I started by making three off-loom beaded flowers and leaves, constructing them one bead and one petal at a time. They have a natural curl, the flower petals arching upward and the leaves twisting this way and that by carefully placing different sized beads at various points in each petal. Once all the parts were completed, I assembled the flowers, stitched up and attached a calyx, and then put the whole bouquet aside while I worked on other parts of the bowl.
The next thing to address was the floor. This was done by first bead bezeling two orange diachronic glass pieces to the bottom surface, and then bead embroidering around them. I wanted to address the theme "Nest" through both the shape, time, and the texture of the finished piece, so I added pearls to represent eggs and the square beads flow like a river to show the passage of time. Each of the pearls are nested in a variety of beads from triangle to Swarovski Crystals and then down to size 15 seed beads. The Diachronic glass is nested in Toho Beads.
Then I needed to turn my attention to the structure as a whole. I cut a new template out so that the bowl would be somewhat squared off, but still rounded as a nest would be. I used this template to cut pieces of both metallic copper leather for the outside of the bowl, and then lambskin suede for the inside. I carefully assembled the leather and bead embroidered pieces together, joining them by linking an edge of square beads, and applique stems were stitched using size 11 seed beads into the suede for the stems of the flowers.
Once the bowl was assembled, I placed the flowers and leaves, then stitched them in place in such a way that they don't fully rest against the side or the bottom of the bowl, but stand up as real flowers would do. It was important to me to include these flowers as most nesting is done in the spring.
Finally, I embellished both the outside and the inside of the bowl with strings of interwoven seed beads, mixed with pearls and crystals, to represent the twigs that a natural nest would be made with. I purposely made them slightly askew and a-symmetrical as a nest would be.
This bowl is constructed of high quality designer leathers and Japanese Glass seed beads. The base is 3" x 3", the top is 5" x 5", and it is about 2 1/2" deep.
I am proud to have participated in the "Nest" challenge of the Etsy Beadweavers. Please visit our team blog, http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com between the 9th and 15th of February and vote for your favorite entry.
I'm also a proud member of the Etsy Bead Weavers Team. Search EBW TEAM for more beautiful bead-woven creations or visit our blog for links to all members’ shops: http://etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com
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