Inspired Beader: Lara Blair

Certain times of year can be incredibly inspiring for beaders and all types of artists. The sounds, smells, colors and emotions that accompany our favorite seasons and holidays translate well when imitated with beads and other materials. In autumn, the rich colored foliage and ancient harvest time traditions are what motivate many of us to create.

At Eternal Autumn, artist Lara Blair uses her love for all things fall to channel the amazing images and feelings of October’s macabre side into amazing jewelry. From vintage, vampire and Victorian inspired pieces, to charming Halloween designs, her work is steeped in autumn elegance.

Inspirational Beading: How did you first discover the art of jewelry design?

Lara: My love of jewelry started early. I played dress-up in my mother's and grandmother's jewelry boxes long before I understood than someone had designed the pieces I was piling round my neck and wrists. The colors and textures intrigued me. I still remember specific pieces to this day. A bright red and black acrylic bead necklace (that my grandmother had set aside as “safe” for play) was a particular favorite and I remember digging through her costume jewelry to find other pieces that coordinated well when I was just 5 or 6 years old.

Inspirational Beading: Do you have a favorite source for inspiration?

Lara: Vintage or antique style... from the decadent detail of 16th century pieces to the heavy darkness of Victorian mourning attire… I love it all!

Inspirational Beading: What is your favorite color to work with?

Lara: Well I hate to be obvious but BLACK! It’s so versatile and a wear-with-anything staple for almost any style. Also, “Picasso” finished Czech glass beads, which come in a variety of colors but always add a vintage feel to any piece. And as far as metal is concerned, I'm a sucker for dark silver, also known as gunmetal.

Inspirational Beading: If you could master any new technique, what would it be?

Lara: Bead-weaving, peyote, loom work or perhaps even quilling. I dabbled a bit when I was a teenager but became taken with metal work… but I've always had a soft spot for bead-weaving.

Inspirational Beading: Who do you hope to inspire with your work?

Lara: I hope to inspire my fellow artists to continue to grow and to share their work with others, to nurture the creativity within. Its true that one of the best ways to know you're truly alive is to create.

Lara is a busy work at home Mom, jewelry designer, artist and entrepreneur. Her first jewelry designs were made with plastic beads and stretch cord, and have since evolved into intricate pieces, inspired by her love of all things autumn. She’s known for her love of anything pumpkin related, and a penchant for long skirts.
One of her favorite quotes is:

An artist is a creature driven by demons. He doesn't know why they choose him and he's usually too busy to wonder.

- William Faulkner

You can check in and see what’s new with Lara and Eternal Autumn on her MySpace page, and on Facebook.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading, Eternal Autumn

Quick Inspiration: Costume Chic

Sometimes the best way to learn a new technique, or try a new style of beading, is to recreate something that’s already been done. Many beaders start out by making the designs featured in magazines, and then move on to designing their own unique creations. Some weavers take existing images and transform them into intricate patterns for flat bead weaving like peyote stitch and Ndebele weave.

When it comes to mimicking the unique style of vintage costume jewelry, it would be difficult to copy most designs without the use of some serious metal working tools. Although the exact style is a little advanced, it’s easy to use the concepts found in costume jewelry to create stunning modern works of wearable art.

I recently picked up a copy of Julia C. Carroll’s Collecting Costume Jewelry 101. I was amazed by not only the wealth of information for collectors, but by the stunning array of vintage and collectible jewelry. The gorgeous pieces in the photographs could provide a wealth of inspiration to the creative eye. Although the designs don’t suite many modern tastes, the jewelry itself could easily be transformed into something new. Anyone lucky enough to have some costume jewelry that isn’t too valuable or sentimental has probably had the idea to update or upcycle some of their more interesting pieces.

Probably the most valuable inspirations are the patterns and shapes used in many designs, which would make for excellent bead embroidery. With a little creativity, almost any costume piece could be recaptured with a modern twist.

If you’d like to make some fun mixed media designs with your own vintage components, try these easy tutorials for ideas:

Bunches of Buttons by Stacy Hillmer and Bead & Button Magazine
Fleur de Niece by Denise Yezbak Moore and Stringing Magazine
Filigree Earrings by Monica Lueder and BeadStyle Magazine
Eclectic Copper Charm Bracelet from Auntie’s Beads

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Elegant Skull Necklace

Female villains are often some of the most terrifying in film and literature. They are usually beautiful as well as cruel, which in many cases makes them all the more terrible. As the protagonist usually realizes much too late, looks can be very deceiving.

The Inspiration:

After creating a scary forest necklace inspired by Disney’s Snow White, I wanted to pay a little tribute to the evil queen. Although terrifying and cruel, she was the second fairest in the land, and surely had a wardrobe to suite. I wanted to make something that would be fitting for a queen, but with a touch of the macabre.

