So...Bedazzled (one of the coolest bead stores in the DMV) is having an African bead trunk show next weekend. Previous forays into their stores have either left me flat broke or irritated that I could not justify paying that much for beads, no matter how authentic or special. I’ve always looked for culturally-inspired beads, and anything round, little, bright, shiny, colorful, and from the Motherland is always gonna get my attention. You know me…I love the sparklies…
A few weeks ago I was looking through my blog reading list and came across the name of Marie Segal. She’s a California polymer clay artist who writes a blog called Art from My Heart. And she’s currently blogging an ongoing tutorial on making African trade bead canes…
Ding, ding, ding!!!
Last Saturday afternoon I broke out some basic color Premo, and this is what I came up with…
Not too shabby, huh?
And I still have a big honkin’ piece of this cane to reduce down later if I choose to. Marie’s instructions are SO easy to follow…while reading her tutes I was smackin’ myself in the forehead, thinking “now why couldn’t I have figured this out earlier in my clay-playing days?” Turns out, sometimes you only need a lil’ nudge to get you going in the right direction. I swear I saw my muse hanging around my studio door again, one foot in and one foot out...peeking ‘round the corner to see what I’ve been up to. Gotta lasso her and drag her back in here so we can get to craftin’ again!
I’m looking forward to creating a few more canes using her instructions. Thank You, Ms. Marie, for being oh-so-generous with your instruction and expertise!
On other topics…my sister came down from CT for a family wedding earlier this month. One of the first things she said to me as she hit the front door to the house was “I was told I had to look at your stash of stuff to see if you’ve made anything new”… the only thing that left the house (that I know of, anyway) was an emergency Swarovski crystal bracelet in some gorgeous jewel colors that went well with her outfit. I showed her some of the new beads I had made, inspired by a clay artist named Leonie Simpson. I love the organic look of the set on this page…and how deceptively easy they were to create. The set I made feels so good at the hollow of my neck! Here’s a peek at what I did…
That’s gonna be it for now – when I come up with something cute from the African trade bead canes I’ll be sure to share them with you!
Ciao, bebe!
A few weeks ago I was looking through my blog reading list and came across the name of Marie Segal. She’s a California polymer clay artist who writes a blog called Art from My Heart. And she’s currently blogging an ongoing tutorial on making African trade bead canes…
Ding, ding, ding!!!
Last Saturday afternoon I broke out some basic color Premo, and this is what I came up with…
Not too shabby, huh?
And I still have a big honkin’ piece of this cane to reduce down later if I choose to. Marie’s instructions are SO easy to follow…while reading her tutes I was smackin’ myself in the forehead, thinking “now why couldn’t I have figured this out earlier in my clay-playing days?” Turns out, sometimes you only need a lil’ nudge to get you going in the right direction. I swear I saw my muse hanging around my studio door again, one foot in and one foot out...peeking ‘round the corner to see what I’ve been up to. Gotta lasso her and drag her back in here so we can get to craftin’ again!
I’m looking forward to creating a few more canes using her instructions. Thank You, Ms. Marie, for being oh-so-generous with your instruction and expertise!
On other topics…my sister came down from CT for a family wedding earlier this month. One of the first things she said to me as she hit the front door to the house was “I was told I had to look at your stash of stuff to see if you’ve made anything new”… the only thing that left the house (that I know of, anyway) was an emergency Swarovski crystal bracelet in some gorgeous jewel colors that went well with her outfit. I showed her some of the new beads I had made, inspired by a clay artist named Leonie Simpson. I love the organic look of the set on this page…and how deceptively easy they were to create. The set I made feels so good at the hollow of my neck! Here’s a peek at what I did…
That’s gonna be it for now – when I come up with something cute from the African trade bead canes I’ll be sure to share them with you!
Ciao, bebe!
1 comment:
Wow Cheryl, that bead is fantasic.
Well done you!
I am so proud. Thank you for the links and the wonderful comments!
I am smiling big today.
Blessings all over you!
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