Leaving the comfort zone

As you might have noticed, my colour palettes are not very creative: most of my beadworks are rather monochromatic, made in different shades of the same colour + an accent metallic colour. They aren't too creatively chosen either: to blue, violet, rose, burgundy, white, black and grey I always added silver;  reddish shades or topaz were paired with gold; and bronze accompanied cream, brown, purple or teal. Green was maybe the only colour that I've paired with all three metallics named above.

Well, that was a long introduction, but slowly I'm getting closer to the actual topic...

It started with a 8 mm "Crystal copper" rivoli, which I wanted to bezel with bicones and 15/0 seed beads (like here). I have already used bicones in this colour together with a "Crystal red magma" rivoli, and the result (the second pic there) was quite good, so I thought this pairing should also work well the other way around - that is, the copper rivoli with red magma bicones. Well, I was wrong: the effect was rather awful. 

So I tried to find bicones in my stash that look good with the copper rivoli: the solution was maybe obvious, but for my stubbornly monochromatic taste a bit unusual: the rivoli had an interesting greenish sheen from a certain view, so dark green bicones matched it really well. (They're called "Turmaline", as far as I know they're already discontinued, but years ago I was fortunate enough to find some) 

The next challenge was to find seed beads which harmonize with both colours. My first idea was gold, but they looked somehow lame together; bronze definitely didn't worked with the rivoli, copper could have been good, but I haven't had any of it... Silver or nickel, maybe? That seemed a weird idea at first, but then I saw a beautiful painting which proved that steel grey and red can look wonderful together, and that helped with the final decision. (Yes, it was again a painting by Jenny Dolfen. And yes, about a certain red-headed character... I'm hopeless ^.^")

Can you see the green sheen of the rivoli?

Don't the great tales never ends?

And apparently, neither do some of the not-so-great-ones. Like the story of this favourite pendant of mine.

It started in 2014, when I made the pendant (how and why, you can read it in this post). It was really precious for me because of two reasons: I thought at this time, this was the apex of my beading "career", I 'll never be able to create something more complicated. Plus, it was special for me, because it was inspired by a tale (the story of Lúthien) which was always close to my heart. (well, in a depressed-and-rebellious-teenager period I had preferred the story of the children of Húrin to the Lay of Leithian, but that's only natural, isn't it?)

OK, back to the topic. The story continued in 2017, when I finally made a matching ring to the pendant (introduced in this post). I was really satisfied with the outcome, but then...


...while I was proudly wearing them together for the first time,  snap! the thread in the pendant broke, and it began to fall apart. I had to dismantle the whole thing cautiously in order to not loosing any beads. Seriously, it was a heartbreaking labour.
And even worse, I had to realize that I may not to remake it, because I couldn't recall any more, how it was made originally. The thread-path was so complicated, that while I was ripping it up, I wasn't able to understand and recreate it.
The situation looked rather hopeless.  Was it true, that "for the less even as for the greater there is some deed that he may accomplish but once only, and in this deed his heart shall rest"? Was maybe this pendant that once-only-deed in my life (me belonging definitely in the category of the least of the lesser...)?! A very disheartening thought.

But no, it just cannot be! -  thought I almost two years later. After all, it's just a friggin' little beaded pendant, not a magical jewel containing unsullied divine light whatsoever... So I took the beads that were since then respectfully stored in a box, and started to make a second version, which imitated closely the first one in look, but not in technique. The result: a pendant made from the beads of the original that looks almost like the original, although the thread-path is totally different (but who would tell it?)
So my special pendant was reborn, "recalled from the death", so to speak.  A very fitting end, if we consider, whose story inspired it originally :)

Could you tell the difference between the old and the new?

Shiny crystals reloaded

Flashback time again...

The "silver crystal" used as a pendant

Two years ago I made a necklace inspired by the Sailor Moon-series for a design contest. (you can read about it in this post) The necklace was shiny, cute and fitted the theme well (imho), but to tell it frankly, was also way too flamboyant, multicoloured and flashy for everyday wearing (or even for special occasions). So I take it to pieces, and decided to use the compontens for different, more wearable pieces of jewellery. For example the focal piece (the "silver crystal") became a single pendant which I regularly wear since then.

