"Trees" Exhibit Opening Tomorrow Night!

Here in Dubuque we have a great little art gallery called "Outside The Lines" located in the historic Cable Car Square on Bluff Street. A group exhibit entitled simply "Trees" is opening tomorrow night and will feature the work of 24 local and near-regional artists (myself included!). If you live in the area, stop by tomorrow evening (Jan 3rd) between 7-9pm for the opening reception - I promise it will be great fun and the art is super! You may even find the need to buy something...  :)

Chinese Lantern - A New Woven Neckpiece

The holiday season seems so busy for me this year - not that it actually IS busier than usual, it just seems that way! I was beginning to wonder if I would ever finish the necklace project I had started a couple of weeks ago. But I did, finally, almost, last night... it is still lacking a neck strap and so not entirely "finished" but we're getting there.

For now, I am calling this piece "Chinese Lantern" as the inspiration came from a bright red, embroidered silk jacket I have and then from the lovely vintage necklace pendant once for sale in my vintage shop on Etsy - it never sold and I was secretly glad of that! Originally, It had some faux pearl drops but I replaced them with freshwater pearls, gold-plated chain fringe and gold-plated bead caps. Matching earrings are in the making, as well. A more exotic moniker may come to me and the name will change but for now... it's "Chinese Lantern".

Here are a couple of photos I wanted to share - more to follow... Please feel free to comment - I would love to know what you think! :)

New Weavings

I have two new projects under-way right now... I'm really happy with my pinweaving jewelry but have started to become interested in tapestry weaving (and investigating methods for incorporating macrame into tapestry weavings) and coiled basket weaving. ALthough I haven't started on a basket yet, I have started a tapestry sampler in a handmade frame loom - made using a cast-off picture frame and small nails - and have a new necklace project underway.

Here are some photos of things I'm working on now... I hope you enjoy seeing them! Please leave a comment - I'd love to know your thoughts :)

New necklace in the planning...

... and in-progress!

A sampler of tapestry techniques on my homemade frame loom using a variety of found fibers

Sonoran Skies 2

If you know me, you know that I REALLY like big statement jewelry! Not everyone does. Go figure... right? So, I decided to try making a smaller version of "Sonoran Skies", one of my needleweaving jewelry pieces. The pendant section measures 3 1/2" x 2" (instead of the 8" x 4 1/2" of the original). It can be worn in lengths up to 30". Here is "Sonoran Skies 2" - more compact in size but not in punch! I hope you'll agree...

Sonoran Skies Cuff

After finishing my latest neckpiece, Sonoran Skies, I decided to try to make a woven cuff to match. Here is the final product! -

Sonoran Skies Cuff by Cindy Caraway

I am quite proud of it but really wasn't too sure while I was making it....

Everything started as usual: a design was drawn up, colored, pinned to the board, warped with Irish waxed linen and off I went. Once the weaving was finished, though, I realized a couple of things: since I was used to sizing cuffs made with bead embroidery (which tend to be bulky), it was too long for being so thin and it felt too delicate to stand up to being worn on the wrist - I was afraid it would stretch out-of-shape too easily or snag on something.  
**That being said, please realize that I am a worrier and am always thinking about what could go wrong with a design or whether it can withstand being out in the "real world".

So... having a fabulous selection of very nice leather remnants thanks to my custom boot-maker friend, Paul (be sure to visit his site here), lining it with leather was my best option. And that's exactly what I did!

The top weaving is lined with one piece of leather and secured with embroidery (chain stitch) around the edge.

Then I padded the inside with some soft eco-felt and backed it with another piece of leather. The edge was finished with more embroidery (button-hole stitch).

I also added a clasp - two antique shell buttons and a wrap so the fit is completely adjustable.

Anyway, it's lovely (IMO) and super comfy to wear! My hubby even asked if I would make one for him (more masculine in it's design, of course!). Look for it soon in my shop on Etsy -

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Sonoran Skies

Here's the latest of my woven neckpieces - - -

Sonoran Skies! 

This piece was inspired by the vintage copper brooch and built from there in a lovely color palette of turquoise, coral pink, rusty red and silver grays. The beads include copper prayer beads from Ethiopia, Czech glass, pink shell heishi and one beautiful Chinese cloisonne bead. The fibers used are perle cotton, silk and silver metallic threads woven over waxed Irish linen. I hope you like it! I will be posting it on Etsy later today but here are some other shots for you to enjoy in the meantime... :)

Tree of Life is finished!

I finished "Tree of Life" today and really like how it turned out! It's available to purchase at CindyCaraway on Etsy - let me know what you think! :)

 

 

 

Tree of Life - in progress...

