Bleeding Heart, the sequel

I had another look at the picture of the pink Bleeding Heart in my springtime post and that's where it hit me - the white peeking out from under the pink.

Why hadn't I thought of that right away? I had some white beads and also small amounts of pink and purple lined clear beads, so maybe that would be enough for the prototype of a big heart?
Surprise!

There was one purple bead left over at the end!
I'm quite happy with this bigger attempt because I learned a few things from it.
Using the bigger beads I can't curve the petals as well as in the small heart and I would try to prolong the heart at the bottom in some way - the bigger beads don't make such a nice tip - and make the drop a bit smaller. There should also be less white in the heart, but I had to do that because I was so low on pink and purple.

Here's a comparison between the big and the small heart.
The small one is really growing on me and after all there are usually different sizes on a plant as well.

And so it's clear that the journey will continue ...

Bleeding Heart, a prototype

I don't often make prototypes. I play. I experiment. I make forever WIPs (not on purpose!) to look at so I can wonder what the heck I actually did there and how I'm supposed to repeat or refine it.
I never write anything down. I don't make sketches. Not smart, I know, but that's not going to change now (wait, I once did, for my wire crochet Christmas balls, but I don't know where that note went which doesn't matter as I haven't made any of them in years).
I don't sit down and actively try to work something out. Measure and count. I don't have an analytical mind. Things come to me or they don't.

This time, I made one, a prototype, kind of.
I didn't want to show it to you yet because I wanted to get it right first, but that may take a while.

The 3D heart wasn't the difficult part, but the blood or tear drop (depending on your language) and the ends of the outer petals which curve up.
Here I used just size 11 and 15 seed beads to make the petals curve, but I didn't like them smaller and like this the heart was too small for my taste.
Right, therefore the size 8 that inspired the stash tackler post.

I didn't have enough white beads in the size 8 to try out if that would look more like what I was thinking of, though.
Postage has definitely become too high for ordering just one tube of beads. Now minimum for postage free shipping has gone up quite a bit as well. As if it wasn't difficult enough for me to put a bead order together!
Not that I wouldn't understand the bead stores, mind you, they have to deal with business realities and their finances just as we all do more and more, as I do as a matter of fact.
I have enough stash, so I can't really justify another bead order just yet.

I don't have any other bead colors in all three sizes, either. Similar maybe, but not the same.
There will be a bead order sometime, though, and the design is absolutely staying on my list, but as I said, it may take a while, so all you get to see for now is this rather tiny protoype, sorry.

And another picture in my hand to give you a better idea of its size.

Art Elements Design Challenge and Blog Hop - Swirl

This hasn't been my month for different reasons. Life got in the way and ate up my motivation, my concentration and my creativity.
It would have been easier to send an email in time saying sorry, can't do it this time. On the other hand I can be so stubborn. I've got this. Some light stretching, shaking my head free from the cobwebs, grabbing my wire and ... hm, can you also hear that cricket in the background? And where's that tumbleweed coming from regarding the fact I'm not even in a desert? Oh, dust bunnies. Wait, just how long have I been sitting here with that wire in my hand??

It's strange that swirls - the topic for August at the Art Elements Design Challenge and Blog Hop given us by Marsha - didn't make me jump all over the place with ideas. You know that I love to make tentacles for example which could have been one way out of this dilemma, but this time not even they helped me out. I drew a complete blank.
So I started making a little spiral hoping it would awaken some creative spark - today, on the day of the reveal! - , and there it was.
I had been admiring wire woven vessels for a long time. Mary Tucker's work was one of the first one of that kind that caught my eye. 
Basket weaving translated into wire fascinated me and I made some very feeble attempts long before I even contemplated diving deeper into the wire weaving world. Maybe it was time for another one, hopefully not that feeble this time.

This is a prototype or maybe a WIP. The piece is closed from both sides, so it's not like a basket, more like a chunky and rather heavy button. I'm not sure yet if I want to use it in a piece of jewelry or if I'm going to keep it as a reminder and as an inspiration to keep going and trying to make this work in my way. One thing I know, I will not be able to put it on my desk or Gundel will kick it round the place in no time! She already has that look in her eye ...
As you see I haven't put a bail on, I haven't oxidized, it just has been a bit of wire play for now, but who knows what's going to happen next? :-)

Other participants in the Challenge have not been quite as unmotivated or uncreative as I have been, so please go by their blogs and see what they have come up with. It's what I'm going to do myself now, and I do believe that they have to offer a big inspiration boost!

Guests
 
Alison -  Anita - Cat (aka me) - Caroline - Jill - Kathy - Karin - Kimberly - Mischelle -  Raven - Sarajo - Susan - Tammy 

AE Team Members
 
Cathy -  Caroline -  Claire - Jen - Jenny and Lesley - Laney - Marsha - Susan