The original version

But somehow, I grew to like the original design (it sat so nicely on my neck... I have no idea, how is this type of necklaces are called - collar? collier? carcanet?), so in this spring I decided to gave it another go. Since the focal was gone, I made another one - one with the same star-shape as the other components, and this time I used gold-coloured seedies for the connections too, so the overall look was more coherent, than in the first version. The silk ribbons were also omitted (I liked them, but they weren't safe enough for a closure), but their silky shine is echoed by the Swarovski imitation pearls I now used for the connections instead of the clear crystals. For the closure I chose a rose-shaped clasp  - so I you wish, now besides the Sailor girls, Tuxedo Mask too is represented here ;) Even if this rose is silver and not red...

Late snowdrops

"Just a bit" late... but unfortunately, I totally forgot to show these earrings.
In every year it is a great joy for me to discover the first little snowdrops in a garden after a long, grey, dreary winter. Sadly, these graceful flowers wither all too quickly to give way for the more colourful celandines, violets, dandelions etc., so I tried to immortalize their shy beauty.
It was actually a looooong project, I started it three years ago, but my first tries were really misshapen and clumsy. In this March, however, came the "Heureka!"-moment: two types of peyote (circular for the core and flat for the petals) shall be combined for a lifelike result.

Rings

Three rings - but no, not that Three. At least not here. Not today. But who knows, what are hiding in my UFO-box... ;) Nevertheless these now aren't without some tolkienian allusions either - well, that's me, it can't be helped... 

But it had started in a totally different way...

I designed this element (a kind of bezelled chaton) originally as a  part of a bigger project, but I thought it would work well as a ring too. Not too big, not too small, just the perfect size :)
And these new "Iridescent Tahitian look" Swarovski imitation pearls combined with "Erinite" and "Pacific opal" crystals are really a match made in heaven - they look so lovely together!

 Of course, I wanted to try the pattern in  different colorways too, and since I've got so many coppery-reddish beads, this ring was born next. The picture doesn't really show it, but the chaton in the middle is "crystal red magma", while the bicones are "garnet". And having already some reddish pendants, this one now became a ring.

 So, here I was with these two rings, while re-reading the last chapters of The Silmarillion... and I realised how their colours, sea-green and lava-red actually mirror the fate of the last two Silmarils. It wasn't deliberate, I swear... it just happened. But after realizing it, I naturally couldn't resist making a third one...

...one in sky-blue with lots of sparkling crystals.

"And thus it came to pass that the Silmarils found their long homes: one in the airs of heaven, and one in the fires of the heart of the world, and one in the deep waters."

(The Silmarillion, Chapter 24. Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath)

Sure enough, these rings are just plain, simply thingies, not really fitting to this topic in style and "grandeur", so to speak. They are just the result of a sudden idea based on a coincidence, that's all. But telling the truth, I already have plans (and purchased beads) for a more elaborate rendition of this theme...

"Grey is her raiment; and rest is her gift"

Last summer I made a matching bracelet to my soft grey pendant (it was one of my experiments with the "Freiheit"-pattern). The elements are basically the miniaturised version of the pendant - well, at least the base is proportionally downscaled (the pendant had a 12 mm focal with 8 mm beads, so I used for the bracelet 6 mm focals with 4 mm beads), but the embellishing row is almost the same in both cases.

