Michelle Mach

A Beaded Butterfly

Michelle Mach — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 01:17:00 -0700

About a month ago, I felt like I was in a creative slump. All my ideas felt stale. To wake up my creativity, I signed up for the "natural materials" challenge on Beading Daily. The idea is that everyone sends in materials related to the theme and the organizer redistributes them to us in identical quantities. The kit included beads made of shell, wood, gemstones, nuts, seeds, and other natural materials that I almost never use. Here are my projects so far:

Butterfly Beau

I created this little butterfly with the shell hearts, seed beads, wooden bead, and green heishi pearls. (I added only the copper wire.) I set the butterfly on my desk during the month of August to remind myself to play with the kit materials as soon as the month ended. (I had a big editing deadline on August 31.)

I confess I almost did not share this photo, since I know most people expect me to make Serious Jewelry. I'm sharing it because it was creatively freeing to make something whimsical that has no practical purpose. (I could add a magnet or pin to the back to make it more useful.) Once I created this butterfly, other designs came quickly.

Nuts for Fall Earrings

Next, I created a simple pair of earrings. I really wanted to use the painted wooden beads in the kit to give the earrings a more bohemian vibe, but the holes were too big to use alone. (I'd need to add another bead to help fill the hole and I didn't want to add any more length to the earrings.)

Instead, I chose a textured round for the top of the earring. It's a bead created from a nut. Everything was from the kit, except the copper head pins. The one change I might make is to add a jump ring between the top wrapped loop and ear wire, just to give the earrings more movement and make them even more fun to wear.

Unakite Dreams Necklace

My biggest challenge was using the unakite rounds. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I've always been challenged by this gemstone with the mix of green and pink. Several blog readers suggested combining unakite with brown, copper, or brass, so I decided to try it.

The dark rounds in the photo are wood. I added the copper chain, clasps (yes, TWO of them), beading wire, crimps, and copper rounds. All the other materials for the necklace were in the kit.

Lesson learned: Listen to your blog readers. They're RIGHT! I visited a bead shop shortly after making this necklace and I looked through the gemstones for unakite. Luckily, they were out or I might have bought some. Who knows what dangerously creative things might have happened?

I still have a few ideas for the kit materials, including a bracelet and another pair of earrings. I'll post photos of any additional projects I make.

Check out the Beading Daily forums for photos of other projects created with this challenge kit. You'll be amazed that we all started with the same materials.

(Pictured below are just a few materials from this huge challenge kit. Inspiration awaits!)

Renewal: Making Space for Creativity

Michelle Mach — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:29:00 -0700

My Rosebud bracelet in Creative Jewelry 2009, featuring lampworked beads by Kandice Seeber.

The first time I deadheaded my roses, I feared I was killing my rose bushes. I didn't quite believe that if I cut off the dead roses more would grow. What if I cut off too much? Would the plant die?

Cleaning my studio feels a bit like deadheading roses. I know it's a good thing, but part of me is afraid to part with anything. What if I need that later? What if I need a messy studio to be creative? What if I put everything away and then I can't find something?

Even though I'm no longer in school, I still find September is the perfect month for new beginnings or renewal. There's been a spate of artists cleaning their studios. (If you're curious, Andrew Thornton mentioned a bunch of them in a recent post.) All those artists have helped inspire me. I'm hoping a clean, organized studio will help me renew my creativity.

Here are 7 tips I've learned:

