I finished the mixed media beaded quilt that began as a class that I took with Nancy Eha back in August. The beaded medallion is so distinctive that it took me awhile to figure out how to finish the piece off. You can learn to make this great medallion in Nancy’s book, Bead Creative Art Quilts.
Take nine artists, a color scheme, and a “can do” spirit. Some assembly required. What emerges? A story that we’re all proud to be a part of.
We’ve been waiting for this moment for more than a year! Our traveling charm necklace is finally up on auction. All of the proceeds will be donated for breast cancer research. The auction ends Sunday, September 16.
You can read the story of our necklace here, and a direct link to the auction is right here.
Thank you for looking, and thank you even more if you bid!
Love from,
Leah, Bobbi, Wendy, Amy, Ellen, Dorothy, Dulcey, Illaya, and Cyndi
breast-cancer, charm-necklace, creativity, mixed-media, wearable-art
You’ve probably already read our story, but I’m going to include it again below so that those who are not familiar with it can read it. The time we’ve been waiting for is almost here! “A Charmed Life” will be auctioned off, starting Sunday, September 9 and ending on Saturday, September 15, on eBay. Search for it using the phrase “a charmed life necklace breast cancer”
Starting in April 2006, a small group of my artist friends and I have been collaborating on a charm necklace project. None of us have ever met in person as we live all over the country, but this project is working towards making us feel closer in so many ways!
All of the charms were sent to me to be assembled, and then the necklace began its journey from one member to the next. Each of us wore it on a special date…everything from art openings and reunions to a concrete convention. We’ve shared our pictures and stories with each other as the necklace has made the rounds. Our ultimate aim, though, is to auction it off this summer and donate all the funds to breast cancer research.
The stories from those who’ve worn the necklace and the reactions of those who see it are quite gratifying. We’ve had people stop us on the street, cross crowded rooms, and even chase us down to get a better look at it. Everyone immediately senses that there must be an amazing story behind it. We’re hoping that our sale will be amazing too: we would really like to make a major contribution to breast cancer research with the auction of our piece. Every one of us in the group has someone we love who has struggled with one form of cancer or another, and many with breast cancer specifically. [Note ~ The necklace will be up for auction on eBay in September 2007. Search on the phrase “a charmed life necklace breast cancer”]
The participants:
Wendy Van Camp
Illaya Brown
Bobbi Chukran
Leah Hitchcock-Ybarra
Dorothy Lueloff
Ellen Chasse
Dulcey Heller
Amy Fraser
Cyndi Lavin
breast-cancer, charm-necklace, creativity, mixed-media, wearable-art
I’ve never taken a workshop with Melanie, but it’s certainly a big temptation now that I’ve seen the stunning array of pieces that she teaches! You can look over her workshop topics and schedule at her website.
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
I had the time of my life last Saturday! I was fortunate enough to be able to take a class in a nearby city with one of my beading heroes, the incomparable beaded quilt artist, Nancy Eha. Not only is Nancy’s beadwork original, beautiful, charming, and totally unique, but so is she. I have rarely been in a classroom with such a gifted teacher. Nancy is patient, organized, articulate, and creative. Very often you’ll get a teacher with one or two of these qualities, but rarely ever all of them. If you ever have an opportunity to take one of her classes…DO NOT MISS OUT!!!
Here are some pictures from our class, and above is one of Nancy’s pieces that was displayed at the quilt show where the classes were being held.
The project that Nancy was teaching is available in her book, Bead Creative Art Quilts. Can you teach yourself using this book? Of course. Will you have anywhere near the fun or learn as much? No way! So do both: get the book and take a class!
Only its temporary home though! In about a month, our collaborative charm necklace will be auctioned off to support breast cancer research.
Each of us made a charm in an “ocean” color palette that we all agreed upon. The charms were sent to me last July (2006), and it was my responsibility to get them all to play nicely together! Since we had spent quite a bit of time discussing palette and size issue, this did not turn out to be a problem at all.
Our necklace then made the rounds to all of us. We each wore it to a special event and had shared pictures and stories with each other. Some wonderful experiences resulted from the travels of the necklace. In the midst of this, Belle Armoire magazine put out a call for collaborative necklaces…could there have possibly been any better timing? As soon as we finished passing it around, I packaged it up and shipped it off to be photographed for the magazine. “A Charmed Life” should appear in the Sept/Oct issue of Belle Armoire!
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media
Interweave Press has posted the neatest little online catalog of the beaded bags accepted into Beadwork Magazine’s juried show. You can click on the bottom corners to turn the pages…it’s so cool, it’s almost as good as leafing through the catalog by hand!
The Luce Foundation Center for American Art has a fabulous jewelry collection. The Luce is one of the less well-known of the Smithsonian Museum family. If you won’t be taking a trip anytime soon to Washington DC, the Luce’s website thoughtfully displays a certain amount of the collection for your viewing pleasure right online!
handmade-beaded-jewelry, wearable-art, beads, beading, jewelry, mixed-media, Luce Center
Come on a journey through a bead and jewelry wonderland, where no item is considered too strange to use in making something...especially if that item has a hole in it! All types of beads are welcomed and cherished here, and no techniques are off-limits. You'll be amazed and inspired by the beadwork that is being done today!
Bead Arts Author(s)
» Cyndi-Lavin
