Taking A Moment

This is a little tribute to my friend and glass artist, Amanda Craigmyle, whose beads were the first I fell in love with and fueled my passion for designing jewelry from the very start. Amanda just recently passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She's been on my mind constantly and as I was flipping through photos of our collaborations over the past 12 years I thought I'd share some.

A special bond is formed when one artist passes their work to another, this is common to jewelry designers which is unlike most art.

       

Rest in peace, my sweet friend ~ your art and spirit live on...

Loralee xo

loraleekolton.etsy.com

Collaboration

 

When you collaborate with another artist it raises the bar for both of you. Back in August I was approached by Cynthia Tinapple, editor of the Polymer Clay Daily blog, who asked me if I would be willing to work her beads into some jewelry. Cynthia explained that she was taking a trip to Nepal to a remote village and bringing her love of polymer clay to the women in that village to teach them how to translate their unique and splendid culture into beads and baubles that they could sell. She doesn't consider herself a jewelry designer and was seeking a lush design to showcase her beads to the Nepali women. I am so glad that she found me!

When I saw the Pinterest board that Miss Cynthia was creating with all of the global influences for her beads, I jumped at the chance to work with her beads. She sent me a treasure trove of beads to work with that look as if they are Nepalese textiles come to life. Each is painstakingly crafted from multiple canes and embedded with teensy-tiny little mirrors and no-hole beads placed just so with a tweezers. One of Cynthia's inspirations was a Moroccan lantern shape. I loved the shape and set out to create a pair of earrings out of steel wire, aluminum leaf dangles, brass bells and tiny garnets in a frame around these spectacular art beads. I call these long lovelies 'Laila' and I am delighted that right now they are on a journey halfway around the world to inspire women that I will never meet to believe in the power of their amazing cultural gifts.

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her new line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.