The Lone Beader

Newspaper Clouds

2009-07-09T11:45:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I happened to be at a bookstore where I found a title called 30-minute ART: Acrylics by Soraya French. It was written for aspiring artists, hobbyists, and art lovers. It demonstrates how to create beautiful acrylic paintings in 30-minutes or less. The author's paintings are vibrant and they demonstrate a wide variety of techniques while maintaining the same style of work. This inspired me to work on my painting a bit more, although I will say I worked on it for more than 30-minutes! :o

One thing I am learning about my own painting style is that I enjoy the watercolour technique. I like to mix paint with quite a bit of water and do a series of washes over the canvas in several different colours until I achieve the desired look. Last night, I began with a bright green and painted most of the canvas like this.

Also mentioned in Soraya's book is how to create texture by adding simple collage. I have been incorporating collage in my work for awhile now. For my beaded White House painting, I cut out several newspaper clouds from a Boston Globe and added them to the canvas using an acrylic matte medium. Once the clouds were dry, I painted colour over them.

The newspaper clouds are cut out of several different articles. So far, topics range from the United States' relations with Cuba to terrorism to the current economic situation. And, to add to the storm, the last cloud on the far right of the canvas mentions that "the prospect of no-newspaper towns is looming". While Americans look at the White House differently these days, we cannot ignore the issues that seem to have brought on so many months of gray skies.

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".
Bead embroidery mounted on an oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

My bead-painting is still a work in progress, but my vision is finally starting to come to life, and when it is complete, it will truly be a mixed media work of art. :D

Painted Oval Canvas

2009-07-07T08:15:00.003-04:00

Here's the current progress of my beaded relief painting. I am still beading the trees which surround my beaded White House, but I have also painted the entire canvas using acrylics. This is the stage at which I get very nervous because I don't consider myself a painter. I just work on it a little each day as I try to depict what my mind's eye wants to see. I am hoping that while my beaded trees continue to grow, my painted environment does too... :o

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36". Bead embroidery mounted on an oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

Beaded Jack Russell Terrier - SOLD!

2009-07-05T12:00:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend! Yesterday, I went to Castle Island and had a lobster roll from Sully's! It was perfect weather, too. You can see pics on my Flickr photostream if you're interested!

Jack Russell Terrier Pin/Pendant.
Available at The Lone Beader's Gallery Shop. Click for more pics.

Just a quick post today to let you know that last night, I listed my latest Jack Russell Terrier in my Etsy shop, and as I was writing this post today, it sold! Guess I can't make these little Rudys fast enough! I guess I will always have one listed as Made to Order, now that I have made a few different ones. I really like this beaded dog. It is made with Japanese size 15 seed beads! The beadwork is unfinished so that customers can choose whether they would like a pin/pendant, hair barrette, or sew-on applique! I have created a 'Your Choice' section in my shop for unfinished items such as this. I think the more options, the better! :)

Also, before I forget, check out the lovely feature Lisa from 'A Bead A Day' wrote about me! I am honoured to be mentioned! That's the word for now. I'm gonna go out and enjoy the sun! :)

27 Greens

2009-07-03T09:30:00.003-04:00

I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that I am still working on my beaded trees! I counted how many different colour seed beads I'm using, and so far it is at least 27, but it might be more than that. I remember using all I had of some colours! Check out my beading work space below:

Semi-beaded trees for White House relief painting.
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

The good news is, I have also begun to paint the 36" oval canvas for my beaded White House, but I want to work on it a bit more before I show you. I also started beading another little dog for my Etsy shop which I hope to list soon. Here's a sneak peek:

Semi-beaded Irish Jack Russell Terrier pin/pendant. 2.25" x 1".

Looks like I have some beading to do this holiday weekend! If I don't get the chance to stop by your blog, I hope you have a Spectacular 4th of July! :)

Mini-Publication

2009-07-01T09:55:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I received a surprise in the mail - a copy of ACEO Magazine! This is a mini-publication for ACEO artists & collectors. The magazine features works by many different artists working in all mediums. For those of you who are new to ACEOs, they are mini works of art the size of a baseball card. They were originally meant for trading amongst artists, but artists began to sell them when art collectors took interest.

