In January Lori paired everyone with a partner and the beads promptly began their journey to their new homes world wide. I was partnered with Laurie Keefe Cecere.
I sent Laurie this collection of beads. You can visit Laurie's blog, Tree of Life, to see what she created.
Laurie sent me a beautiful package of goodies
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The main rule of Bead Soup is that we must use the focal bead and the clasp we received from our partner.
I found this Bead Soup to be particularly challenging. I wish I could put my finger on exactly why I felt that way. I loved the pieces I received but I just could not come up with a design idea. I was completely stumped. This does not usually happen to me which made my artistic block even more mystifying. For more than a month I have been racking my brain for a design for all these beautiful pieces. It was only this week that I finally had a direction. As I sit and write this blog, the day before the reveal, I am waiting for my kiln to cool. I decided I needed to make some lampwork beads that I could add to my Bead Soup. A kiln doesn't cool quick enough when you are sitting around waiting for it.....hurry up, checking the temp again.
It occurred to me today why I have been having such a difficult time with design ideas.
1. Over the course of the last year my family has been dealing with medical issues. This month two members of my family were undergoing surgery. Needless to say this has made it has been difficult for me to connect with my artistic spirit.
2. Another fact occurred to me as I was playing with my Bead Soup ... I consider the beads I received from Laurie to be on the small side. I can't believe I am saying that! I have always been a small jewelry wearer up until the last year. I've gone big and suddenly had no idea what to do with "small". Let me just take a moment here to say those off white spacers are THE SMALLEST lampwork spacers I have ever seen! Kudos to the artist who created those spacers. Making such small, even spacers is not that easy.
3. The color scheme is not colors I usually work with.
But...putting #1 aside, #2 and #3 are EXACTLY the point of Bead Soup! Bead Soup is about stretching ourselves to work with materials, colors and bead styles we would not normally choose to work with.
Alas, I had an idea and set myself down to git 'er done!
A personal challenge I wanted to accomplish with this necklace was to create a variety of layers. I have seen the work of others that I love. I would characterize the work as having many different layers to it. I hope I have accomplished that.
The Necklace
The clasp, connecting on the side
The tiniest lampwork spacer beads ever, copper, howlite rice beads and turquoise nuggets
Lampwork nuggets and Kalypso dots
The focal pendant
Fini!
Many thanks to Lori for hosting this wonderful event! You can swing by her blog and read about other Bead Soup happenings, Lori has a book coming out soon!
The following is a list of all the Bead Soup Participants. Enjoy!
1. Adlinah Kamsir (Singapore) and Hajer Waheed (Kingdom of Bahrain)
2. Adrienn Lukacs (Hungary) and Agata Grygiel (Poland)
3. Agi Kiss (Hungary) and Carolien Muller-Genger (the Netherlands)
4. Agnes Asztalos (Hungary) and B.R. Kuhlman
5. Alesha Conklin and Becki Mendivil
6. Alice Peterson and Carol Dillman
7. Alicia Marinache (Canada) and Dita Basu
9. Amanda Tibbetts and Andrea Trank
11. Andra Weber and Christine Murrow
12. Ann Sherwood and Diane Welte
13. Barbara Bechtel and Kerry Bogert
14. Barbara Lewis and Cat Pruitt
15. Bonnie Coursolle (Canada) and Fay Wolfenden (Canada)
16. Carmel McGinley (Australia) and Tracy Stillman (Australia)
17. Cassie Donlen and Deryn Mentock
18. Cathie Carroll and Janel Dudley
19. Cece Cormier and Morwyn Mullins
20. Charlene Jacka and Christina Hickman
21. Cheryl Brown (Canada) and Diana Ptaszynski
22. Christina Stofmeel (the Netherlands) and Eva Kovacs (Hungary)
23. Christine Damm and Deb Brooks
24. Cilla Watkins (Canada) and Elaine Robitaille (Canada)