Donate or sell any unwanted (but still good) supplies. (See my donation ideas in a previous post.) You can also arrange a bead swap with friends.
Throw out anything that's no good. I tossed a dried-up tube of jewelry cement and a paintbrush I used for resin that I forgot to clean.
Add in missing parts. I snagged an old kitchen rug for my studio when I realized how much beads bounce on a bare cement floor. I also keep a running list to stock my studio more efficiently. Often I'd be in the middle of the project and realize that I was running low on brass head pins or silver jump rings, but when I had time to shop, I'd have forgotten I needed them.
Make it fun. I've been doing a lot of cleaning by listening to music or podcasts. Podcasts like Crafty Pod and NPR's The Splendid Table (two of my favorites) are especially helpful because they run for a certain length of time, so you don't have to let cleaning eat up your whole day. You can get a lot done in thirty minutes or an hour.
Create a place for everything. It made a huge difference in my productivity last year when I finally went from a single bead container to separate drawers for different kinds of beads. I also have a special box for in-progress projects which makes it easy for me to carry around if needed.
Make a "junk drawer." While it may seem that the point of organization is to eliminate junk drawers, this is a tip I picked up from The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It's good to have a place you can rummage through and find unexpected treasures when the mood strikes. The key is to keep it to a single box or drawer.
Keep an empty shelf or drawer. It sounds crazy, but it makes me feel good knowing I have two completely empty drawers in my bead storage system. It makes me feel more open to possibilities. I obviously don't have enough beads if I still have space to hold them!

I'd love to hear your tips for cleaning your studio space. What works? What doesn't?

Be sure to check out the other Art Bead Scene posts on "renewal" in mid-September.

Sunday Fun: What's Your Subtitle?

Michelle Mach — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:29:00 -0700

There's a cute chart from Publisher's Weekly that shows you the "rules" of generating a good subtitle for your nonfiction book based on bestsellers and other notable titles. Or you can be lazy like me and generate a subtitle for your book with Subtitle-O-Matic.

The subtitle for my imaginary book is: The Amazing True Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival.

What's yours?

My Bead Vacation

Michelle Mach — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:11:00 -0700

Last weekend in Steamboat Springs I took a break from beading—no editing of magazine beading projects, no writing bead-related articles and no bead shopping.

Wandering around near the Black Sulphur Spring, the smell reminded me of my recent patina experiments. I tried to ignore it (as much as you can ignore something that causes you to pinch your nose shut) and kept walking, trying to concentrate on the sounds of the river below and the daisies along the side of the bike bath.

Walking past the Art Depot, I saw this thing in the parking lot.

A car.

An old car with grayish lumps. Rocks?

I crept closer and closer:

Not just any car—a beaded car. Here's the view from the back:

Here's a close-up:

And here's another:

The sign on the car said that this was the "Lizard King Art Car" and it was a gift from Texas High School Art Car Class of 2004. It look 19 students 3 months to complete.

I wondered how many beads were used to cover the car. I wondered what kind of epoxy was used to stick them on. I wondered what structure was below the figures. I wondered—since the license plates were from Texas—if someone drove the car to Colorado and what it would feel like to drive a car covered with beads. I wondered how beads affected gas mileage. I wondered how much of my own car I could cover if I used my own bead stash.

And just like that the beader in me was no longer on vacation.

Until the time I can actually make my own beaded car, I'm thinking I need a bumper sticker:

BEADS: You can run, but you cannot hide.

Congratulations Blog Carnival Winners!

Michelle Mach — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:03:00 -0700

Thanks to everyone who left comments for the designers on the first Stringing blog carnival. I hope you enjoyed it—I certainly did! I used random.org to pick three random winners from the 700+ comments on all the participating blogs and awarded the prizes in the order they were listed on the original post. (I've emailed the winners, but if you see your name on this page and didn't see the email from me, feel free to go ahead and contact me.)

Here are the giveaway winners:

Winner: Nicki

"I love the idea of the blog hop. I will make sure to visit all the designers - and I really want to learn more about the people creating all those fascinating pieces. Thanks for organizing." [comment on Carnival home page]

She won: A handcrafted ceramic pendant and a few coordinating beads by Gaea Cannaday.

Winner: Crafty Hope

"Love your color combinations. I have a hard time branching out from my same sets of colors. You've done a great job with these. Thanks for the inspiration." [comment on Kelly Angeley's blog]

She won: A "goodie pack" from Rings & Things: copper and gunmetal filigree, assorted gemstones, a brass round bezel, chain, a ruler, and glass skull beads.

