Showing posts with label Maid Marian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maid Marian. Show all posts

Wednesday 15 August 2012

Deruta The Travelling Bracelet!

Have you read about The Amazing Adventures of the Traveling Bracelets project created by Sig Wynne-Evans?  While recovering from an operation, Sig had the idea of creating 10 bracelets and as she wove she thought only good positive thoughts before sending them out into the world.  Each gorgeous bracelet went to a different destination and the idea is that each recipient will spend a week with 'their' bracelet, absorbing some of the energy the bracelet has already picked up while adding some of their own.  They will then pass it on to a person of their choice who will also spend a week with the bracelet and so on.  Can you imagine the places these bracelets are going to go, the sights they will be shown and the adventures they will have?  Can't you already feel the special power that these bracelets will hold?  This project has apparently received a mixed response, but personally I think that this is a fantastic idea and so when my friend Maureen asked if she could pass bracelet number 7 (Deruta) on to me, I accepted enthusiastically and couldn't wait for the post to arrive.  Here is my report of my week with Deruta:




 
"When my lovely friend Maureen first contacted me to see if I would like to spend a week with Deruta, I jumped at the chance!  To be honest, this couldn’t have come at a better time for me as I had recently found out that Mum has cancer which has spread too far to be treated and when I read Sig’s blog and learned about her experiences and the philosophy behind the travelling bracelets, I really wanted to be a part of this and I also wanted to slide the bracelet onto Mum’s wrist so that she could feel the love that had gone into it.  I live 250 miles away from my parents and when Deruta arrived I had just returned home for a little break after spending 3 weeks with Mum at her home and in her local hospice and so I thought I would show Deruta some of our local sights before returning to help care for Mum.  I opened the box, marvelled at Deruta’s beauty, slipped her on and off we went!




 
This region has a rich history and although (even after 23 years of living here!) I am technically a foreigner in these parts, I feel a strong bond with this area - especially Sherwood Forest which, as legend has it, was the home of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.  My husband Simon and I often go for long walks in these ancient woodlands and we are occasionally lucky enough to spot a deer or a hare or a buzzard and there is always a feeling of quiet magic about this area which seems to bring us both a sense of peace – and so of course I really wanted Deruta to soak up some of this atmosphere!



 
After our walk in the woods, we stopped off for a cup of tea and a piece of cake in the pretty little village of Edwinstowe.  Robin and Marian were supposedly married in the local church and there is a beautiful bronze sculpture of Robin proposing to Marian in the centre of the village and so I popped Deruta onto Marian’s slender wrist for a few minutes so that they could connect.





After that it was back to work and the next few days went in a whirl of writing instructions, drawing diagrams and taking photos as Deruta sat quietly by my side.  Mum’s faith is very important to her and when she found out about her illness she asked me to make her a little beaded cross to help her through the difficult times ahead.  After having spent some time in the hospice with Mum and beginning to understand the work that they do, I thought that I would write up the pattern for the cross and donate the proceeds to the hospice to help them with their important work.  Those few days may not have been very exciting for Deruta, but I am sure that she absorbed some of my positive energy as I focused on my goal.




Towards the end of the week it was time for the trip back to Mum’s house (she is now out of the hospice and being cared for at home) and as this is where I grew up, I took Deruta for a little walk along the country lanes to imbue her with the natural beauty and the timeless tranquillity of Romney Marsh.




On the last day of my special time with Deruta I slipped her onto Mum’s wrist.  Mum and I held hands, closed our eyes and concentrated on sending Deruta energy, experience, kindness and love.




Deruta is now preparing for the next leg of her journey and I look forward to reading about her travels around the world.  I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ to Maureen for filling Deruta with such positive and happy thoughts before passing her on to me and an extra special ‘thank you’ to Sig both for the beautiful beadwork and for turning her wonderful idea into a reality."

As you can see, I had a great time with Sig's travelling bracelet and I also enjoyed pondering about who she would like to visit next and where in the world she might like to go - keep a close eye on Sig's traveling bracelet blog to see what Deruta gets up to next ...

Kerrie

Friday 23 April 2010

Special issue!

The new 'Special colour issue' of Bead magazine is now in the shops and even if I wasn't lucky enough to have work in there, I would still be rushing out to buy it!  This issue is packed with 115 pages of inspirational beady eye candy, a real variety of great projects and fascinating insights into how some designers go about choosing colours.  My project, 'Maid Marian's Quiver' is on page 30 and 'Royal Quiver' is also shown on page 33 to give an idea of how different this project can look, depending on what colours you choose.  I know some of you have been wanting to make your own version of this piece and I can't wait to see pictures of your creations - please do send me a photo and I will add it to the 'Readers' Gallery' page on my website!



My 'Colour Musings' are on pages 34 and 35, along with a selection of pictures to try and illustrate my ideas about colour and to show how I have used it in my work so far.  As you know, I am by no means an expert on colour and although I have a colour wheel and a couple of books on colour theory, I still don't really understand the technical side of it, so I've just kept it to some basic ideas which I hope you will find interesting and maybe try one or two of them in your own work.




I was also really pleased to see the tutorial for my Core Beaded Beads is given a mention in the 'Bead News' section on page 61.  So all in all, this really is a special issue for me!


See you next week!

Thursday 5 November 2009

Royal Quiver!

Following the news that Maid Marian's Quiver won joint second place in the seed bead category of the British Bead Awards, I learnt that it will also be a project in a future issue of Bead magazine. I only had some hastily scribbled notes from the first time around and so I had to make another one, writing the instructions as I went. I thought I would try making it in different colours to see what effect this would have on the finished piece and my first thought was to try red roses.  Can you believe though, that in my huge stash of beads, I didn't have any red beads in just the right shade! I'm not really a natural when it comes to mixing colours and so I spent ages ferreting around for other suitable combinations of colours for the roses, leaves and quiver that would complement each other.  I eventually decided on purple roses! I think I ended up with a rather regal effect and hence Maid Marian's sister piece has been named Royal Quiver.






Tuesday 20 October 2009

Maid Marian's Quiver


I got back from another lovely trip to Spain this weekend and one of the messages that was waiting for me was the exciting news that my entry to the British Bead Awards won joint second place in the seed bead category!





I have often felt a little frustrated when I have seen beadweaving being labelled as a 'craft' rather than 'art' as though it is somehow inferior. I have had two galleries turn my work down for this reason and up until now, I haven't really had the confidence to challenge this attitude. I never used to consider myself an artist as I haven't had any training on colour theory, design or all the things I used to think were necessary to be a 'proper' artist. However, I have recently been thinking about trying to inject a little more meaning into some of my work and this is one of my first attempts. I am still feeling my way of course, so I wasn't sure whether I had gone too far or not far enough with my piece 'Maid Marian's Quiver'.


I live in Robin Hood county, near what is left of Sherwood Forest and I often visit the little village of Edwinstowe which as legend has it, is where Robin Hood married Maid Marian. There is a beautiful bronze statue of Robin and Marian in the village centre and the last time I visited, I started thinking about Marian. My mind wandered fancifully to an image of her carrying a delicate silver quiver and shooting rosebuds of love rather than arrows of death. This is obviously a rather naive and impractical idea, but still, I like it and the judges obviously did too - let me know what you think!