Back then I had said, how the ready pendant with its soft grey colour reminded me of Este* the Gentle, "healer of hurts and weariness", one of the Valier.
When I was reading The Silmarillion for the first time, I was  a ten-years-old little bookworm, interested in mythologies and legends, so it's only natural that I was totally fascinated by the Valaquenta. It was for me a new, interesting "pantheon" to learn, after all that Greek, Roman, Norse and whatnot myths. And sure enough, I tried to find paralels, like "So, Manwe is the king, is in charge for air and wind, and has eagles. Than he is basically like Zeus/Iuppiter. But Manwe is at least nice, while Zeus was rather an a**hole..." That's how a little schoolgirl, who has never heard about comparative religion studies, interprets it XD
At this stage I found Este rather uninteresting. Grey dress, slumbering in a garden: how boring is it! - so had thought the naive, impatient young child, who preferred great heroes, beautiful maidens and majestic queens. But now the tired, stressed adult revaluates all her former opinions, and admits she was wrong all along... Aren't Este's gifts the most precious, after all? Worthier than gems and jewels, maybe even than power, valour or knowledge...


*No, I stilll don't know how to write those two dots above the letter "e", which should be used in some Elvish names. It's an awkward situation, since normally I'm a terrible combination of a grammar nazi and a book purist, and can be really fussy about orthography and respecting above all the author's intention... But this case is the only exception, sorry ^.^"

Happy birthday, little hobbitses! :)

I started the blog more than a year ago, but haven't shown my greatest pride yet. This ought to be mended - and now is the perfect occasion for it!

Firstly,  now is the 80th anniversary of  The Hobbit - it was first published on 21. September 1937. On the other hand, as can be read in The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo and Frodo happen to have their birthday on the same day, September 22.

I was never good at knotting, I made only small friendship bracelets and thought that for a bigger piece I wouldn't have enough skill and perseverance. But when I discovered this great LotR-pattern on friendship-bracelets.net by the user frenchfry_piggy here, my fate was sealed :) It was a very-very long labour (especially because I used rather thin thread), I had almost gave it up, laid it aside for months, then started again... All in all, it took more than two years to finish it. 

The Hobbit-bracelet has a totally different tale. In December 2012 I was terribly (and looking back, I must say a bit unjustifiedly) excited about the oncoming Hobbit movie, so when finding this pattern by Baya, I decided to made a bracelet to wear in the cinema. Time was pressing though, only a week was left, but I hoped, it will be enough. It could have been a good idea... when we ignore the fact, that it was already exam period at the university. You can imagine the situation... But finally, I made it! I passed the dreaded exam and finished the bracelet just before the movie :)

Sure, that was ages ago... at least it seems so for me. I've already forgotten all the definitions and formulas I had learned for that exam, but my feelings for Tolkien's writings are the same :)

2. "Maboroshi no ginzuishou" (the legendary silver crystal)

I've already shown this little cutie (it was the central piece of my necklace inspired by the Sailor Senshi), but here are some more pictures...

As you can see, it's not life-sized and the number of petals isn't correct either... but all in all, i'm pretty satisfied with it :)
Using these "crystal silver shade" Swarovskis was a good choice, they look somehow more... oh well... magical and noble than simple clear crystal beads. So the long and tiresome search wasn't in vain :)

Yeah, I've finally taken the necklace to pieces... I think I'll use the single elements for individual pieces of jewelry. It will be a fun and interesting challenge, creating jewelry matching to the characters :)

What do you think of it? Shall I start a series of posts about this project?













PS: I was asked how the pendant is attached to the ribbon - it has a loop on its back side, so it can be worn either on the ribbon (choker-style), or hanging from a chain.

 

Just an other senseless project by me... Somewhere deep inside I know that spending so much money on beads for unwearable, useless, weird-looking jewelry is stupid irresponsibility :( But it's so hard to resist the temptation of a challenge...

As mentioned earlier, I've been watching Sailor Moon, which naturally had an inspirational effect on me from the aspect of beading. Y'know, seeing jewelry and crystals of every sort can really inspire one for beading something shiny or cute...

