SPOTLIGHT ON ... ARTICLE
March 2008

Getting Inspiration from the Animal Kingdom for Your Jewelry Designs
Written by: Jean Yates

As we know, the special synergy and the magic of the relationship between humankind and the animal kingdom has been going on since our time on earth began. As humans, we have certain powers over the other living creatures on our planet, and it is necessary for our survival for this to be the case. However, there is something more going on when people "see" and gather with animals. We use them as symbols, icons and totems. We love them as our pets. We go out of our way to feed them in the winter, with birdfeeders, for example. We study them, we cherish them, and we need them in our lives. Therapy animals as a group have been growing in popularity for older people and for disabled people.

I saw a woman on TV last week who had bad arthritis in her back. She couldn't move well. She couldn't bend over to do her laundry. She had trained her black Labrador Retriever mix to take the laundry and put it in the machine. When the laundry was done, he would put it in the dryer. He also helped her make her dinner!

I cannot tell you how much I love my own animals, but if you are a pet owner, you know what I mean. If you are an animal watcher, you can derive great fun from admiring the amazing colors and types of fur, and shiny backs of all sorts of animals from all over the world.

I would like to show you some photos a friend of mine took, Nick Gerlach, and some other photos too, and I would like to connect each photo to a selection of beads here on the Soft Flex Company site. From doing this, it is easy to see that if you think just a bit about animals, your love for them will stir up plenty of inspiration to create your next fantastic jewelry piece.

Tigers

My first inspiration is Soft Flex Company's fabulous metallic wire. It has a lot of uses. You could take this wire, in your choice of color , and add some of these black tourmaline beads, possibly only in the front ... and make a striking, cool colored, "animal style" necklace, using the fun .019 wire Magical Crimping Pliers, PL-950.00 (I know they are fun because I have one!) and some copper crimps.

Make sure your crimps and wire are the right size for the pliers. Design-wise, check that you have some energy and interest going on. For example, consider using this striped spacer bead which comes in a pack of 4, #PS-96 (shown below). What might you come up with, assuming you choose a fun clasp?

I imagine a necklace, with the beads mostly in the front, and it reminds me, color wise (and because of the striped spacers), of the tigers shown in this photo below!

Flamingos

My friend Nick Gerlach took this fabulous bird photo. I don't know anyone who doesn't love flamingos. Their color is absolutely fantastic. Pictured as a bead, imagine that tone flattering your skin.

Soft Flex has some fantastic smooth coral nuggets, (shown below), which even mimic the shape of the birds backs! If I had these beautiful beads, I would make a double stranded bracelet. I would choose the smaller size offered by Soft Flex, 7 mm, and spice them up by stringing them with some really pretty squaredelles in size 6 mm, (shown below). I love the idea of olive with this color of pinky peach, and, as you can see from the photo, flamingos like hanging around in grassy areas, so it really is a natural to throw in some green!

Parrots

Speaking of birds, my talented friend Nick Gerlach took this photo as well. How inspirational to gaze upon a parrot with such a bounty of color!

I am immediately attracted to the yellow and the blue. I would go to the incredible sapphire collection offered by Soft Flex and begin my design by choosing these beauties, #GAL-OG-SAP (shown below left). This bird is so brilliant however, I would emphasize the orange. I would wander further into the store and look at some of the fire opal briolettes, #GAL-OG-FO2 (shown below right).

I would string this with Soft Touch beading wire, my preferred "delicate" beading wire. It is very flexible. Looking at these sapphires, I can't tell if they would need .014 or .010 beading wire, so I would email and "Ask Sara". You can find this link at the bottom of every web page. Yes, I actually have done this, and she's nice about it, too! She has the answers to anything you want to know! Sara would find out for me how small the holes are in these lovely sapphires. If I decided I wanted to use fire opal briolettes with the sapphires, I would likely string a single stranded necklace with yellow and orange toned sapphires flanking the fire opals, and the blue sapphires ranging from lighter to darker on either side of this combination. I think this would make an elegant and rich looking necklace, inspired by the wonderful parrot.

I might consider using a "Speeder Beader" as well, with this project. This is a needle which enables you to bead more rapidly, just as it implies.

My thoughts began to turn to my own pets and what I would do if I combined the amazing brilliant blue eyes of our gorgeous cat Cecil, with the white fur of our standard poodle, Ghalli.

What fun I would have finding some blue and white beads on the Soft Flex website for earrings, for example.

Right off I found some "treasure beads": seed beads in Periwinkle: AA-24-6107. Cecil has such beautiful blue eyes! These reminded me of them!

Then I found some clear David Christensen Furnace glass beads, to express the white fur of our dog (well, at least when he has had a bath!)

Having chosen those beads, I decided not to go for earrings. I thought that stringing the brilliant blue seed beads on silver plated memory wire, and making a "collar" necklace (with the reason, of course, being that cats and dogs wear collars!), and adding the larger holed furnace glass beads in a relaxed pattern would be really easy and pretty.

Just remember, if you try this you need to use the safety techniques you should always practice with memory wire. It is springy, and can snap back at you. See my book, Links by Jean Yates, for tips! My book is available at Amazon.com or at any number of popular book and craft stores. You will love it! Note: Special tools are required for memory wire. I want you to know that.

I could go on and on about animals, and how looking at them and interacting with them truly assists me and many people I am friends with, when designing jewelry. I know that there is a whole section of adorable beads on the Soft Flex Company's site devoted to animal beads, and it is irresistible. Look under "Beads" for Teeny Tiny Beads! They may be teeny tiny, but they pack a lot of punch, with their appeal, personality and playful colors. I even found "Nemo" there!

I hope you have enjoyed this article on how to "think animal" when you are designing!

Jean Yates
You can call me, 914-764-4595
Or write me at jyatesnewyork@aol.com

Bracelet shown above right, next to the Peacock photo is designed by Jean Yates. The beads are by Emma Ralph, www.ejrbeads.co.uk.