fringes.

The only snag is that the matron of honor is pregnant, due to deliver less than a month after the wedding and she didn't order a maternity dress--so my other daughter, the maid of honor, is giving up her dress, the largest size, to be made into a maternity style and dieting down to fit into the matron of honor's original dress. Whew! I'm glad my job was the beadwork! Joanne

More Beaded Bead necklaces

I have had a very difficult time trying to log in to my blog and repost since google took over, but I finally figured it out so here goes:

Actually the foot surgeries were $6 and #7 not #5 and #6 but they are over. Recovery from the foot surgeries was no problem. However, the knee roller destroyed my bad knee and initiated pain in my good knee-both of which have not recovered. So now I am waiting for knee replacement scheduling. My poor dogs--can't play with me.

I have finished 2 more beaded bead necklaces. I am having fun combining the beaded beads with other bead items. I will not be teaching at Common Ground in 2014, but hope to be back in 2015.

 Beaded Beads plus polymer beads by Grant Diffendaffer and Natural Touch Resin beads.

                                                                
Beaded Beads plus lamp worked glass by Paula Radke.

Teaching at Common Ground

So much has happened this year. Fist we took a 3 week river cruise of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar (Burma). It was fantastic to see such an unspoiled part of the world. I have so many new photos for inspiration.

I have decided to not put up with foot pain anymore and jump into foot surgeries 5 and 6, removing the implant inserted 1 1/2 years ago for my 3rd bunion removal that has given me nothing but pain since. This recovery is the most drastic ever, 6 weeks no weight bearing on the right foot. Wouldn't be so bad except I have to support myself on a rolling device on my bad right knee. I week down, 5 to go.

I am, however, preparing to teach the first week in July at Common Ground at McDaniel College in Westminster, MD. Common Ground is a fantastic festival of music and visual arts. Great fun and concerts every night. I will be teaching a class focusing on beaded beads. We will do at least four beaded beads, each in a different beadwork stitch--peyote, brick, square, and right angle weave. Get to learn 4 different beadwork stitches and string the results on a necklace with glass and resin spacer beads. Come join me for a week of inspiration. Everyone's necklace will be one of a kind.

Fiberart International

My Pittsburgh guild is doing a set of wrapping paper for a benefit of Fiber Art International 2012 just like they did the decks of cards for FI 2010. On the wrapping paper will be printed fiber work letters for each of the alphabet in squares plus a square for FGH

(Fiberart guild of Pittsburgh) and FI logo (Fiberart International). 

I got in late so all the letters were taken, I got the Fiberart Int logo which had to be pictured as a script lower case f and i just as pictured positioned in the square also as pictured. The pictured Pittsburgh skyline is a composite--those buildings are not really next to each other in real life, but are unique to Pittsburgh.

It was fun. I considered felting, but since the final piece had to be exactly 12"x12", I was leery of how big to start. I also have been doing some fabric painting and dying and decided to use those skill plus appliqué. Doing another beadwork piece was prohibitive time wise as "Clubbing the Night Away"-see previous posts Sept 09-Feb10 actually took a full year to complete. Joanne

My First Quilt

The Potomac Fiberarts Gallery in the Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA, an artists cooperative, to which I belong typically has a new show approximately every month. The upcoming show beginning October 22 and running till November 18 has the theme "Black and White". The necklace in the last blog post was created for that show. I also chose to interpret the theme in a different manner-thread painting by sewing machine over a photograph of my puppy and another member of his litter. I call it "Brothers Under the Skin". It is presented as a small wall quilt (26"x23"). Joanne

Another Award

Wow, I can't believe 3 awards in one month. I just received notification that my black and white necklace won first place in the Silversilk contest. The pendant is porcelain on sterling from Artbeads. I used square stitch to mimic the checkerboard pattern and peyote for the spiral part. I was able to stitch right through the silversilk to attach the beadwork to the knit-like flexi-chain. I believe it makes a very wearable piece. I did this piece for the next Black and White theme show at the Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery at the Torpedo Factory, 10 N Union St, Alexandria, VA which will run Oct 22 to Nov 19.

 Here is a second necklace I did with the Silversilk and an etched glass pendant by Nikki Blanchard using a sterling and amethyst clasp from Star's Clasps.

Joanne

Awards

I am really excited. I received an Award of Merit for the oil painting "Man's Best Friend" at the Hanover Art guild juried show and an Award of Excellence at the York Art Association Juried Show for the Thread Painting "Summer Stoop". One Red Window was also accepted to the York show.  The Hanover show has ended but the York show just opened and will run all month. Joanne

Summer Stoop

One Red Window

Man's Best Friend