jjcolourart.com - Work in Progress

I have a blog where I discuss ongoing projects more fully. There is a separate page for mini book reviews and comments about books I have read recently or am reading currently. I have a great passion for learning and reading. http://jjbks.wordpress.com/
This is going to be a strung necklace with some copper wirework and jasper beads of various kinds. The handmade paper beads have an Oriental feel to them, and I've hand painted copper accents on them which looks very elegant.
I am working on a larger bead embroidered piece based on Mehndi designs and some bones I had hand-dyed previously in sky blue and lime green. It will have silk ribbon embroidery, dyed and painted bone, and my own handmade pattern accents along with regular bead embroidery I am waiting for a few things in the mail and then I'll be starting this.
The florals on the black background and the beautiful woman were created by artist and fashion designer Steve Bright who lives and works in the U.K. I've known Steve for several years and have always admired his art, but he's been doing some fantastic new work lately and kindly let me fiddle around with bits of his designs. This uses various blue and black colours and some secondary beads I made to complement Steve's artwork. I had some lovely Blue Lace agate cubes and cabochon, as well as some Snowflake Obsidian beads and small cabochons, and hand-dyed bone beads. This is quite a luscious palette to work with, and the portrait of the lady is going to be made into a cabochon for the embroidery. My theme, thanks to Steve's wonderful art, is butterflies and dragonflies, and the pendant shape will be a butterfly shape, but I'm making it quite long like a tropical species of moth I saw. I've just ordered some lovely jet daggers and pewter drops for the fringe on this which will make the tail look spectacular.
I started this work several months ago based on a lovely photograph of a silk moth by my friend Rose Dix, an artist from South Africa. It has taken me a while to gather the seed beads and glass accents for this, but the colour palette is very rich and earthy, and I am using garnet and pietersite beads for accents.
Another bead embroidery inspired by Rose Dix's photography of some orchids and a mandala I created. Rose agreed to let me use several of her nature photographs for beadwork inspiration. We've known each other for eight years and enjoy kick-starting each other's imagination. I have some beads on order for this one too, but as you can see I've gathered an absolutely delicious assortment of silk ribbon to embroider part of the neck piece with. It takes some effort to get the right combination and both texture and colour for this kind of artwork. It is time-consuming to do and worth the effort to gather just the right beads and accents.