Book Review: The Beader's Guide to Jewelry Design by Margie Deeb

 The Fundamentals of Jewelry Design for Bead Artists by Margie Deeb

Whether you are a seasoned bead designer, just beginning, or somewhere in the middle, I think you will find lots to love in Margie Deeb's newest book, The Fundamentals of Jewelry Design for Bead Artists.  Beautifully illustrated, full of explicit examples and dynamite practical information, this book seems to cover it all.
Let's start with the structure which follows the process of jewelry design itself.  Her chapters go as follows:

Unity

Focal Points & Emphasis

Balance

Movement

Shape

Color

Jewelry and the Body

The Creative Journey

Within each chapter there are at least 12 subheadings ( with the exception of Color, Deeb's known specialty, and that one has 24)  that break down the subject into its important components with specific examples and opportunities for the reader to get involved in design decisions. And even better, each section ends with Challenge Yourself exercises that give you several ways of exploring each design concept further in your own work. Margie gives us specific "assignments" that will sharpen our skills in each learning area.  You are free to work your way through the book or pick out areas that you feel would be most helpful to you.

In addition to the challenges, there are many graphics through out the book that she gives us permission to copy, enlarge etc. for personal use.  For example, in the chapter Shape, she has drawings that we can practice seeing how a design would look by drawing it right on the human form.  In the chapter, Jewelry and the Body she includes 17 pages of images, drawings and charts of how jewelry and body shape interact .  These are an invaluable resource.

One of my favorite chapters is The Creative Journey.  Here Deeb addresses that universal "elephant in the room" fear and doubt, with specific, constructive suggestions.  She deepens the discussion with ideas for nurturing and encouraging our creativity by showing us how to structure  our creative process through her own examples and those she has gleaned from 8 other jewelry designers, many of whom you will know.

I hope I have given you enough information to see that The Beader's Guide to Jewelry Design can have an important place in your personal library.  You can purchase it directly from the publisher,  Lark Books, or online at  Amazon, or Barnes and Noble.

Thank you  for stopping by.
Mary

Inside the Studio with Creative Impressions In Clay

Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations Marlene Brady/ItsAllAboutCreating! 

You have won a Tube Riveted Polymer Clay Bead from Mary Harding. 

Please send Mary an e-mail with your information.

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Happy Friday!

My last Inside the Studio I shared my process of how I make buttons. This time I thought I would share the glazing process. 

The design above is from my Goddess Collection of buttons. This is my best selling collection but also the most labor intensive. You could say a labor of love. Hours of labor. 

I received an order for 200 buttons to go on a fall line of clothing. I have been making buttons for several years for this client and she is one of my favorite to work with. She herself is an artist and understands the time involved.

You get excited, YAY an order! Then it settles in that you you have to produce that order. I had to remake molds for 2 of the designs to make them smaller for her 1.25" max button hole size. The one above had already been done for one of her previous orders. That itself is interesting to shrink a design and I was bored with the flat designs so I went dimensional. Yes, as artists we get bored easily. 

The order consisted 4 designs from the Goddess Collection and 1 design from the Graphic Collection.

 First color applied which is a wipe on wipe off technique used so you get an outline of the design. You then glaze inside the line. One instance you don't color outside the lines.

Underglaze in progress. There will be three different background colors for this particular order. She gave me the color palette to be used for her fall line of clothing.

 The magnifying glass my husband bought for me at an auction. Having one this large is definitely worth it. You can stick your whole face in it! Late at night I have caught myself doing that from being so tired. No more squinting as I glaze!

 Underglaze is complete! Time for the clear coat.

 Clear overglaze is applied. Button holes are cleaned out and the backs are wiped clean of any glaze. The buttons with stick to the kiln shelf is there is any glaze on the backside.

 My baby kiln (Aim 88) is loaded and ready to be fired. Slowly take the temperature up. Bubbles and pitting in your glaze is not something you want to see.

 Opening the kiln is like Christmas! A surprize every time.

The original  1.5" design Morpheus button on the left. The 1.25" redesign. Colors were changed to go with the customers color palette.

Some of the other buttons that were with the order. There were 5 designs total.

If you would like to order any that look different from the website just mention you saw it here. I need a total redesign on my website. I just haven't taught myself InDesign yet. 

*Remember any button can be a pendant or jewelry component.*

My Question is: 

What is your labor of love?

Leave your answer to the question in the comments 

and you could win a $10 Gift Certificate.

Have a great day!!

Feeling Sassy as usual!

Tari Sasser

Creative Impressions In Clay

Inside the Studio with Mary Harding

Inside the Studio :: Mary Harding of Mary Harding Jewelry

                           Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations, Colleen  You have won a Q Marks the Spot Necklace from Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati Jewelry that Erin will create just for you.   Please send Erin an email with your information.

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         This week we visit the studio of Mary Harding of Mary Harding Jewelry

                              Some porcelain beads I made recently by Mary Harding

Beads, beads, beads. That is what I have been up to.  Shaping them.  Coloring them. Glazing them. Experimenting with them and yes, taking a class about a special way of making them.  More about that in another post later this summer.

