... the making of 'Summer Rain'

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If it weren't for her love of beads ...

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Thom Atkins, a man who beads...

and...stitches THE MOST exquisite art quilts.

Breathtaking, literally.

To see his jeweled handwork in person was an enormous pleasure.  If you are

anywhere near the area, I hope you'll visit the La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum

and see these beauties for yourself.  

Thom Atkin's one-person exhibit, 'Ten Years of Beaded Quilts,' will be up until March 25th.

This piece is comprised of five panels, the large center one shown here.

You can see more of 'Byzantine Bezels and Borders, Oh My!' over on Thom's website,

but believe me,

there are no pictures that can come close to capturing what they look like 

when they are a few inches from your face...get there if you can.

So... 

what happens when you pile four bead-smitten, textile-smitten gals into one vehicle

and head off to see an exhibit such as the likes of this?

Nothing short of a totally splendid & inspiring time, that's what!

I'll show you a few things that really knocked my socks off.

At the helm of our merry band was my dear bead friend, Robin Atkins...

Thom Atkins is Robin's brother.  Can you believe that all this beadiness is in ONE family?!

She's posted about Thom's exhibit over on her blog, Beadlust...go check it out, it's a lovely read.

Needless to say, she is one proud sister.

A special thrill for me was to see an entire wall filled with Thom's pieces from

the Bead Journal Project, 2007.  That was one of the years that I participated

 and I remember watching his pieces show up on the BJP website...

oh, how wonderful to see them in person, at last!

But before I go on, I hope you will all bear with me in regards to the color & quality

of the photos here.  Geesh, it was tough shooting in there...low, tungsten light

which cast a yellow glow on everything...camera's ISO pushed to the max....so I've opted for

just getting these images up here (rather than spending hours & hours tweaking in PE).

The beauty of Thom's work will come through, even if the photography fell short...

January: It's Still Raining

9" x 13"

January was one of my favorites from the BJP (click on the name above to see it on Thom's website)

...I love his beaded interpretation of the feeling of sideways rain...

and the way that bottom edge is beaded...those rain drops are hand carved Labradorite beads.

Here is some more beautiful rain...

detail from, The Man in the Window

It was easy to be swept up in the details.  Many of the quilts were quite large, like this one

which hangs in two panels...I kept moving up for a closer look.

Smoke and Mirrors

50" x 53"

Click on the photos to see the details better.

If you go, plan on lots of time for staring.  I was spellbound by the iguana in The Lotus Eater...

his back is entirely covered with tortoiseshell dagger beads...splendid!

detail from The Lotus Eater

31.5" x 37"

detail from Monterey Seascape

27" x 36"

I think Robin and I were not alone swooning over this underwater habitat...truly incredible.

Can you tell this was an exhibit filled with viewers' expletives?!  That central branching

plant is constructed of triangular seed beads...must be one of finest uses of that shaped bead

that I have ever seen, so expressive of that plant's jointed structure...

detail from Coral

Although not a quilter myself per se, I have great appreciation for the skill involved in letting

fabric dictate line & motion, for taking traditional methods and making one's own marks with them...

for embellishing personal stories in one's own particular voice...

detail from Australian Aboriginal meets American Indian

For me, Thom's creations are as bold, and strong and as expressive as a very fine opera,

filled to the brim with his very distinctive voice!

Here's Robin with her "little" brother, Thom.

I'd say they are both beaming, wouldn't you?

: :  :

Thom has a book coming out in the fall, on quilting with beads.

Stay tuned for that one...I'll write a reminder when it hits the streets.

And if you can't wait to learn more about his methods, rumor has it that Thom will be teaching soon-ish

right there at the La Conner Quilt Museum...

news to be posted about this ~ and the link to sign up ~ on the museum's website 

starting on January 18th.

Ok...I'm going to spill some more beans and let you know that Robin has agreed to teach

two half-day workshops there herself...

it's all too, too beadiful indeed!

: : :

February UPDATE!  Registration is now open for the Quilt Fest Workshops (happening in early October, 2012) to be held at the La Conner Quilt Museum, WA, where both Thom and Robin will be teaching their extraordinary techniques and sharing their talent.  Thom's workshops include, "Bead Embroidery for Quilters," "Beaded Bezels & Borders," and "Improvisational Bead Embroidery."  Robin will be teaching "Beaded Buttons" and "Beaded Fringe Techniques."  Click on this direct link for the workshop descriptions and registration.

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Intertwined

Does this look familiar?  It's over there, on the upper right side of my blog...a detail from my avatar.  I've used that image ever since joining Blogger.  Probably well overdue for a change but I'm quite attached to it at this point.  I can be loyal to a fault.

