studio notes #6

This week was a slow one. Between an upcoming class and a few days lost to a migraine, I didn't make as much progress on this project as I'd hoped.

I did get my latest sample a little further along. The grocery bag macramé part is done and I started adding strands of black beads. The arrangement of the beads started to feel like it could be referencing either hair or tears, which I really like.

I also learned that I need to be more intentional if I want the ends of the beads to create their own lines. I wasn't really sure what I wanted when I started, but as I added more strands, I realized I wanted the ends to create a line that mirrors the curve of the navette/eye shape of the macramé part.

I really like the look of the strands of beads and they feel really cool in my hands. I want to see what it looks like when the whole thing is covered in them, almost like hair. So I'll be adding more and taking pictures at each stage.

Sometimes I'm afraid to add something if I already like where a sample is. But because I'm framing these as samples, I'd rather follow an idea as far as I can and learn from it than stop myself from experimenting just because I like what I have.

I have several ideas I want to see through before I jump into the next book or possibility for inspiration, so I'm hoping to spend some time making more samples next week.

The next idea I'm excited to try is making little plastic folder mushrooms and incorporating them into the grocery bag macramé.

sample #2 - changes so far, pointier tips and less round than sample# 1

added first layer of strands of beads. I didn’t have any black cord so I painted it with acrylic ink. I did end up buying black nylon cord for the future.