Studio Tour This Weekend - Preview Tomorrow - Pictures!

Been nose to the grindstone getting ready for the Artist Studio Tour. Thought you might like to see some pictures of some of the beadwork for sale...

I'm a guest artist in studio #7, Cinda Sue Dow, pastel artist. I'm happily occupying the whole of her pastel house! The tour is Sat. and Sun. 10 - 5, and we're also having a special preview on Friday, May 31 (that's tomorrow!) from 5-8 pm. The location is in Friday Harbor at 545 Alder Ct. Heading out of town on Argyle, turn rt. on Spruce St., pass Hemlock St. and turn rt. on Alder Ct. Both of us are giving 20% off during the preview.

Necklace, fibula pin, bracelet, and earrings in palette of natural colors featuring jasper and smokey quartz stones.

Necklace and earrings featuring beautifully faceted rubies (man-made) and sterling silver beads.

Selection of bracelets with specialty glass beads, pearls, crystals, and sterling silver or gold elements.

I love wireworking. These are two fibula pins and three pendants that showcase high-end lampwork beads by nationally recognized artists.

I offer a selection of every-day earrings in a wide range of colors, featuring glass lampwork beads, vintage Chinese glass beads, and more. I use sterling silver or gold-filled findings only (no plated pot metal).

This necklace and earrings feature vintage Chinese glass beads (beautiful, soft, translucent blue) paired with sterling silver elements from the Golden Triangle area in Northern Thailand.

I just finished this bead/ribbon/thread/button embellished, red, felt purse! Any fun-loving person with a flamboyant streak would enjoy carrying this on their shoulder!

I named this necklace "Sea to Sky," and based the color scheme on a painting by Monet. It showcases a vintage, magnificent and unique sterling silver pendant from The Hill Tribe peoples of Thailand. This necklace was featured in "The Beader's Color Palette" by Margie Deeb.

This necklace is an example of my "woven treasure necklace" technique. It colors are inspired by the raku glaze on the featured ceramic beads by an artist in Hawaii.

This tassel ornament is another example of the "woven treasure" technique. In the light, it reminds one of stained glass windows in a cathedral.

"Trust" is bead embroidery art to enhance a small space. it is one of the 13 technique samples for my book, "Heart to Hands Bead Embroidery."

Inspired by Emperor Penguins, this bead embroidered brooch looks great on jacket lapel or sweater.

Earrings and fibula pins.

Key fobs, zipper pulls, cell-phone or camera tags on the top shelf.

I display most of the jewelry in color groupings. There's a range of casual to elegant, ethnic to contemporary, and understated to bold looks in my work.

It takes me two days to set up for this thing, plus uncountable hours to make the work. Since I'm actually a rather shy person, it's difficult for me to promote my work in person. When guests come, I sometimes don't talk to them at all. So it's always very gratifying when people show up for the tour and actually buy my work, despite my awkwardness. 

Happy Red Balloon Purse

A few years ago I impulsively bought a red felt bag with circles of color on one side, made in Nepal. $40. I never used it... guess I'm conservative at heart when it comes to purses. Yet still, it always makes me happy to look at and touch it.

The original purse just had the "spots" of color. I embroidered the "strings" to make them look like balloons.

While moving, it surfaced. Wow, I thought, bet it would be fun to bead this bag! Maybe a more flamboyant person than I will buy it at the Artist Studio Tour (next weekend). So, for the last two days, my worktable heaped with stuff, I turned the circles of colors into balloons.

I started with the strings, embroidered with 6 strands of floss (detail picture above). Then I began adding beads, buttons and ribbons... Whoooohooo! Balloons!

Here are a couple of them.

I finished the bag at midnight last night. Most fun things were stitching into felt and adding the ribbons at the end. Most difficult thing was getting inside the purse to knot off the threads. Happy colors, happy red, happy Robin! How do YOU like it?

Artists Studio Tour... June 4 & 5... More Letting Go!

It's been about 5 years since I participated in the San Juan Island Artists Studio Tour as a guest artist in Ev Tuller's weaving studio. This year I've been invited to join fine artist, Cinda Sue Dow, in her studio. I'm excited about this opportunity, as I haven't shown my jewelry for quite a while. This is my page on the Studio Tour site.

