Embroidered Collage

I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to purchase when I went to Beadfest this year.  That is a recipe for pocketbook pain when wandering a convention center floor full of booth containing wonderful and beautiful beads.  Admittedly, some of them don't apply to me at the moment, such as the gorgeous lampwork art beads or the sterling silver components, which are wonderful for jewelry but not worth the price for inclusion in wall art. 

As I took my first pass by the booths I decided to look for some focal beads and build around them, maybe I could do a series of works.  There were a number of larger stone beads, circles and squares two inches across, that caught my eye as I wandered before I returned to pick up these particular ones.  The shopkeeper said they were Kalambah Jasper.  They're greener than you can tell from the picture and it was the swirls of green and black containing smaller circular shapes that inspired me.

With focal beads in hand I went hunting.  I picked up smaller flat disks in green, black, and a mix of the two from another vendor.  Then I went to one of my favorite boothes from last year, with hanks of seed beads hanging from the walls.  They glimmer so much more than when confined in plastic containers and it is fantastic to feel them in your hands. 

I pulled a whole basket of colors, greens and blacks and light greys, then started slimming my choices down.  I wanted to make sure I had a light color to use as a highlight.  As I was sorting, it occurred to me that the limited value range might become monotonous, so I started looking for something to add.  I went the easy route, going across the color wheel to a near complement.  I found some great pinks and peaches to work with, in a range of values.  My final haul is shown below. 

I know I will be doing a series of twelve works of the same size, likely either 9 or 12 inches square, at some point, but that's all I know.  I'd like to do some sketches and think about it, or maybe I'll make the first piece completely improvisational and work from there.  I do need to gather up a collection of threads and potentially paper and fabric as well.  I want to use the materials as a deliberate attempt to see what I learn on working through a series.