For example while I was watching the first season, where pratically everybody was searching for the Silver Crystal, I obviously felt urged to buy some "crystal silver shade" Swarovskis and make a pendant. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. Actually finding beads in this colour was almost as difficult as finding that crystal itself in the story - I tell you, at the end I could totally sympathise with Beryl & Co... And being obstinate enough, after running around in the city for hours, visiting at least seven shops,  then browsing in different webshops (which I normally don't do), I finally have gathered the desired materials.
Creating the pendant wasn't either an easy task, I had to tear it down three-four times in order to find the best solution - but I'm now pretty satisfied with the result :)






The problem was that I couldn't stop at this point... When I saw the May Design Challenge by Facet Jewelry, I... well, I failed miserably. Few years ago I already vowed not to enter any contests again (because why should I waste beads, time and energy, when I've no chance at all?), but now my conceited, competitive, childish self proved stronger.
I decided to enter the challenge, but well, for a contest one must create something spectacular and extravagant... a simple pendant weren't enough.
I thought that Sailor Moon could actually fit the theme "heroes & villains" - maybe I was mistaken, dunno... Of course they must rather meant Western superheroes, but I'm cosmopolitan ;)
After a lot of musing and planning I decided to make a piece of jewelry inspired by not only Sailor Moon herself, but by her friends and comrades too. So the each smaller element of the necklace represents a Sailor Senshi (inner or outer), made in the signature colours of her outfit (skirt, bow, tiara gem), while the focal piece symbolises the Silver Crystal, thus representing Sailor Moon. I used silk ribbons for the ends - frankly I was just too lazy to make the collar long enough, but I think ribbons really fit the concept, don't you think?
Finding Swarovskis in matching colours was fun, but sometimes challenging - the result isn't perfect, but I sincerely hope not too bad, either...

Some closer pics:

Neptune & Uranus

Mars, Mercury

Venus, Jupiter

Saturn, Pluto

 Sailor Moon & Sailor Chibi Moon

And now? What shall I do with an uncomfortable (heavy and  edgy thanks to the bicones), almost untastefully multi-coloured, flashy necklace?
Sure, tearing apart and re-use it is the only sensible (if heart-wrenching) choice - I just wanted to show you in whole...

Pattern of the "Freiheit" pendant

As promised, here is the English tutorial of my Freiheit pendant - oh my, I can hardly believe that it's finally ready... making a proper translation is more difficult than ever imagined... It contains most probably lots of stupid grammar mistakes and funny wording, but I hope the pattern itself will be understandable. If something is unclear, or you find some really awkward mistakes, let me know, I'll correct it!

You can download the tutorial here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0dU9Iqx80g5VG1xU1Z2YVFhbTQ

Some other colour variations, if you are interested: green, white, copper, purple, blue, brown, teal.

And why this name? Well, that's a long story...

"Freiheit" is actually a German word, means "freedom". But no, I did not just opened a dictionary...

Last spring, when the idea of the pendant were born, I was kinda obsessed with the anime Shingeki no kyojin (Attack on Titan). I made the first versions while I was listening to the soundtrack,  reading the manga, or simply mourning and cursing the autor for killing off my favourite characters...

I wanted to give this pattern a name that fits somehow to this memories, so I've decided for "Freiheit", inspired by the second opening song, in which "Flügel der Freiheit" (= wings of freedom) are mentioned.

Besides, this pattern is a really flexible one, you can choose and mix the materials at your heart's content: the pattern grants you the freedom of varying ;)

Can you guess, what am I currently watching? ;)

Na, vajon mire függhettem rá mostanában? ;)

Hint: the Swarovskis are "crystal moonlight" and "crystal silver shade"...

Yup, the answer is Sailor Moon... ^.^" Now considering that I'm that kind of weird person who can be inspired to beadweaving even by a seinen (e. g. here: Eren's key), so easy to imagine what happens, if I start watching something, where everything shines and sparkles, some guys named after gemstones search for a crystal, and the heroine wears loooooooots of jewelry XD

Hát igen, a Sailor Moonról van szó, ciki vagy sem ez ennyi idős fejjel ^.^"
És ha figyelembe vesszük, hogy engem akár még egy óriáskaszabolós seinen is képes volt gyöngyfűzésre inspirálni (Eren kulcsa), könnyű elképzelni, milyen eredménnyel járhat, ha elkezdek nézni egy kellően csilivili sorozatot, ahol ásványnevű fickók egy kristályt keresnek, a hősnőn meg annyi smukk van, hogy karácsonyfának is elmenne... (Na jó, talán kicsit túloztam. De most komolyan, az ember lánya  vagy tiarát hordjon, vagy hajcsatokat; vagy medálos nyakpántot, vagy brosst, de nem ezt így egyszerre mind, hát nem?)