  Beads in the bisque stage that I made a couple of days ago  by Mary Harding

What do I like about making beads?  It is working with my hands, the process of moving and shaping the clay, the feel of the soft velvety clay on my hands, and most of all the exciting journey to that special place in my consciousness where the Now takes over, the endorphins are flowing and and the inner critic is mute. I like to think of the process of making beads as a non verbal stream of consciousness.  As a place where the mind is freed up and the hands and eyes are in charge, not my thoughts and rational thinking.

                          Notice how short my finger nails are and how the clay is neither too sticky or too dry:  all prerequisites to                                                                   working with clay for bead making

And how do I get there since it takes a bit of warm up before it all comes together and the journey and exploration begins?  For me it takes quiet, assurance that I will not be interrupted, warmth, and a comfortable chair and table arrangement and a reasonable plan for how many I will make.  I usually like to make beads in small amounts so as not to feel overwhelmed or like it is a chore.  I usually decide ahead of time which tools I will use and set them out.  I like to have a bit of structure regarding how I will work which could involve size, and only a few tools for marking the clay.

                        Tools I used in this most recent bead making session

Yesterday when I was glazing my beads I set up a structure of 4 colors and piles of 5 beads in each pile that I would use one color with for the base coat.  By the end of the session, when my hands took over I was using 6 colors and even painting at times by dipping my fingers into the colors.  I had a wonderful time and I just love how the beads came out.

the beads with colored glazes before they were fired drying in my dehydrator   Mary Harding

For me it is the process that I love for bead making, but for other activities, like stringing or bead work, I often like the product better.  What about you?

All this brings me to my question today.  For which one of your creative activities do you enjoy the process of making the most and why?   Comment below and you will automatically be entered into a draw  to win a 3 bead string of my newest beads.  The winner will be announced next Friday in the Inside the Studio post on that day.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I look forward to reading your comments.

I leave you with this validating quotation from D.W. Winicott

 “It is creative apperception more than anything else that makes the individual feel that life is worth living.”

Inside the Studio with Ema Kilroy of Ema K Designs

Welcome to Inside the Studio!

Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

Congratulations Colleen! You have won three beautiful, beaded beads from Rebecca at The Curious Bead Shop. Please send Rebecca an email with your information.

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Hi Friends.

Recently I needed to summarize my creative process for some pieces I was creating for a special project. You'll have to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about where these pieces are heading and why I documented the process. I love to know how an artist works and I thought you might be interested too. So I thought I'd share my creative process with you in today's Inside the Studio post.

I begin with metal scraps. Thus far all of the copper I use has been salvaged and upcycled from the construction industry. Here's a look at the raw metal before being turned into pieces worthy of jewelry designs.

The copper is annealed (heated with a flame until it is glowing red) to soften the metal, pickled and then cleaned.

Patterns are added. The metal is cut using metal shears or disc cutters.

I then use a grinding stone to round off any sharp, pointy edges.

Now comes the fun part.....

I have collected and dried an assortment of flowers. I'm so excited that Spring is here as I continue to add to this collection everyday. I then apply the dried flowers to the component. Individually placing the flowers sometimes placing one little stem or flower to harmonzie with the shape of the component. 

In the step above I created a sandwich of paper, copper, flowers and paper. The sandwich is run through the rolling mill, impressing the dried flower into the metal, thus creating an image on the copper.

After the images have been impressed into the metal, pieces are tumbled to remove any construction grime and work harden the softened metal.

Fresh out of the tumbler. It makes all the difference. The pieces are so nice and shiney. Finally starting to look like something to be used in a piece of jewelry.

Liver of sulfer patina is applied. 

The pieces are hand sanded and dipped into liver of sulfer multiple times until I'm satisfied with the end result.

Renaissance wax is applied to finish each piece.

All these pieces have been sent to Chris Thommen at The Art of the Bead and will be for sale at Bead & Button June 6 -8, 2014. You can read the back story over at my blog over at Ema K designs. So if you're going to be in Milwaukee, WI and attending the Bead & Button show stop by booth #1200 to pick up your favorite.

A personal note:  Here in the US Memorial Day Weekend begins tonight, a time to celebrate and remember those who have served our country and lost their lives doing so. A special time to honor those who have fallen. Personally, I honor those who have served in any capacity. I would be amiss if I didn't give a shout out to all our military branches for the incredible job their doing! One my best girlfriends has been in the US Army for 20 years! I'm so proud of my friend Marilyn! 

I'm going to giveaway a copper pendant impressed with baby breathe, 1.25 inches round (impressed image may vary from picture). Answer the question below in your comment for your chance to win. 

Next week I'm planning to write a post about tools. Since I work in two different mediums I could go a  couple of different ways with this. I'd like to hear from you. What would you be most interested in? Do you want to see an overview of metal working tools or lampworking tools? As always, thanks for visiting ABS today!

Ema Kilroy is a lampworker and metalsmith living and working in Central Massachusetts. 

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