Winner: Celeste Thurston

"Okay just when I was ready to Kumbaya! Thanks for the laugh. And agreed don't toss, but I do often swap, so I keep a to be swapped pile, just in case." [comment on Erin Strother's blog post]

She won: A copy of the fall 2010 issue of Stringing from Interweave. Just under 60 inspiring jewelry designs for fall, tips on how to host a jewelry-making party for your friends, and Etsy selling tips from well-loved and talented designer, Lorelei Eurto.

I'll be back to my regular blog on Friday, sharing photos of a very unusual beading project that I stumbled upon last weekend. If you worry that you'll never use up your huge bead stash in your lifetime, you'll want to check back for my Friday post.

Thanks again for making this first Stringing blog carnival such a huge success!

Fall Stringing Blog Carnival Continues . . .

Michelle Mach — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:03:00 -0700

There's Still Time to Read . . . and Win!

I hope you're enjoying the fall Stringing blog carnival. Have you visited all 24 jewelry designer pages? See the complete designer list on Tuesday's post. I've really enjoyed the stories—childhood trauma, misbehaving beads that did not resemble their passport photos, folktales, treasured beads, good deals from the local craft store, favorite colors, poetry, memories of a beautiful fall day . . . inspiration is everywhere!

You still have time to enter the giveaway. (Last day to enter is Monday, August 23, 2010 at noon Mountain Time.) It's easy to enter—just leave a comment on one of the designer's posts. Or leave a comment on several posts, for additional chances to win. You could win a set of handmade beads, a goodie pack full of filigree & gemstones, or a copy of the fall issue of Stringing.

But Wait, There's More . . .

Kristin of Artisan Clay blogged about creating a bead that was used by Jenn Judd Velasquez in her Stringing design. I loved seeing how Kristin makes the finishes she uses for her "Smoke Fire" beads. If you're lucky enough to be at Bead Fest in Philadelphia this weekend, check out her booth. She's also running a special sale in her Etsy shop especially for visitors to the carnival.

Welcome to the Fall Stringing Blog Carnival

Michelle Mach — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:01:00 -0700

Let the Fun Begin!

Welcome to the first ever Stringing blog carnival! Since 2007, when I published my first design in Stringing, I'd wondered how other designers came up with their ideas, named their projects, and found (or crafted) the materials they used. So I invited designers to tell the story behind their designs in the fall issue of Stringing magazine which goes on sale today. If that weren't enough fun, I'm also hosting a giveaway—scroll down to the bottom to find out how to win a prize that will jump start your own fall jewelry creations!

*Meet the Stringing* Blog Carnival Designers**
1. Kristy Abner 2. Kelly Angeley 3. Marianne Baxter 4. Ruby Bayan 5. Carrie Beckwith 6. Melanie Brooks 7. Gaea Cannaday 8. Lorelei Eurto 9. Amy Haftkowycz 10. Beth Hemmila 11. Tari Kahrs 12. Stephanie LaRosa	13. Michelle Mach 14. Denise Yezbak Moore 15. Kelly Morgan 16. Sharon Palac 17. Anne Perry 18. Lisa Petrillo 19. Erin Prais-Hintz 20. Molly Schaller 21. Erin Strother 22. Heather Trudeau 23. Jennifer Judd Velasquez 24. Jennifer Zeiger

The Giveaway

Three random blog carnival readers will win one of three prizes. To win, leave one comment on a designer's page. You get one chance to win for each designer's page you comment on. (If you leave 10 comments on one designer's page, you get one chance. To get 10 chances, you need to leave one comment on ten different designer pages.) You may also leave one comment on this page to enter. Be sure that there is a way to contact you—either leave link to your website (if it has email/contact info) or contact info in the comments. Giveaway is open to everyone.

Deadline: Comments must be made by 12 Noon (Mountain Time) on Monday, August 23, 2010. Winner will be announced here August 24, 2010.

