Hello Spring 2013... Stringing, that is!

I know the North East is blanketed in snow and I hear there is another storm on the way... I hope everyone stays safe and makes the best of Mother Nature's winter visits. But take heed, spring is around the corner...

For me, Jewelry Stringing Spring 2013 arrived in my mail box yesterday and I can now reveal that two of my bracelets were selected to be featured as part of their Bracelet Designs on page 24 and 25.

I am thrilled!

Carved Nephrite beads, 

Vintage brass beads, 

Red Botswana Agate, 

Red Tibetan beads, 

Brass Toggle and spacer beads.

Magnesite Butterfly and Melon bead,

Czech pressed glass flowers, 

Czech fire polished rounds,

Copper chain, ring and trigger clasp.

Wishing you all a Happy Spring!

Great minds think alike or What?

Stringing Magazine has posted the entries to it's newest challenge 'Night and Day' for viewing and for voting. As I clicked through the snapshots of the jewelry submitted for this challenge one common theme seemed to emerge... most all of the jewelry designers have used an asymmetrical design of opposites, mostly in color and often in the choice of beads, to depict night and day...I guess it really is a no brainer, now that I think of it, night is opposite of day, dark and light, nothing complex about it....
(Note to self - got to think outside the box!)

Check it out and cast your votes for the one you like the best.
Hurry voting ends April 5th.

Night and Day

Also get your entries ready for the next challenge 'Rock and Roll', the closing date for this one is April 5th as well.
Have a great week everyone!

I have arrived! It is official!

Back in November I submitted an entry to the 'Inspired by Art' challenge conducted by Stringing Magazine. The necklace was originally made in response to the September challenge by Art Bead Scene based on a painting by Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky was a Russian-born artist, one of the first creators of pure abstraction in modern painting and is regarded as one of the originators of abstract painting.

Collection of Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Museum of Art, Utica, NY 56.42

http://www.mwpai.org/museum-of-art/

But as I could not figure out 'Flickr' in time to meet the deadline it was not officially entered. Then came along the Stringing Magazine challenge and since I had a piece that was 'Inspired by Art' I decided to enter my necklace.

In January I received an email from Stringing Magazine telling me that my entry was selected as the Editors' Choice winner! Wow! How about that! I was honored, thrilled and excited to say the least and then I waited patiently for the issue to be published.  Yesterday, I received my Spring 2010 issue of the Stringing Magazine and there was my necklace on page 9!

The focal piece of my necklace is a lampwork bead made by Mona at Monaslampwork. I chose Mona's bead because it contained pretty much the same colors used in the artwork by Kandinsky. To capture the splashes of color on the canvas, I used Mandarin Jasper rondelles, red Jasper rounds, black Onyx rings, Lapis Lazuli coins, faceted drops of Imperial Jasper, branches of black Coral and tiny Mookaite Jasper rounds. The clasp is a round black Onyx toggle.

Congratulations go out to Joy Masters (1st Place), and also to Angela Glascock and Alyce Shepardson, who tied for 2nd place.

If you would like to take part in similar challenges, the next one by Stringing Magazine is titled 'Night and Day' and the deadline for entries is March 1, 2010. So get your entries to them, I have already sent in mine.
Happy Valentine's Day everyone, Enjoy your day!

Challenging the Bead Brain (2)

Today I tell you about my next entry to the Stringing Magazine challenge 'Around the World'. Now this bracelet I made especially for the challenge, but even though it won nothing, I still think it takes a bead lover around the world! I put together eleven beads that come from the four corners of the world along with some sterling silver charms of various modes of traveling around the world. Notably absent is the car, why you ask? simply that I was working against a deadline for the challenge and a car charm was not in stock! I will gladly add a car charm to the bracelet for anyone who buy it from Sundancegems www.rubylane.com/shops/sundancegems/item/RMS4591

The eleven beads that will take you around the world are:
Moukaite from Australia - faceted round in cream and red
Owyhee Jasper from USA - smooth round in teal blue and brown
Imperial Jasper from USA - smooth round in tan and green
Nephrite from China - hand carved round in dark green
Opal from Peru - pink rondelle
Red Coral from the Mediterranean Sea, Italy
Orange Carnelian from China - hand carved barrel
Turquoise nugget from USA
Batik Bone bead from Kenya, Africa
Blue Tanzanite from Tanzania, Africa
Blue Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan - rondelles separating each bead.
The charms I included were of a Motorcycle, Cruise ship, Airplane, Train, and why not, the Shuttle after all I live in Florida. And yes, no automobile - what was i thinking!
Bon Voyage!
The other entries to the Around the World challenge can be seen by clicking on the title to this post.

Challenging the Bead Brain

Usually my creative thought process is inspired and set in motion by the beads I am working with, something I see or read about, or in the case of custom orders based on what my friends or clients want. I am (mostly) in charge, I get the final say. Then I read about beading challenges by various beading magazines and blogs and decided to give it a try. I have been following two of these sites that throw out regular challenges to beaders. One of the first one I entered was centered around the theme 'Magical Forest'. This necklace was in my inventory and was not made specially for the challenge, but I thought it fit the theme perfectly. And I did not win, but it was a thrill to enter and see my jewelry among all the other entries.

I think the necklace turned out pretty magical, it was made using different shapes of one of the most colorful semi-precious stones Fancy Jasper, so-called because of all its fancy colors. Wavy rings of Fancy Jasper framing carved flowers with the rest of the necklace made from carved leaves and faceted nuggets. For the metal findings, I used vermeil and 14K gold-fill.
You can see the rest of the entries by clicking on the title to this post.

Since then I have entered the 'Around the World' challenge, where I created a bracelet especially for the occasion.

It is a good exercise for the brain to think/create within certain boundaries. But even with these boundaries, the imagination can soar and creative juices can flow... I will keep you informed of my other entries in future blog posts.