The Traveling SideShow: Exotic Bead Swap

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Exotic Bead Swap - Meet my Peep!

Welcome to the 2nd annual Bead Peeps Swap & Hop!

My partner is Divya Narasimhan of Jewels of Sayuri.

She lives a very colorful and culturally rich life in Chennai, India, where she teaches design at the University.

Her work has the appeal of classical tradition with a bit of a contemporary twist.
She's influenced by her own culture, as well as others around the world.
(a kindred roving spirit!)

She's quite the multi faceted talent, making everything from hand molded leather flowers and soap sculptures, to drawing, as well as designing jewelry and fashion.

Sayuri is a OWB (One woman brand) that believes in creating contemporary and fashionable pieces by incorporating recycling and reusing. The tagline says it all - "Designed to please your soul".

So here's the kit I sent Divya to work with.

A little bit of everything really.
When we had initially talked, I had the idea to send each other regional items, that the other might not have easy access to.
I suggested sending her things like sea glass and seashells, because I live near a beach. and that she might send me things like sari silks and the kind of beads and findings she could get locally.
Divya pointed out that most of those items are export from the country and not easily accessible to her. She also said she couldn't get ceramic and stoneware components.
I never got a chance to go scour the beach for sea glass, but did stick with my original beach theme.

She did request some of my "metal bits", so I made her a sea urchin. Hand formed from copper sheet using repousse technique. I gave it a lovely verdigris patina to blend with the color palette, and then buffed with steel wool to highlight the copper.

I also forged her a copper hook clasp using a vintage brass button. The original inlay was missing from the button, so I set the crown of a sea urchin into the bezel, and sealed it in lacquer.
I included several focals, besides the sea urchin.

A siren face ceramic art bead pendant by Michelle Ann McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio.
An Italian silver glass lampwork seahorse pendant (artist unknown).

Also an artisan ceramic bracelet bar embossed with a beautiful lace pattern. Originally bisque, I did the patina work with Verdigris Rub-n-Buff and African Bronze Gilder's paste, leaving them with a soft Mediterranean sun kissed sheen.

I never got a chance to collect sea glass from the beach, so I included a selection of cultured sea glass from ZnetShows collection, in a sea of marine jewel tones.

Also included:
-a selection of Turquoise, Howlite, and Magnesite coins
-Prehnite Nuggets
-Lampwork glass lentils
-a pair of large Italian siver glass lentils
-a pair of rare Green Coral wheels
-Venetian blown glass baubles
-Sponge Coral, hand dyed Navy blue
-a pair of long faceted teal blue variegated Chalcedony drops
-deep teal blue ceramic art beads by Natalie Pappas of NKP Designs
-bright lime green flower shaped fresh water pearls

-a sea urchin spine
-a few glittery seashell buttons
-a pair of sea urchins
-a mini faux enamel seahorse
-sea shells
-fisherman's netting
-hand painted silk
-sari silk
-hand spun seaweed art yarn
-a pair of Chysocolla gemstone rounds

I wrapped it up real pretty, sticking with the beach theme. Using shimmery water blue paper, and some of the fibers as the wrap itself.
I also included some extras for fun!
A lavender mint creme filled dark chocolate bar. I picked this one not just because I thought the lavender was interesting, but because this series of chocolate bars support endangered species. This one happens to support conservation of the sea otter.
A package of my favorite Auroshika brand, orange blossom scent incense. One of my favorite Indian exports. Thought it would be fun to send some of those hard to come by exports back to her. ;)
Last, but certainly not least, I included a soundtrack! 3 compilation CD's, each fitting a different mood, designed to inspire her creativity.

Divya sent me 2 kits to work with. She presented me with a color challenge. To use a combination she couldn't find on my page, blue and silver.
I actually had an entire blue an silver jewelry collection called "Blue Jean Blues", but most of it sold fairly quickly.

The second challenge was to use green. Yet another color void in my collection, as I routinely sell out. ;)

She also included some sari pieces.

So the colors weren't really a challenge for me, but some of the components were.

I started with the blue and silver kit, using her region of the world for inspiration.

I have a vintage hand carved wooden stamp from India with a Paisley motif. Originally used for indigo block dying textiles, but I've been wanting to translate it into a jewelry design.
I chose to make a molten solder stamping to create a medallion for part of my focal. The solder color matches quite well with the large lacey bead cap earring finding Divya sent me to work with.

I actually did the solder stamping as a Tutorial Tuesdays feature in the Lampwork Bead Addicts Talk-Learn-Share group. If you've missed those, they're always accessible in the photo album for future reference.

I drilled lots of holes and wire wrapped my solder stamping, embellishing it with lustrous blue crystals to frame the paisley medallion.

I bought a batch of gypsy bells.
The bells came a very bright shiny silver and didn't really match the paisley medallion and the bead cap. I dipped them all into a black patina to antique them. Then brushed with steel wool to highlight, giving them the perfect "aged" look.

I also bought some Irish waxed linen in a deep slate blue.
I went with a 2 ply so it was fine enough to string crystals and pearls. I did have to bore out the holes a bit more on the pearls with a reamer, but I made it work.
I pulled all I could find in this color palette from my own stash and got to work.

Going with a knotted cord beaded rosary style chain, I started from the medallion, working my way up.

"Namaste"

I tried to use the beads Divya sent, front and center.
Using the trapezoid shaped crystals close together right in the front, turned on their sides, they form almost a winged breastplate.
Spaced with the large mercury glass finish beads, and framed with the frosted gray glass rounds.
I continued working my way up, randomly placing beads as they felt right, but matching the two sides symmetrically.

I ended up using a mix of small smokey blue crystals, vintage Chinese silk knot buttons, Hand dyed navy blue sponge coral, iridescent gray fresh water pearls, Titanium coated Quarts crystal nuggets, and pewter flower medallions.

Next I embellished the bead cap, adding lots of individual lustrous smokey blue crystal dangles.

Gathering all the ribbons, yarns, sari silks, and fibers I could find in this color palette, I made a fabulously textural tassel.

Originally I had intended to stick the tassel right into the bead cap, but when I did, it stunt the movement of all the crystal dangles. All that shimmer and dazzle I made the effort to create, was completely lost.
Plan B! I needed to figure out how to elevate that bead cap above the tassel.

I made 2 felted wool pom poms, in consecutive sizes, and dyed them deep blue. One fit perfectly inside the bead cap, giving all those dangles room to dance. The larger one fitting just below, I embellished it with pewter flower and crystal medallions to blend with the overall look. Then attached the tassel to the bottom.

Finishing it off by attaching all those jingly gypsy bells to the tassel threads.

"Namaste" was the only piece I managed to finish in time for the reveal, but I have big plans for those greens too.
I was really stumped by that black and green polymer clay focal. I tend to do a lot of layering, but it was too large to add much more to it. Yet it didn't have a whole lot of interest to stand on it's own in one of my designs.
I really had to think outside the box for this one!
It reminded me a bit of a pod. So I made it one!