Note: I'm personally running this blog carnival and the giveaway. This is not an official Interweave-sponsored event. If you have complaints, suggestions, or comments about the blog carnival or giveaway, please post them here or send me an email. (A link to my contact info is at the top of this page.) Thanks!

Prizes

Thanks to our generous donors, we have three great prizes to give away to three lucky folks! Prizes will be drawn and awarded randomly.

	A handcrafted ceramic pendant and a few coordinating beads by Gaea Cannaday.
	A "goodie pack" from Rings & Things: an copper and gunmetal filigree, assorted gemstones, a brass round bezel, chain, a ruler, and glass skull beads.
	A copy of the fall 2010 issue of Stringing from Interweave. Just under 60 inspiring jewelry designs for fall, tips on how to host a jewelry-making party for your friends, and Etsy selling tips from well-loved and talented designer, Lorelei Eurto.

Have fun reading everyone's stories and admiring the beautiful jewelry!

The Story Behind Autumn After Dark Necklace

Michelle Mach — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:00:00 -0700

Sometimes I'm inspired by something that doesn't exist.

My Autumn After Dark necklace in the fall issue of Stringing is a great example. I've always seen announcements from magazines looking for party-worthy jewelry for their December/January or winter issues. For fall, however, most of the jewelry designs published seem more earthy and office-appropriate.

When I sat down to design for the fall issue, I wondered what kind of autumn necklace would be appropriate for a night out—a party, a fancy dinner, a club?

Crystals seemed an obvious choice for evening wear. Who doesn't want to sparkle at night? In my stash, I had two large leaf-shaped crystal pendants that I'd purchased online several years ago, intending to create earrings. When they arrived, the pendants were larger than I expected and didn't work well as earrings. When I started thinking about necklace designs, I decided these crystals would make perfect ends for a lariat.

I added more crystals in fall-inspired colors, along with two types of gunmetal chain. Copper chain would have been the more obvious choice—it's a great metal for fall—but I felt the gunmetal chain gave the necklace an edgier, more "nightclub" feel.

*Meet the Stringing* Blog Carnival Designers**
1. Kristy Abner 2. Kelly Angeley 3. Marianne Baxter 4. Ruby Bayan 5. Carrie Beckwith 6. Melanie Brooks 7. Gaea Cannaday 8. Lorelei Eurto 9. Amy Haftkowycz 10. Beth Hemmila 11. Tari Kahrs 12. Stephanie LaRosa	13. Michelle Mach - YOU ARE HERE 14. Denise Yezbak Moore 15. Kelly Morgan 16. Sharon Palac 17. Anne Perry 18. Lisa Petrillo 19. Erin Prais-Hintz 20. Molly Schaller 21. Erin Strother 22. Heather Trudeau 23. Jennifer Judd Velasquez 24. Jennifer Zeiger

Please leave a comment by August 23, 2010 to enter the giveaway. Official Rules.

Carrie Beckwith's Sunburst Necklace

Michelle Mach — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:00:00 -0700

One of the best parts of my job as manager of You’ve Got to be Beading! is sorting all the new items as they come into the shop. We all love to ooh and aah over the shiny new beads as they get pulled out of the boxes.

So when I saw the copper stardust beads I just knew I would have to create something with them. I especially love the elegance of the stardust disc beads. Their graduated sizes seemed to line up so easily. Rather then sticking to just one metal, I love the look you get when pairing gold and copper together, so of course, I added the gold stardust beads, gold links and chain.

Initially, I thought I would have an asymmetrical necklace with the stardust beads on one side and the large round links on the other, but after working with them, I decided the seed bead strands balanced out the necklace beautifully. I love stringing multiple strands of seed beads in different sizes, it’s such an easy way to add texture and depth to a necklace.

I designed the Sunburst Necklace months ago, before the heat of summer had begun. But the colors reminded me of the bronze glow you get after a sun filled day at the beach. It just seems like the perfect necklace to wear as the summer winds down.