Me, while watching Usagi transforming: "Hey look at that earring - I can also make something similar!" (I've made earlier moon and starlets too) - So I've got now one more pair of crazy earrings :)

Valahogy így ment: *Usagi épp átváltozik*
 - Hoppá, nézzük csak azt a fülbevalót! Ilyesmit én is tudok csinálni, nem? (Tekintve, hogy mind holdacskát, mind csillagokat is fűztem már.) - Szóval a pillanatnyi felbuzdulás eredményeképpen most van egy újabb pár lehetetlen fülim...

Noch ein bisschen Ozeanblau / Még egy kis tengerkék

Nach dem Armband diesmal ein Ring zu dem ozeanblauen "Freiheit" Anhänger*... Ich versuchte die Form des Anhängers im kleineren Maße zu wiedergeben - das "Netz" habe aber weggelassen, weil es die größte Teil des Rings verdeckt hätte. Echt schade, dass es keine noch kleinere Perlen gibt...

A múltkori karkötő után ezúttal egy gyűrű az óceánszínű "Freiheit" medálomhoz*. Megpróbáltam azt a formát visszaadni kisebb méretben - sajnos azonban a "kásahálót" le kellett hagynom, mert szinte az egészet eltakarta volna. Miért is nincsenek még kisebb kásagyöngyök...

*Ich glaube, ich sollte endlich verraten, woher eigentlich der Name des Anhängers kommt. Beide meiner veröffentlichten Muster haben ja deutsche Namen ("Freiheit" und "Edel")  - es ist aber nur ein Zufall,glaubt nicht, dass ich so besessen von der deutsche Sprache wäre ;)
Ehrlich gesagt habe ich in beiden Fall von einem Anime motiviert, diese Wörter zu benutzen. ^.^"

Das Design des Anhängers habe ich nämlich am Höhepunkt (oder Tiefpunkt, je nach Beurteilung) meiner Shingeki no kyojin-Manie entwickelt. Während ich die erste Versionen gefädelt habe, habe ich immer gerade entweder den Manga gelesen, das Soundtrack gehört, oder einen Lieblingscharakter betreuert und für die noch lebenden ganz fest den Daumen gedrückt... So suchte ich nach einen Namen, der diese Feeling irgendwie widergibt, und mich an jene Zeit erinnert.
In der zweiten Opening der Serie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIyIuSHI0MY) ist der Ausdruck "Flügel der Freiheit" mehrmal zu hören - es war eigentlich alles, was ich von dem Liedtext memorisieren konnte XD
 Dazu kommt noch, dass das Design des Anhängers so flexibel ist, du hast freie Wahl von vielen Variationen, deshalb habe ich daran gedacht, dass "Freiheit" wäre ein passender Name aus allen Aspekten.

*Azt hiszem, ideje lesz felfedni "sötét titkomat", hogy mégis honnan vettem ezt a nevet...
Mindkét eddig publikált mintám ugyebár német nevet kapott ("Freiheit" és "Edel"), ez azonban csak véletlenül alakult így, szó sincs arról, hogy valami megszállott germanofil lennék. Igazság szerint mindkét esetben egy-egy anime motiválta a névadást ^.^"

A medál designjának kialakulása pont a Shingeki no kyojin-mániám tetőpontjára (vagy mélypontjára, nézőpont kérdése) datálható. Miközben az első verziókat fűztem, mindig vagy épp a mangát olvastam, vagy a soundtracket hallgattam; esetleg valamelyik szerencsétlen sorsú szereplőt gyászoltam, illetve nagyon drukkoltam a többiek túléléséért... Ezért gondoltam, hogy valami olyan nevet szeretnék adni a medálnak, ami visszaadja ezt a feelinget, és valahogy köthető a történethez.
A sorozat második openingjében (Jiyuu no tsubasa) többször is elhangzik a "Flügel der Freiheit", azaz a "szabadság szárnyai" kifejezés. Hát igen, kb. ennyit tudtam megjegyezni az egész lyricsből, mert a japán szöveg már meghaladta a képességeimet - ezt a három szót viszont hihetetlen lelkesedéssel tudtam kornyikálni XD
Ráadásul ez a minta sokoldalúan variálható, meglehetős szabadságot enged a leendő alkotóknak, ezért is gondoltam, hogy a "Freiheit" név illeni fog hozzá.

