April BJP

The last 7-8 months of my life I've been taking a lot of risks and when I found this little plaque in my bead box I thought it'd make a nice statement for April. One of the risks I've been taking is around writing. April is National Poetry Month and I joined National Poetry Writing Month to commit to writing a poem every day. I did it but it was difficult at times. Putting my feelings into poetry feels very risky to me!

I don't know if you'll see arrows or vines. They are supposed to be arrows but they do look rather viney! I was trying to figure out what to put on after I added the plaque and doodling came to mind. When I doodle on paper I draw arrows branching out so I tried to replicate that. I think these are prettier than the arrows I generally doodle! I embellished them a little because I wanted this piece to look pretty. I used my favorite color, pink, in different shades and the silver because I thought it contrasted nicely. I guess I was trying to make risk look pretty. . .

March BJP

I finally finished March! My neighborhood has a number of corner curb gardens. Here's a picture of one that is mostly lavender but others are full of different flowers. In March a lot of flowers, especially bulbs, were starting to bloom and I enjoyed walking around looking at the little gardens. I decided to depict one of these for my March BJP.

I originally considered trying to do something that was more an actual picture but I figured it'd take me far too long and I'd never get caught up! What I ended up with is more representational but I'm pleased with the way it came out. I used fabric and beads on the bottom to depict dirt and embroidery floss to do the stems. There are a lot of trees in my neighborhood and a couple of the little gardens even have a small tree so I made the outline & branches to represent a tree. I was a little afraid it would overwhelm the piece but now that I'm done I think the flowers are holding their own. The first clump with purple beads is lavender, then daffodils, tulips and a rosebush. So now it's onto April and hopefully I'll be caught up soon!

Black Oak - April BJP

Here's my April project - an unfurling Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii) leaf! These trees are really amazing when they leaf out in the Spring, and I've included a picture of the tree that inspired me here. This month is usually the peak of the wildflower season in this part of California, so I included the multicolored beads in specific colors I've observed in flowers. I liked the idea of including the fabric design in my beading, so I did the viney things in multi-hued greens. These greens recall all the grasses and leaves that accompany the flowers. I also got a chance to use some interestingly textured bugle beads that Mom kindly shared with me!

Note: This entry says posted by robin michelle but it's Jill's April project. I just posted for her because she's a luddite. . .