Adding more pics to my Textile Art and Jewelry album

Working with thread and needle is incredibly therapeutic. Yes, sometimes I have to unravel what I did, and sometimes the...

Posted by Azra Momin on Sunday, January 11, 2015

Funky fabric jewelry - Samara

I really enjoy working with fabric and textiles :)

And beads.

And whatever else I can find.

 Here I've used a bracelet remnant

and an old drop pendant stone.

They're both about 20 years old.

I've yet to give this piece a chain to 

complete it as a necklace.

Or it could be used as a brooch.

Going sculptural

With a great big fabric bead.

I wanted to switch to something a little organic in shape,

and decided to try a fabric bead.

Well, for something so simple looking, this was a huge pain to make - it was so hard to get the shape right!  And then I couldn't encase it properly in the top fabric, and had to disguise the horrible creases with random stitches all over the bead. 

Luckily, those came out pretty neat, and give the bead a subtle coloration and texture.  Of course the teeny meeny beads add to the charm of the big mommy bead.  So it all turned out OK in the end, although it's not entirely finished.  I attached the chain to connector rings, which I simply pushed into stitches on either side, but I need to find a better way than that :)

I'm thinking of making my next bead with only the random stitches

and seed beads, no other ornamentation.

That will make it more sculptural, I think.

Funky Fabric Jewelry, and looming deadlines

So, I'm just wrapping up my illustration assignment, 

and looking forward to starting work on my 

textile art assignment,

due only in...

10 DAYS!!!

I really need to get started.

Actually, it's due end of August,

but we have a group meeting soon and

we are expected to show SOME progress by then.

So, next few posts I'll try to focus on that,

but meanwhile here's a peek into 

stuff I did while I SHOULD 

have been working on the textile project.

Actually, I made all this jewelry several weeks ago,

while I was trying to get my muse

for an illustration assignment.

Now that I've done some more illustrations,

the latest ones,

I'm all set for starting my textile project.

See?  Works out perfectly :)

From the ForgotToUploadThis Department...

There are a few more alphabets I made, 

but I'll save them for next time.

And some colorful layered and beaded circles - 

these are headed for broochdom,

as soon as I can make them sprout some leaves.

I loved working in those saturated colors - 

they are almost too hot too handle!

Yay for funky fabric jewelry.

A new listing, and some paintings

Some time ago I posted about my acceptance into 

a textile art project sponsored by the Niagara Region.

We've had one meeting so far where we got to 

meet our fellow artists - there are twelve in all.

I was amazed at their education and experience in the field - 

was I the only one who had never taken courses in art?

And had only been working with fabric less than three years?

YIKES!

Each artist will be working on a panel about 2 feet x 4.5 feet - 

way bigger than anything I've ever done!

We'll be working from photographs,

translating the image into fabric.

They gave me the juiciest photo of all - really!!!

But more on that later.

Today I finished a necklace I've been working on 

for a while, sporadically :)

 Not only that, I also LISTED IT!!!!

It was so much fun to make,

and I feel tempted to keep it for myself,

but I'd really like to sell it too.

Also, today the NanoBot and I messed around 

with some paint and paper.

She made a lovely bluey-green abstract

which I can't find at the moment,

and which she gave me to keep 'as a present'.

So sweet.  I better find that painting!

I scanned some drawings of hers though:

 Aren't they the cutest?

 

She draws straight with pen - and doesn't like to color.

The text in the second picture was written by me - her request.

She'll be turning 5 in May, my sweet little munchkin :)

I hope her world is always filled with joy.

And I wish I could draw like her!

And for my dear friend Asma,

who has a big, blank purple wall,

I made this:

 Asma works in Toronto,

so I used torn images from a Toronto city guide,

and added parts of an abstract scribble 

that the NanoBot had decorated some note paper with - 

since she is with me all the time while I work,

I thought it fitting to add an element of her presence 

into my collages.

 I stamped on circles with a bottle, a marker cap, even my fingers.

The wall is a deep plummy purple, and my colors 

will complement that, I hope!

 

I wanted to make them all different,

yet similar enough to hang together.

Asma's other name is Emilia,

and I just happened to find a purple E!

Hope she likes them!

 

Seeing camels in the woods

I'm not sure why, but every time I need to be working 

on a particular thing, I find it impossible 

to stay away from something else altogether!  

Right now, I'm working on a book about a camel, 

and I need to get my brain talking to my hand 

so that plausible-looking camels spurt forth 

on my sheet of paper, since camels have not been

 part of my repertoire of drawn creatures.  

But I HAD to take a break and design a logo instead 

(not something I've done before either) 

and then I HAD to take another break 

and work on some fabric and make this ring.  

Thinking of woodsy splendors here - 

do you spot a camel? :)

For some strange reason, 

once I have indulged in my little diversion,

I do my actual task BETTER!!!

Beats taking a coffee break any day :)

Sweets for the sweet

Not edible, but candy-colored!

Good enough to eat, right?

The multicolored ones with the beads 
sewn on outside the center

were the idea of my little NanoBot.

At four, she's already a better artist than I can ever be :)

Pin-brooches sewn at the back - 

wearable happy-ness :)

Ring, ring...!

Visiting my parents (yes, I am) means a couple of things
 - lots of food, and lots of talk :)

I need to start working on illustrating the book

I'm supposed to be working on,

but I'm also itching to work with fabric.

I found a few shards of really cute material and

 can't wait to make something out of them. 

And I definitely need to make more of these!

Funky fabric rings are calling out to me!

While The Babies Sleep

 Four little babies fell asleep

Then their friend came and woke them up

This inspired Mommy to wake up too.

And see red.

And gold.

And oval seemed like a good way to go.

Ready to party?

Color, and a prayer

It's white, white outside, so I made me some color...

A funky fabric bag

To go with some funky fabric jewelry

Bring on the snow...

Although, with the storm we had a couple days ago, 

and the snow swirling around us,

I couldn't help thinking how incredibly fortunate

we are to have a roof over our heads

 and every comfort to cater to our every need. 

I couldn't help thinking of the many who are without a home,

 without warmth, without even food. 

Inconceivable, but so real for so many. 

Like I said to the Little One,

the least we can do is pray for such people,

pray for their comfort and safety. 

But that is not the least we should do. 

We all have the capacity to help, and there are

many small ways to do so, both locally and online.

We do food banks and blood donations

(DaddyBoy goes every other month),

and each year instead of doing birthday parties

we sponsor a child in the LittleOne's name,

but I also hope to volunteer at a soup kitchen

with her when she's a little older.

 

Until then, there are so many other small ways to pitch in.

May the cold not be too cold for anyone...

Purple

Purple is an-between color, and it's both calm and passionate.  I'm only recently learning to embrace purple, and in this cuff bracelet I have harmonized it with it's two cousins - red and blue.


The result is very intense, and quite stunning!

Books and the Brocante

I've been struggling with getting the illustrations done for the latest book I'm working on - a cute story about two sisters who find a beautiful necklace, and their quest to find the rightful owner.  They're pretty much all done, except for the cover, but I have a few days for that.  Some pics soon...

Meanwhile, here's what I've been working on alongside - these will be at the Brocante Lux this Friday...I'm excited about how the cuffs turned out, and they look really cool on the wrist, all encrusted with roses and beads and sequins. 

Very quick pics...so they don't show the whole cuff, and I've got them wrapped around an old bottle from IKEA : )

The roses are less orangey and more deep pink,

but somehow it doesn't look that way...

I made a brooch with this same base - see the last picture!

And a few simple earrings...



Looking forward to the show!