Woohoo, it's bead retreat time and I've finally had a chance to finish up my September Bead Journal Project -- on the last day of the month. This pictures shows the almost done version, taken with Sarah/Beadnik's digital camera:
I created this piece to showcase various sequin stitches that I've gathered from mostly East Indian textiles (see the book "The Shining Cloth" for inspiration). I beaded on a black-gesso-coated beading substrate, thinking I'd paint the background, but that didn't happen. Now I have to go back and touch up my sketch marks with more gesso. Hmmm, or maybe some acrylics? We shall see...
Oh Mary, she's fabulous, and what a great idea to showcase various techniques using sequins!!!! I'm sooo glad to see this and learn from your learning! Thanks for sharing the source for your inspiration. Might you be willing to take and post some detail shots of the flowers and other uses for sequins? I also really like the way your beading looks on a gesso coated substrate. But what material is the substrate, and how does it feel to sew through the gesso coating? I thought your sketch marks were intentional and added an interesting touch to the background. I'll look forward to seeing what you decide to do about them. Cheers, Robin A.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I want to get closer to see what you did with all those sequins. My use of them is pretty basic and I'm always looking for new techniques. Great work!
ReplyDeleteArline
I love her, she is such a siren!!
ReplyDeleteHi Robin, Arline, and Ellen -- thanks for posting your comments! I had prepared a few rectangles of the usual Lacy's Stiff Stuff-type of beading surface (non-woven polyester white stuff) with black gesso, which does make it a little bit harder to sew through, not as hard as leather, not as easy as felt. I coat as thinly as possible, but with black I need two coats. As it turned out I could have just used black EZ Felt in this case since I didn't end up painting it after all. Robin, I ended up touching up the white pencil marks w/more gesso, but maybe sometime I should color all over on purpose, eh? I added some more geegaws and flowers and such. I am planning to write up some stuff about sequin techniques, but meanwhile Kenneth King has a book out with some good basic techniques. I'll do a separate post about it.
ReplyDeleteShe is very beautiful. Greatly enjoyed reading the post about your traveling collage kit, too!
ReplyDeleteAcrylic paints work really well on most beading fabrics, Mary! You can thin them so they really soak into all the fibers, and then when the fabric stretches, there's not the mark left behind like with the gesso.
ReplyDeleteYour mermaid is such a fox! Great job :-)
Hi Cyndi 8-) Actually, I use gesso when I don't want the paints to soak in and/or when I'm doing image transfers and/or printing on the surface. 8-) Sometimes I want the paint to be intense. But in this case, I didn't do any of the above, LOLOL!
ReplyDeleteThis is cool, Mary! And I rather liked the "scuffy" marks, it gives the background a lot of character.
ReplyDeleteKathy V in NM
Oh... she's a beauty! Love the sequins - off to take another look.
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