I decided to tell you more about this beaded piece today because my dear beadiful friend Robin, once told me that this was one of her favorites and since she was majorly responsible for setting me on the blogging path to begin with and oh heck, for setting me on the beading path to begin with, it only seemed appropriate.  

We were doing a bit of catching up on the phone last night.  So much has been happening for both of us, it's been easy to lose track of time.  Robin's mom recently passed away (a lovely post about her mom on her blog here) and through the grieving some quiet steps forward have begun.  One of these steps is to "lighten my load," as she described it, something Robin learned from her mom about traveling lighter in later years.  To that end, Robin has decided to part with some of her own original beadwork.  Golly.  

Here is the link to her very upbeat blog post about this decision - if you've ever yearned to own a Robin Atkins *one-of-a-kind* this is quite an opportunity.  She's parting with many of the miniature technique samplers she beaded for her book,  Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery - 22 of them (although many have sold already).  You can check them out here.  Many more goodies to come, too.

So back to this piece...my August page for the 2008 Bead Journal Project, Three Shells, following on the year-long theme of exploring my relationship with where I live.  Using beads and found objects collected during that particular month, I hoped to reveal what my island life is like...

and in that process, increase my connection to it...

...all about tides, sea glass, multi-colored beach stones, layered reflections of sky, sea foam.

Looking back on it now it seems a kind of beaded poem to my home.  And three years on I see that I have become much more a part of this place after all.

Lovely to have you visit, my friends, till next time...

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She was bookin'...

I think of Chad Alice Hagen as a redheaded whirlwind.  Best to get a lot of sleep before one of her workshops  ~ you will definitely need the stamina.  And you probably won't be dozing during demos, won't be nipping out for *whatevers* because you will have stood in front of a table like this with your mind a bit blown and like most of us in her workshops, chomping at the bit to learn just HOW Chad makes these merino felt(ed) beauties.

"Resist Dyeing and Book Making" was held on our little island last summer.  Chad traveled all the way from her Asheville, NC digs to teach for three glorious days.  She only brought a few things with her  ;>}

Day one was about learning to resist dye the merino wool pre-felts using a huge assortment of binding, pinching, clamping, clipping and banding objects.  Our dye station was set up outside, the perfect spot for three of these:

While the Dye Master (Chad, in the yellow apron) kept the dye pots cooking, the sorters were kept busy.  Each bucket held all the bundles from one student which had to be separated between successive dye baths.  This is when the anticipation really started to build ~ waiting to unwrap our precious bundles was grueling!

By the second day, our felts (laid to dry on tables overnight) were ready for some serious scrutiny which included a whole lot of oooohing and aaaaahing and, "Can I have that one?"   I think I actually told someone that one of her pieces was going to disappear off her table overnight, HA!  The goal was to pick two pieces to embellish for book covers.  Chad made the rounds, offering her own share of ooohs & aaahs & "oops, that one fell in my pocket"...

Then came the hard part (for me anyway)...the bookbinding.  I don't think I have hands built for the task so I fumbled, grew a tad peeved with myself and decided in the end that stitching and beading were softer alternatives.  Book making is best left to stronger hands.  Sometimes it is just as important to know what we shouldn't be doing as it is to know what we should, right?

Here's a group view below of the covers for our coptic books, embellished with stitching and beadwork and ready to be filled with pages. That stunning black & blue one (2nd row on the right) belongs to my good friend Robin A., who came over from a neighboring island to join us for the workshop.  She wrote a wonderful post on her blog Beadlust, about this workshop.  If you aren't already familiar with Robin's extraordinary beadwork, leave a few moments to peruse the rest of her blog, too - it will not disappoint! 

Although I didn't complete my coptic book, I did finish my little wrap journal.  The binding on the spine was quite easy to get the hang of and I adore Chad's version of the bone and leather closure.

For Chad's own tales of her time out west, don't miss her post about it over on News from Studio A & B.  I think she liked it here.  She is threatening to come back.

In the meantime, check out Chad's Flickr photos of her FeltBooks and be prepared to drool.

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Bead woven treasures...

I was delighted yesterday when I saw the subject line, A Treasure Bracelet, over on Kaite's blog.  I knew just what her post was going to be about and I couldn't wait to read it...  

Kaite, who is way over the Big Puddle from me in Australia, found her inspiration for making one (or two) of these bracelets from Robin Atkin's book, Beaded Treasures - Finger Woven Bracelets, Necklaces, Tassels and Straps.  Since I also learned this technique from Robin, I wrote to Kaite right away and offered to blog about my own experience.  I just lovelovelove the power of beads to create international communication and sharing!

