FGP#25 "Clubbing the Night Away" final touches

It is always tricky thinking out the presentation of a beadwork piece. I was not satisfied with the way that the 6 of clubs piece hung. The wire joins at the top where I placed loops for hanging created small hinges which moved just enough to allow the piece to bend and not hang straight. I searched for heavier wire but would have to had used brown. The 14 gauge wire that I used was the heaviest black I could find, I really did not want to add a brown border by whip stitching another round of wire with a different join site. I had no luck at craft and/or hardware stores finding something that would do the trick. However, it was time to get my teeth cleaned, and I asked my dentist about wire. He sent me to an orthodontist friend who gave me a piece of thin but very stiff orthodontic wire. It did the trick. All I needed was to support the top line that contained the loops and joins of the original wire. I whip stitched the orthodontic wire to the back of the piece between the first 2 rows of beads. It is barely visible and improves the hang immensely. Joanne

Here are the final shots and details of each couple. I am still waiting to here when and where the deck of cards may be purchased and when and where (in Pittsburgh, PA) the exhibit of all the card pieces will be. I will post here when I know. 

FGP #4

Still working on the Swing Couple. Male Leg #1 is completed. I begin each new area by selecting a prominent line which I have drawn on the photo and creating a bead ladder to follow this line. Bead rows are then added to either side with increasing and/or decreasing to maintain the line's orientation. In the man's first leg, I choose to begin with the dark crease line extending down the pants. Bead rows were then worked to the right and left to complete the pants using short rows and changing bead sizes to achieve the proper shape. I constantly, sometimes ever bead, place the beadwork over the photo to check size and alignment. The direction of bead rows is changed to most appropriately depict the figure. Larger, lighter beads advance and smaller, darker beads recede. Changing bead sizes attempts to add to the dimensionality of the figure. Note that on the left edge of the pants, tiny beads are used to make the pant's edge appear to be further back than the knee and shin.

The sneakers are first worked with vertical bead rows and then switched to horizontal rows at the toe.

The woman's hair is alternately done in rows of larger and smaller beads as well as matt and shiny beads to give a strandlike appearance. Also the first bead row done after the initial bead ladder alternates increasing and decreasing to zig zag the line made by the original bead ladder. This hopefully will make it look more like hair.

Note the hand foreshortened behind the hair. The fingers are just bead ladders of tiny beads. The thread at the end of the bead ladder finger is worked back through the beads to the body of the hand to begin the next bead ladder finger. The fingers will be set in place when the background is done.

Now I'm ready for the second leg. Joanne