More Buttons

 

This piece contains a bonanza of buttons.  90+ buttons, actually.  I guess I don't suffer from koumpounophobia, which is a fear of buttons.  According to Wikipedia, a famous sufferer of koumpounophobia was Steve Jobs.

A few years ago I would not had the nerve to use so many buttons in a single piece.  I would have felt it was a waste of precious buttons.  But, I have given myself permission to use things I've hoarded.  While collecting is fun, using the stash is even better! 

 

I re-purposed an old clock for the frame, which made me realize (yet again) that I don't like to put my work behind glass.  I probably will end up removing the glass, but I'll live with it a while to see if it grows on me.

I think I'm done with buttons (for now).  I am grateful they brought me back into a productive artistic space.  Fall and winter are wonderful seasons to be creative.

Buttons

I found a bag of mother of pearl buttons at a thrift store recently.  I hit the creative jackpot.  I love buttons.  Best $4 I've spent in a long time.  When I started sifting through them at home, this mandala insisted on being born.  I thought about covering all the holes, but I've decided I like leaving many of them open.  No need for disguises.  It's okay for a button to be a button. 

But, now I feel like the center button needs a little something . . . 

Maybe a second button layered on the top?  I came up with a couple of choices:

"A"

"B"

Which one is better, A or B?

I have one more button piece in progress.  It has 92 buttons!

UFO Hop #2

I ran across this small piece of spiral rope in one of my bead boxes.  Poor little thing never even made it into the UFO box.  I think I considered it more of a "sample" than a UFO.  It dates back to June 2014 and the blog hop A Time To Stitch (ATTS) 5 hosted by Christine and Therese.  I liked it, I did.  But, a mere three inches in and I experienced rope burnout. 

Not wanting to take it apart I decided to turn it into a hair barrette, my latest beading obsession.  I don't make much jewelry, so when I feel an urge to adorn myself with beads I might as well use hair barrettes.  My standard hairdo is, after all, a ponytail. 

I might as well go ahead and show a few of the other barrettes I've made in the last couple of weeks. Some of them are simple, and others get a little wild.

This next one is my favorite.  I dug into my stash of 10+ year old Delicas (lined dark blue cut, no idea if they even make this color anymore).  These beads shimmer like water at sunset -- blue, silver and pink.

I feel a little guilty I didn't do more on the UFO front.  But I guess sometimes we just have to go with the flow.

I'm looking forward to seeing how everyone else made out.  Here is the blog list:

Karen Williams, Baublicious

Francie Broadie,  FAB

Christine Van Dyke Altmiller, One Kiss Creations

Therese, Therese's Treasures

Kim Dworak, CianciBlue

Liz Hart, Treetop Life

Liz En, Bead Contagion

Amy Severino, Amy Beads

Cynthia Machata, Antiquity Travelers

Hope Smitherman, Crafty Hope

Christi Carter, Sweetpea Path

Bobbie Rafferty, Beadsong Jewelry

Margo Lynn Hablutzel, My World and It's Full of Books

SB Art Association

I find I get more enthusiastic about making pieces when I have something to work towards.  It could be a blog hop, a gift, or an art show - it doesn't matter, I just need a purpose.  Therefore, I decided to submit three pieces for the Santa Barbara Art Association's (SBAA) most recent jurying for membership.

The main reason I like the SBAA is because they display their shows in a large public space in the same building as the public library.  I am a tremendous fan of public libraries, and also for making art accessible to everyone.  A lot of people who might not otherwise have the time or interest to go to art museums/galleries have easy access to the SBAA shows. 

The process required three pieces.  One of them I already showed pictures of on this blog, but for purposes of a complete story I will show it again.

 

Largest piece.  Outside frame dimension 15.25 x 13.5 inches.

This one was previously posted.  Outside frame dimension 12.75 x 9.5 inches.

Runt of the litter size wise.  Outside frame dimension 8.5 x 6.5 inches

These are all bead weaving combined with bead embroidery. 

So what happened?

When I went to pick my work up I received a blue card.  That's the reject card.  I was told I could get feedback from the judges (anonymously of course).  This is what they said:

• The first judge said no because they thought what I did was craft and not art. 
• The second judge said no because they didn't like the presentation of my work.  They didn't like the frames.
• The third judge was a yes. 

The rules are if two judges vote yes you are accepted.  The next open juring is in September.  I'm not going to decide yet if I'll try again .  Maybe I will, maybe I won't. 

Bead Soup Strikes Again!

Welcome to Lori Anderson's amazing and very popular Bead Soup Blog Party.  For bead lovers, it's the party of the year.

My partner was the lovely and very talented Hannah Rosner, from Good River Gallery.  When I looked at her work I was simply blown away.  She has been beadweaving since 1986 and lampworking since 1992.  She began teaching both lampworking and beadweaving in 2000.  She has participated in Battle of the Beadsmiths, the Toho Bead Challenge, and so much more.  Was I intimidated?  Well, maybe just a little.  But, I had a bead I absolutely loved that needed to go into expert hands.  With Hannah I hit the jackpot!

I sent a few little things, but the main event was a bead based on a painting by Alphonse Mucha. 

I bought this bead at my local bead store, and for all the great love I felt for the bead, I never knew what to do with it.  I was told it was Japanese, hand painted on ceramic.  It is one of a kind, signed by the artist.  I can't wait to see what Hannah did with it.

So, now on to my journey.  Hannah sent many beauties that I am not finished playing with.  Ahhhhh the joy! 

The first thing that caught my eye was the gray and black banded agate, which I combined with a piece of driftwood and a wooden hoop to make into a wall hanging. The agate is quite translucent and the light shines through it just beautifully.

There was no question that I would also use the second agate slice, the red one.  I loved the color, so warm and deep.

I ended up making a heart patterned after Amor by Anne Hesse.  Even though I'm not particularly fond of hearts, I like this piece.

I still have the fossil to play with.  Who knows what it will become.  Thanks Hannah for being a great partner.  Once I'm done at Hanna's blog, I'm going to go head over to Barbara Fernald's  blog.  Barbara was Hannah's second partner and makes some very amazing stuff.  I particularly like her use of tumbled beach rocks.

A giant thank you to Lori Anderson for once again making this happen.  Nothing better then spending my Saturday morning with a few cups of coffee and 160 bead blogs.