I too, had some difficulty with my first bracelet (above) but I think that's to be expected when it's the *first*. It feels to me like there are not enough beads and the ones I did use, are too widely spaced. I also wove them with the stacks & loops too high so they all stick out too far.  I've since learned a fairly easy fix for these issues (by using a tapestry-like needle and weaving in more beads) but I haven't done that yet.  A mixed blessing, since this actually provides a good comparison photo when I put it next to the second bracelet which I like much better.

For those of you who like to see the backside of things as much as I do, this one's for you:

These bracelets DO feel wonderful on the wrist.  You can pack them full of all kinds of beads & trinkets that hold special meaning or memories.  Or just play like crazy.  Robin has even done all buttons, oh my!

 They don't take long to make once you get going...really.

Have you made a woven treasure bracelet? If so, it would be great to hear about your experience. Until next time, friends, share with each other. 

p.s. Kaite, this has been fun!

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Bead Journal Project ~ November fog

Just a tiny bit of backtracking...  


I am working on the completion of my Bead Journal Project for 2007-08. Yes, you read that correctly...07-08. I am a tad behind, shall we say? Those of you like me, who still haven't finished, you are not alone - let us stand proudly together as the official "behinders"!


About a year ago, before I took the big gulp and jumped into this blog pond, my beady mentor (and now good friend) Robin Atkins wrote about my BJP theme, photographed the pages that were complete at the time and then posted the whole lot over on her blog, Beadlust.  She is ALWAYS doing this for people who don't have a web presence - how special is that?!  If you'd like to read her post, click here for 'A Sense of Place'.


Recently I was reviewing what needed to be done to finish this taking-so-long project.  Not too much more to go, I can happily say!  But I realized that I needed to post an updated photo of my completed page for November since that page was still "in progress" at the time of Robin's post .  So here it is:

One of my goals for this 12-page project (a page a month for a year) has been that each page has to contain a new bead embroidery technique - something new to me that I've never done before.  For November 'Fog' that technique was a bezel, so I surrounded my beach stone with a delicate cage of beads to hold it in place.  There is no glue involved since the stone is initially basted down with ordinary sewing thread.  When the bezel is complete and you've reached the top row, that last row holds your object tight.  Remove the basting threads and voila.  Oh, to be so caged...!


A couple of really good books have helped me with techniques along the way: one is Robin's book, "Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery, Fresh Ideas and Techniques for Creating Art with Beads" (bezels, page 52), and the other is Larkin Jean Van Horn's book, "Beading on Fabric: Encyclopedia of Bead Stitch Techniques" (stacked cage, page 92). 


Only a slight detour to the past.  I haven't forgotten the textiles post I promised...

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Dawg days of autumn...

...what a glorious time of year here in the Pacific Northwest!

It is the perfect season to begin a blog and it seems only fitting to start my first entry with a photo of my soulmutt, Isla, enjoying a gorgeous day, watching leaves fall and probably wishing they were birds she could chase instead. She'll be with me a lot on Sweetpea Path, since she generally follows me everywhere and wants to be part of everything. Try and stop her.

The idea for this blog has been percolating in my brain (and heart) for some time. Although active in the blog world through the participation and enjoyment of the blogs of others, I have been hesitant to create one of my own. That learning curve stuff, I guess. But the time has come. And I am blaming all of this on the BEADS...

Back in 2007, I joined the Bead Journal Project and I have not been the same since. Really. Ask my friends. If you are unfamiliar and would like to read all about this amazing project, you can do it here and you can visit their blog here.

Like many gals smitten with beads, I had been hoarding them and playing with them and from time to time, even making the odd wearable object with them. Yet it wasn't until I happened upon something called "improvisational bead embroidery" that my course was changed forever. The BJP project was founded by Robin Atkins - bead artist, teacher, writer & mentor - who, in her own words has "developed an incurable case of Beadlust..." (Robin, do you know how many lives you've changed?! thank you.)

My love of beadwork has jettisoned me towards a new and dare I say, very exciting path. In 2010, another BJP begins and I'll be taking part. I hope to meet many more beady pals and best of all, partake and contribute to this sharing and generous community of talented and creative bloggers. I am so happy to be here at last.

When I'm not swooning about beads, I'll probably be yacking about plants, gardens, native critters, stuff that's happening, rain that's falling (duh!) or anything else that catches my fancy. Oh, and life-with-dawg. Cuz it's my blog - and I can. Nuff said.

Please come back and visit again! Comments are always welcome. I'll hit "Post" now and see what happens...

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