Beaded jewelry

This is the "Holiday Goddess". I made her for a special friend of mine. She is made out of green felt. She has a paua shell face with tiny heart which says "Made with Love". She measures 5" with her fringe.

Bead Art

This is Imak (E -mack) which is Inuit for "water". Imak started out as a snowman ornament. I performed surgery on the snowman form by adding peyoted arms & legs to the body. I cut out the snowman face and made one of polymer clay. He sports little leather mittens and faux fur hat. He is fat and happy from a good winter catch. His fishing pole even has a bone fish hanging from a beaded string.

Bead Art

Meet Galwani ("Circle of beads" in Ndebele language). She is the first doll I beaded. She mesures 10" in height and 9-1/2" wide. She is done in size 11 seed bead embroidery with a peyote collar and rusty washer for her mouth. Her corn rows use black matte & glossy seed beads. At the ends of each of her corn rows is one African Christmas bead. She took about 3 months of steady work to complete.

Bead Art

This is Mystic Sea. The form and face were made by Lidija Fairbanks. I added the peyoted arms and beading. She measures 5 x 8-1/2".

Beaded bunny

This piece is called "Thru the Looking Glass". The bunny form has a mirror in its belly. Bead embroidery encircles the mirror as well as the form. Flowers and Tiny Tims decorate the bunny's legs and arms. I have sewn cut pieces of felt into the ears and painted the face with watercolors. The bunny also wears a peyoted beret.

Beaded jewelry

Here's a kumihimo necklace I made. Kumihimo is an ancient Japanese braiding technique typically done with silk cording. The braided cord was worn by warriors. The lampwork bead is made by Lori Greenberg. The pendant may be removed.

Book art

Last year I gathered some talented women together and we shared an altered book adventure. This is an Asian spread I did.

Jackson Pollack...sort of!

Don loves Pollack but since his works are a bit out of our price range he decided to do his own. This one is 72" by 60". It is titled "Our House in the Desert". He collected all of the leftover house paint (plus a little of Victoria's "good stuff") and locked himself in the garage for several days. This is the result.

Lionfish- Fiji

Victoria and I saw this guy in Fiji a few months ago; he is about 12 inches long; very poisonous; and will eat anything that he can fit into his mouth.

Bead Art

In the spirit of the holidaze, meet Rudolph the Rasta (as in Rastafarian) Reindeer. This started out as a white cotton muslin reindeer form. I painted the body red & purple. The body and head have circular bead embroidery. The arms and legs have 3 bead netting on them. Rudolph has rasta hair made of black 24 gauge wire. He also has one pieced horn full of beads. Ho, ho, ho!

Fabric Arts

Here are two fabric postcards. Since I don't quilt, I drew the images, then painted them. These postcards are mailed and then swapped with a friend.

Soft sculpture with bead work

Here are some pins I've made with simple bead embroidery.

Jewelry

I've been having lots of fun with wire work! These bracelet use lampwork beads and 20 gauge wire for an quick wrap. My thanks to Jean Yates for sharing her very kewl design.

Lil Otto

When we first moved to AZ, we transplanted a large 25' saguaro cactus to our backyard. We named him Otto (anything that big and costing that much to transplant deserved a name!) Since then, I've always thought I wanted to make my own Otto. Presto! Lil Otto is born and made of green felt with ribs sewn prior to assembly. After assembling, each spine was painstakingly pierced into the ribs. The beaded blossoms show the normal June blooming of a saguaro.

Beaded Jewelry

I bought the face charm from ERA Graphics almost 2 years ago and finally got inspired to make a peyote bracelet! The bracelet uses size 11 seed beads, hexes and cubes. The face is adorned with picot. I love it.

Artwork

Welcome! You've entered the world of art in the making. Here we love beads, fibers, handmade paper, mixed media, underwater photography and a host of other things. Peruse and see what strikes your fancy or motivates you to try something.