We're All Ears :: September Inspiration :: Dotty

The first time the words "polka dot" were used together to describe the beloved pattern was in 1850. They never really had any connection to polka dancing, but these dotty spots have been called that ever since.

At first they were found in small doses, like in men's bow-ties. But with the turn of the century and textile technology advancing, it quickly became an iconic fashion statement to wear polka dots. Over the years this pattern was further popularized by fashionable entertainers and Hollywood stars, like Marilyn Monroe or Lucille Ball. Even the fa-mouse fashionista Minnie Mouse made them a pop-culture trend in the 1930 - all the way to present day Julia Roberts in the movie "Pretty Woman." Polka dots are seen as sweet, feminine, classic, playful, fun.

Close up of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte By Georges Seurat - National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., online collection, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11500867

Artists have long used dots for impact in their paintings. George Seurat's most famous work A Sunday on La Grande Jatte in the style of Pointilism (essentially dot painting) is masterful and scientific in its precision. Damien Hirst, a British contemporary artist, once exhibit 300 dot paintings in all eleven galleries at the Gagosian. These paintings were mesmerizing. One featured over 90,000 hand painted spots. Amazing!

Jemima, 2016 © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd.
All rights reserved, DACS/Artimage 2019.
Photo: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd

I originally wanted the Spots to look like they were painted by a human trying to paint like a machine. Colour Space is going back to the human element, so instead you have the fallibility of the human hand in the drips and inconsistencies. There are still no two exact colors that repeat in each painting, which is really important to me. I think of them as cells under a microscope. —Damien Hirst

Yayoi Kusama, Whitney Museum

Yayoi Kusama was a Japanese artist who turned her lifelong experience with traumatic hallucinations into wild immersive art installations punctuated by dots on every surface. In 2012, Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton created an array of dotty accessories inspired by Kusama's work. 

Collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama, 2012

A polka-dot has the form of the sun, which is the symbol of the energy of the whole world and our living life, and also the form of the moon, which is calm. Round, soft, colorful, senseless and unknowing. Polka-dots can't stay alone; like the communicative life of people, two or three polka-dots become movement. Polka-dots are a way to infinity. 

--Yayoi Kusama

Let's celebrate the polka-dot! Make some dotty-spotty earrings for the reveal on Friday, September 20th!

[Please remember that all artwork shared here is for your inspiration only, and not to be used in your designs.]

We're All Ears :: October Reveal :: Harvest Moon

Did you get to see the harvest moon this month? I am sad to report that I actually missed it, as it was pouring for 2-3 days. If you had a chance to spot it, I hope that you snapped a picture or two and did a little jig in it's light to release joy to the world!

I knew that I had the perfect components for this month's inspiration. A few weeks back I had stumbled into an online sale for enameled components from Gardanne. I went a little nutty saying "Mine!" and "BIN!" in the posts on her special Facebook page. So many that I really lost count. But I guess I didn't really care because I totally love her work. The colors are fabulous!

Typically, the Gardanne goodies that I have are leaves, which are beautiful. So I was completely smitten to see the new round shapes that she made. And they looked just like big ol' harvest moons.

The problem was that these were a large dapped disk shape so adding anything else to them really diminished their beauty. I tried other types of beads, from Czech glass to polymer clay to gemstones, and it just didn't work. I realized that I needed to let these charms speak for themselves.

So I decided to just add some lengths of my favorite chain in a chevron pattern. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to get the pattern and lengths just right. But in the end, I actually love the look of these. So simple. So full. So luminous. Just like the harvest moon.

Let's see what you made!

The LinkyTools will be open for the next 7 days and I would love to see what you made inspired by the MOOOONNNNNN! Join in the fun!

We're All Ears :: October Inspiration :: Harvest Moon

What's in a name? that which we call a moon

By any other name would shine as bright.

 (With apologies to William Shakespeare)

I love the sky in October. It is my favorite time of year. There is a crispness in the air that I swear makes colors brighter against the blue expanse of sky. The sunsets are richer, and seem to catch fire to the trees that respond in kind with sunset robes of their own. 

Photo by Ganapathy Kumar on Unsplash

Did you know that there are names for all the moons throughout the year? There's the Wolf Moon, Crow Moon, Flower Moon, Fruit Moon and the Frosty Moon. But the moon that I always remember is the one that rose last night, October 5, 2017...the Harvest Moon.

"Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we call the closest full moon to the autumn equinox the Harvest Moon. In 2017, the September equinox came on September 22. And the September full moon came early in the month, on the night of September 5-6 for the Americas. Thus, for the the Northern Hemisphere, the full moon of October 5 – the closest full moon to our autumn equinox – is our Harvest Moon." 
from EarthSky.org

Photo by Tony Detroit on Unsplash

The Harvest moon is pretty special. It was named such because farmers could use the bright illumination of the full moon to bring in their burgeoning crops into the night. The full moons closest to the autumnal equinox rise sooner after sunset than at other times, just 35 minutes versus 50 minutes. That early moonrise gives the appearance that it is hanging low in the sky, so close that it looks as though you could reach out and pluck it from the sky. This is called the Moon Illusion. The orange color is just a trick of your eyes. The atmosphere at the horizon is a greater thickness than higher overhead. The increased thickness of the atmosphere at the horizon scatters blue light in the spectrum the most allowing red light to pass to your eyes which is why the hue will appear more yellow, orange or reddish.

So go out and take a peek a the Harvest Moon tonight or this weekend and get inspired. If you miss it, you can set your calendar for the Hunter's Moon, which is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon and will set the sky ablaze on November 3rd and 4th as a supermoon, meaning it will be even closer in orbit to the horizon causing it to appear HUGE!

Are you up to the challenge? What does that mean? I am glad you asked! Here's a recap of the challenge to hopefully encourage you to play along! Won't you join me? Reveal date: Friday, October 20th.

We're All Ears :: September :: Here Comes the Sun{flower}

Sunflowers never fail to cheer.

Today, I stopped at the local farmer's market downtown on the Square and picked up a humongous bouquet of fresh flowers. I was attracted by the bright colors, the gorgeous purple cabbage roses and the mini sunflowers. I had enough flowers to make three smaller bouquets that I shared with office-mates and the financial firm next door (I won the Packer pool last week, so I felt that I should share the love!), and one large one that graced my desk all day. All for $6. It makes me smile to see it.

In making the sunflower earrings for this challenge I wanted to focus on the iconic yellow and black tones of the blooms. That was kind of hard to do since I don't often buy yellow....anything!

I found these little neglected ceramic drops in the dark recesses of my printer's cabinet drawers, white with black polka dots, from Jennifer Heynen of Jangles. She isn't even making beads anymore (she is a brilliant fabric designer and quilter), and she hasn't been to the Bead & Button Show in many years, so these are practically vintage and totally one of a kind! I paired them with some frosted faux sea glass in a sunny honey color, wrapped up in blackened steel.

Next up I pulled out some new charms that I just made as part of my Papilio line, inspired by butterfly wings in macro photography for the challenge over on the Art Bead Scene Studio (come see our new website and you can read about my behind the scenes inspirations!). Yellow is a hard color for me and I don't have a lot of beads in that color, so this was serendipity that I had just made these. I like making a stack or grouping of spacers. Of course, they work well as a bumper between beads, adding texture, but together they pack a punch. Finishing it off with a golden Swarovski gives this just enough bling that ties in with the flecks of glitter in the wing charms.

Finally, I pulled out some enameled drops and mixed up some yellows and oranges, attaching them to an oval ring that recalls the shape of sunflower seeds. Up close the rings remind me of the black sunflower seeds in the center of the head. I like the movement they have even though they are very simple. I think I might have to wear these today for a pop of sunshine as I move about!

Now it is your turn to show off your sunny accessories! Add your links to blog posts or even Facebook or other sharing site below. Looking forward to seeing where this sunny inspiration takes you!

We're All Ears :: January Reveal :: Greenery

Heather Powers of Humblebeads does an annual event called the Muffin Tin Challenge. The idea is to gather supplies to work on some projects and place them in the openings of a muffin tin. This is a great way to kickstart your creativity and get you back to creating in the new year after all the hubbub of the holidays has died down.

I didn't grab a muffin tin...I actually say that my entire studio is like a giant muffin tin....but I did manage to trip over trays of beads, muffin tin style, as I was attempting to clean up. So while I didn't really follow the muffin tin part of the challenge, I did use beads that I had lying around to kick-start my creative new year. Actually, I keep a sort of rotating muffin tin challenge happening all the time...when I get new art beads I comb my stash for the perfect accompaniments and put them in a bin or tray for me to stumble on at some later time, a ready-made creative challenge!

