Thursday, April 7, 2016

AIR 2016 Week Six Beadweaving and Beaded Embroidery

This week was all about beadweaving and beaded embroidery.  

 
Bottom right is entitled Anonymous Was a Woman


A small section of my bead holdings on the right there

Beaded bracelets and a tapestry in woven beads


I got two pieces back from an exhibit last evening, just in time to bring them out today. You see them on the table at the top -- ears of wheat, an old traditional motif, and Anonymous Was a Woman, using the anonymity icon from the internet, and subversive uneven framing in stitching.

And I started a beadweaving on my cardboard loom to demonstrate today, which I did.  Once you start a beadweaving, it's hard to stop. 

Sample beadweaving for demo
 
 Yesterday I had to review how to weave beads, and was glad I had, since it took me a try or two to get the hang of it back again.


Although the theme today was beadweaving and beaded embroidery, the conversations, with artists and other visitors, ranging from glass art to ceramics, to Turkish textile arts -- very interesting Turkish lady who has just retired and is thinking of taking up beading and other embroidering now  -- and a gift arrived of broken jewelry bits, some of them spectacular, from a visitor who had emailed me earlier and offered me the takings from her newly organized jewelry drawer.  Many orphan earrings!

Time flew as usual, and the works I brought in were handled and admired -- okay to handle beaded bracelets -- and I have a new flyer courtesy of Gallery Manager Donna, to give out about my upcoming exhibit.

All in all, this series is a Good Thing.Now I have some great ideas for using my new trove of jewelry bits in, I'm thinking, tapestry or possible as a form of shisha embroidery which I haven't tried yet. And there are crystal beads which I think I already have a home for.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like another fun day. Even better when you're on the receiving end of some treasures. Nothing better than broken jewelry to inspire!

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  2. I would love to know if your Turkish lady had done any oya (Turkish needle lace). That is something I would love to try - maybe when I retire. I like the Anonymous picture. Very effective.

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