*Meet the Stringing* Blog Carnival Designers**
1. Kristy Abner 2. Kelly Angeley 3. Marianne Baxter 4. Ruby Bayan 5. Carrie Beckwith- YOU ARE HERE 6. Melanie Brooks 7. Gaea Cannaday 8. Lorelei Eurto 9. Amy Haftkowycz 10. Beth Hemmila 11. Tari Kahrs 12. Stephanie LaRosa	13. Michelle Mach 14. Denise Yezbak Moore 15. Kelly Morgan 16. Sharon Palac 17. Anne Perry 18. Lisa Petrillo 19. Erin Prais-Hintz 20. Molly Schaller 21. Erin Strother 22. Heather Trudeau 23. Jennifer Judd Velasquez 24. Jennifer Zeiger

Please leave a comment by August 23, 2010 to enter the giveaway. Official Rules.

Erin Strother's Smoke & Cognac and Mixed Metaphor Necklaces

Michelle Mach — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:00:00 -0700

Smoke and Cognac

The Smoke and Cognac necklace taught me two things.

Thing #1:
When I was brand new to beading, I bought a baggie full of wooden beads in assorted shapes and sizes at a local bead store. Included in the baggie were some giant, clunky wooden tubes that, in my opinion, were totally void of any meaningful aesthetic value. I imagined a necklace made of the long tubes strung together, like some mutant macaroni necklace made by a class for the partially sighted and spacially impaired. I hated them. Beads poised dramatically over the trash can, I hesitated, then reconsidered. What could it hurt to save these crappy tubes? Just. In. Case.

Flash forward several years.

I am working on a geometric design with connected components. I need a cross-piece to anchor the focal elements. Something large and substantial. Something organic. And there they were. Exactly what I needed.

Lesson learned: Do not throw out beads, even though you think they are totally hideous and you are positive you will never use them.

Thing #2
See matte black agate stone donuts on web. Get big idea. Purchase immediately.
Run to mailbox several times a day until package arrives, then rip it open like a 5 year old on Christmas morning. Feel heart sink as you discover the agate is NOT solid black as pictured, but stripy brown, tan and cream. Throw beads aside in disgust.

Flash forward to afore mentioned project.

I need a visually interesting focal element. Something with multiple colors and some pattern. Something I can connect to other stuff. And there they were. Exactly what I needed.

Lesson learned: Beads that are not what you hoped for are not necessarily a bad thing.

Mixed Metaphor

The Mixed Metaphor necklace is an artistic statement on world peace. Strong individual beads of different colors, sizes, and materials, each with their own unique personality, living in harmony together in one unified necklace.

OK, that is totally a lie. I just made that up in my head five seconds ago. But you bought it, didn’t you!? Admit it. You were ready to symbolically join hands with jewelry designers around the globe and sing a collective chorus of “Kumbaya.”

The truth is much less dramatic. I wanted to create a very simple strung piece with multiple large beads and focal elements. Something that was interesting to look at from every perspective, and would be fun to wear without being over the top.

But if you would rather go for the “world peace” thing, be my guest.

To see more of Erin’s work, go to www.studioEgraphics.com and www.studioEgallery.etsy.com.

*Meet the Stringing* Blog Carnival Designers**
1. Kristy Abner 2. Kelly Angeley 3. Marianne Baxter 4. Ruby Bayan 5. Carrie Beckwith 6. Melanie Brooks 7. Gaea Cannaday 8. Lorelei Eurto 9. Amy Haftkowycz 10. Beth Hemmila 11. Tari Kahrs 12. Stephanie LaRosa	13. Michelle Mach 14. Denise Yezbak Moore 15. Kelly Morgan 16. Sharon Palac 17. Anne Perry 18. Lisa Petrillo 19. Erin Prais-Hintz 20. Molly Schaller 21. Erin Strother - YOU ARE HERE 22. Heather Trudeau 23. Jennifer Judd Velasquez 24. Jennifer Zeiger

Please leave a comment by August 23, 2010 to enter the giveaway. Official Rules.