I first decided on a few of the palettes that Pantone selected for the Color of the Year: Greenery. Then I started with art beads and grabbed complementary beads that were on each palette. My only requirement was that a fresh shade of green had to be in each pair of earrings. I didn't quite make a whole tray full of muffins, but I did end up making seven pairs. Yea, me!

Which pairing is your favorite?

Time for you to share what you made! This bright cheery green makes me joyful that Spring is not that far off! Let's make 2017 a year of creative joy!

We're All Ears :: January Inspiration

Happy New Year ear peeps!

The December We're All Ears was our fun annual Use Your Leftovers challenge. I promised a giveaway of some earring components....the random winner is......

Ann Schroeder of Bead Love!

Congratulations! I will contact you and put together a fun package of some earring-making fun just for you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For January I am going to keep true to form for the annual Color of the Year challenge.

Want to see the challenges from the past?   2015     +      2016

So...have you seen what the color of 2017 is? Say hello to.....

According to the Pantone website: 

A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.

Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.

Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront - it is an omnipresent hue around the world.

A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality.

I don't know about you, but I am ready for new beginnings.

What I like most about this color is that it is called 'nature's neutral.' This is the green that is so prevalent in the world (of course, not now, as it is blanketed in white, at least where I live). This seems like a very hope-full color, and I think that we can all use a bit more hope in our lives. It feels fresh and lush and all-encompassing. 

Pantone created a set of 10 different color palettes, all of which feature the color Greenery. They say that this color can be paired with everything from neutrals and pastels, brights and deeper shades as well as metallics. 

Here are my favorites:

These are endlessly fascinating palettes and I can see myself happily creating in these colors for the entirety of 2017

I am off to find some beads to match the palettes!

What colors do YOU like from the 2017 Pantone Spring color forecast?
What will you be wearing - or creating with - in the coming year?

Create your best GREENERY earrings and then come back and share your earrings at our blog hop on Friday, January 13th!

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We're All Ears :: December Inspiration

Welcome to the 2nd Annual Use Your Leftovers challenge! 

After stuffing ourselves for Thanksgiving in the United States, as well as getting prepped for holiday open houses, craft sales, gallery openings and the sort, it is likely that you might have a leftover problem. 

Beading leftovers are no stranger to me. My studio looks like you pulled open one of those giant crackers and out popped all manner of beads, findings, leather, cord, clay, wire, metal and the like. When a bead rolls off my table (which they frequently do), I rarely bother to find out where it went. I just keep right on going. There is always another right there waiting.

If you are like me, then you have multiple projects happening at all times (and in my case, in various rooms of my house, much to the chagrin of my darling husband). When complete, the resulting project gets buried by the next one...literally. I imagine my studio is like an archaeological dig...strata of projects past are discovered as you dig deeper into the ever-growing pile. Every so often I feel the need to sort through it and {attempt} to put it away. But more likely than not, I am overstuffed from my marathon creating and I just push back from the beading table, vowing to tidy it up tomorrow.

There is only one thing to do with a bead feast craftermath like that: USE YOUR LEFTOVERS.

So in the spirit of the holidays, I challenge you to play the  

Leftover Transformation Game 

with me. Are you ready to play?

Make your own Keep Calm poster at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast. I know it won't be pretty! I expect that it will be littered with beady crumbs of all sorts. But think of those bits as delicious morsels waiting for your inspiration to strike!

Here is the picture of my craftermath from 2015 (oh, it's real people! And it hasn't really changed much in the last 12 months!):

The working corner of my studio room...if you can get to the table from all the boxes and bins behind it barricading it in!

Next, find a divided box, bin, baggies or small bowls and go through the stash on your festive table picking out coordinated sets that you can use to create earrings. They don't need to be same... this is a good time to practice asymmetrical earrings! Put these pieces together with ear wires, chain, findings, etc in each division of the box. I have found that a mini-muffin tin is a great way to corral these bits! Work quickly! Don't take too much time, just focus on filling the sections.Think of this like your staging area for Leftover Transformation.

Here is my tray from 2015...

Now, kick your creating into high gear! Consider this a Quickfire challenge...Put on some fun music...Set a timer (challenge yourself to see how many pairs of earrings you can create in an hour...or 15 minutes... or make one pair a day for 7 days... whatever works for you!). DON'T THINK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH (leftovers are supposed to be easy!), just make it happen. Sometimes the best things happen when you are on a deadline and you can't afford the time to overthink! 

