Your Work

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The Mirrix Looms Featured Artist:

Do you want to be a featured artist?
Email elena@mirrixlooms.com and tell us why!

Our current featured artist is Nancy E.Watts.

I am self taught with no formal training other than various tapestry books, Nancy Harvey's videos and Kathe Todd-Hookers Tapestry List. In our fast paced world and access to technology, I prefer the slow pace of tapestry from designing on graph paper to warping and choosing Churro Yarn colors to create my tapestries on my Mirrix loom. The two pieces shown are the beginning of my series entitled "Wall Writing". Feel free to contact me at my email address nwwatts@earthlink.net.

Pink Crosses

Wall Writing 3

Our October featured artist was Suzanne Bang.

3 Chikadees

Suzanne's Biography:

My name is Suzanne Bang and I am a self-taught bead artist. I have been beading for about 5 years and taught classes for about two years in Florida and Michigan. I especially love needle and thread stitches, but have also taught viking knit, wireworking, kumihimo (Japanese braiding technique) and bead embroidery. I have always been interested in beads and have done all types of sewing and art and crafts my entire life. I love working with my hands and creating new and interesting creations. Once I was almost ready to retire I decided it was time to take up beading which had always interested me. I have collected many beaded objects over the years and since taking up beading I have added to that collection by beading night lights, rain sticks, bottles, gourds, lamp shades, sticks made into light catchers to hang in the window, flowers, needle cases and of course lots of jewelry.

In December of 2009 my husband and I moved from St. Petersburg, FL to Flintstone, GA (7 miles south of Chattanooga, TN). Unfortunately once we moved here I found there were no bead shops in the area and knew my beading was going to be more challenging due to the lack of bead shops and my beading community of friends and students. I had always thought about making beaded tapestries at some point during my lifetime. So in October of 2010 I ordered my first Mirrix Loom and took on the challenge of learning how to create bead taperstries.

Over the years of beading I had learned that delica seed beads make the best uniform designs, as they are more exact in size, cut and thickness. Delicas offer more colors than most other seed beads and come in beautiful metallics, matte finishes, as well as gold and silver plate which adds to the sparkle in my tapestries. All my bead tapestries are done in delicas even though they are the most expensive of the seed beads. As you can see by the pictures I have done, it is well worth the price given the amount of hours you put into a large project. Most of my large beaded tapestries take several hundred hours to create; so using the right bead is crucial. Beaded tapestries are not hard to do, but they do require a lot of patience and a love to create large projects that are time consuming. My first four beaded tapestries have been done the old fashion way, without heddles and a shedding device. I am going to start my next project with using the heddles, which should speed up the process from what I have been told.

I like to take my completed projects to a local frame shop and have them matted and framed. It is almost as difficult to pick out the right color mats and frame as it is to complete the project. Too many people don't want to spend the money necessary to really finish off the project, but I don't consider it finished until it is ready to hang on the wall.

I am presently working on a picture of a Blue Heron and once that is completed I am going to make a Hummingbird. My plans then include making beaded pictures of each of my children as well as my five grandchildren. I am hoping someday to pass my love of beads on to one or both of my two granddaughters. I plan to display and possibly sell some of my work through local art galleries which have expressed an interest in doing so.

I believe each of us needs to challenge ourselves and stretch to limits we didn't know we would be able to reach. I believe beading is helping to keep me young. I know I have to think a lot about the beads I use in each project and concentrate on every bead to make sure it in the right spot in the picture. I would welcome any questions or comments. I can be reached at sbang476@yahoo.com or jadeecakes@yahoo.com. Happy Beading!

Blue Herron

Mini Quilt

Stars Theater

4 Seasons