A few months ago, Angela asked if she could write a feature about my beaded ACEOs & include them in the magazine. Since I have only made a handful of ACEOs so far, I was honoured! :)

Both The Tigress & Zephyr the Zebra cards in the article are available for sale at The Lone Beader's Gallery Shop on Etsy. And, if you are interested in purchasing your own copy of the magazine, you can order the Summer 2009 issue HERE. I hope it will inspire you to create your own ACEO someday! :)

Beadfolio

2009-06-30T10:05:00.005-04:00

I am learning that being an artist is time-consuming. Creating the art itself does take time (in my case a very long time), but there are also many other things that must be dealt with such as photography, presentation, & marketing - just to name a few!

One thing that has been on my to-do list for awhile finally must get done. I have to create a portfolio of my beadwork for presentation at an upcoming show. The show will be a joint exhibit with another bead artist, and it will take place at Bead + Fiber Gallery in September/October. My portfolio doesn't need to be complete until the end of August but I will be in Italy during the latter part of that month, so I want to get it done now. This is not a requirement, but I feel that a portfolio will encourage interested viewers to learn more about me & my bead paintings.

The last time I was at Utrecht in Boston, I picked up 2 Itoya Art Profolios. One measures 8.5" x 11", and the other is a 5"x 7". These portfolios look professional, and they hold quite a few pages! The large one will be left at the show, and the small one will be a mini version which I can take with me and show elsewhere. I'm going to print out photos of my works, as well as my artist bio/ resume, etc... I will also include statements about pieces that will be in the show, as well as a price list. I think I will also get a photo marker & hand-write the titles of the pieces on the photos for a personal touch. Have any of you ever created a portfolio such as this? Is there anything that I am forgetting?

I started working on this last night, but didn't get very far because my printer is having issues and it is running out of ink. So, today, I'm going to copy my digital files onto a portable USB Flash drive and try to print photos out at a Kodak Picture Maker Kiosk. I am interested to see how they turn out!

Beaded Northern Cardinal Brooch

2009-06-28T11:01:00.004-04:00

Bead embroidery on felt. 3" tall x 1-1/4" wide (7.5 cm x 3.5cm).
Available for sale at The Lone Beader's Gallery Shop.

Yesterday, I made another beaded Northern Cardinal brooch for my Etsy shop! This one is similar to the last one I made, but this one has a pin/pendant finding attached on the back so it can also be worn on a necklace. I used size 15/o & 11/o Japanese & Czech glass beads in 6 different colours. I also layered some hex beads over the wing to make it stand out more. The tips of the feathers are tiny fringes which actually move when you touch them. I also used wire for legs and a natural pine branch. A bird-lover would really make a statement by wearing this pin - it really sparkles! To see close-up photos, please click the image above. What other birds & animals do you think I should make for my shop? Thanks for your suggestions! :)

Beading Back & Forth

2009-06-26T10:15:00.000-04:00

It was hard to concentrate last night with all of these celebrity deaths taking place. It is all very sad, but life goes on and I must keep beading! Above you will see the progress of my beaded West Wing trees. They are really starting to grow!

Now, I am beading back and forth from west to east & back again in hopes to make both sets of trees look different yet similar. It's funny, when I look at my trees up close, I'm not so sure I like them! But, when I put them next to my beaded White House, I think they look great - kind of like a beaded Monet effect! ;)

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".

Bead embroidery mounted on oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

Guess I'll just keep beading and see what happens next! :D

Beaded Bo

2009-06-24T10:45:00.003-04:00

Beaded Portuguese Water Dog. Bead embroidery on felt. 1" x 2".

