Sunday, September 2, 2012

Sharing my Big Moment!

It's always fun to pick up an issue of various publications and see pieces from some of my fellow Beads of Clay friends, or see a piece that features one of my pendants such as the "Swept by the Sea" necklace by the wonderful and talented designer Cherrie Fick in the July 2012 Bead Trends issue.  These people have all been encouraging inspirations to me, and I've learned so much from them. As well as Lori Anderson who hosts the Bead Soup Party Blog Hops.  Participating in a few of the hops pushed me to learn more about different techniques, and I found I really enjoy working with wire!

In the spring I decided to start submitting some of my pieces to a few publications. Why not?  What's the worst that can happen?  A little rejection? Ah, that just makes me stronger and more persistent. My Autumn's Allure bracelet that I made with my stoneware components was the first finished piece I sent for consideration to Bead Trends.


Usually when I'm designing a piece, I just take some similar beads and findings on hand, and start randomly putting them together, and what happens, happens.  But this piece happened a little differently.  The idea came out of nowhere, probably in the shower, and I roughly sketched it out. Yes, roughly.
So I had a visual of the finished product before I began. When we went to Florida on vacation in February, I took along a mold I had made from real maple and beech leaves, and created my stoneware maple leaf connectors and beech leaf charms, as well as some stoneware rondelles to match. Then glazed the leaves in bright fall colors, and accented them with my favorite combination of Coyote cone six glazes turquoise and teal, and oasis blue.
From the roughly sketched idea, I assembled the pieces using copper wire and elements, and added some dangles of real turquoise nuggets, Czech glass Apollo gold leaf beads, and smoky topaz seed beads.



When I received an e-mail from Tatia, the editor at Bead Trends that my bracelet was selected for the September issue, I was beside myself and promptly sent it off to them.  Then when I checked out the digital issue last month, I was definitely blown away to see none other than my Autumn's Allure bracelet on the cover! 

Wow.  I am so excited, and equally grateful to Tatia and the Bead Trends staff for choosing my piece.  It's a thrill to see my work in such a beautiful, quality publication.  If you haven't checked out Bead Trends, I highly recommend it for their superb photography and presentation of all levels of techniques and ideas for the latest in jewelry trends.  You should definitely see the September issue which is brimming with fabulous fall pieces by my friends Cherrie Fick, Shannon Chomanczuk, Amanda Cargill-Austin,Erin Strother, and more!

21 comments:

  1. Gorgeous and love reading about the process, Congratulations!!!

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  2. Congratulations, Lisa! So exciting. I can easily see why they put your bracelet on the cover. The colors and textures are sumptuous!

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  3. Beautiful blog post. Love the whole thing with your colors bleeding out on the sides. This is very exciting to not only have your first published piece in Bead Trends but also the cover. Double thrilling. The bracelet is gorgeous and so is your work. Congrats to you and your proud daughter. Thanks for mentioning me and my work. It is always a thrill to see that too. Enjoy the month.

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  4. congrats on making the cover! Great piece!

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  5. I LOVE your bracelet!!! When my issue arrived in the mail I was immediately struck by the beauty of your piece ... your components and wire-wrapping skills are amazing! Congrats on a well-deserved cover shot!

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  6. I'll second that! Your bracelet is gorgeous! And the double accolade in Bead Trends is well deserved.

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  7. Thanks so much everyone for the nice comments. So appreciated. It's so nice to have someone to share my excitement with! :)

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  8. Congratulations!! Love the colors in the bracelet, they are perfect for fall.

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  9. That's so great! Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your process, too!

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  10. Just love the mix of beech and maple shapes--and their colors. The addition of blue is a magical touch! Another reason for me to love autumn. Well-deserved congrats on making it to the cover.

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  11. Lovely colors and excellent design. I can see why they chose this piece! Congratulations.

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  12. Fantastic! Good for you, it's a lovely piece!

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  13. Congratulations your work is beautiful!

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  14. Congrats! You deserve this. Get the publication and frame it with the bracelet! I love that bracelet. The leaves look so lifelike!

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  15. Thanks eveyone so much. That's a great idea about framing the bracelet with the publication. I believe I will do that!

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  16. congratulations and thank you for submitting -- and sharing with us all -- your beautiful, inspirational fall bracelet! It's gorgeous, a real treat to take in and enjoy!

    namaste,
    rita

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  17. I second what Rita just stated, congratulations on creating such a beautiful bracelet. Love the maple leaf components.
    Andrea

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  18. How awesome! You are so talented my friend! What beauty in this Fall bracelet! I love the soft colors. Congrats!

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