Was die andere Anleitung betrifft: als ich sie geschrieben habe, habe gerade den Animeserie Princess Tutu gesehen (eigentlich schon zum zweiten Mal, da ich es sehr mag), so habe ich den Muster nach einem sympatischen Charakter genannt. Edel ist eine mysteriöse, in Rätseln sprechende Juwelenverkauferin. Sie erscheint immer zur rechten Zeitt, um der Protagonistin Rat zu geben oder den richtigen Weg zu zeigen. (Hier ist ein tolles AMV über sie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvJXpYMeGE)

Ami a másik mintát illeti: mikor a leírást készítettem, a Princess Tutu c. animesorozatot néztem éppen újra, így aztán az egyik szimpatikus szereplő lett a névadó. Edel egy ékszereket áruló titokzatos hölgy, aki mindig pont a megfelelő pillanatban bukkan fel, hogy tanácsot adjon a főszereplő lánykának, vagy megmutassa neki a helyes utat. A neve egyébként azt jelenti, "nemes" (de pl. a drágakövet is Edelsteinnek hívják németül, az Edelweissről, vagyis a havasi gyopárról nem is beszélve). Itt egy klassz AMV a karakterről, ha valakit érdekel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYvJXpYMeGE (spoileres!)

Und weiter geht's...

Da das blaue so gut gelungen ist, habe ich natürlich auch zu meinem kupferfarbigen Anhänger ein passendes Armbändchen gemacht. Diese Rundperlen haben ja so eine angenehme Textur, ich wollte eigentlich immer ein Armband aus sie machen, nur ein passendes Muster fehlte mir bisher.

Au, erst jetzt fällt mir ein, dass gerade dieses auf meinem rechten Handgelenk zu tragen war nicht die beste Entscheidung... :'(
(Wie schon erzählt habe, dieses Bild von Jenny Dolfen hat mich eigentlich darauf inspiriert, etwas kuperfarbiges zu fädeln. Und ja, Maedhros ist gerade einer der coolen aber tragischen einhändigen Helden... Guckt mal nur dieses Bild: https://goldseven.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/there-will-be-blood-painting/ )

Ezzel a medállal mondhatni új vizekre eveztem, hiszen eddig szinte sosem használtam ilyen türkizes-tengerkékes árnyalatokat (ha mégis, akkor is csak ezüsttel párosítva).
Igaz, az ihlet ezúttal is külső forrásból jött, méghozzá Jenny Dolfen egyik csodaszép képének (The harp no longer sings) színvilága adta az ötletet.
Már egy korábbi bejegyzésben is említettem, mennyire szeretem Jenny képeit, és (bár persze abszolút laikus vagyok) milyen nagyra tartom a munkásságát. Év vége felé végre rászántam magam, és megvettem a könyvét, illetve egy naptárat, és awww, azóta is oda-vissza vagyok értük... :)
Az a szépséges kép a könyv borítóján pedig csak nem hagyott nyugodni, ráadásul éppen találtam szép aranylüszteres türkizes-mentaszín gyöngyöket a Gyöngyszigetben, szóval, ez a medál lett az eredmény. Amúgy vettem újabb rézszínű gyöngyöket is, just sayin'... ;)


Früher habe ich quasi nie solche Türkis- und Seefarbtönen verwendet (wenn auch, dann nur mit Silber kombiniert).
Die Idee war aber nicht meine, die Farben dieses Anhängers wurden von einem der wunderschönen Bilder von Jenny Dolfen (The harp no longer sings) inspiriert.
Ich habe schon in einem früheren Post erwähnt, wie ich Jennys Kunst bewundere (Ihre Seite: http://www.jennydolfen.com/) Klar, ich bin nur ein Laier, wer nichts von Malerei versteht, ihre Bilder finde ich aber wunderschön. Im November hatte ich endlich die Möglichkeit, ihren Artbook und ein Kalender von ihr bestellen, und awwww, beide sind ja zauberhaft...

