Li Raven - FarOut

Nada's Ruby Ray 12.17

The idea for this piece actually began in 96, but in many forms that were later torn down. The first design was done entirely of pink beads, hugging a female figure, standing at about 2 feet tall. I was not happy with the idea at all, it wasnt emulating the strength of presence I wanted to say.. it reminded me something I might find in the Barbie aisle- just the wrong pink shade. On reflection, at that time, I couldnt source a decent pink color that I wanted to work with, and thought perhaps to back off that color as representative to the love vibration I was trying to convey, and try another color to dominate. I decided on gold because it hold a christ energy that I found equally important to convey. However, I wasnt pleased with that color dominating, and I also felt at that point that the statue needed to be larger. I also wasnt pleased with the shape of the figure either, so many changes were happeneing with "Lady Nada" even as I was creating it. I could see myself applying beads for hours at a time, knowing I would be dismantling it soon enough. The gold figure actually morphed though- instead of ripping to shreds, I salvaged some, and created a fabric and beads Queen Elizabeth figure.

I wasnt sure of the direction I wanted to go for a very long time. I started to reapproach the concept, trying to change the imagery entirely. Witht this new direction,the statue was to be 4 feet tall, with the body growing larger as it trailed to the floor. The hem of the figures gown would be covered with teardrop Swarovski crystals,heavily crusted with the beads at the hem and then interspersing upwards. I liked the idea of the teardrops reflecting incredible light- so much so, that the figure would like like it was walking on light, or elevated by the light.

I may still try this idea in another way with another figure..I would still really like to explore playing with rainbows and beads...the way light works through crystals and light to create a desired visual.

Using a more abstracted shape for the figure, I decided to use various vintage hex cut black beads. Not only did I have an abundant stock of this bead, I also loved how they would sparkle- reminding me of the starry universal body. For me, very representative of how Lady Nada focuses her energies in many universes, not just the earthly plane.

I still kept a gold element from the second attempt- I have always adored squash blossoms hair styles and it pleased my sense of style to add it here. Even after creating a whole other piece in gold, I still wanted it incorporated somehow.

I was hoping this figure had a monochromatic, slightly genderless quality to it, which I think succeeded. However, in combination with the gold element for hair, I was not as pleased with the bone structure and on reflection I would have preferred something more socio-neutral.

I finally found a pink bead quite recently ( thank you Beadazzled Beads in Nashville, TN) that spoke to me; bold, strong and clear.

I love the way these pink beads are translucent- how they leave a pink glow.

I saw that I would not have to use much of this potent pink mojo to convey and decided to use it in a more objective way - by creating a basket with them ( instead of directly on the figure).

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I added a random flare to the face...a vintage hex cut silk bead in pale pink..kind of like a dainty birthmark.

Abby road Beadles- A third of the series will be along in 2017

John as god. (jonhns glasses are made with wire instead of beads..but in a way, the glasses are one big bead!)

It was fun making Johns glasses..the one thing that i chose not to make from beads, but from wire. I really like the shape they took.

Ringo, as the undertaker

I added epoxy to this sculpture because I wanted to see what a glossy finish would look like, plus, I felt that this structure was really fragile and I wanted to add some durability.

I think the gloss finsih was okay, but probably detracted from the natural finish that seed beads normally exude.

Paul, as the dead man smoker

Paul was probably the hardest face to capture..it will be fun retrying it with the third the series I plan on in 2017.

George, as the grave digger

I used a very small bead for Georges jeans. It was very difficult to use, but I insisted on it because of the color- I just fell in love with the particular shade of blue.

BEADED TAROT BAGS

Seed beads on velvet.

It was an interesting exploration to use a reverse button clasp. I could have used the standard snap button clasp, I might still on future bags, but I knew that I wasnt going to have much movement with the contents of this bag- so using an oversized button was well worth trying.

Lined with olive silk.

Other side of bag. I really enjoyed how the beads looked on the rich velvet . I will probably explore more of these in the future...maybe with deep blue and purple velvets.