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, July 30, 2017

Art Elements Challenge July 2017 - Scarabs!

This month over at the Art Elements blog, we had the wonderful opportunity to play with some of Sue's recent creations - lampwork scarab beetle beads.  If you have been following my recent posts over there, you will know that I have also started catching and preserving insects this year.  Being able to tie two of my hobbies together was very inspiring!  I think I'll be wearing this piece a lot!
Sue had also sent me this really cool fused donut previously, and the colors worked perfect with my metallic scarab.  "Oil-slick" iris finished beads have been some of my favorites since I was 10 years old, and I love how it incorporates the iridescence that insects have naturally.
A donut is one of my favorite components to incorporate in a long pendant.  There is just so much potential for embellishment and suspension, along with it being such an eye catching shape and size.
To suspend the scarab, I worked a strip of square stitch into a loop, and hung the scarab like a single strand of fringe.  The strip then needed some embellishment to balance out the heft of the scarab and donut, so I stitched beads in layers until I was happy with the texture and colors.  Just look how much color is in the scarab itself!
After the scarab and donut were attached, I made a warped square of peyote stitch - this is one of my favorite techniques to make a bail to suspend a large pendant.  Because the opening is large, it leaves opportunity to pull the pendant off of the necklace, and suspend it on a ribbon, cord or piece of leather too.
Right now I decided to do a strung strap to hang the pendant from, since I had coordinating beads pulled out.  The front section has coordinating fire polish, cathedral and pressed Czech glass beads.  Then the majority of the necklace is sections of large peanut beads spaced out by seed beads and single small cathedral cut beads.  Right before I crimped, I strung a series of just the small cathedral cut beads to allow my fingers a smooth place to fiddle with the clasp.
I hope you enjoy my creation this month!  I think this will be my new good luck bug catching necklace!  Thank you so much Sue, for allowing us this chance to play with your creations.  I hope you will hop along and see what everyone else has created with their beetles.  I'm off to do just that!

Guests

Deb Fortin
Lennis Carrier
Barb Fernald

AE Team

Jenny
Diana
Lindsay
Claire
Lesley
Caroline
Laney
Cathy
Niky
Sue
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13 comments:

  1. SaraccinoJuly 30, 2017 at 4:15 AM

    Wow, the necklace looks stunning... and I would have never dared to combine the colours you used, but they work beautiful together!

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  2. SueBeadsJuly 30, 2017 at 8:11 AM

    Lindsay, I say it every time we have a challenge, I am always in awe of your creativity! And the use of the donut - wow! What a great piece! Thank you!

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  3. Cathy Spivey MendolaJuly 30, 2017 at 8:26 AM

    ABsolutely beautiful! You certainly did justice to Sue's lovely scarab. The colors you chose are perfect. And I agree that oil-slick finish is my favorite also! It reminds me of ceramic raku pieces. You beading as always is perfect! I love how you adding dimension and weight to the loop for the scarab. I need to try that.

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  4. CarolineJuly 30, 2017 at 9:17 AM

    I love your structured beading and the necklace colours are gorgeous together! It's a wonderful design.

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  5. Barb FernaldJuly 30, 2017 at 9:35 AM

    Wearing that necklace would bring anyone good luck! The combination of the glass donut and your bead work set off the scarab bead perfectly. Cool design!

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  6. AnonymousJuly 30, 2017 at 10:06 AM

    I love the color choices, especially the ombre effect and the texture created by the various beads.

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  7. LaneyJuly 30, 2017 at 10:10 AM

    those colours you have used really work beautifully together giving the whole piece a feeling of elegance and quiet beauty, really pretty necklace :D

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  8. Empty nester at lastJuly 30, 2017 at 12:09 PM

    How beautiful! Great job on the colors! I would definitely wear it!

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  9. Jennifer CameronJuly 31, 2017 at 9:36 AM

    I love that this challenge combined your current interests, which makes seeing the result that much more fun. I love the use of the donut as a connector. Stunning!

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  10. AnonymousJuly 31, 2017 at 6:57 PM

    Just like all the prior things you've made, I love this one too. You tired of me telling you how much I love everything?!? LOL!
    ~Diana

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  11. LesleyAugust 1, 2017 at 5:10 AM

    This is lovely Lindsay...great colour choice and textural detail.

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  12. Niky SayersAugust 1, 2017 at 2:04 PM

    Just amazing! I love how you have hung the doughnut and the colours are simply stunning and jewel like!

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  13. JennyAugust 1, 2017 at 2:17 PM

    Oh I love the colors! And the bail on the donut looks like a beaded carapace of sorts. Very keeping with the theme - I know its a common enough beaded bail shape - but it makes my mind go there.

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