Enclosed in a bright purple colored, polka dotted bubble mailer I received my swap goodies at the end of February 2020. They came together as jewellery quickly. After a long wait, here I present my Wrapped and looped jewellery for the SwapNhop 2020 reveal.
About my partner
My partner is Ms. Kari Asbury, jewellery maker and owner of Kari Asbury jewelry. If you are regular TV watcher (of American shows) you may have seen many of her gorgeous pieces. She is part of a group called The Artisan Group through which she gifts jewellery to costume designers and celebrities which get placed in shows. She participated in this year’s Oscar pre-award show gift lounge as well. Since I teach fashion styling, I was fascinated by the process and asked her countless questions. She was patient enough to answer them.
What I sent my partner
During our chats, Kari told me that she loved art. Georgia O’Keeffe is one of her favorite artists and actually started her love with all things art. I instantly knew that I could put together bead palettes based on O’Keefe’s works. Kari’s favorite colors are purple, green and blue but finds yellows and oranges challenging. to this end, I created two palettes using two paintings as the inspiration. I had only been exposed to Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings through an ABS challenge. So it was interesting to look through the paintings an find ones that were usable. The red canna and Cow’s skull were perfect.
For Red Canna, I sent glass beads in blue violet, orange, a paper slab, cotton cord and red stone beads. I also made fabric beads wrapped in wire using a copper core. The shell bird brooch was just a gift. For Cow’s skull, I picked glass beads in copper and dark blue and red ceramic beads. I had bought shell components from an importer at Rameshwaram. I was there in January where I was working on a livelihood project teaching jewellery making to fisher women. The spikes are shell abalone that I bought from FMG years ago. That makes up the something old, something new, something borrowed (the paintings) and something blue!
What my partner sent me
My partner sent me art beads, glass beads, crystals, green stone chips and a clasp. The melon bead is from Gaea and the marbled one is from pink beads. The pentagonal pendant is an art bead by Martha Eason of Menagerie Studios. It seems that she no longer makes them which makes them very special. Thank you Kari!
SwapNhop 2020 reveal
My goal every year with Swap N hop is to make pieces only using the beads and components in the swap. When I saw the beautiful pendant, I knew that I would be making a necklace. My plan was to make a simple Wrapped and looped necklace that would highlight the pendant. I picked out some from my stash that would complement the swap beads. I used Czech glass floral beads, pink agates, blue murano beads and two foil lined beads. But still I knew they wouldn’t be enough to make a necklace. So I did what I never do – vertical wrapped loops to increase length.
Wrapped and looped jewellery
I almost never do wrapped loops for they take time, consume more material and can be priced only a tiny bit more than pieces with simple loops. In the past, I have made wrapped and looped jewellery with copper or brass wire but never with artisan wire as its precious commodity to me. I typically use Beadsmith wire as it harder and tarnish resistant in Chennai weather. However, it is slightly more expensive than other brands. Also, I need to buy it in USA, send to one of my relatives and wait till they are travel to India to get it just to save cost. So I reserve it for ear hooks and fancy headpins. It was just before the swap, I realised I was running dangerously low on wire. So I requested Kari to send me wire, which I bought and had it shipped to her place along with the swap beads . She graciously obliged me. Without that wire, I would have never made these pieces. I somehow had the foresight to order supplies before the lock down.
Pinky pink earrings
Pre CVP (Corona Virus Pandemic) I was wearing large earrings to class everyday. As a result my earlobes started to hurt. I was looking to make some small, lightweight earrings when I got Kari’s package. The pink crystals became earrings along with rose gold wire and faceted agates from the necklace. It is light but get washed out when I wear it. It maybe requires an additional lightweight charm.
Green chips tree earrings
I was digging through my bead box one day, when I found green gemstone chips similar to what Kari had sent me. These were chunkier but of staggered sizes. I put them together along with four small chips from the swap. Viola! tree earrings. Once again I brought out the artisan wire and the earrings were born. They are are slightly heavy for the three inches length. The weight was bearable for an hour long VC meeting. Will I be able to wear them all day? Only time will tell.
These are the three Wrapped and looped jewellery pieces that I made using my swap. The Flutter by necklace is for sale and will be shipped once the lockdown lifts. What have you peeps been doing during your isolation/lock down? I have been reading, teaching online, trying to cook and make some art and jewellery. I really look forward to seeing what Kari and all of you have made.
I hope you find it interesting
Cheers
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