In the meantime, I'm off to finish sewing & add some listings on Etsy!
Hi! My name's Jama and I've been designing beaded and wire jewelry for over twenty years and painting and sculpting for longer.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Quilt Patches
In the meantime, I'm off to finish sewing & add some listings on Etsy!
Press Coverage of The Mark of Great Art
Just noticed a press release on my local newspaper's website about the Maker's Mark show. My friend is also a reporter there and was at the reception Friday night, so I hope to have pix posted after the paper runs on Wednesday. Can't believe I forgot my camera!
September EBW Challenge
Voting begins on Tuesday, September 9th and ends midnight September 15th. Please show your appreciation for the efforts of these amazing artists by taking on the difficult task of voting for your favorite. (The ballot will appear on the side bar at right on the Etsy-Beadweavers Blog on September 9.) The individual pieces are listed below the mosaic on the blog where you can visit each entry for more information by following the link. Thank you, enjoy and be sure to visit http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com/ and vote between September 9th and 15th!
(I'm #10!)
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The Mark of Great Art
I went to the opening of "The Mark of Great Art" last night at Maker's Mark Distillery. What a show! I was really excited to be part of such an awesome event.
Maker's Mark commissioned pieces from 51 different Kentucky artists, all our individual interpretations of Maker's Mark - its product, the distillery, the creative process... whatever! They chose 2 of my ideas which I created over the course the the last few months, considering throwing one of them against the wall on several occasions. BUT, I'm really happy with the pieces and completely flattered to be the only jewelry artist in the entire exhibit (http://www.themarkofgreatart.com/artists/jama-watts.aspx).
There were some incredible pieces last night from artists that I've seen, know and some that I just discovered. After the show ends at Maker's Mark, the pieces will be split up into smaller shows that will travel to Chicago, New York, Lexington, Louisville, Seattle, San Francisco, London and Madrid. I'd love for one to end up overseas so I have an excuse to go see it! It's great exposure for me and I hope that others will see that jewelry can be wearable art.
Voting opens today on the website (http://www.themarkofgreatart.com) and continues through the 21st. 1st prize is $3,000, 2nd is $2,000 and 3rd is $1,000. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
The first piece I completed was a cuff comprised of hundreds of 3mm Siam bicone Swarovski that I wove using RAW on Fireline. The beads were woven in the shape of the shutters on the warehouses at Maker's Mark which feature a cutout in the shape of the Maker's bottle. The shutters were then stitched on black leather, placed around a brass cuff, backed with more black leather which I then whipstitched to the top layer. I finished the edges with more Swarovski and a row of 15/0 silver-lined gold seed beads. Talk about shiny!
The second piece is the one that I nearly stopped several times. I created a mold of the Maker's seal and made 17 seals out of silver clay, each featuring a red CZ set in the star. After firing and polishing, I dipped each seal's edges in the Maker's red wax. I then embroidered around each piece, backing them with tan leather the color of the Maker's Mark label. After each seal was done, I brought them all together with more stitching and added Swarovski along the edges for a little more punch.
Like I said, I'm REALLY happy with how they turned out. I got a lot of positive feedback last night and had a lot of friends show up for the opening. What a great night & great event to be part of!
Maker's Mark commissioned pieces from 51 different Kentucky artists, all our individual interpretations of Maker's Mark - its product, the distillery, the creative process... whatever! They chose 2 of my ideas which I created over the course the the last few months, considering throwing one of them against the wall on several occasions. BUT, I'm really happy with the pieces and completely flattered to be the only jewelry artist in the entire exhibit (http://www.themarkofgreatart.com/artists/jama-watts.aspx).
There were some incredible pieces last night from artists that I've seen, know and some that I just discovered. After the show ends at Maker's Mark, the pieces will be split up into smaller shows that will travel to Chicago, New York, Lexington, Louisville, Seattle, San Francisco, London and Madrid. I'd love for one to end up overseas so I have an excuse to go see it! It's great exposure for me and I hope that others will see that jewelry can be wearable art.
