Rebels Are We – Progress Report

I had these fancy ideas that I would keep track of the hours put in on the project, take a picture every 5 hours, and post updates that way.  Well, that was a nice theory except 5 hours came and went with no ability to take a photo.  Hours tracking has fallen by the wayside as well.  I think I’m a little over 7 hours at this point.

I realized early on that it was a great thing that I had this on my computer so I can write all over the printed design as much as I want.  After the first few times of having to pull things out because I had screwed up, again, I started drawing lines through each row as I finished it.  Helps a LOT.  I’ve still made mistakes and had to pull things out…but no where near as many as I would have other wise!

Anyway, I’m getting close to finishing the first side!  The pattern is dark – but I like it.  Just almost impossible to photograph…

Rebels Are We – The Design Work

Well – not feeling good today so I had to spend a lot of time sitting still!  That meant I pulled out my paper and pens and started actually drafting out the design I wanted to use for my new purse   It took a few pieces of paper (and more than one pen) to get to a point where I was starting to be happy with it.  Then I had some inspiration – I could do this work on my photo editing program!  Since the grid I was using to design with was originally from the internet I simply down-loaded it as a picture and started playing.

I’m REALLY glad I did.  The pattern has turned out to much more interesting than it probably would have been had I stuck with my paper.  I was getting TIRED of drawing and re-drawing.  Then again, this was tedius too – just not as hard on the hand.  I may have to look into getting one of those bead designing programs sometime in the next year…  Any one have any suggestions or ever use one?

Moving on – this is the main design!  I ran out of room on the grid – so the small hearts you see on the right will also be repeated on the left – I just wasn’t in the mood at that point to figure out how to make my grid larger…

That’s a 50×50 grid and, to my amazement, it’s no where near as big as I envisioned it might be when I actually started weaving it!

The design work is going to be pretty subtle because I chose a Christmas green that doesn’t contrest a ton with the black – but it works a lot better in person   I’ll just have to work on getting good photos…

At this point I’m debating expanding the pattern beyond the original design since this will be much smaller than I was thinking it would – but I think I’ll just stitch this and see how long it takes me to do this one side and go from there – I have a feeling I’ll decide that small is fine

“Rebels are We” – The inspiration

***Note – I originally wrote this post several days ago on paper when I didn’t have access to type it – and I’ve been too busy/out of it to post it until now***

Every piece of art has a story.  Sometimes it’s as simple as, “My Teacher told me to draw this.”  Other times it’s a complex story full of moments of inspiration, frustration and failures, and the sweet nectar of success.  Many, if not most, of these stories go untold.  They rattle around in the corners of the artists mind and only appear when someone asks for them.

Jewelry is no different.  It is an art like any other and each peice has its inspiration.  For me, it is often simply a matter of finding colors that work together.  Other times I discover new designs and patterns as I’m inspired by other jewelry artists.  And, yes, some pieces have a much more complicated story.

This is my attempt to capture one of those stories, to record it and preserve it both for myself and for anyone else who may be interested, including the future owner of the piece.  Thus, I give you the story of my inspiration.

The inspiration for this piece came from a fusion of ideas that have been growing in my mind over time.  The first of these ideas came from reading my friend Kate’s blog. Kate runs the etsy shop Om Shanti and regularly blogs about both her life and her work.  She often has fun stories behind her inspiration for her pieces.  Also, she often has a song that goes along with her piece.  I’ve always thought that would be fun to do!

I’ve been listening to Floggy Molly a lot lately.  (In fact it’s playing as I type this up)  The words of it get suckt in my head!  Some more than others.  I actually have a few ideas I hope to develop from these songs… but I digress.  As I was driving along this morning, and listing to “Rebels of the Scacred Heart” by Flogging Molly, a pattern began to form in my head.  So, while I waited in the doctors office, I began to sketch it out on a piece of paper.

I soon realized that the pattern in my head would take a LOT of beads to complete.  That’s when the next piece fell into place.  I’ve been planning on creating a “show piece” this winter while there aren’t as many craft fairs and markets to go to.  I’ve looked at several complicated bead woven pieces, but I’ve always gone back to the idea of a making a purse, or clutch, out of beads.  I quickly realized that this design would be perfect for that!  As I left the doctors office I began to play with the design ideas in my head and solidified my idea a little more.

I’ve decided that the piece will be called “Rebels are We!” after the intro to  the chorus of the song “Rebels of the Sacred Heart”

“Rebels are we, though heavy our hearts shall always be
Ah, no ball or chain no prison shall keep
We`re the rebels of the sacred heart”

I was going to try and find a video of this song – but couldn’t find a good one – sorry!

I won’t be updating this project daily – so keep your eyes open for the next update!  Or look in my tags under “Rebels.”