What I love about Cindy's underlining design principle is that she's not afraid to explore new materials and is constantly investigating new ways of doing things.
Andrew's gone to the core of how I approach beadmaking. I'm always working on a new media, a new technique to expand my ability to express a design. Different media lends itself to different techniques and I'm on a constant quest to expand my abilities in all media.
That quest usually finds me buying books. Today, I'm going to share which books have taken up residence on my workbench and are serving as the inspiration for the new faux wood carved painted hearts.
First up is Christi Friesen and her latest book, Steampunkery.
But you shouldn't get the impression that I'm sorry I bought the book. The book is a jewel of humor and technique - right up my ally. I get to laugh while I'm learning a new media. Steampunkery is full of useful information for the less experienced (like me) and beautiful to look at with a story woven through it.
Christi's design aesthetic is distinctive and quite different from my own. So after playing with a few of the heart projects in the book, I wanted to go off in another direction with the hearts.
The other book occupying my workbench has been there awhile. Back in January, I reviewed Cynthia Thornton's book, Enchanted Adornments for Art Bead Scene. It's been on my workbench ever since.
Wanting to create a heart in a style of my own, Enchanted Adornments was the go to book. I've said how Cynthia's book is full of tips and techniques unique to her style and aesthetic. I love her style but again, it's very different from my own. It's how she creates that style I'm interested in learning.
Pages 38-39 lie open on my workbench, the section is entitled, "Texturing Clay." A quote kept going over and over in my mind:
"Unique textures will keep your work exciting and completely your own."
This one looks like an large old nut or seed found in the woods with small natural holes that has been carved into a heart. The texture makes me want to reach out and touch it. As it sits on my workbench, I can't resist picking it up and turning it over in my hands.
Each path to a new bead series is a passage to learning new techniques and exploring another media. It's the key to my designs.
