Molly Murphy

August 6, 2013 · 3:37 pm

New Floral Bracelets

I have continued to work perfecting and experimenting my slap bracelet design. The design process has challenges. I see the patterns in my head as long rectangles, but on the wrist we can only see about one-third of the bracelet at a time, and a big part of what we can see is curving and visually compressed.

This floral bracelet was a custom order and a real joy to make. The client is Cherokee and asked me to incorporate historical beadwork elements into the design.

I played with the background and used a luster lined bead that has a lot of shimmer to highlight the contours.

Similar at first glance, but this is another custom order. I used the same bead type for the background, but repeated the floral elements from the previous bracelet along with outlined vines.

Lastly, my first Floral Double Wide Slap Bracelet. I found a vendor that has a few extra wide slap bracelets. I wanted to try a larger space to work with, but the wider bracelets are limiting in the sense that the steel insert is only so strong, and the beadwork requires a strong bracelet base. I had to double the steel inserts. The outer edges are exaggerated to give it a more animated look. While this picture doesn’t convey it fully, all the floral elements are outlined in a 24 carat gold-plated bead that really flash and highlights the shapes in the sunlight. The edging uses larger size 8 transparent red beads, and in natural light the red catches the light and outlines the bracelet shape against the skin.

This bracelet is currently for sale at Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa. I know I have done well when I want to keep it. I wanted to keep it.

All the bracelets are on a slap bracelet form. This means they change shape from a flat rectangle to a coiled bracelet due to a shaped tensile steel insert. It may sound fancy, but it is the same as the slap bracelets you played with as a kid only I have cut the steel to shape and sewed a new microsuede sheath. When slapped on the wrist the bracelets shift from flat to coiled, and retain enough tension to keep the bracelet securely on the wrist. The bracelet is flexible and moves so it never pinches like a regular cuff. I love to make them and I love to wear them.

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July 8, 2013 · 5:35 pm

Upcoming Residency – Lincoln, Nebraska

I have been chosen to be the Resident Artist at the Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Starting in late April I will install a solo show while working onsite at the Gallery. For two weeks I will be creating a new large scale sculptural commissioned by the Museum. After completion the piece will then be a part of the permanent collection.

Here are some tidbits from my sketchbooks and preparatory drawings as I prepare to begin the new work. No, I don’t have a name yet, I am just calling it the Nebraska Piece.

Work Table, Audubon Influence

The Nebraska piece will incorporate themes of ornithology, cartography, and native design elements. All in a beaded sculptural box. Normally for a residency peice an artist would work on the piece entirely while at the site. Beadwork is too time intensive, so I will be doing a major amount of prep work beforehand to insure that the piece is finished and ready before I have to leave Lincoln.

The news is exciting, and this show and residency will be my artistic focus for the next four months.

In addition to the commissioned work, I am also developing new techniques to incorporate beadwork into other media, specifically printmaking.

More about the new prints soon, but a teaser.

Etching combined with

Bead Work

Printmaking – New Work

The majority of the artwork featured on this page is beadwork. I also am an avid printmaker. Printmaking is a fascinating media. beadwork is all about precious one of a kind objects. Printmaking is about tons of preparatory work in order to make multiples. Printmaking gives me an opportunity to make more artwork available to people who would otherwise find my beadwork out of reach. Lately I experimented in combining the two methods. Photo essay below illustrates the printing process.

Shown above is a copper plate that was hand etched, dry point method. Dry point means that the patterns etched into the metal surface were made by hand pressing a steel needle into the surface, no chemical process was involved. This method has pros and cons, and attributes that cannot be imitated by other processes. Also, bonus, it involves no chemicals in my house.

Above are plates ready to be run. Each plate is inked by hand in a three step process. Very time intensive, and mercurial in the results.

Printmaking requires a lot of specific equipment and space. Thankfully a local artist Bobby Martin has generously opened his new studio and press to artists like myself.

New prints, pulled off plate, compared to previous run.