Last night, I took a break from my beaded trees to make another beaded dog! This is my beaded likeness of Bo, the new First Dog who lives in the White House. He will eventually be part of my beaded White House relief painting. I used tiny Japanese size 15 & Czech size 11 seed beads to create him. Do you think it looks like Bo?

Bo is a Portuguese Water Dog. He was given to President Obama as a gift from Senator Ed Kennedy. I have been watching a lot of news coverage about Bo, and I learned that he likes tomatoes! I think he'll enjoy resting in a beaded veggie garden! :)

Never Enough Green

2009-06-22T01:07:00.000-04:00

Yay! My order of green seed beads arrived! Above you can see some of the colours I got. I ran out of the dark transparent green colour for the beaded trees I'm working on. I also needed to have some brown size 15 seed beads on hand - I use those to make Einstein sheepdog pins for my Etsy shop! :D

Also this weekend, I decided to concentrate on my beaded White House painting. I am working on the West Wing trees. I think I made some progress, but I still have a lot to bead, including a veggie garden & a Portuguese Water Dog!

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".
Bead embroidery mounted on oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

How do you think it looks so far? :o

Felt Birds & Dogs

2009-06-19T02:01:00.002-04:00

Amidst all of my beading, I've also been cutting out felt shapes for future Etsy items. Cutting felt gives me a break from beading & when I finish cutting felt, it motivates me to do more beadwork! Each of these felt shapes took me awhile to make - they each have 3-5 layers of felt! Most of you probably recognize these shapes - a Cardinal, an English Bulldog, a Tufted Titmouse, & Jack Russell Terrier... But what kind of dog is the black one? ;)

Growing Beaded Plants & Trees

2009-06-17T12:05:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I read a news article about Michelle Obama. She harvested some veggies from the new White House garden with Bancroft Elementary School students. These veggies were just planted in April and that made me think of how fast plants actually grow...

I wish my beaded trees grew that fast! The old saying 'Just add water' does not apply! But, even though I can only stitch on beads a few at a time, I know that one day, my trees will be finished. This is what keeps me going.

But, I plan to bead a veggie garden on the South Lawn, too! :o

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".

Bead embroidery mounted on oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

Good thing I ordered more green seed beads from Fire Mountain Gems! :o

Trademarked Beader

2009-06-15T09:10:00.010-04:00

Today, just a news update regarding an upcoming publication, contest, and business report.

First, I was recently contacted by Jan Irving, publisher of Clumbers Magazine. (She found me through Flickr!) Jan is planning to publish a dog art book featuring artists from all over the world in all different mediums. I was invited to submit my beadwork to the project, and she has chosen 2 of my pieces! I don't know the name of the book just yet, but I do know that it is expected to be available for sale in August/September on Amazon.com! Right now, I am working on info I would like to be included in the book, as well as a couple of photo files. If anyone knows how to properly convert 72 dpi image to 300 dpi using Photoshop, please let me know! :o

Next, just for fun, I have entered one of my photos in Timothy Adam's Etsy Worthy Photo Contest #2! Apparently, the winner gets free advertising for their Etsy shop! If you would like to vote, click the screen shot above. Thanks for your participation!! :)

And lastly, The Lone Beader is finally a registered trademark and is now listed in the USPTO trademark electronic search system! Pretty cool & well worth the wait! Is your business name trademarked yet? ;)

Inside the O'Keefe Gallery

2009-06-13T00:28:00.006-04:00

Yesterday morning, I got an email from Freebird. She was kind enough to send me photos of my beadwork at the Focus on Fiber II exhibit! Check it out:

It is really great to see my work at an exhibit that is 3000 miles away! It's not easy to ship my work so far away without worrying about it. I am glad it made it there safely! Also, another interesting thing that Freebird pointed out to me was that the gallery printed my real name on the wall sticker, even after I specifically asked them not to. I prefer to display my work using my artist name. It's not easy trying to be an anonymous bead artist!

