I’m still sharing a sketchbook with the bairn. She teaches me not too overthink my marks and I’m 100% comfortable if she comes at my page with her fat markers as I just build her marks into mine and the results are always a stretch in a direction I wouldn’t have taken.

This grey base with mauve glass has been on the go for years. It’s always been nearly lovely. I picked it up again the other night and worked into it. I loved revisiting the beads I’d laid down before. There are some beautiful tiny grey and black humbug seed beads scattered through it.

I’ve had a quiet period where I haven’t been so productive lately. When I need to get back on the horse I draw. Most of the time this breaks the hiatus and I pick up the making too.

The drawing below is a work in progress in my favourite felt pen. It’s a collab by me and the bairn.

I’m doing colour studies for another colab involving resin shape by a friend of mine. The shapes are fire red and gold so I’m thinking turquoise and purple.

Gyres are circular ocean currents driven by the earths wind patterns. Within gyres rafts of detritus form which are conveyed by gyres around the worlds oceans. There is so much plastic in the oceans that I imagine gyres, which used to gather timber and seaweed, are now predominantly gathering industrial plastics. Nets, bouys, rope and other jetsum, a riot of high visibility colours creating something darkly beautiful.

Loving working with a few bigger beads, stringing wire and crimps to try compositions. I haven’t reached a state of flow with these yet but I’m so enjoying the practice period. Can’t wait to crack it, I love this driven feeling that compels me to keep iterating.

What comes to me first when I draw are beaded patterns. I’m trying to work out spacing and angles. The irony is that I rarely translate the drawings into beadwork.

It’s been years since I did the kind of bead embroidery that would bring the drawing below to life. Maybe it’s time to try it again.

I’ve been thinking of ways to add a little flourish to my single sea urchin earrings. Usually I would go full “more is more”. I wanted to find a way to add some embellishments without crowding the sea urchin. I’d seen some lovely graphic jewellery made with beading wire, big bold beads and crimps.

I had been wrestling with good ways to attach my sea urchins to ear wires and the two plans collided. I love a practical design solution. So, I placed the eBay orders for materials and had to wait a few days which is always frustrating!

Anyway, the wire arrived yesterday and I made these earrings late in the evening before bed.

They don’t have the balance and ease I was hoping for but good first attempt and good enough to test drive for comfort and durability.

It’s time I got organised. It’s always time I got organised and I think I’m actually pretty good at it but I do have a habit of turning getting organised into procrastination.

Today I fired up Trello and made some plans to take the jewellery to the next (very modest) level. I’ll start by buffing up my web and ecom areas. I’ll continue turning up for a steady making and product development schedule. Then I need to do better at growing my network and engaging outside of my own head.

Baby steps. Tonight I wrote my first website post in a long time!

I drew a little on the train today. Biro Blue still does it for me like nothing else.

Working on these earrings has been really interesting and something I think I’m really going to enjoy. I see it as an opportunity to try little sample size pieces although I must admit I don’t like making matching pairs. Will try some freeform mismatched sets next I think.

I’ve had a couple of projects come to a close recently and need to pick something else up to keep my momentum going.

What’s gone:

Open Exhibition Peterborough gallery. Worked for a long while on a large painting, necklace and some drawings. Unfortunately my work was not selected but the deadline got me moving.

March Meet the Maker was a fun Instagram programme of daily prompts. The post per-day pace was great and I made connections with some fabulous makers.

What’s next?

I sold some jewellery in a local florist and gift shop. Some customers have asked for earrings so I’m giving it a go.

On Friday I’m helping out at my daughter’s nursery class by setting up a badge making workshop. It’ll be a fun morning seeing creativity in it’s rawest form

Toying with another Instagram project, this time 100 days.