The moment of truth when you pull the paper back to see what you made.

More inking, more wiping

Rinse, Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Prints ready to dry and move to the next stage.

After printing multiple variations of the two plates, the prints are booked (sandwiched between layers of newsprint to dry flat) and set aside. Of the ten prints of each plate, only three were of the high quality and consistency to be considered worthy of an edition. So only three each were signed and numbered. The rest will be used for other purposes, maybe collages, or greeting cards.

I specifically designed these images with beadwork in mind. My plan was to fill in the empty spaces within the composition as well as the space above and below the image.

Here are my results.

Green and purple set.

I beaded the prints to be matching sets. That means that each matching edition number, such as 1/3 is beaded in the same manner. The print on the left is titled “Shelter”, and the right is titled “Array.”

Sky blue and orange with gold.

These prints are mounted on foam core and then mounted on painted wooden panels.

Side view.

For my upcoming show in Lincoln, Nebraska, I will be working on quite a few new pieces along these lines. I will be working with solar plates that allows me to incorporate photographic images, floral beadwork patterns, more abstract designs like above. Lots of new ideas! I will continue to blog the processes for my new work here.

Long Hiatus

After a very long break in updates I plan to be posting more regularly.

As a nice transition back into the groove I will show off a new style of baby booties.

These are the first experiment in blending the forms of baby booties and baby moccasins. These little darlings had vintage buttons and silk ribbon closures.

The next pair had metis style florals and ribbon tie closures.

I also experimented with geometric designs…

The pair above were for a little boy, the son of a friend of mine. These were larger and made for use by a walking infant, the design required sturdier ties and non-skid soles.

These were an experiment in teal and grey. I love how one odd color leads to all the other colors needing to be of a similar temperament. By using teal I forced myself to use bead colors that were a similar shift way from primary. The deep transparent red took on a new shade against the teal wool, and the pink and olive green complimented. I used silk and velvet trim.

And to finish, my most recent pair of booties a traditional mountain design. The beads in the tipi flaps are gold plated glass in a matte finish. These booties are finished with a pale yellow silk ribbon. My daughter when she was little called her mocs her moccashoes. Maybe I should register the name?

All but the last pair are sold. I will be starting on a few new pair in the next month. I have a cousin and a niece expecting and each needs a pair!

Form and Function

When I begin a new project I always have to start with the question What am I making? The debate between functional and decorative is of prime importance for native artists. Often the styles and techniques are rooted in traditional forms and the forms dictate the content or style. So when we deviate from functional objects and begin making decorative art we cross a line into a new place as artists. Recently I began to experiment with creating pieces that are not in a way functional objects. In the past when I wanted to tell a visual story I felt I had to at least give the impression of function, hence the many boxes, sewing kits, etc. Now I am choosing to, at times, make pieces that are in essence, painting. Wall mounted decorative art pieces. You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult to cross that line, but I still feel the compulsion to make my efforts function.

Both new pieces, and several still in the works, have been made available through Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, OK.

This is a canvas mounted image, beaded on hand-dyed wool.
The horse imagery was for me about the sound and energy that horses radiate when they run together. I was thinking of the horses this spring when thunderstorms rolled through, wondering if the horses ran and ran during the storms.

This view shows the side and back of the piece and how it is mounted on the canvas and wood frame.

A width of velvet ribbon trims out the edge and has a clean finish.

This small piece was an experiment to prepare for a much more ambitious piece.
Because once you have tried an 8″ by 8″ prototype, what is to stop you from going 4 feet by two feet? Piece of cake.

Images of finished piece next time.

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July 3, 2013 · 6:33 pm

Gift Horse Purse, Bound for Tokyo

Prep drawing, graphite does not always scan well.