Despite that, I will say that my Time Traveler Trilogy looks wicked cool hanging in this gallery space! If you are in the Los Angeles area in the next few weeks, and you like the DeLorean in Back to the Future, do stop by & take a peek! :D

Focus on Fiber II is a national juried exhibition featuring all fiber media, including weaving, basketry, sculpture, felting, papermaking, beading, knitting, crocheting and embroidery. The show's juror is Carol Sauvion, producer of Craft in America documentary series, and founder of Freehand Gallery.

FOCUS ON FIBER II
Studio Channel Islands Art Center.
O'Keefe Gallery.
Camarillo, CA.

The SCIART Center is located on the campus of California State University, Channel Islands, Building #18, Ventura Street, Camarillo, California.

Now - July 3, 2009.

Oval Vision

2009-06-11T12:05:00.001-04:00

When I incorporate improvisational techniques in my beadwork, I usually discover designs that I would like to repeat throughout the piece. As you can see, now there will be several types of beaded trees which make up the foliage around my beaded White House! :D

At first, I was pretty nervous about this whole project, but now I am starting to get excited about it! Especially now, since my 36" oval canvas has arrived!

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

Now, I can really start to envision my painting! :D

Textured Trees

2009-06-09T12:30:00.006-04:00

Back to my beaded White House painting. I am working on the beaded trees or foliage which will cover the the East 'Wing' of the building. I am using a mix of many different green & brown beads. So far, I am using size 15, size 11, size 8, bugle beads, leaves, and triangles. Some are 'old' seed beads that I got from Fire Mountain Gems years ago, but many are new beads I got from Artbeads.com, as well as from my local bead shop. It would be too time-consuming to list all of the colours! You can see them below:

Before I really started working on this part, I needed some inspiration, so I flipped through Robin Atkins' book, Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery. I love how she creates texture in her work by incorporating many different techniques. I thought it would be fun to try this with my trees. I would like the different colours & textures to represent all the different species of trees on the White House grounds.

I don't usually work improvisationally like this - it is really a challenge for me! Mostly because I don't know if I like what I am doing! The last time I worked like this was on the headlight beams for my beaded DeLorean Time Machine. I remember that I was very unsure about the whole thing, but when it was finished, I found it to be impressive. It turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the piece! :o

Semi-beaded trees for beaded White House relief painting. 10" x 6".
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

So, I guess I'll just have to keep beading to see how these trees grow. One bead at a time! :D

Bird's the Word

2009-06-07T20:05:00.007-04:00

Beaded Chickadee pin/pendant. Click for more photos.

Just a quick post to let you know what I've been up to over the weekend. I have been busy working on my Etsy shop! I created a beaded Black-capped Chickadee pin! I have always loved Chickadees because they call me by my knickname (chick-a-dee-dee-dee)! And, every time I walked through the woods up in New Hampshire, these little birds followed me. They kept an eye on me and made me feel safe! But, my little beaded bird is a city bird. He's sitting on a steel wire instead of a tree branch. I used tiny size 15 Japanese seed beads for the entire piece, and I finished it with a pin/pendant finding so it can also be worn on a necklace chain! You can see a sneak peek at how I made it HERE & HERE. Also, check out more photos by clicking the image above.

I also listed that beaded button I was working on awhile back - I called it Earth on the Rocks. And, I added a new item to the SALE section in my shop - my beaded Robin in Winter Snow painting! You can see it in this 'Summer' Treasury:

(Click to view this Summer Treasury on Etsy.)

Also, before I forget, check out my interview on the DZ Fantasy blog! I am thrilled to be featured! *blush* :) Now, I think I'll get back to my beaded White House painting... What did you accomplish over the weekend?

Hidden Beads

2009-06-06T02:01:00.006-04:00

Interestingly, the day that President Obama was on his way to Buchenwald, Germany, I visited my local bead shop where I discovered a mass of vintage German glass beads!