And this year, something new! Continuing with efforts to let go of things, I've decided to add some of my more artful pieces, ones that have been featured in books and magazine articles (some are shown below).

Location: from town of Friday Harbor, going toward the fair grounds on Argyle, take a right on Spruce, and then a right on Alder Ct. to 545. Cinda Sue's art will be shown in the garage studio, mine in a detached studio accessible through her garage studio.

Time: The open hours are 10 am to 5 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Drawing: Both Cinda Sue and I will be giving away a prize, so be sure to sign up when you come!

The pictures below show some of my typical jewelry... fibula pins, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, key chains, zipper pulls/cell phone fobs. These are moderately priced ($14 - $75), yet are made from quality materials - sterling silver and gold filled wire, lampwork beads, Swarovski crystals, silver charms, vintage beads and charms. These items make lovely accessories and gifts. I offer free gift packaging.

Earrings and fibula pins featuring beautiful lampwork beads.

Fibula pins and wire-worked pendants on variable-length silk ribbons featuring special lampwork beads.

Finger-woven necklace featuring hand-made, one-of-a-kind raku porcelain beads.

I decided to put some of my long-hoarded sterling silver pendants from China, India and southwest USA on silk ribbons. These are definitely unique!

These are vintage glass (lampworked) beads from China. They are a unique lusterous blue color, not available in today's bead market. I've paired them with sterling silver beads from Thailand.

Below are pictures of some of the art pieces, most of which were made to showcase a technique or design/color element for publication in books or magazine articles. I haven't decided on prices for these one-of-a-kind items yet. If you, as a Beadlust reader, are interested in purchasing one of these prior to the Studio Tour, please contact me and we'll figure it out.

I love working with Margie Deeb, author of The Beader's Color Palette. I made 11 pieces which showcase specific color palettes for this book. The 8 pieces shown below will be for sale at the Studio Tour and are page referenced to Margie's book, because her pictures are WAY better than mine!


Air Currents ~ What color is air? How can one make a necklace that represents the nature of air? I chose vintage beads with various finishes in clear, white, light grey and pale blue with a beautiful swirling lampwork focal bead, real pearls, and silver bells on the tassels. Pg. 17

Ring of Fire ~ Inspired by our spring-time, giant burn pile, this off-loom woven bracelet, is a blazing ring of flames. Pg. 20 (I don't seem to have a picture of this piece in my files; I'll take one and add it later.)


Stained Glass Tassel ~ My assignment for this piece was to create a piece using the color palette of Medieval or Byzantine stained glass church windows. Fun! All the beads are transparent, so hung in a window, the light will come through it and pass it's lovely colors into the room. Pg.44. (Note: This finger-weaving technique is featured in my book, Beaded Treasures, on pages 36 - 39.)


Sea to Sky ~ The color palette for this necklace is based on a painting by Claude Monet (Morning on the Seine near Giverny) I loved blending the greens to blues to pale lavenders to whites giving close to the same affect as Monet with his paint brushes! This piece features a large, one-of-a-kind, vintage, sterling silver fish and butterfly clasp from northern Thailand in the Golden Triangle area. These two silver pieces, alone, are worth a lot as collector, possibly even Museum-quality, pieces. Pg. 55.


Courtesan ~ The colors and emotional content of this nine-strand necklace are inspired by a Japanese kimono. Many vintage pressed glass, lampwork and gold-filled beads are included. Because the strands are graduated, this necklace will sit comfortably on the chest. Pg. 91.


Emperor Penguin ~ The shape and colors of this bead-embroidered pin are inspired by a photo of an emperor penguin with its head tucked down on its breast. I loved the way the yellow feathers showed under the lower edge of the wing. Pg. 129.


Fancy Dangle Bracelet ~ Everything about this piece was inspired by a colorful sea anemone, the vibrant fuchsia, chartreuse, lavender and ivory colors and the fluidly moving tentacles. Pg. 132.


Festive Time ~ This nine-strand necklace is bold and architectural. It features vintage lampwork and pressed glass beads, some of which can slide along the strand (fun for busy fingers). Bright and happy, it's all about summer fun! Pg. 152.

I guess that's enough to give you an idea, but there will be more, I promise! Hope you can make it to the show!