Playing With Pendants

If I was going to walk to my appointment, I needed to leave at 8:30 so that's when I put on my shoes and coat and headed out the door telling myself to suck it up and not be such a wimp, that this was an easy way to exercise. I took one sliding step on the driveway, turned around, and went back in. If I couldn't make it down the driveway, I wasn't going to make it up and down those hills. I drove. The roads were slippery. My limbs are still intact.

The rest of the day, I spent playing with pendants. The two shapes above are from a collection at Michaels. They're roughly 6" wide and 2" high and 1 1/2" wide and 3" high and seemed like good shapes to begin with.

I started by creating some backing and batting sandwiches, enough for four of each. Now that I know ever so slightly more than I knew before, I think I'd work with larger pieces and cut several pendants from one textured backing. That's something to experiment with next.

In my mind, I've been thinking of the pendants as mini textile art. They are significantly smaller than a wall hanging and only somewhat smaller than the 5 x 7" piece I showed you last week. The design principles are the same - it's the design space that differs. The chalk lines show the actual pendant size. The rest is extra. I'm figuring out how to finish the edges still.

With each piece, I'm using a combination of stabilizing and accenting threadwork. The images in this posting are only at the beginner stages. There are many details missing like beadwork.

How the pendants are strung into a necklace is going to have a huge impact on the final look as will whatever method I use to back them. I plan to experiment with that today. The pendant above left is my favourite so far and after that the top two. These seem the most in my style.

These two look like nothing right now. They're a combination of crepe back satin with Guatemala fabric scraps that have metallic in them. The black portion needs some punch either in the form of beading or fused and stitched scraps. I'm debating which.

These are my least favourite pieces although the larger curved one has potential. They're created from a fabric that I originally cut from a skirt to be recycled. It was a whole bunch of squares that were layered and stitched together to make a new fabric that I then used to make a blouse that I then cut up to make other things like purses and my Kobo cover. There's still LOTS of fabric left and these pendants take itty bitty bits. At the moment, these two feel crafty but we'll see what happens as I finish them.

Above and below are detail images of the stitchwork. I'm known for dense threadwork which is good. With these pendants, I need to stitch even closer and be sure that I'm loosened up and moving smoothly because small errors will show.

These eight pieces are a good start. I'm pleased. I learned a lot and it was interesting that while creating these was just as tedious and made more of a mess in the studio than working with the clay, it was FUN! Go figure.

I can still see a purpose to the clay as a base to attach the textiles to. I found myself wishing I had some shapes pre-made because a clay base would be weighted and easy to attach the chain too. I sent a few images to Carolyn (the clay lady) to give her an idea of what I'm trying to accomplish and I'll see what her suggestions are but today...

... I'm going to try different approaches including mounting the pieces on craft foam. I don't think it'll be heavy enough but combined with washers or something of that nature it may work. There's a business close by called Universal Fasteners. Apparently, they sell parts for all sorts of industrial settings and may have metal things that would work for me and are hopefully way less expensive than anything at Michaels. I don't mind testing ideas with their stock but as a supplier, they're incredibly expensive.

The pendants aren't finished yet and even so, I'd appreciate your feedback. Do they look like they have potential or do they look crafty? I'm aiming for sophisticated and not kitch. 

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - jewelry feels doable at the moment