27. Cory Celaya and Rhea Freitieg
28. Courtney Breul and Dana Hickey
29. Cynthia Abner and Jennifer Boreck
30. Cynthia Tucker and Jean Peter
31. Debbie Goering and Heidi Post
32. Dee Elgie (UK) and Joanne Lockwood (UK)
33. Dian Hierschel (Germany) and Eniko Fabian (Austria)
34. Diane Cook and Lyn Foley
35. Donna Bohler and Lisa Lodge
36. Donna Millard and Kiersten Giles
37. Doris Stumpf (Germany) and Eszter Czibulyas (Hungary)
38. Elisabeth Auld and Eva Sherman
39. Elke Leonhardt-Rath (Germany) and Marjolein Trewavas (UK)
** ME** 40. Ema Kilroy and Laurie Keefe-Cecere
41. Erika Nooteboom (the Netherlands) and Giorgia Rossini (Italy)
42. Erin Grant and Jean Wells
43. Evelyn Duberry (Canada) and Gaea Cannaday
44. Genea Crivello-Knable and Heather Powers
45. Ginger Bishop (military, Okinawa) and Martina Nagele (Germany)
46. Heidi Kingman and Lori Greenberg
47. Helen Kemp and Lisa Wangeman
48. Helene Goldberg (Australia) and Karen Vincent
49. Jamie Hogsett and Jeannie Dukic
51. Jennifer Cameron and Tania Spivey
52. Jennifer Justman and Kari Carrigan
53. Jennifer Tough and Lorelei Eurto
54. Joanna Matuszczyk (Poland) and Julianna Kis (Hungary)
55. Joanne Tinley (UK) and Michaela Pabeschitz (Austria)
56. Julie Anne Leggett and Kelley Fogle
57. Karen Hess and Linda Landig
58. Karyn Bonfiglio and Kathleen Lange Klik
59. Kashmira Patel and Kat White
61. Kathy Lindemer and Rose Binoya
62. Krafty Max and Sandra Miller
63. Kristen Latimer and Pam Ferrari
64. Kristie Roeder and Lea Avroch
65. Kristina Johansson (Sweden) and Penny Neville (Canada)
66. Krisztina Erlaki-Toth (Hungary) and Nicole Keller (Germany)
67. Lara Lutrick and Lisa Suver
68. Laura DeMoya and Lisa Hanna
69. Libby Leuchtman and Melanie Brooks
70. Linda Koch and Rosemarie Cowit
71. Lisa Chapman and Menka Gupta
72. Lisa Liddy and Marion Simmons
73. Lori Anderson and Marcie Abney
74. Lori Bowring-Michaud and Mary Govaars
75. Lori Dorrington and Maria Rosa Sharrow
76. Lori Finney (Canada) and Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp (Canada)
77. Lynn Bennett and Mandi Ainsworth
78. Marta Kaczerowska (Poland) and Milla Starchik (Canada)
79. Mary Harding and Shannon LeVart
81. Melinda Orr and Molly Alexander
83. Michelle Jensen and Sandra Young (Canada)
84. Nan Emmett and Nicole Valentine-Rimmer (Canada)
85. Nancy Boylan and Suzette Bentley
86. Natasha Lutes and Patti Vanderbloemen
87. Pam Hurst and Rebekah Payne
88. Patty Miller and Sara Rhoades
90. Rebecca Sirevaag and Sharon Driscoll
91. Rochelle Brisson and Shannon Chomanczuk
92. Rosa Maria Cuevas (Mexico) and Tejae Floyde
93. Sabine Dittrich (Germany) and Sally Russick
94. Sandi Volpe and Sarah/Saturday Sequins
95. Shanti Johnson and Tracy Mok (Canada)
96. Skylar Brez and Theresa Buchle
97. Sonya Stille and Traci Zeller (Canada)
98. Stefanie Teufel (Germany) and Tania Hagen (New Zealand)
99. Stephanie LaRosa and Vonna Maslanka
100. Terri Wlaschin and Wendy Blum
Gorgeous necklace Ema! It is beautifully dramatic and demands attention, I love it!
ReplyDeleteLove the Layers, You did an incredible job and incorporated those little spacers just where they needed to be:-) Glad you enjoyed the beads i sent, albeit a challenge. Funny how your challenge was the size, as was mine. Guess Lori chose us for a reason as a team~
ReplyDeleteI laughed when I read your post because our challenge was the same, size. I believe everything works out just how it is supposed to.
DeleteGreat combinations. I especially liked the multiple strands.
ReplyDeleteYou rose to the challenge really well in my humble opinion! I think your finished piece is just beautiful. I love the multi strand/layered effect. Lovely :) x
ReplyDeleteOh Ema! I didn't know you have been going though so much. I haven't done a very good job of keeping up. Too busy inside my own world ignoring others I suppose. You did a beautiful job. I LOVE the layers and the addition of your own lampwork fits perfectly with the soup you got. I wish I could wear big jewelry. I love to look at it, but it gets on my nerves to wear it. Lol!
