Welcome Back Guest Blogger and former Bead Maven Callie Mitchell :)

I must admit I was thrilled when Callie accepted my invitation to be a guest blogger...I loved working with Callie on the Mavens so it's great to see her back in a guest spot :)

Callie Mitchell

Many thanks to the fabulous Bead Mavens for inviting me to be a guest on their fabulous new blog!  This page is fast becoming a “go-to” site for all beaders interested in great design and the latest news in all things Beading.  It’s an honor to be here, and it’s great to have the Bead Mavens back again!

I’m also glad to be back designing again after a summer-long hiatus from beadwork. 

Sometimes it really helps recharge the batteries to spend a little time doing other things.  I find that I think about beadwork design almost constantly, even when I’m not actually at my work table with beads in hand. And my summer break was a good time to reflect on where I’ve been as a beader, and where I’ll head in the future.




Kathryn Howard Necklace

 When I got back to work, one of the first pieces I wanted to complete was the Kathryn Howard necklace.  For the past several years in an on-again, off-again way, I’ve been creating jewelry pieces to represent Renaissance Queens.  I’ve made a cuff for Mary Queen of Scots, a bracelet for Elizabeth I, and necklaces for Isabella of Castile and Catherine of Aragon.  Translating designs from other periods, made with different materials and techniques, is always a challenge.  I deliberately kept the palette soft and rather monochromatic in this design, as the details were quite varied – scalloped St. Petersburg chain, chaton-embellished structural component and natural pearl accents.  I was trying for a fresh and youthful, though elegant look.  The necklace is an investment in time to create, but it’s definitely glamorous. 



Carousel Cuff

 After Kathryn Howard, I wanted something simpler to work on.  Geometric beadwork designs are very much in vogue right now, and though my Carousel cuff isn’t a dimensional piece, it is every bit geometric.  I chose bold color palettes for this one, in primary colors and gold, as the shapes are geometric primaries in themselves – triangle, rectangle, circle.  As I worked on this piece, it struck me how much the design evoked childhood memories of a carousel, with pennant flags waving  in the breeze and shields brightly blazoned around its overhang.  Peyote stitch, both flat and circular, as well as brick stitch are employed in the design, and it makes up fairly quickly.



Noughts and Crosses Bracelets

During my “quiet time” this summer I also began to think about a future direction for my beadwork and found myself really going back to my roots as a beader.  I’ve spent a good bit of time these past few years exploring dimensional and complex designs and I find that I’m yearning for simplicity.  This week I worked up a new Tila bead design that fills this bill for me.  The “Noughts and Crosses” bracelet can be made in under an hour but is nevertheless richly textured and has, I hope, a “more than meets the eye” quality.  I chose really rich color palettes for this style, to act as a counterpoint to the simplicity of the design itself. I'll be working up tutorial for this fast and simple bracelet in the coming weeks.

I think simplicity in design can – and should – nevertheless be sophisticated and varied.  Designwise, right now I’m heading back toward basic ropes, flat work, beaded beads worked up in deep, rich colors, suitable for daytime, night time, any time. 

 I’m glad to be back at my beading table, and thanks for having me here, Bead Mavens!

My Design Approach ~Valorie

Hi, all!  During my time as a Maven I'm delighting in getting to know my fellow designers!  I love learning about artists and their design processes and inspirations.  I've learned that designers differ in their approach:  Some plan everything out and have a routine, methodical way they go about things.  Others are spontaneous and don't plan anything- they go with the flow.  Still others are somewhere in between, a mix of the two.  I thought you might want to see how I approach design and what inspires me.

I like to think of myself as a "breezy" designer, an easy, breezy, go-with-the-flow artist.  I don't really plan anything and I have to wait for the inspiration to come to me.  I don't have a routine, I don't calculate or plan, and I only sketch a design if I get an idea while working or when I'm busy and don't have time to run to the beads and try my idea.  I'm more apt to sketch a design after I've made a piece in preparation for tutorial writing so that I can remember what I did.  

When I'm designing I go with the flow.  I may start with an idea of a general shape that I want but the beads are the boss and I do what they tell me to do.  Most often I will bead, ripping it out if it doesn't look good, re-bead, rip out, re-bead... until I like what I made.  After I have a prototype figured, I sit down and try to remember how I made it.  I do rough sketches and sometimes I'll do another prototype based on those sketches.  When I have it down correctly, that's when I begin my illustrations and tutorial writing.  Below is an example of my scribbles of my Romanov design prior to writing the tutorial:

My scribbles and chicken scratch!  :)

What inspires me?  I don't usually design for something specific.  I'm more inspired by a feeling, a color, a season, an idea, a time period, something broad and nonspecific.  I also design around a shape; for instance, a bead shape.

Sometimes I design around a color.  I'll pile my beads on my desk and play with them and pick a color!  I then go "shopping" in my inventory and pick out beads to accompany the one I chose.  I'll pull contrasting colors, complimentary colors and monochromatic versions based on the color of the bead.  I'll then sit down and cull the color schemes.  I toss the beads together and then decide if I want a high contrast piece or a monochromatic piece.  Once I choose my beads and color scheme I decide on my shape and design.  

Other times, I'll design based on a feeling or a season.  Do I want something crisp, clean, wintry and sparkly to evoke Winter?  Do I want something light, carefree, casual and easygoing for Summer?  Do I want something bright, clean and fresh for Spring?  Do I want something warm, comforting, earth-toned or spicy for Autumn?

This was created with Winter in mind- it was purchased to be a Winter Wonderland parade costume accessory!

This was created with Spring gardens in mind.

This was created with hot, Summer sunsets in mind.

This was created with Autumn in mind.

I have been known to design around the shape of a bead (in fact, it's what I do best!)  I'm passionate about Super Duo beads and most of my designs incorporate them.  I'm also in love with Czech rounds and I love them so much more than crystals!  For me, there's something soothing about simple, no-frills beads and rounds fit the bill for me.  Recently I was asked to design something that incorporates Brick beads and this is what I came up with:

My Pathways bracelet, soon to be a tutorial.

Oftentimes I'm inspired by antiquity.  I love to watch old movies and gaze at the jewelry.  I'm a huge fan of ancient jewelry and when I do metalwork I like to try to capture the feel of something very old.  When I was designing my Czarina bracelet, I wanted to bring a little bit of an older feel to it while using modern beads.  I wanted something with a hint of lace but still something that wouldn't look odd to wear today.  

So, there's a peak at my approach.  There is no right or wrong way to design!  I've met phenomenal designers and they all have different design styles.  What's your style?