I had gone to Beaucoup Beads looking for small glass leaves to use in my beaded White House painting. I thought I would probably find some Czech glass leaves, but I really didn't see any! So, I mentioned to the shop owner that I was looking for leaves. He said he had some vintage German beads hidden in the back, and came out with two boxes full of beautiful leaves in all different colours! Immediately, I could see that they are different than Czech glass beads, so I picked out the few strands that you can see in the photo above.

I mentioned that I don't think I've ever owned West German beads before, at least not to my knowledge. I really didn't know much about the history of glass bead-making in Germany at all. The conversation then led to the subject of WWII. During the war, many bead factories in Czechoslovakia and West Germany were forced to close down. Any beads that were made during or prior to that time were hidden for many years, and it seems that they are just now re-surfacing. It makes me wonder how many more of these beads are still hidden... :o

East Wing Beads

2009-06-04T11:20:00.001-04:00

To answer everyone's questions about my last post, yes, the new felt pieces in my beaded White House painting are intended to be trees and/or foliage. When I went to Washington D.C. last September, I noticed that there were many trees on the White House grounds. It is a very green place - maybe even greener than Fenway Park! Here is a photo I took of the South Lawn:

I did a little research, and learned that many of the trees are indeed historical! Thomas Jefferson planted many seedlings, and now the oldest surviving tree is a magnolia which was planted by Andrew Jackson in 1830! With that in mind, I don't think it would be right to leave them out of my beaded picture.

Semi-beaded trees for beaded White House relief painting. 10" x 6".

Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

So, yesterday, I started beading! And, now that I've begun, I think I may need to get some more green beads... :o

Beaded White House Wings

2009-06-03T01:29:00.007-04:00

Last night, I cut out some felt shapes.

I thought they kinda looked like wings...

East & West Wings, to be exact! ;)

Semi- beaded White House relief painting. 16" x 6".
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

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It's Not About the Canvas

2009-06-01T11:30:00.007-04:00

Everyone is probably wondering how I am going to finish my beaded White House when it is finally finished. For those of you who are new readers, I usually finish my bead paintings by stitching the beadwork to a painted stretched canvas. Since my White House is quite large (16" wide) and will be even larger when I am finished, I will need a good sized canvas, but not just any canvas. I want a large oval canvas.

For the past month or so, I have been searching online and emailing art supply stores to see if I can get a 36" oval stretched canvas. I even went to Utrecht, a local art supply shop in Boston, to see what they had.

Utrecht has many canvases in all different shapes and sizes, but they only had a 9" x 12" oval canvas available in the store. I asked if they could special order one for me, but largest oval they make is 20". Someone from the store told me that "The bigger sizes are very difficult to manufacture since the frame is cut from particle board on a jig and larger sizes require more cut outs in order to create a braced frame. These frames can be made specially for us, but it is not possible to do special orders on this particular product group (ovals and circles) since they don't use standard frames that we can adjust or cut on a lathe in the canvas factory, and we can't order individual pieces- it is just too expensive..." I appreciate Utrecht's honesty. I also appreciate the 30% off coupon code they gave me to make up for it! Now, I will definitely have to try their acrylic paints! :D

So, after some more internet searching, I finally found Rex Art. They carry 24" x 36" Fredrix Oval Convexo stretched canvases by the box of 4! A box of 4 of these canvases is pricey and they will have to be shipped to me. At first, I was trying not to go this route because I only need one, but I don't think I have any other choice at this point. I know that art is not about canvas and it's not about the beads - it's about ideas, but my idea is to represent the Oval Office, and I feel this can only be done on an oval canvas. Looks like I will have to place an order... What do you think I should do with the other three canvases?? :o

Out and About in Cambridge

2009-05-30T10:15:00.010-04:00

Last night, I went to the Cambridge Art Association's Northeast Prize Show opening reception with my friend Jimmy. It was a very nice event, and there was a great turnout! Jimmy & I checked out some fabulous paintings at both the Kathryn Schultz Gallery & University Place near Harvard Square. We talked with some people, ate tiny egg salad sandwiches, attended the awards, and I had my photo taken by a professional photographer! Also, while we were looking at my beaded Boston trolley, a woman came over and asked "Are you 'The Lone Beader'"??