ReplyDeleteNo worries Jen. I understand how easy it is to get caught up in your own life let alone keep track of friends across the country. Honestly I haven't been spending that much time on line these days or talking about it too much. It doesn't help me to droan on about things. I don't know if this a piece I can pull off either. It might be too much for me and my style but I was compelled to make it. I needed to make layers. I will definitely be trying it out and see how it feels. Thank you for your kind words.
DeleteWow! I absolutely love it! Great job. If you can't get the scale in large beads themselves, fill the "volume" with layers. It gives the same impact and I think the movement is really nice! :)
ReplyDeleteYou did not have to worry, the necklace is amazing. I love way you used extra strands. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteYou found this challenging!? Well, I'd never have guess it. You rocked it honey!!! I LOVE your work.
ReplyDeleteIt's s lovely color scheme. You designed a really nice piece.
ReplyDeleteI hear that about not being able to make a kiln cool quicker! You did a lovely job with your beads!
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll join me again in the summer!
I love the finished piece even if it did give you a bit of a stumbling block. You managed to work the beads into a lovely necklace!
ReplyDeleteYou did a beautiful job with the beautiful beads!
ReplyDeleteYou pulled this one out- It's a statement piece.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
such a great soup mix and your pieces are lovely
ReplyDeleteOh, I could tell you: I totally understand your problems to work with tiny beads. I also couldn't imagine how to make such equal sized small spacer beads ;0)! Your necklace creation is wonderful - you did a very good job!
ReplyDeleteit was a great soup and you did a great job with it! the necklace is stunning!!
ReplyDeleteciao dall'Italia
i love all the layers--they blend together nicely and keep your eye moving up and down the piece. great work!
ReplyDeleteI like it when people talk about the specific design challenges they faced when making their pieces! I think it turned out stunning!
ReplyDeleteLove the necklace. You did a beautiful job on all your pieces.
ReplyDeleteI love what you did with your soup! I struggled with mine a bit too I wanted to keep things simple and try to not do my "norm". I love the chain in yours. The focal bead you sent Lori is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your beads!
ReplyDeleteVery unusual, but lovely!
You dealt well with your challenges, exactly what the BSBP is all about. Your necklace looks wonderful, it has a lot going on which makes it neat to look at over and over again. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteLoving the layers of that necklace. It's got such complexity. You could meditate with those beads.
ReplyDeleteVery cool necklace! Love it - I was blocked until late too, its hard to decide what to make with all the beautiful beads we get!
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that it waited to come to you until it was just the right idea. There's so much to love about this piece. The length, the layers, and the colors of this piece are all super.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job using your soup ingredients. I love everything about your design. I'm a big fan of layered necklaces. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteLori D.
I know how stress can silence a muse and I do feel for you but I'm so glad you were able to break the block! Nothing so frustrating as when you have a deadline looming o_O Great job!!
ReplyDeleteI love what you created. I hope things start looking better for you soon! The necklace is simply stunning!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for the illnesses in your family - hope all is well! I love that you made coordinating lamp work - in fact, I am in awe! Your necklace is just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThis necklace is gorgeous! The layers of the necklace so fun, well done! Even though you had some struggles to set you back in the beginning, you finished beautifully. Hope everyone's health is in good order.
ReplyDeleteYou achieved the many layered look beautifully! Total success! On another note, I do hope all is better now with your family. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI love the colours of your soup, so fresh and spring like! A beautiful necklace.
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful work! Love the little tassel on that focal!
ReplyDeleteYour necklace is gorgeous. What a great job you did. I am touched that you spent so much time with it on a creative level before you ever set down to construct it. You should be very proud of it.
ReplyDeleteyou made a really fun necklace.. it looks like it should drap beautifully!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful necklace, indeed - lovely colour palette and a very delicate, gracious result.
ReplyDeleteYou did get the most out of your beads,with the layers, the small can give the illusion of "big"
ReplyDeleteWow your piece is so intricate and complicated! I love all the layering and how you were able to tie everything together :) xoxo Beth
ReplyDeleteLovely necklace! You did such a fantastic job making it all work! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful necklace!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous Necklace, Ema! I love that you used multiple techniques to construct your necklace. It gives it lots of texture and interest!
ReplyDeleteReally beautiful necklace. I love the length and the various media.
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love that triple-single connection, which I wish I'd thought of...:-) Really great necklace!
ReplyDelete