Das Artbook, das Kalender und eine Postkarte :)

Jenes wunderschöne Bild auf dem Umschlag des Buches ließ mich natürlich nicht ruhen, und da beim Einkaufen gerade schöne türkisfarbene Perlen gefunden habe, ist endlich dieser Anhänger entstanden. Übrigens habe ich wieder neue kupferfarbige Perlen gekauft, just sayin' ;)

Kupferfarbe / rézszín

 (Magyar változat a hajtás után)
Ein bisschen zu spät, aber hier ist der voriges mal ausgelassene Anhänger. Seine Farbkombination hat nämlich eine Geschichte, die lang genug ist, um in einen selbständigen Beitrag zu erklären.
Wie beginnt aber diese Geschichte?
Vielleicht so, dass ich Kupferfarbe früher gar nicht gemocht habe, und nie verwendet habe. Einmal habe ich aber manche kupferfarbigen Rundperlen gekauft, die dann jahrelang nur in meinem Kasten herumgelegen sind...
Oder sollte ich eher damit angefangen, wie ich die wunderbare Aquarell-Illustrationen von Jenny Dolfen entdeckt habe (Jennys Seite: https://goldseven.wordpress.com/), von denen ich seitdem fasziniert bin - eigentlich von ihren allen Werken, aber ganz besonders von seinen Tolkien-Illustrationen. Einerseits weil sie sehr schöne Bilder sind, andererseits finde ich ihre respektvolle Einstellung zu den Quellen sehr sympatisch. Sie gibt die Atmosphere, die Charaktere sehr gut wieder - oft habe ich durch ihre Werke realisert, dass Figuren, die ich früheruninteressant oder sogar unsympatisch gefunden habe, wahre tragische Helden sein können. Zum Beispiel habe ich an die Söhne von Feanor nicht als Individualitäten gedacht, jetzt aber... klar, die drei C's kann noch immer nicht leiden, aber Maedhros...
Und da treffen sich die zwei Fäden der Geschichte: da ich dieses Bild über ihn gesehen habe, habe sofort daran gedacht "ich will sofort etwas kupferfarbenes fädeln, wo sind jene Perlen?" Sie waren natürlich zu Hause, im Gegensatz zu mir. Und als ich endlich heimgekehrt habe, kam das folgende Problem, nämlich, dass ich keine Rocailles in passender Farbe hatte. Nur nach einem monatlangen Jagd habe ich endlich diese "luster indian red" (oder wie sie auch heißt) gefunden. Und was das Rivoli betrifft: tja, das ist gerade "Crystal Red Magma"... Klar, passt gut zu der Kupferfarbe, aber wenn wir das Verhängnis von Maedhros beachten (dazu gibt es auch ein Bild von Jenny Dolfen: It ends in flame) , kann diese Wahl vielleicht ein bisschen morbid scheinen... :/ Die Bicones sind übrigens "Garnet", wenn es auch vom Bild leider nicht zu erkennen ist. Aber glaubt mir, im Leben sieht es gut aus ;)

PS: was die versprochene Anleitung betrifft - sie ist praktisch fertig, ich habe aber Angst davor, dass es noch viele Fehler (sachliche oder sprachliche) enthält, möchte deshalb noch nicht publizieren. Falls jemand Interesse hatte, kann aber ruhig an mich wenden! (oder wenn jemand vielleicht Lust hatte, die Anleitung ausprobieren und "lektorieren", wäre ich sehr dankbar! Oder sollte ich eher nicht um einen so großen Gefallen bitten? :/ )