I smiled and said 'Yes'. :)

The Lone Beader's 2009 Northeast Prize Show photoset

Vintage Crystal Lights

2009-05-29T10:05:00.007-04:00

This week has been a busy week for me, so I haven't had a chance to get much beading done. But, I think I finally finished the details I wanted to add to my beaded White House. These details included beading the little chimneys on the roof, and adding outside lights to make the building look complete.

I used vintage crystals from my personal collection for the lights. These crystals actually came from a couple of old necklaces that were found in my grandmother's jewelry collection after she passed away. I guessed that the necklaces were from the 30's or 40's. The necklaces were mostly intact, but the clasp and threads that strung the beads were corroded and dirty, so I just took them apart. I really don't think they are Swarovski crystals, but they are definitely glass, and they look beautiful to me! So, I stitched them onto the White House at the tops of the columns. I also stitched some to the top of the chimneys! I used a total of 44 crystals!

Then, I cut out a piece of sturdy metal fabric and lined it with felt to cover the sharp edges. I will stitch this metal to the back of my beadwork. Similar to my DeLorean Time Machine design, this piece will support the oval room as it 'pops' out of the canvas.

Then, all I have to do is stitch the two pieces together!

Semi- beaded White House relief painting. 16" x 6".
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

Northeast Bead Show

2009-05-28T00:15:00.006-04:00

You're invited to Cambridge Art Association's 2009 Northeast Prize Show in Cambridge, MA! The Northeast Prize Show is an annual art exhibit which features artists from all New England states working in all media and styles, including beadwork. This year's exhibition was juried by William Stover, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This exhibit runs now thru June 25.

Also, don't miss the opening reception this Friday, May 29! The reception is 6-8pm at both CAA galleries with an awards presentation at University Place at 7pm. Walk down Mount Auburn St. between both galleries to see the whole show!

(Click the screen shot to view more art!)

Please check http://www.cambridgeart.org/ to see which artists are exhibiting at each location. You will find my beaded Boston trolley painting at University Place, just a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop! Hope to see you there! :)

View Larger Map

University Place Gallery.
124 Mount Auburn Street.
Hours: Monday - Friday 9am-6pm, Sat. 9am- 1pm.

Kathryn Schultz Gallery.
25 Lowell Street
Hours: Tuesdays through Saturdays 11am to 5pm.

Ancient Beadwork

2009-05-26T01:50:00.007-04:00

Since yesterday was a holiday, I went to the Museum of Fine Arts for their Open House! Most every Monday holiday means free admission at the MFA, and I try to take advantage of it when I can. I actually went to see the Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice exhibition since I'm planning a trip to Venice, but I also found myself in the 'new' Old Kingdom Egyptian rooms. There, I found the most beautiful bead-netted dress which dated from 2500 B.C.!

Believe it or not, I was actually contacted by someone from the UK about this dress several months ago. I was asked if I knew how to recreate a likeness of the dress, and if I thought I could, it would be worn in a movie production/documentary film. The person who emailed me had a deadline, knew very little about beading, and had no idea how long such a task would take. Of course, if it were bead embroidery, I could do it, but at the time, I had not even seen the dress in person- only a photo. And, now that I have seen it, I think I could possibly do it, but there would have to be no immediate deadline, because it doesn't look very simple! You can learn a little more about this dress by clicking the photo below, then click All Sizes on my Flickr page:

After reading this information, I wondered what kind of thread the Egyptians used to string beads in 2500 B.C... How many years did it take for the threads to disintegrate? Also, how many years would it take for modern Nymo (nylon) thread to disintegrate in a similar circumstance? And, how will my beadwork hold up over the next 2500 years or so - that is, if the human race still exists on this planet... if the planet exists at all... Just a few beads for thought! :o

P.S. If you would like to see more beadwork & jewelry found at the MFA, please check my Flickr! Enjoy! :)