My newest piece, commissioned by a gallery in Tokyo. This is the original drawing in my sketchbook, the general idea I began with. The gallery wanted a purse that would be about the size of a traditional mirror bag portraying a ledger style image of a native man and a horse. I find that it helps immensely to have a detailed drawing to guide the general image and preserve details that would be sorely missed. However, I always choose to draw in black and white. The process of choosing beads has as much to do with bead quality as color. The luster, size and overall quality of the bead are as important as color shade. Sketching in color is just an exercise in futility since I can’t mix the color of the bead. Which is why I buy so very many colors of beads, every size and luster. Utilizing so many disparate types and sizes of beads, as well as a very long list of colors, can make final decisions on color time consuming and confusing. I think the variety is worth the effort.

To begin beading an image on wool I transfer the image to tracing paper.

To begin I pick a good starting point, usually the hair. My reasoning is that the face is what makes or breaks the image. With beadwork you want to execute the areas that would be the most forward in real life, hence the hair that will overlap the face and the clothes. First hair, then face, then shirt, etc….

Then more….

My life in slow motion.

I carve out each section of tracing paper, exposing the area I want to fill in with beads.

While the image of the man doesn’t have that many square inches of beadwork compared to other projects, each bead is placed with meticulous care. A lot of planning goes into decisions concerning color, direction, flow, texture. For figures like this I tend to use micro beads and vintage beads in addition to my regular stockpile to achieve detail density. Is that a real term?

Here I begin the process of turning the beaded image into a functional item. The interior has had silk lining basted in, both front and back panels have had grommet like holes created to pass the strap through. The entire pile of layers is basted together to preserve the relative positions. On to edging with more beadwork, satin ribbon, horse hair fobs, worked hide.

And finally, finished product. Gift Horse, 2011Commissioned by Little Coyote Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. This purse is finished with a combination of modern and traditional techniques blended to become a kind of reservation style evening wear. The pierced style braintanned hide fobs on the bottom handle, and drops on the side of the purse are a traditional practice. The horse hair fobs with glass and brass beads add a more western touch.

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July 3, 2013 · 5:37 pm

Jewelry

New directions for jewelry.

This spring and summer I prototyped adapting commercial slap bracelets to beaded cuffs. I have had requests for cuff bracelets in the past and always declined making cuffs on spec. Custom order? Sure. But cuffs made from stiff metal or prefab forms tend to have a bulky profile and difficulty fitting random clients. So I demurred, until Waylon at Lovetts Gallery gave me the push to try slap bracelets.

These are the first successes. Each was inspired by mesoamerican artifacts.

I volunteer at the Gilcrease Museum every week in the vault in the Anthropology Department. In exchange for my help performing condition statements and generally helping get the Plains Indian Artifacts up to date I have the chance to handle and learn about an amazing selection of Mayan, Olmec, and Aztec artifacts. It makes me giddy.

Celtic and Racing Stripe Patterns

I have experimented with a variety of styles.Here is a custom Celtic design made for a friend.The Racing Stripe pattern is colorful and modern.

For those who are asking what is a slap bracelet…Slap bracelets are metal bracelets that are milled in a manner that when flat have a curve, like a soda straw cut lengthwise. The curve imparts tension. When the flat bracelet is hit with a small force (slapped against a wrist) the tension is released and the metal snaps into a coil. The lateral tension is converted to longitudinal tension. Or, it snaps from flat to coiled around your wrist. There has been a large element of troubleshooting with these bracelets. First, adapting a commercial product for handmade work that it was never intended to be paired with always is complicated. Trial and error reveals numerous ways to tweak the design to come up with a final method. The biggest factor is the transition from flat to coiled. Nothing can be glued or attached to the metal base. It has to change from a long straight piece of metal with a curved profile to a flat coil. So the metal bracelet has to be in a sheath that allows the metal to move in both directions. Commercially this has meant a plastic sheath, sometimes with a rubber or lightweight fabric decorative cover. I problem solved by cutting open the plastic sheath, removing the metal bracelet, cutting it to a shorter length, trimming plastic sheath to fit shorter bracelet, and finally fabricating my own fabric outer cover from microsuede. The beadwork is made in a separate panel, edged, and then sewn to the fabric sheath.