Finally, share your bounty of tasty Leftover Transformation creations on Friday, December 16th with the blog party right here. I would be surprised if you didn't make multiple pairs of earrings from this exercise. The bonus is that you will now have a ready-made collection of quick gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers, co-workers and friends just in time for celebrating all the winter holidays and festivities! (Or a different pair for you to wear each day until the new year!)

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of a surprise earring design grab bag of beads and components, valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you must participate in the blog hop starting on December 16th! Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 23rd (that will give you one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!).

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too!

 

We're All Ears :: November Reveal

The description of the taste of this vintage 1800s candy recipe called Nectar sounds so intriguing... "It's very hard to describe. Sometimes it tastes a bit like pound cake. Sometimes it tastes like almonds. Sometimes other flavors. And it seems to change when you suck on it. It's a delicious flavor and one that translates well in the 21st century."

The beautiful amber color of the candies was a perfect choice for November. Topaz is the birthstone for the month and there are plenty of beads and stones that give that same effect.
I used citrine, agate and even millefiori glass beads for my drops.

I love the look of that old hand crank machine that they used to make these candies. I find it so inspiring that something so old can be brought back to such a sweet new life! It has a very steampunk Victorian quality to it and it is fascinating to watch. To bring in the element of the antique candy press I used steel washers, twisted links and even beaded links (I wish I could say who the artist is who made them!).

For my contribution, I made four different pairs of earrings inspired by the candy making video and the fact that the candy changes flavors as you suck on it.

 

So what sweet treats have you cooked up for us this month? I can't wait to see what you did!

[Note: The InLinkz tool is something I love using but they increased their price substantially. So I am trying out a new link-up service. Please be patient as I work through this!] 

We're All Ears :: September Inspiration

I live in a mid-sized town of about 25,000. The tallest building we have might reach up to 4-5 stories. There are no sky scrapers to be found in our area.

[Photo credit  :: New York City :: Anthony Delanoix :: Unsplash]

So when I see sweeping vistas of glittering glass dissected with strong steel beams reaching up to the sky, it feels like I am looking at a sci fi movie or a distant alien planet.

[Photo credit :: Lee Aik Soon :: Singapore :: Unsplash]

I am sure that some of you out there might live in big cities, or at least visit them once in awhile, so it isn't such a big deal, but to me these views are breathtaking.

[Photo credit :: Nirzar Pangarkar :: New York :: Unsplash]

I love the geometry...

[Photo credit :: Peter Nguyen :: Singapore :: Unsplash]

and the repetition.

[Photo credit :: Erol Ahmed :: Chicago :: Unsplash]

I love the simple clean lines and the jumbled boxes-on-top-of-boxes shapes.

[Photo credit :: Vladimir Kudinov :: New York :: Unsplash]

I love the fact that there is always one building that totally stands out and dominates the skyline, making an unique skyline that is instantly recognizable as a particular place.

[Photo credit :: Sebastien Gabriel :: San Francisco :: Unsplash]

I love the fact that even if it seems cold and unyielding there really is a wealth of colors all around.

[Photo credit :: Brandon Moore :: Chicago :: Unsplash]

I love the juxtaposition with the hard lines of the buildings paired with the softer aspects of the natural world always trying to intrude.

[Photo credit :: Drew Coffman :: Tampa :: Unsplash]

I adore the reflective quality of the materials.

[Photo credit :: Joshua K Jackson :: Unsplash]

I love the intersecting lines and the dizzying perspective.

[Photo credit :: Matthew Wiebe :: Unsplash]

I find them particularly fascinating at night....

[Photo credit :: Daniel Chen :: Unsplash]

especially when you can see lights dotting the surface hinting at what might be going on inside.

[Photo credit :: Vladimir Kudinov :: New York :: Unsplash]

I truly couldn't pick just one image to be our inspiration, so this is just a small smattering of images I pulled from Unsplash....(trust me... I have double this that I wanted to use!) 

[Photo credit :: Joey Kyber :: Atlanta :: Unsplash]

I wonder which one of these spectacular images will capture your imagination?

Pick an image that speaks to you,

make some earrings

and be sure to join me right here on

Friday, September 16th for the reveal!

Please pass the word

and get a friend to join you in the fun!