It has been almost a year since I first posted about this necklace. I posted when I finished, and promised pictures. Well, today I deliver. Here, dear reader, are the pictures I promised nearly a year ago.
There is something disheartening about taking pictures of your work and having to preface it with excuses. For the longest time I was taking pictures with a crappy cell camera, and it was never capable of capturing what I saw in front of my face. When I got my new phone, it came with a 20 megapixel camera, and is capable of taking some pretty nice photos. Still not as a good professional digital camera, but at least nice enough where I do not feel that my work is being misrepresented. This shot here really nails what this piece looks like in person.
I am by no means a professional photographer. I think that much should be pretty clear by the pictures on this blog; I did every one of them. This necklace is important to me. It represents a lot of milestones in my beading journey so far, and getting it here on the page has taken forever because I wanted- no, NEEDED to get it right.
The original working name was Apples. Symbolic, striking, biblical, sweet with a little bite, tempting. As I grew closer to finishing it, the name just did not describe what I was originally going for. It took on this mystery, shifting colors, touched with black at the tips, sharp and curved all at the same time. every time I held a piece of it up for inspection, I saw my friend Fran wearing it. Fran is no longer with us, she passed away a few years ago from a rare medical condition. I can still hear her laugh, and that is saying a lot, because the longer I am away from someone, the more I forget about them. I will never forget Fran, or her laugh, her smile or how she was more alive than anyone I have ever, or will ever meet. I miss her deeply. This necklace was always for her, I just did not know it right away. If she were here, she would have had this necklace 2 days after it was finished. It was just her style, and she is the only person I could think of that could wear this necklace and have it look like it belongs on her.
The pic to the left is the first pic taken of this necklace that I liked. A fried took it on his back deck and immediately posted it to his facebook. After seeing the comments on that post, I embraced the idea that the working name had to change, and it became Francesca: The Red Queen.
When I originally started gathering the materials for this necklace, the intention was always to sell it. Every step I took I was trying to make it as saleable as possible. From the materials, to the technique, I did everything I possibly could have by the book. I have a larger that average neck, so when I was sizing the neck, I purposely made it smaller than I could wear. I used only the best quality materials I could find. I made sure, absolutely sure that every thread end would never work its way out and hang out of the piece. You see, I fall in love with every piece I make and these colors are amongst my favorite, and I knew from the word "go" I was in danger of this necklace going into my jewelry stash if I was not careful. Despite all my best efforts, this piece is, was and will always be mine.
The night I finished it, I thought it would not fit me. I tried it on anyways, and lo and behold, it fit me as if I had measured it that way. I had not taken into account the curvy strap pieces and how they would work with the fit, I merely measured the inside circumference at the tops of the curves . That was at 14 inches. The center of the strap was exactly my size. At this point I think of it as a happy coincidence, but at the time I was crushed, because on an average sized neck, it was just too loose. I still at this point wanted to sell it. The plan was to get photos, post the reveal here on the blog, then put the necklace up for sale. While I was waiting, I handled the necklace a lot. one day I smacked it on a table as I set it down and it scratched the large center stone. That was it, that was the nail in the coffin. I was not going to sell this piece.
I have bemoaned my poor photography skills and equipment enough here for anyone who reads this blog to want to grab me by the shoulders and shake me while screaming "I get it! You are NOT a photographer! You have no equipment!" . I know, I know, I am sorry, I feel like this is something I need to improve. With Francesca, no cloudy, bad lighting photography was going to do. I have a friend of a friend, Dee's friend actually, let's call her Golly, who is an amazing photographer, especially when you give her an interesting object. If I were to ever enter a competition that was photo based, I would want Golly taking my pictures for me. She has this eye for everyday objects that sees past the mundane, and right to the heart of her subject, and puts it right in front of your face. It is like she is saying "Here! This is what I see!". I felt like Golly was the only one that could capture this piece perfectly, and I still do. The thing is, we are all a bunch of busy ladies, and coordinating all of our schedules has been problematic to say the least. When you try and work in a 4th person to model the necklace, well, it just did not happen. I was waiting for perfection after all.
So this past weekend, My friend from work (We will call her Von) and her daughter (henceforth referred to as Kanga) came over for a visit. I spent a day with them last week at their home and taught them the basics of wire wrapping, and Kanga really seemed to like it. This weekend when they visited I taught Von how to make peyote bezels, but of course, it was show and tell time first. When I pulled out the necklace, I looked at Kanga, and thought "Man, she would make a great necklace model.". Bam! out on the porch we went, and I took some pictures. And I love them. I really, really do. It is funny how sometimes when you strive for perfection you can almost miss opportunities. I am thankful that Kanga and Von allowed for these pictures to be taken. They may not be as good as what Golly can do, but I am very happy to be able to show the necklace off finally. At least I had the perfect model.
For every long winded story, there has to be lessons learned from it, or it is just a narcissistic person blowing hot air. This is my take away from this necklace, and this post:
This post has been long, and it has taken a lot out of me to write it. Thank you for reading, if you have made it this far. One last picture for you:
Happy beading!
There is something disheartening about taking pictures of your work and having to preface it with excuses. For the longest time I was taking pictures with a crappy cell camera, and it was never capable of capturing what I saw in front of my face. When I got my new phone, it came with a 20 megapixel camera, and is capable of taking some pretty nice photos. Still not as a good professional digital camera, but at least nice enough where I do not feel that my work is being misrepresented. This shot here really nails what this piece looks like in person.