Voting opens today on the website (http://www.themarkofgreatart.com) and continues through the 21st. 1st prize is $3,000, 2nd is $2,000 and 3rd is $1,000. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
The second piece is the one that I nearly stopped several times. I created a mold of the Maker's seal and made 17 seals out of silver clay, each featuring a red CZ set in the star. After firing and polishing, I dipped each seal's edges in the Maker's red wax. I then embroidered around each piece, backing them with tan leather the color of the Maker's Mark label. After each seal was done, I brought them all together with more stitching and added Swarovski along the edges for a little more punch.
Like I said, I'm REALLY happy with how they turned out. I got a lot of positive feedback last night and had a lot of friends show up for the opening. What a great night & great event to be part of!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A not-so-laborious Labor Day
I'd planned on spending much of my Labor Day weekend beading and catching up on some painting that I've neglected, but that didn't happen. Well, I got some beading done, but not as much as I wanted and no painting. On the other hand, my daughter had her first soccer practice and I giggled hysterically as 4-6 year-olds ran around the field.
I'd meant to post this piece earlier and kept forgetting. I'd started the herringbone chain months, if not a year, ago, originally working on a graduated chain. I ripped out all of the increases, taking the chain back down to its original size and finishing it out with a button & loop clasp, using a brass button I had. I raided my bead stash and found a large orange glass donut that I got in a mix a few years ago. I'm not usually much on orange, so the donut had sat there... with a nice layer of dust :)
I originally worked a 2 Delica-wide ladder around the donut and decided that it needed a bit more "oomph" and added beads on the front using brick stitch and fringe. I was pretty happy with the results, as was my mom, who took the piece within the week!
In other news, I've joined the Etsy Beadweavers in creating squares for Jeanette Shanigan’s 2009 Beaded Quilt. With a grandmother who conquered breast cancer, I'm very excited to be participating in the Quilt Project this year. I've started working on my squares and will post more as I finish them up.
I'd meant to post this piece earlier and kept forgetting. I'd started the herringbone chain months, if not a year, ago, originally working on a graduated chain. I ripped out all of the increases, taking the chain back down to its original size and finishing it out with a button & loop clasp, using a brass button I had. I raided my bead stash and found a large orange glass donut that I got in a mix a few years ago. I'm not usually much on orange, so the donut had sat there... with a nice layer of dust :) I originally worked a 2 Delica-wide ladder around the donut and decided that it needed a bit more "oomph" and added beads on the front using brick stitch and fringe. I was pretty happy with the results, as was my mom, who took the piece within the week!
In other news, I've joined the Etsy Beadweavers in creating squares for Jeanette Shanigan’s 2009 Beaded Quilt. With a grandmother who conquered breast cancer, I'm very excited to be participating in the Quilt Project this year. I've started working on my squares and will post more as I finish them up.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
My inner geek
Blue Eye and
Green Eye.
I've doing some beadwork this week, but mostly focusing on trying to get some older pieces photographed & on Etsy. What I'm really been doing is geeking out. My mom runs a computer repair shop located next door to my gallery. When I have time, I rummage through her discarded pc parts and pull things I think might work in jewelry or artwork. I've been pretty successful with my pc windchimes, but would much rather make jewelry. Every geeky fashionista needs some bling.
I give you, Geekware, my new line on Etsy!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Etsy Beadweavers September Challenge
As I mentioned in my last post, I joined the Etsy-Beadweavers group. One of the things the group does is a monthly challenge. September's challenge is "Complimentary Contradictions." For this, I decided to merge metal and wood as the contradiction, using gold-tones in the metal to compliment the wood. I'm pretty pleased with the results.
The gold beads are 2mm gold-plated brass beads which are brick-stitched over wooden rings. There are two rounds of brick stitch on each wooden ring, with the center dark ring containing a textured 6mm brass bead. The clasp is a toggle, with the last ring being the hole and the bar made from gold 11/0 Delicas using peyote stitch.
The Etsy listing.
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