Iceblink is what happens when there is a glare in the sky caused by light reflected off ice.
I've long tried to create a bracelet that represents an Icy theme, and despite many attempts over the years (of which bead friends can confirm) I've always failed miserably - yeah pretty bracelet Mars but doesn't really say "Icy" (those were the polite replies). I came to the conclusion I just didn't have enough beads of the "right sort".
If you google image search the term iceblink you'll get an idea of what I was trying, but failing to achieve.
I did manage a necklace which worked though... but you don't need as many beads for a necklace so it felt like I was cheating a bit!
Roll forward to 2014 and as a result of several sales I've been backfilling some of my wishlists with beads that might suffice and I'm going to give it another go.
Iceblink Bracelet Attempt No: 749*
So dear readers, what do you think? Cracked it or failed?
Hit the comments and let me know &
tell me if you've ever had a project that you've struggled with?
*Clearly I am making full use of artistic licence and exaggerating, although last night it didn't feel like it when I rearranged the beads for what was the umpteenth time.
Personally I'm not happy with the finished effect but unless I wanted to do a whole new I is for... I just needed to let you see it as it is. I think that part of the problem is I'm trying to create a quite subtle effect by using blocks of colour (beads) and whilst you can get the whole effect in just one bead - the sparkly ones with dichroic glass at the front... a bracelet might be a stretch too far!
Ooh I love that Volcano photo! I think it's because we are trying to do so with blocks of colour, have you thought about asking one of the glass artists make you a bead that has grey/blue tones but with a streak of orange in it? That way the orange is not a block colour on it's own? That would be amazing... but I see lots of labradorites and saphires in that... but probably not at Troll prices!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about feeling, that happened with my Winter Beach bracelet, my first few attempts had the perfect quite literal interpretaion down pat, the agate dendritic really did look like sea foam with seaweed in it etc... but I wasn't happy. The last version did work and had none of my original ideas in but they I captured the "essence" of it another way - when we went out to Bempton Cliffs last month and I finally got to compare my bracelet with the coastline that inspired it, it was a "YES! Nailed it moment" with that design.
I sometimes wish I had less skinny wrists when trying to do the big projects as I can get about 17 beads (more if they are narrow beads) on mine, but if I had bigger wrists I'd have more beads I could play with :p
Design always fascinates me... Think I will have to stick to Iceblink bangles and necklaces for now though!
Mars xx
Those are both really lovely images, I would love to have full acess to the whole Troll range (with unlimited multiples) to do justice to some of the ideas I have... even if I didn't get to keep them just being able to *try* those ideas out to see if they work in reality... sigh... oh well! :)
ReplyDeleteI love the necklace version! The necklace seems to invoke the association more for me, maybe because it has more silver and less white so the pops of white really stand out, like they do in the pictures I Googled (I did have to Google it, very pretty though!)
ReplyDeleteI feel like I struggle with most of my projects :D But when it finally clicks, it does feel good! Lately I think my "Spring" bracket was the one that I struggled the most with. I think I only wore it once, and then took it apart because I just couldn't find the beads that I wanted for it. My Christmas bracelet was much the same though, I had the start of it sometime in the summer, but only found the final beads for it around November, and half the beads were beads that I already had in my box, I just hadn't thought to match them up!
I agree, having access to the larger range would help - sometimes you try a bead and it's close and you think "If only I had a variation that had , it would be great". When I do have the chance to go into a dealer, I generally travel with a bracelet full of beads that I'm trying to match for projects, just to see if anything comes close to being what I want it to be :D
Oh my, my Christmas Bracelet that I thought would be *so* simple as I already knew all the beads I wanted to use for it... I had them in every order possible I think before I settled on the final design!
DeleteGood idea on taking your beads in to the shop! I've only ever done that for my lampworking lesson when I wanted to know how some of them were made... maybe that's why I have beads that need a cull right now ;)
Mars xx
It can be very frustrating when you want to express something and you think you're just not nailing it. I enjoy working with beads much more when I have a general idea and not a super specific image in my mind. I actually love the journey and NOT knowing how things will come out. Nobody knows what's inside your head, and what you projected into the piece. Others can come fresh to it and see it for what it actually is. While I might not exactly see iceblink I do see frost, hard ice crystal sparkling beauty and I think your bracelet is stunning!
ReplyDeleteLiz at Bead Contagion
I totally agree Liz, probably why I so rarely work to a "set idea" as it's just so frustrating! I've done another one later on in the alphabet series which was as difficult but not as frustrating because there were some set beads I needed to use so less confusion. I won't say anymore as I've been enjoying keep the topics a surprise :)
DeleteThanks for you kind words, I don't see the bracelet as a complete disaster, just really not what I was aiming for in the final version, I'm going to stick to bangles and necklaces for now but I might come back to this one day and make attempt no. 750 ;)
By the way I really love the H beaded design you did for your A to Z, just perfect!
Mars xx