I am by no means a professional photographer. I think that much should be pretty clear by the pictures on this blog; I did every one of them. This necklace is important to me. It represents a lot of milestones in my beading journey so far, and getting it here on the page has taken forever because I wanted- no, NEEDED to get it right.
The original working name was Apples. Symbolic, striking, biblical, sweet with a little bite, tempting. As I grew closer to finishing it, the name just did not describe what I was originally going for. It took on this mystery, shifting colors, touched with black at the tips, sharp and curved all at the same time. every time I held a piece of it up for inspection, I saw my friend Fran wearing it. Fran is no longer with us, she passed away a few years ago from a rare medical condition. I can still hear her laugh, and that is saying a lot, because the longer I am away from someone, the more I forget about them. I will never forget Fran, or her laugh, her smile or how she was more alive than anyone I have ever, or will ever meet. I miss her deeply. This necklace was always for her, I just did not know it right away. If she were here, she would have had this necklace 2 days after it was finished. It was just her style, and she is the only person I could think of that could wear this necklace and have it look like it belongs on her.
When I originally started gathering the materials for this necklace, the intention was always to sell it. Every step I took I was trying to make it as saleable as possible. From the materials, to the technique, I did everything I possibly could have by the book. I have a larger that average neck, so when I was sizing the neck, I purposely made it smaller than I could wear. I used only the best quality materials I could find. I made sure, absolutely sure that every thread end would never work its way out and hang out of the piece. You see, I fall in love with every piece I make and these colors are amongst my favorite, and I knew from the word "go" I was in danger of this necklace going into my jewelry stash if I was not careful. Despite all my best efforts, this piece is, was and will always be mine.
The night I finished it, I thought it would not fit me. I tried it on anyways, and lo and behold, it fit me as if I had measured it that way. I had not taken into account the curvy strap pieces and how they would work with the fit, I merely measured the inside circumference at the tops of the curves . That was at 14 inches. The center of the strap was exactly my size. At this point I think of it as a happy coincidence, but at the time I was crushed, because on an average sized neck, it was just too loose. I still at this point wanted to sell it. The plan was to get photos, post the reveal here on the blog, then put the necklace up for sale. While I was waiting, I handled the necklace a lot. one day I smacked it on a table as I set it down and it scratched the large center stone. That was it, that was the nail in the coffin. I was not going to sell this piece.
I have bemoaned my poor photography skills and equipment enough here for anyone who reads this blog to want to grab me by the shoulders and shake me while screaming "I get it! You are NOT a photographer! You have no equipment!" . I know, I know, I am sorry, I feel like this is something I need to improve. With Francesca, no cloudy, bad lighting photography was going to do. I have a friend of a friend, Dee's friend actually, let's call her Golly, who is an amazing photographer, especially when you give her an interesting object. If I were to ever enter a competition that was photo based, I would want Golly taking my pictures for me. She has this eye for everyday objects that sees past the mundane, and right to the heart of her subject, and puts it right in front of your face. It is like she is saying "Here! This is what I see!". I felt like Golly was the only one that could capture this piece perfectly, and I still do. The thing is, we are all a bunch of busy ladies, and coordinating all of our schedules has been problematic to say the least. When you try and work in a 4th person to model the necklace, well, it just did not happen. I was waiting for perfection after all.
So this past weekend, My friend from work (We will call her Von) and her daughter (henceforth referred to as Kanga) came over for a visit. I spent a day with them last week at their home and taught them the basics of wire wrapping, and Kanga really seemed to like it. This weekend when they visited I taught Von how to make peyote bezels, but of course, it was show and tell time first. When I pulled out the necklace, I looked at Kanga, and thought "Man, she would make a great necklace model.". Bam! out on the porch we went, and I took some pictures. And I love them. I really, really do. It is funny how sometimes when you strive for perfection you can almost miss opportunities. I am thankful that Kanga and Von allowed for these pictures to be taken. They may not be as good as what Golly can do, but I am very happy to be able to show the necklace off finally. At least I had the perfect model.
For every long winded story, there has to be lessons learned from it, or it is just a narcissistic person blowing hot air. This is my take away from this necklace, and this post:
- Even the best laid plans get subverted. I had my heart set on selling this piece. I am glad I did not, because in retrospect, I was meant to keep it. If not for the amount of things that blocked me from actually putting it up for sale, I risked losing something that ended up being extremely important to me. I would have been heartsick had I successfully sold this necklace, because it feels like I need to keep it, if not for all the things it taught me, but for who it reminds me of every time I pick it up, wear it, or even think about it. I have it, and I will keep it safe for her.
- Perfection is what you make of it. Sometimes waiting for perfect becomes a waste of time. If waiting for perfection reaches that stage, how is it perfect anymore? There is no way I am going to become a near professional photographer overnight, and the stars very rarely align. I have to learn to take advantage of great and not to pass great over in hopes of achieving the perfect circumstances. Even I do not have the energy for that, and I am a perfectionist when it comes to beading.
This post has been long, and it has taken a lot out of me to write it. Thank you for reading, if you have made it this far. One last picture for you:
Happy beading!
No comments:
Post a Comment