If you’re in New Orleans, be sure to check out a new exhibit of jewelry by legendary beader Joyce Scott, some of it in collaboration with jewelers Shana Kroiz and Lauren Schott. The show is at Thomas Mann‘s Gallery I/O.
Since my focus at Lark is on beading books, you know that while I cruised the SOFA expo floor, I had my eye peeled for any type of work made with beads. Before sharing photos with you, I want to mention names of artists whose work I saw and photographed on my first night there. Aaarg! Due to technical difficulties with the camera (give me a hammer—I’ll fix it once and for all!) I lost those images, but you can check out these links:
Iris Eichenberg–the head of Metalsmithing at Cranbrook has used beads in some of her work. To see these pieces, once you’re on her website, check out the series called Pink Years Later.
Iris Tsante–Beads? Not beads? Let the arguing begin! (Do weigh in by leaving a comment.)
Isabell Schaupp—a jeweler who uses beads in a yummy, caviar-like way.
John Garrett–a basket maker who uses beads with some frequency, as shown in this link.
Marcus Amerman–I just saw one beaded vest, but his website features other types of really interesting work.
Okay, now on to the photos.
In conjunction with SOFA Chicago, there were galleries showing outsider art. Hill Gallery was showing a collection of 33 whimsical beaded objects made by Native Americans---Ojibwa, Iriquois and others---for the tourist trade, circa 1900 to 1935.
Betsy Youngquist standing in front of her work. Check back soon for an interview with her!
You may have seen my previous posting of photos from SOFA Chicago. Well, I have oodles more to share with you. Posting these reminds me that ohmygosh, I saw so much incredible art work and heard some great lectures and met really amazing people! Thanks, Lark, for sending me to this fantastic expo!
Jewelry by Alex & Lee. I'll tell you more about this bee-yoo-tiful work in a blog post to come.
Whimsical bead-encrusted sculpture by Cherry Goldblatt
This is my first time attending SOFA, and I am LOVING it! It’s great getting to see all this amazing work in person, instead of in the pages of a book or magazine…and on top of that, so many of the artists are here, in the booths or giving lectures, so I get to meet them. What an honor. Here’s just a few of the people I saw today–artists, gallery owners and attendees–as well as some of the work:
Independent curator Gail Brown, wearing a brooch by Joyce Scott
Gallery owner Charon Kransen (on the left), the juror of 500 Bracelets
Artist Karina Guevin (on the right), wearing one of her lovely glass necklaces
furniture by Sam Maloof
Gallery owner Sienna Patti talking to jeweler Bruce Metcalf, right after his lecture. Bruce was the juror for Showcase 500 Rings.
Jeweler Biba Schutz (on the right) talking with a client
Every Friday, I post a set of free jewelry instructions.*
Ring by Karen Rakoski, from the book 30-Minute Rings
You won’t believe what unusual and unexpected substance designer Karen Rakoski used to make this ring, which appears in the book 30-Minute Rings. Could it be…porcelain? Nope. Butter? Nuh-unh. Bone? Not that, either.
Click here to get a free PDF of the project instructions for making this ring, as well as to find out the mystery material.
PS: Folks, please take good care of your health! Be sure to wear a dust mask while carving and sanding this ring—or better yet, a respirator. (Thanks to Jeri Warhaftig for bringing this to my attention!)
* …except when I’m too busy to do so because I’m spying on my authors (see the comments section of this blog post about the experience of writing a manuscript, written by soon-to-be-published Jill Wiseman).
Every Friday, I post a set of free instructions.
Rachel Nelson-Smith isn’t just a creative mastermind—she’s also a crooner. Her new book, Rachel Nelson-Smith’s Bead Riffs offers up 23 beaded jewelry projects influenced by the musical stylings of her favorite jazz bands, tunes and singers.
Today’s featured necklace is a cover girl. Rachel named this project Billie’s Bounce because the rings bob and wiggle, reminding her of the melody in Charlie Parker’s song by the same name. I just love the way Rachel used red thread to stitch together the black beads of the strand connecting the beaded rings together, creating the illusion that they’re navy colored.
Click here to get the free PDF of the instructions for this fun project.
A few months back, I went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art to see an exhibit called Material World. It features extravagantly embellished garments from around the globe that show how clothing is used to convey power, status and wealth. Fascinating stuff, and beautifully curated.
I discovered something in this show that I had somehow never heard of or seen before–beaded aprons! At one time in parts of Africa, these would have been worn either with nothing else as a modesty apron, or over a garment. In either case, the aprons can denote age, marital status, social status, etc. These aprons were originally made of iron strips, but that changed after the introduction of glass beads.
Of course I didn’t have a camera with me at the museum (my photos tend to be lousy anyway), but I’ve been lucky enough to find two websites featuring photos of beaded aprons, the gracious owners of which told me I could share the pictures with you, dear reader. I thank Elizabeth Bennett of Africadirect.com and Ann Porteus from sidewalktribal.com.au. (By the way, both websites sell these aprons, and Ann also has a killer collection of photos of artifacts on her flickr account.)
Apron from the Kirdi people of Cameroon. Courtesy of Africadirect.com
Every Friday, I post a set of free instructions.
If you’ve got nothing to do over the Labor Day weekend, I’ve got just the ticket: these lovely and easy-to-make wire bracelets designed by Kathy Frey. They’re called Haywire Bangles.
These are from Kathy’s book Elegant Wire Jewelry. Click here to get your free PDF of the instructions.
And have a great holiday weekend!
