Before the first rain of the season on Sunday I was able to photograph the seahorse. I love how this came out. The glass chips on wing and head seem so perfect and the eye, a small pressed glass star, seems inspired. Even while touching up the photo, I found this pink cloud happening. So why when this animal can manifest so delightfully do I have to also, in the same week, made such a dud as this below?

I thought I was doing a repeat of the seahorse and this fish came out so weird. Every time I have tried to do these fish, my color sense just swims away. At this point I am debating whether to cut off all the offending colors or to just do another fish or even, give up trying to bead a wiggly fish.

A Monday morning and I am in serious catch-up mode. Saturday I did make it to the Beads N' Beyond meeting, mostly because I wanted to be there for Barbara Fast and to get in on her project of making bead garlands for the Holiday Bead Extravaganza at CHAC. Since I was able to pick up the work "On the Edge of a Cloud" from Gualala Arts Center and strip off the beads, I had lots to work with. However someone had purchased these silverish stars so when the meeting was over and no one else had taken or used them, I globbed on to them. Saturday evening was given over to stringing beads. At the meeting I had done one garland and wondered why it took so long to do. Was talking slowing me down that much? At home I figured it out! When I string beads like this I use one of those big-eyed 4 inch needles. It is so much easier to scoop up a bead on the flexible needle than to pick up each bead, turning it while searching for the hole and trying to noodle the fish line through it. I wished, afterwards, that I had photographed the garlands others were making. Theirs were colorful far beyond just green and red. Will try to remember to photograph the display so you can see them all.

The official portrait of the Lavender Rabbit, complete with wired whiskers and flowers. I loved working on him and the colors fit as if someone else planned them!

And now the seahorse stands alone. I want to put the glass chips on the 'wing' and perhaps on the bottom to give him a weighted center for more stability. By nightfall the body was covered and I was beginning to spiral a row around the tail. I had cleaned up some in the studio and was actually too tired to bead later.

So you can see the remake. I took out the fuzzy white stuff on the face and redid it with just rows. This allowed me to remake the nose and mouth to make them more prominent. I still find that white area too big so am tempted to take out the edges to make it smaller. At the last moment I decided to do the tummy in pink - an attempt to add importance to the nose. This morning I had the idea of putting a bunch of roses in its hands. The original had the hands sewn together which would cover up some of the expanse of that belly but if there are roses, they would get in the way of the face. Maybe just roses in the left hand? I see I am not completely done with this as I thought I was last night. Also those whiskers need some wire in them to cure the droop.

It was handy to photograph the seahorse in a box to get him to stand up. The glass chips, as mane, make him top-heavy at this point. You can almost see the tiny nostrils I added. I am still thinking of making him part dragon.
These are the acrylic boxes I got to  hold  all the finished animals. I have them in three sizes.I feel they are well worth the cost to keep the animals dust-free and to give them a cared-for feeling.

There is going to be a time of snipped threads and a shower of beads in my life. I am not happy with that white fuzzy area on the face and even the 'hand' looks less than acceptable. I stopped working on the tummy last night so I could think about how to fill it. I am leaning toward using the lavender beads with the picot stitch so it looks like a fuzzy tummy. I had thought that because the pellets are in the po and lower belly I could use bead rows but it got so hard to maneuver the needle inside the arms and legs that I reached my limits of patience. Now that I see the photo, I see other things I want to change. It is a good practice to photograph the work since it puts some distance between me and what I have done. Hopefully it allows me to be more critical.

The Lavender Rabbit is hopping right along. The tiny tail makes a perfect brace to make it sit securely. Somehow the head never feels 'rabbit-like' enough. It will catch my eye and I will think 'donkey.' Perhaps the political scene is too much with me.
Am finally getting up my courage and steam to do the seahorse. I do not think it will be easy or wise to make a dragon out of it. I looked at the dragons the Ty Company made and they were so scary I lost my courage. I am eager to use the clear 11s to let the colors shine through and to put the glass chips on as scales to make a funky sea horse. We will see what the animal wants to be.
Dare I admit it? I won another auction at eBay yesterday so a new box of 50 more are on their way. . .

How is this for a rest for your eyes from looking at too many of my animals? Sus, David Susalla, the Director of Gualala Arts Center, was part of a delegation that took a trip to Russia to celebrate the founding of Fort Ross (just down the coast from us). In a museum in Russia he snapped these photos of beadwork which his wife Harmony forwarded to me with the comment that my work, too, should be in a museum, Is there a museum in USA for beaded works? I found it interesting that all three pieces used the same diamond pattern with hex-cut beads. . .
PS
Decided to answer my own question and found the Washington DC Bead Museum closed in 2008. The Glendale AZ Bead Museum closed recently (beautiful building) and gave their collection to the San Diego's  Mingei International Collection. It looks as if they only collect "historical" beads - nothing contemporary.