About Me

Lindsay M Starr is a beadwork and mixed media artist currently based in Nashville, TN. She spent her early childhood in Alaska, and her school age and college years in Oregon. Lindsay has a great appreciation for history, science, and nature and is consistently inspired by insects, sea life, color, and the significance of beads and beadwork throughout human history. She spends her days beading, walking at the zoo, and practicing yoga. Lindsay loves to share her knowledge and passion for beads and beadwork to hobbyists of all skill levels.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month - May 2015

Where, oh where, has this month gone!  I just can't seem to get the hang of a full time job, beading, writing, and attempting to get out of the apartment for some exercise.  Add to that, we have signed papers on a new apartment and get to move again at the end of June...  Hopefully after that things will settle down!  I will have a bead room in the new place, and my commute will be much shorter...I anticipate coming home from work, starting dinner, and beading while it cooks!  One can dream, right?

Anyway, back to the subject at hand!  This month we got to play with some of Susan Kennedy's little beaded beads!
Sue sent me the set on the top right - a combination of turquoise, ivory, olive green, and mustard yellow.
I knew before the beads even arrived that I didn't want to make earrings or a necklace.  I don't really wear earrings anymore, and I already have PLENTY of necklaces, so a bracelet seemed like the best option.  The challenge I face when using small beaded components, is not overwhelming them with my own beadwork...it is unfortunately easy to do!  So to keep my own beadwork to a minimum, I made this central component:
I bought that blue mother of pearl frame eons ago - it has holes through short edges that I was able to use to suspend a beaded square in the middle.  After that, I looped around the long edges to secure the square in place.  When I was done with that, it still looked like the component needed a central element, so I went digging through my box of 2hole beads, and found this lovely striated vintage glass one...isn't it pretty?  
Here are all the beaded components together.  Part of the reason I used those turquoise picasso drops on the edges of the central component, was so I could use them as a wire attachment point, and simply string Sue's beads and the rest of the bracelet.  Like this!
I used vintage glass beads on the rest of the bracelet, and an antique brass colored toggle with matching crimp covers - I like that they're nearly the same size as the little green Japanese glass beads!
I used a few turquoise delicas before and after I passed through the drop bead, just to alleviate a bit of tension on the wire, and to leave less of it exposed.
This is what the back of the central component looks like - the square lays nice and flat on your arm, for maximum comfort.
And here we go, two beauty shots!  Because I couldn't figure out a way to get a good picture of the central component and Sue's beads too.  
Please check out Sue's Etsy shop - she's got a few more pairs of these gorgeous beads there, along with a ton of her gorgeous lampwork!
Don't forget to check out what everyone else did with their beaded beads - that's what I'm off to do now!

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Friday, May 1, 2015

Beading Back in Time Blog Hop Challenge Reveal Part 2 - Early Human

Are you ready for another blog hop reveal?  I know I am!  It's time for the Beading Back in Time Blog Hop Challenge Reveal Part 2 - Early Human - hosted by myself, and the lovely Sherri of Knot Just Macrame.
Sherri says I'm the short one...what I want to know is why does she get to wear the leopard hides?!?
 Before we even announced this phase of the challenge, I knew I would be incorporating these beads into my finished piece:
These are Neolithic quartz beads, that were painstakingly drilled by hand!  One of the things that I have always loved about beads is just how much a part of human culture they have been since the beginning.  I've had these beads for a few years now, just waiting for the right project.  And here it is!
I've wanted to make a shaman necklace for myself for years, and this seemed to be the perfect reason.  I wanted all of the components to be natural, and preferably handmade...so I broke out my seldom used dremel tool and went to town on my box of weird nature things!
 Some of the materials I used include (because I'm sure I can't remember all of them): hemp twine, driftwood and kelp from the Oregon Coast, Baltic Sea amber, crinoid segment fossils, coral skeleton, turkey spur and deer hooves, the neolithic quartz beads, sliced walnut and tagua nut, rudraksha seed, large flat seeds from Peru, wood and twigs, antler...the list goes on!  In the center is a stylized ceramic cat skull by my buddy Mel of Melody Allen - Ceramics.  Humans started developing ceramics around 24,000 BCE - I love this combination of two creative disciplines that are so integral to our identity as humans.
Here are a couple more views so you can see the entire scope of the piece.  What objects can you identify?  There are a few that are still mysteries to me - like the large wood nobby thing just below the ceramic skull.  A friend gave that to me, and I have no idea what kind of tree it came from...or is it some sort of root nodule?  Do you know?
And here's our beauty shot!  I hope you enjoyed checking out my creation this time around.    Please use the links below to see what everyone else has been up to- I have such creative friends!  I'm off to check out their posts right now! Thanks for looking!
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