Back in the studio working on my mixed media Tibetan-inspired bead project as it was well along and I didn’t want to lose steam. I got them painted, gilded and sanded, put a couple of glazes on and then sanded again. Finally I sealed them with Matte Medium and applied 4 coats of Renaissance Wax. The bead at center front was my inspiration bead. It is an authentic glazed and gilded terracotta Tibetan prayer bead. I do not know it’s age. I was not trying to replicate the bead…just want to make some Tibet-inspired jewelry and cannot now afford to buy Tibet beads. The processes involved in making these beads are fiddly, messy and extremely time consuming. The four I finished have at least 20 hours in them.
The two beads in front are completely different. I liked the way the yarn ridges looked with several coats of Mod Podge and dressmaking paper, therefore I did not paint or gild them. They were waxed. Unfortunately, I do not have any more of these odd shaped beads to work with. They remind me of pods and then the words/marks on them adds a quirky kick.
Crickyn 