The Beads:

I started with some dark transparent root beer 8/0 seed beads, which have a nice color that could blend between reds, blacks and other ‘evil’ colors. To these I added opaque red 11/0 seed beads, shiny black 11/0’s, and a charming lampwork skull bead by Suzoom. I really love the ornate looking face on the skull - it looks like something a witch would use to cast a spell or tell your fortune.

The Beadwork:

At first I thought it would look nice to have a dark colored spiral rope, with the skull at the centre as a pendant. In my mind’s eye, the necklace looked great, but as I stitched, I realized that it wouldn’t quite do the skull bead justice. I went back to the drawing board, and came up with an entirely new design.

First I added some golden colored beads, which I hoped would make the beadwork look more regal. Once those were included in the palette, I decided to replace the opaque seed beads with transparent ones, so that they would blend together with the foil-lined beads, and the shiny black ones.

Instead of a spiral rope, I used the golden beads and the 8/0’s to make a V-shaped St. Petersburg chain. Once finished, I added scalloped loops in black and red, and attached the skull pendant with a seed bead fob at the end. It turned out so much better than my original idea, that I have no regrets about the spiral rope now sitting in my to-do drawer.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Bead Spotlight: Czech Glass Leaves

When it comes to choosing just the right beads for a project, the possibilities can be pretty overwhelming. There are so many different kinds of beads, and each one has so many different uses. Accent beads for stringing, fringe and embellishment can be the most difficult to select. Even if we have a particular color in mind, there are still dozens - if not hundreds - of bead styles that could work in our designs.

Czech pressed glass beads are some of my favorite accent beads, not only because of the amazing colors, but also because of the interesting shapes. Shells and foliage are among the most versatile pieces, because they can be included in so many different types of themed beadwork.

Whenever I’m shopping for Czech glass leaves, I find it hard to decide which of the many exciting colors to choose from. The two-tone color contrasts are stunning and perplexing at the same time. And of course, once purchased, it can be hard to let go of our favorites. I had hoped to use some Halloween colored black-orange leaves this month, but found I couldn’t let them go just yet.

Some excellent examples of beadwork using glass leaves include: Pumpkin Patch Pendant from Linkel Designs; Oil Slick Collar Necklace from Geo Jewelry; and Chartreuse and White Beaded Lariat from Kate Tracton Designs. These pieces take simple glass leaves and turn them into extraordinary works of nature-inspired art.

You can try out these pretty little treasures with some simple projects like these: Cornucopia of Leaves Bracelet from Auntie's Beads; Twigs and Branches Earrings from Beading Daily and Pat Wexelblat; and Fall Fringe Necklace from Bead & Button Magazine and Lea Rose Nowicki. You can also get creative and adapt some of your favorite techniques, or replace your usual beads with leaves for a new look. The Flower Petal Necklace from Artbeads.com would look great with pink Czech leaves!

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading

Inspiration Theme Contest:

The end of October is nearly here, and so is the deadline for this month’s Inspiration Theme entries. If you think you know the theme of October on Inspirational Beading, leave a comment with your guess.
The winner will receive a feature for their handmade shop or blog.

Good luck!

Contest Details.

Wicked Witch Necklace

For most beaders, the idea of scraping a finished project and starting all over again can seem horrifying. Not matter how carefully cuts are made, there will always be materials that cannot be reused, and of course all that hard work is gone. For bead weavers, the unsuccessful project is particularly frustrating, and not just because reusing the beads means plenty of tedious cutting, yanking and stitch ripping.

When I create something that doesn’t meet my own standards, I usually add it to my personal jewelry box. The lessons learned are worth the time spent, and I get a new bauble for myself. Still, there are some projects from my first year of bead weaving that have never been worn, and are carefully packed away in little baggies, waiting for their time to be used.

The Inspiration:

As I was going through my finished pieces recently, looking for just the right item to donate to a charity auction, I came across some older necklaces that I had made when I first picked up jewelry making. I had set them aside, too proud to remake them, and too picky to sell them. There is one necklace that always makes me feel a little regret that it never made it into the ‘sell pile’. I had made it after making several leaf-fringe necklaces that looked like plants and fruit. I was enjoying the technique, but wanted to do something interesting and unexpected.

I think that the red, black and white pattern looks just like the Wicked Witch’s stocking feet sticking out from under Dorothy’s house. My husband says they remind him of the sandworms from Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice. Either way, I love the bright red on black and white stripes, and I decided it was finally time to remake this old design.

The Beads:

For this piece, all that was needed were simple 11/0 seed beads in black, white and red. The dark shade of red is usually hard to tell from brown, especially when it’s next to the other cherry and tomato beads in my organizer. But next to the stark neutrals, the red really pops.

The Beadwork:

I decided to simplify the design, and let the red fringe really stand out. Instead of a clasped necklace, I created an incredibly long strand of black and white seed beads, stitched it into a circle, and added leaves from start to finish. Although not as intricate as the original, the new necklace still has the same attitude as before, and is of course, completely metal free.

Copyright 2009 Inspirational Beading