Sunday, May 1, 2011

Tamara Did What with Washers?

One day a few years ago, I was aimlessly strolling through Wal-Mart. In fact, I was aimlessly strolling through Wal-Mart last week. What a coincidence. On the fateful day in 2009, I got bored and started looking for jewelry components in the plumbing section. Voila! Univeral valve handle!!! (That's the flower looking thing on the right. Used for things like gas tanks and water hoses.) Down the aisle, there was a washer plumbing kit. I made this piece in just 17 hours:

Photo courtesy of Lauren Miller

Fire Powered Plumbing won finalist in the 2009 Fire Mountain Gems beading contest. That was the same year I won Grand Prize Silver with Demeter. Anyway, Fire Powered Plumbing is one of my all time favorite designs. It only took me two years and this illustration of Jenna's for me to realize that I have found a creatively unique niche.

Generally, I know when ideas are good, but sometimes I need a little help. So, I promptly found every washer in the apartment and amassed them into a pile and created this cuff a few weeks later. I used the color scheme of Lavender, Pea Pod, and Silver Cloud so I could enter the piece in the Fashion Colorworks 2011 beading contest. It is called "Pastel Twilight."


The toggle is a personal accomplishment, since I don't make very many that are multi-layered. There are two rows of peyote stitch in size 11, with bugle beads and rocailles as accents.

Each washer is a different size or shape and is embellished in a unique manner, according to whim. The thread is exposed where it anchors the beads in place.


I am proud of myself! I have accomplished the oh so difficult feat of branding myself. (Sounds painful.) I have a style! Woooo!!!! More to come.

Tune in next time for:

Whose Got Balls?

OR

Whose Got Balls?