Pages

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Gettin' Ready for Bead Fest Wire!

We're days away from driving to King of Prussia for Bead Fest Wire!  I really hope I'll be meeting a bunch of you there. Even though we only talk in cyberspace, your blogs have invited me into your world ... and I'm so grateful. It would be nice to put a face to a page. :-)

I'll be giving a demo on Friday at 11 a.m. and you can find me at my booth at other times on Friday and Saturday and, of course, at the teachers Meet and Greet on Friday evening.  On Sunday, I'll be teaching 20 of you how to enamel as fastly, cheaply, and safely as is humanly possible!  So, I hope now that you know where I'll be, you can come by and we can have a gigglefest!

Over the past few days I've been making jewelry because I feel a strong need to show some of what's available with torch firing.  But what I really want is for you to give it a whirl.  The paintingwithfire.ning.com can be a great source of support as you continue a home study course in enameling. :-)  I think of it as an extended warranty. LOL  You all, of course, will take the technique in other directions and create outta sight stuff!

I think one of the most obvious attractions about enamel is color.  Metal is a wonderful material, but when you put colored glass on top of it, metal comes alive!  You need not cover every speck of metal with color though. I'm finding that fabric and enamel look great together.  It's also a great solution to costly metal alternatives.  As far as color, it's WOWx2!





I see fabric and my brain says, "I need dat!" But apparently I have a lot of needs ... but we won't go there!  The sari ribbon I use is Fair Trade and recycled.  It helps to support impoverished woman in Nepal and India, many of whom are single-mother head-of-households, which is one of the reasons I decided to carry it at my website.

Here's a new piece I just finished yesterday called, "Dogwood." The saffron ribbon keeps the piece from becoming just toooo sweet!

Dogwood

Dogwood, detail

But, I'm curious ... have you noticed that there's a trend toward using ribbons and other fibers in jewelry design? Do YOU find yourself using more ribbons and other fibers in your work?  Do you have favorites?  I'd love to hear what you're thinking ... :-)



16 comments:

mairedodd said...

have a great time at bead fest wire! and the work is beautiful... i love enameling as well and am looking forward to working in it again... fibers, sigh, love them... i am so addicted to lisa jurist's silk straw and recycled sari ribbons... have just started working with irish waxed linen - love that as well for different reasons...

Kerry said...

have a super fantastic time!!! i loved my experience there last year, and i am sure you are going to love it too.

Jen Judd said...

I'm so excited to be one of "the 20"!! We'll have to talk ribbons and fibers...I want to use more but get wrapped up in the details and get overwhelmed...pun intended. haaaaaaaaaaa

See you soon!

EB Bead and Metal Works, LLC said...

Have fun! One day soon I will be in one of your classes!!!! Love the Dogwood necklace, awesome! Mom and I have just really started using ribbon and we are having a lot of fun with it. We also tried a yarn called "Fancy Fur" for our March Challenge piece and I really like how it turned out. Experimenting is so much fun!

Anonymous said...

Have a wonderful time at Bead Fest Wire! If the bid we are putting on a house goes through then we might make it on Sunday. If not, the house search will have to continue that day! Will you be at Bead Fest in August? And regarding your question, I started using ribbon last year thanks to the Bead Soup Swap. I was challenged to make something different from what I normally do and incorporating ribbon was a big part of it. I love the texture it brings to a piece of jewelry.

steufel said...

Love, love, love sari-ribbon! But I think you already knew that:-)

Unknown said...

The dogwood is amazing! I hope sari silk never goes out of style.

Anonymous said...

I love to use sari ribbon in my designs, not only because of the colors but I love the texture of the ribbon.
Barbara, I will be at Wirefest on Sunday and hopefully will find my way over to where you are to say a quick hello!

TesoriTrovati said...

Have a great time!
I do use a bit of fiber now and again in my designs. I like to mix it up. Sari ribbon, seam binding, vintage ribbons, organza, leather cord... all put in supporting role appearances. None are the stars. I don't feel confident enough in that.
Your blossom is so fresh! I love this!
Enjoy the day!
Erin

Laura Twiford said...

I'm thinking I wish I was going to beadfest wire this weekend! I will go in August and of course will see you at art and soul in a few weeks. have fun!

elisabeth said...

Can't wait for your class!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

I'll be at BeadFest on Friday, although just for the day. Hopefully, I'll get to see your demo, but if not I'd love to put a name with a face. Either way I'll definately be stopping at your booth.
Love the silk but I have a hard time incorporating it into my work, but I love how it looks in everyone elses.

Diane said...

Yes, I am using more recycled sari silk...neutral colors though. But that is what works best for me~and vintage rhinestones, in my eyes =))

Riki Schumacher said...

Hi Barb, thanks so much for stopping by! I've missed everyone, been gone for too long. Love your dogwoods and the silks, prettttyyyyy! Congrats on all your success my friend, you deserve it. I'll be sure to get your book! That's great. Riki

Jennifer Cameron said...

Wish I could go!

I have noticed a trend of using more fibers in jewelry. I love it and have some sari ribbons, etc to use. However, for whatever reason, I freeze up when it comes to using fibers. Very frustrating!

Stories They Tell said...

Yowza-- I want to eat that dogwood pendant!! So tasty! I love sari yarn and probably should buy some ribbon too. Right now I'm addicted to kimono fabric turned into spaghetti straps-- strings-- I love the texture of the fabric.