Saturday 1 June 2013

Tiles, Trials & Tribulations {The History Hop Reveal}

Hello! Hello! Welcome to The History Hop Reveal, organised by the lovely Leah Curtis of Beady Eyed Bunny. Leah challenged us to choose a historical era, do a little research and create a piece of jewellery or bead work inspired by our research.

Having recently purchased a copy of Maggie Meister's book, Classical Elegance (while following along with Bead, Book & Bounce, organised by Operation Tackle That Beadstash) I had already been busy 'collecting inspiration' from across the Roman Empire, and so chose to work within that era.

Rather than taking inspiration directly from historical jewellery or beadwork, I had collected a random assortment of architectural images - including windows, frames, columns and frescoes - and eventually settled on the repeating motifs of tiles. Exciting stuff, right?

I started with a straight-forward version of my favourite bead-weaving stitch, right angle weave, before deciding that I wanted something with more contrast and, preferably, something with a little more dimension.


I stuck with a variation of right angle weave, but embellished the base with an extra layer of seed beads and small pearls. More contrast, more dimension - and also, a little bit more colour. I was so pleased with these little motifs and really wanted to turn them into a wearable bracelet cuff. But, I wanted to scale down the motifs, making the cuff a little more dainty - which meant ordering some 2mm Pearls! (Any excuse to add to my bead stash!)


Unfortunately, one day of working on the decorating (rather than the beading) is all it took for me to exacerbate an old wrist injury and I haven't been able to use my hand properly for the last week. Beading and typing are both a little excruciating (it has taken at least forty minutes to type all of this out with my left hand!)

But, I didn't want to leave the lovely Leah wondering what had happened to me, so I do hope you don't mind that there is no finished piece to 'ooh and ahh' over. Hopefully, by the time you've reached me, right at the end of the hop, you'll already have had your fill of lovelies. And, if you've started here, why not check out the other History Hoppers, starting at Leah's beautiful blog, Beady Eyed Bunny.

Laney Mead - Māori - laney-izzybeads.blogspot.co.uk
Becca - Art Nouveau - godsartistinresidence.blogspot.com
Melissa - English Romanticism and Mourning Jewelry - beadrecipes.wordpress.com
Tracy Stillman - Native American - tracystillmandesigns.com
Gerda - English Romanticism and Mourning Jewelry - gerdascraftsblog.blogspot.com
Liz E - Native North American - beadcontagion.blogspot.com
Ahowin - Māori (New Zealand) - blog.ahowinjewelry.com
Jasvanti - Indus Valley - jewelrybyjasvanti.blogspot.com
Lizzie - Art Nouveau - theneedtobead.blogspot.co.uk
Julia Hay - Merovingian - pandanimal.blogspot.co.uk
Caroline - Art Nouveau - blueberribeads.co.uk
Charlie - Moche of Peru - clay-space.com/blog
Niky Sayers - Rome - silverniknats.blogspot.com
Marcia Dunne - Celctic and Mourning Jewelry - thealternativefoundry.blogspot.co.uk
anafiassa - Mesopotamia - anafiassa.blogspot.com
Kokopelli - Native American - kokopellidesign.blogspot.com
Christa - Native American - adventuresofwonebeadywoman.blogspot.com
Susan Bowie - Native American - susanbowie.wordpress.com
Gloria Allen - English Romanticism - gloriaallendesigns.blogspot.com
Sheila Garrett - Early Russia - 4brownowl.blogspot.co.uk

13 comments:

  1. Stunning Clair :) from the pictures the finished piece will be amazing.....i kinda have a thing for anything Roman.
    Kate xx

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  2. Hi, So sorry to hear about your wrist injury. What you have made so far looks great. All the best for a speedy recovery!

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  3. Oh clair how rotten, hope your wrist feels better soon, what you've created so far is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the finished item

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  4. Great starts! I hope that your wrist heals quickly, as I would love to see more of your work.

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  5. I hope your wrist feels better soon! I like what you created so far. A very beautiful blend of the Roman era with your seed beading talent.

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  6. Love the start of your designs Clair! Hope your wrists feeling up to finishing them soon!

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  7. So, so sorry to hear about your wrist! I hope that it heals quickly!

    Your start here is absolutely lovely--I love Roman motifs, and your work is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing!

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  8. Awwwww, heal that wrist up soon. How frustrating for you. The beads will wait. Sometimes they even look better with a little age. What you have done so far is beautiful and I'm looking forward to the finished product (when you can get back to it). Health first!

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  9. Beautiful start, I know how it is painful and difficult to work with injury hand. I have my thumb immobilized with a splint because of painful tendinitis. You did a very great work, get well soon.

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  10. Aren't the 2mm pearls just the cutest little things? My LBS got some in, and now I'm working on buying every color!

    I hope your hand heals up soon so you can get beck to beading.

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  11. Great idea to use architectural elements as your inspiration. Hopefully your wrists will start feeling better soon.

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  12. Wishing you all the ♥best and take care♥ Those little beadies can wait... :-)

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  13. I love your inspiration by architecture. And those little motifs would look so good in a cuff. I hope you share once it's finished.

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