The weaving is complete and now comes the fun part of finishing... hopefully today but, we'll see...

Tree of LIfe

There is a group exhibition coming up at a local gallery here in Dubuque. The gallery is "Outside the Lines" and the exhibition is themed "Trees" and I am working on some pieces to enter.

I just finished "Autumn Tree Twilight" and started working on a new piece that incorporates a tree of life centerpiece...

I've always been intrigued by these and finally just decided to give one a try! Pretty good for a first attempt, IMO :)

Next I drew up a pattern for a new necklace and figured out where the focal will be and planned for some leafy fringe. The pattern is warped and ready to go - I hope I'll have time to get started on it today!

Autumn Tree Twilight is Finished!

The last beaded fringe was added to "Autumn Tree Twilight" this afternoon! Here are some shots of the completed piece - I hope you like them! :)

I'll have this piece available in at CindyCaraway on Etsy later today -

Autumn Tree Twilight

I'm starting a new pin weaving project called (for the meantime) "Autumn Tree Twilight". I started with a brass pin depicting a garden scene that features a tree and built a color scheme around it. Lots of orange, rust, gold and green...

Next, I decided to add some fall "foliage" to the pin by wiring on seed beads in rusty orange, golden brown and pretty green...

Since I need some contrast to the oranges and greens in order for the tree to stand out, I decide to do a "sunset"  backdrop using deep blue and pink to represent the evening sky...

Finally, I draw up a pattern and commence with the weaving....

 

So far, so good! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out! :)

My New Sketch Box Easel!!

When doing my weavings, I was usually trying to balance my work on my lap, which was getting very uncomfortable. One day while browsing around online I saw a weaver using a floor easel that held the frame loom and I thought, "Duh, of course..."

I wanted a floor loom that could easily be folded up and had a nifty little drawer for storing goodies and supplies. My research told me that what I most wanted was a "Sketch Box Floor Loom". My research also told me that they could be very expensive.

So, I started searching Craigs List and eBay and found several in the $75-and-up range but that was still a bit too rich for my budget. Finally I found an auction on eBay and, miracle of miracles, I won!!

I haven't taken any pics of the easel myself but I'll share some shots from the auction listing with you. It's so pretty and arrived in wonderful condition - I couldn't be happier! :)

All folded up and ready to travel!

On its way!

The necklace I have been working on in shades of teal, orange and purple with black and white stripes is coming together nicely! The weaving on the main body is complete - now it's on to the fringe and straps! :)

A new piece in a modern color palette

I'm getting ready to sell my wares at a local art fair this coming weekend. I want to have as many needlewoven pieces finished and ready for sale as possible! I have never been one for trends but, every once-in-a-while I check out different clothing/jewelry retailer websites to see if I can pick out what's hot in the coming season.

When I checked this past week, it was clear to me that teal, coral (sometimes verging on orange), purple (ranging from lavender to aubergine) and horizontal stripes in black and white were showing up everywhere. So, I decided to make a piece using all of those things! Here is a little look at the progress... but just a peek!

Cheers!

A new direction...

I am a jewelry maker - a crafter, artisan, artist. I have been called all of these things but I prefer "artisan" (which is a skilled practitioner of a craft who makes items that are functional and/or decorative). Even though I have tried my hand at a few different things - assemblage, collage, mixed media - I always come back to jewelry. So, I am an artisan who makes jewelry.

My jewelry-making (and selling!) started out with black wire way back in the late 80s. I added beads to the wire in the early 90s and ultimately dropped the wire and kept the beads in the mid 90s. Through the years the beads got smaller and smaller and I became a beadweaver/embroiderer somewhere around the late 90s/early 2000s. By 2005 I had some gallery showings, was beginning to get published and had gained some recognition as a bead artist.

Now in the 2010s, I am still a jewelry artisan but my focus has been a bit blurry over the last couple of years. I still love beads but my interest has waned a bit. I have dabbled in making jewelry from upcycled bits and found objects, fashioning statement pieces from fabric and fiber and now I am totally enamored with weaving - needleweaving, to be exact.

Needleweaving, sometimes called pin weaving, seems a natural progression for me. It still utilizes needles, thread and beads - the materials with which I feel most comfortable. I love detail and this technique certainly lends itself to detail. I love color, want lots of color choices and fiber comes in every color (and texture!) imaginable. I also like portable and it's beautifully portable! The pieces I have finished harken back to my early love of African and Native American jewelry and the Bohemian feel of them just makes me happy!

I'll talk more about the technique in future posts as I share pieces I'm working on. In the meantime, here is just a taste of some of the finished pieces. I hope you like them :)