Inspiration Central - the Seedbeaders' Holiday party

For the first time since summer, I managed to sneak away for the day on Sunday for the monthly NW Seed Beaders meeting.  They are such an incredible group and I was reminded of just how much I had missed them this past fall! 

The December meeting is always jam packed with activity and happenings with a gift exchange, a bead swap game and program planning for the next year or so.  Shelly, our fearless leader, had asked me to take photographs of the Show and Share, Challenge and Future program entries.  I'm going to hold off on sharing the Future program entries because they're still working on the schedule, but I will happily share photos of some of the rest.

Challenge Necklace by Shelly Gillmann

As we set up, Shelly asked if I could photograph her challenge necklace, which had taken third at the NW Bead Society's fall retreat.  She'd made the necklace for a family member, but wanted documentation before she sent it on it's way as it was the most complex piece she'd created to date.  I love all the little details and tried to get a number of closeups.  Hope she likes the pictures!

'Five Years of Challenges' freeform beaded necklace by Patricia Hardway

Patricia Hardway's gorgeous holiday necklace is the culmination of five separate years worth of challenges.  I love that she included a printed list of all the years' challenges and all the stitches she'd incorporated into the piece.  It looks like a party to me, with the little splashes of color reminding me of confetti. 

Jellyfish pendant by Jennifer Porter

I fell in love with Jennifer Porter's jellyfish pendant as soon as she walked in the door and I saw her wearing it.   Photographing it posed several challenges - I had to borrow a display rod from one of the other ladies who'd brought items for sale so that I could hang the pendant in my photo boot as it simply didn't look right laying flat against a surface.  And once I had the pendant in my hands, I really, really didn't want to give it back.  The fact that I did made me feel very, very virtuous. 

I photographed this one while it was on the Show and Share table, but it may also be a program topic in 2013.  I'll let you know if it is! 

Ann Wilkinson's Zulu Square Stitch Collar

I love the subtle richness of Ann's collar.  The interplay of warm and cool tones of the rich chestnuts with the cooler olivey-brown tones pairs beautifully with the slow spiral design.  This piece looks and feels substantial.  I'm also always fascinated by how other's end their spirals, so I tried to get closeups of her closure.  She used metal caps shaped like flowers and stitched her beadwork into them; the pictures of that didn't come out quite as clear as I'd hoped.

To cap off this post, here's Georgia McMillan's entry into this year's challenge.  All entrants were given a baggie of common household items and were told to recycle or upcycle them into something:

Georgia McMillan's Recycled Christmas collection

 

And once I have the 2013 Schedule, I'll post it along with whatever photos I have of the actual projects/techniques.