Learned a lot with this page. Used backstitch exclusively and it was harder than I thought it'd be. I have a few spots were the thread shows and others where I tried to cram an extra bead in to cover up the threads... I still have to finish off the edges (but I also have to do that with the June page.) If the sun ever comes out again, I'll take a better picture with better focus.
I did enjoy the meditative-like state that came with the stitching. July's page was an impression of a sunset I saw from the car after a long drive home on the 25th of July. Couldn't find the perfect beads for the sun (didn't search too hard - one bead store was my limit). The sun was a pinkish, reddish, orangey orb sitting in a lavender sky.
I've been working on the jewelry that was consigned - finished today. I made her a spiral just like the one that the mask bead is on and the other piece (pictured above - I'll try to take a better photo soon...) is a right angle weave (not yet my favorite stitch, still getting into my comfort zone) square piece using crystal bicones. As soon as I think I'm over crystals, I find another application to try.
Bought some really cool beads for my mother's birthday gift - size twos that are designed (or so I'm told) to look like dichroic glass. They have enamel lining clear glass. The color shifts as the light moves. I also have a bunch of funky lampworked drop beads that are not even at all and I'm not quite sure how they'll hang, but are blue and green. Thinking I'm going to do something on gray silk strands with some sort of knotting.
Have the idea for August - now just need to get a couple of supplies and find some time to work on it. The nexus of the idea has been with me for a really long time, but I needed to come up with a creative solution - the original plan wasn't going to work so well and would probably be very difficult to do as well as I'd like to. So. On to plan B.
The picture of the barn is in western Wisconsin - not far from the Mississippi and very close to The Big Woods (for those of you familiar with the Little House books) and not far from Lake Pepin. Southwestern Wisconsin, especially the portion along the Mississippi, is beautiful and is the only unglaciated portion of the state, or so I'm told by my sister the geologist.
Creative Quote for the day: Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. - Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)
This quote was so good that I had to do two for today: I don't believe in total freedom for the artist. Left on his own, free to do anything he likes, the artist ends up doing nothing at all. If there's one thing that's dangerous for an artist, it's precisely this question of total freedom, waiting for inspiration and all the rest of it. - Federico Fellini (1920 - 1993)
(From the quotations I read tonight, I guess most people seem to agree that inspiration alone is not enough. Darn. But then I knew that. Magic doesn't happen and you have a piece you adore - it takes practice and work. And time to do it.)
I need to learn more about posting and html. I don't like the way that the wording wraps (or doesn't) around the photographs.
4 comments:
Any -- backstitch as an overall technique is an amazing process, isn't it? I recently completed a very involved project that was entirely done with backstitch and learned a lot from it.
I like your page very much!
Kathy V in NM
Your page is so uniform, the stitching is done very nicely. I sometimes still have a problem of bunching the rows....arg.
Nice one, your rows look nice & even to me - a tip for photographing beaded stuff - DON'T put your beaded piece in the sun, take pics in complete shade on a sunny day, so you have good light but no glare HTH
Thanks for the feedback, everybody! It is appreciated.
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