Making Earrings and Missing My Studio

It's been awhile since I've done beadwork. After recently moving to another state, I hadn't yet unpacked some of my tools and parts. More accurately, I don't even know which box is which  (I was WAY too lax on labeling!), so I've been somewhat hindered. But I got a request for a custom pair of earrings, so I gathered as much as I could find, and was able to make them. I've showed some of my beadwork previously on this blog, but out of the dozens of bracelets created in the last couple of years, here are just a few of the newer ones. In order, these photos show two 8-Strand bracelets, two 12-Strand bracelets, and two 4-in-1 bracelets.

"Soiree"

"Punky"

"Greeley"

"Crayon"

"Cosette"

"Armada"

Somewhere along the way, I was asked why I didn't make earrings. I had thought about it, but I felt that the macrame style I use wasn't practical on such a short item. It would require the beginning and end of the piece to be finished off with a few knots, and a bracket or ring of some kind, in order to tie the threads off securely. After giving it more thought, I realized there's no reason why I couldn't accept the ring at the bottom as part of the design. I could always hang a dangle or charm from it, which would look fine. It would just require the earrings to be fairly long, in order to include the starting knots, and the ending knots, and enough of a beaded design in the middle to make it worthwhile. But, I accepted this design constraint, and proceeded to create earrings. I'm glad I did. They were turning out to be statement-sized earrings, and yet they were very lightweight for their size. The first pair I made was a little more colorful than my usual palette...

...followed by this next intricate pair. Again, they're large, but not that heavy.

And then I unraveled a triple stranded cord to get down to a single strand, which I worked into these earrings, resulting in a much more petite scale.

I don't mind tedious, but that was so fine, it hardly wanted to stay together. The knots tried to untie themselves each time after I'd tighten them, as I went along. Gah! Finally, after I made it to the bottom, I got the threads well-fastened and trimmed, so they will no longer come apart. I like the effect, but I probably won't be doing much of this small scale work.

This pair is one of my favorites, so much so, that I took them out of gallery inventory, and put them in my own jewelry box. I wear a lot of grey, and also that sour yellow color.

And now for the most recent work. This pair in the following picture sold within minutes of being set out for sale at the gallery. It's also what was recently requested, so the pair I just made looks a lot like them.  (I don't like to exactly repeat any of my work, so I make some changes each time.) I plan to make a lot more of this dangly style, which I think lends itself to a "beachy" look, with lots of shell, mother of pearl, turquoise, coral and such. 

I'm a little sad that I no longer have a studio in which to work. I'm currently set up on the dining room table, but we're trying to decide what to do about this. Some of my "office things" are still boxed, without room to unpack and spread out the contents. Some things are upstairs, and some of my boxes of art supplies are still unpacked, lodged firmly in the garage. I'm thinking a studio/shed in the backyard would solve my problems, since there's no room inside the house to sacrifice for a studio. I'll get it figured out, and since I really love building things, the thought of getting to design and construct a small studio is something I could get jazzed about! Oh yeah, I could build it myself!  Since I have a little knowledge of AutoCAD, I might have to start there. The next time I blog, there might be floorplans! Oooh, I just got goose bumps!