Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Ode to Czech seed beads

Thought I'd treat you with another creation of mine (modest? moi?) ;)

Seriously though, this is one of my favorite pieces, made almost entirely of Jablonex seed beads. On Facett, we had several hours to complete a piece that was made only with seed beads and beads of max. 3mm in size. No books, no internet, just beads we've got with us or that could be found in shops on the show (selection of just seed beads was quite restricted).

BUT, there was one shop that I loved. Here is the link: Beaded Jewelry. The owner had an amazing selection of 13/0 and 15/0 true cuts, as well as Jablonex 11/0, and I just went for it.

I wanted to make a carnation, and it was challenging to make it look different from the gorgeous hibiscus flowers of Kerrie Slade - an artist whom I respect a lot.
That flower is made with 11/0 garnet and some Matsuno 15/0 ruby red AB. It is the largest in this bouquet, masuring 1 inch (2.5 cm).


The crocus on the left is made of the charlottes 15/0 (so beautiful in real life!). The stamens are made of 15/0 charlottes, plated with 24K gold, and their heads are made of 1.5-2 mm Swarovski crystals.

The entire composition is 7 cm long (a bit over 2.5 inches).

First prize in "Small bead jewelry" competition. I won a big pack of marvelous Czech beads!

9 comments:

AuntieAnnie said...

Very lovely and wearable

roseworksjewelry said...

Wow - that is a fun story to go with a beautiful piece!

Marina Levy said...

Beautiful piece!
I love Czech seed beads!

Marsha Wiest-Hines said...

Delightful. Delicate and lovely and a HUGE congratulations. No need for modesty, it's a delight to have an opportunity to see and read about your lovely work.

messini design said...

Så vackert! :)

messini design said...

Så vackert! :)

Chiara said...

Hi, I found your blog by chance, and I'm very happy, I love this interpretation of the work by Kerrie Slade, I love seedies!!!
I became a subscriber, your work is so stunning, you saw me also on FB!!!
Chiara

Foxan said...

Nice to meet you, Chiara! :)
See you around!

St Louis Jewelry Stores said...

Delightful. Delicate and lovely piece of jewelry. I love this interpretation of the work.