Wire Work Newbie Tries Her Hand At A Perri Jackson Tutorial

I am sooooo envious of all the superb wire work and metal artists in our community. I have been admiring the designs of so many artisans, but haven't had the nerve to venture into the realm of shaping wire into intricate patterns and sculptural shapes. Then I happened to find Perri Jackson's DNA Twist tutorial (http://www.etsy.com/shop/ShaktipajDesigns?ref=seller_info) and decided to take the plunge. I was skeptical, not about Perri's ability to write and illustrate a tutorial, but about my ability to follow the instructions and replicate the pattern! However, I did exactly as Perri outlined and wound up with my first woven wire pendant. Admittedly, I was afraid to use precious metal wire and crystals on my first attempt, so I used the very inexpensive 'Fun Wire' and seed beads. Hey! Ya gotta start somewhere :P Perri writes her tutorials in such a well conceived and illustrated format, it was a blast from beginning to end!! I think I'll make another one...this time I'm going all in =)

Embracing My 'Monkdom'

I have a confession to make, as a jewelry designer, I tend toward symmetry when I create. Not that there's anything wrong with balance, even an asymmetrical jewelry piece needs to have balance in some component(s)/property(ies), otherwise one side will be heavier, etc. I guess I shouldn't sound apologetic or feel I have to justify myself or my creations, but I didn't always used to approach beading with such an eye for symmetry. In fact, my first design that I made (and sold!) was a 3-strand, asymmetrical necklace. I used vintage, polymer clay, Czech glass, metal and stone chip beads in a multitude of shapes/colors/finishes/sizes. I really miss that piece, not only because it was my first handcrafted jewelry item, but also because I feel that it represents the entropy that I fight against in my current design 'phase'. That is why I can totally relate to Monk, the OCD TV detective, at least when it comes to beading. My 'Monkdom', as I refer to this-dare I say 'disorder' (kind of an oxymoron dontcha think?)-represents my battle to keep chaos at bay, especially when challenged with a tube of mixed seed beads. By definition, the tube to which I refer is a random assortment of beads. When I decided to make a simple necklace design to offer as my first Blog giveaway, I envisioned creating a necklace composed around a scrabble tile pendant strung randomly with seed beads from 'The Mixture'. Dutifully, I poured out 'The Mixture' into a pile on my bead mat and began to add beads with little regard to the color, shape or size. I managed to get about 3 inches into the chain (which is a long way when you're talking seed beads!) and froze. My gleeful abandon at stringing beads in free form fashion abruptly halted and I yielded to my 'Monkdom'. I proceeded to undo all that had once been spontaneous, but I didn't stop there! Taking it to the next level, as Monk so often does, I began to sort the beads into groups. I took the elementary school "Which one is NOT like the other" class lesson and elevated it into it's own OCD category (top left photo). As with all 'confessions', there comes the wave of relief that the 'genie is out of the bottle' and recovery is now a possibility because the problem has been identified! So, if you would like to win this Symmetrical Seed Bead Necklace with Agave Scrabble tile pendant (see finished piece in top right photo), leave a comment on my blog and I'll select an entry and announce the winner on Aug. 10, 2009. The winning entry will be chosen by placing all the entrants' names in a hat and 'randomly' drawing a name. See I'm letting go already. Baby steps!;o)