Getting it Together, Bit by Bit

Two years. Two years since my last confession, I mean blog post! Where was I two years ago and where have I been since then? Let's see, two years ago I just started a new job in Bethesda after working with a company in Washington, DC for 13 year. There's about XX lbs difference between then and now mostly due to ups and downs in the pendulum swing of weight and slowing metabolism. Two trips to the ER, 4 more hospital stays, white belt to black belt, new pair of glasses, new car, driving lessons, stress of college admissions process which I chose in the end to ignore and "go with the flow," stress of continually solving problems at work and keeping a high bar in standards mainly due to my own performance. Long hair to short hair. Reluctant wardrobe upgrade. Getting used to high heels again. Not reluctant about that.

And finally, working to get out of the sabbatical mode as far as creating beaded jewelry is concerned. My "coming out" has been a long drawn out process, longer than I cared for it to take. I would like to think I'm getting better in terms of productivity. I've managed to find the time to create more pieces this past year so that should be a good sign!

Case in point, a friend of mine celebrated her son's barmitzvah this month. A couple of months ago, she asked me to custom make her jewelry to go with the dress she would wear for the special event. I ended up creating 3 different bracelets for her so she could choose which one she liked the most. Her dress was silver and bronze so the bracelets I made for her reflected the colors of her dress with some accents to it. Here's a shot of the 2 bracelets.

I didn't get a chance to shoot a picture of the bracelet my friend chose to wear for her son's barmitzvah, but she promised to lend it to me so I can take a photo for my library. Here's a work in progress photo I shot and shared on FB, in case you're interested.

Locked Into Pattern Mode

My style has always been freeform. I was always the type who never stuck to patterns, who never followed instructions to the letter, always improvising to my own specifications. When I started beading, I worked on designs from my head, never drawing designs like other artists, just picked up my tools and worked away and improvised my work as I progressed. I guess it was basically because I was too impatient. I just wanted a finished piece in my hand! Here's a sample of what a freeform bracelet would look like.Well, it seems I've developed some patience. And stepped outside of my comfort zone. Now I'm working on patterns and even worst (?) I lay out my designs first! I would either drawn or design first on a beading software program before I'd pick up bead, needle and thread. It began with the triangle patterns I developed into pendants and blogged about a few months ago. Now I'm finally executing the different patterns I designed for bracelets. Here I gotta say my inspirations came from my beadweaving peeps SandFibers and Time2Cre8, two gracious and highly talented designers.

The black and white bracelet in the photo below is a zebra inspired pattern. I rarely do anything that is animal print inspired - but like I said, I've stepped outside of my comfort zone. The bracelet next to it is a set of swirls. Yes, just swirls. Something that's a bit mezmerizing to look at don't you think? And finally, the bracelet of vibrant blues, purples and greens reminds me of waves or chevrons but in an irregular pattern (hint of freeform there, don't you think?).