I have mentioned Ronit Florence's work in a couple of previous posts, and really wanted to share some of it here. The most recent has been a necklace in memory of Oreo. Oreo, as I mentioned earlier, has been her furry baby for many years, and recently passed away. I had designed some patterns for her, based on pics of both her furry babies.
Here's one of the patterns I did:
Here's the gorgeous necklace based on the pattern:
Most of the things I admire about Ronit's work can be seen in this piece. She really takes a basic pattern and adds lots of personal touches. Look at what the pattern looked like to begin with, and then see the things Ronit did to personalize the piece. This piece also has a lot of flexability in how it is worn.
The original pattern has a peach back ground, but the final work has a turquoise background. Also the number of colours in Oreo's fur was reduced a bit to give a stronger image. I try to keep numbers limited, but sometimes don't limit them them as much as is possible. Also the fringe coming from the bottom gives the simple square more shape and definition as a pendant.
It's really important to not be afraid to try something not in the pattern, to change colours, omit colours,. Try different styles of beaded necklaces to compliment the pendant. Don't be afraid of making a mistake -- That's really how you learn and stretch your abilities. Do things you like to add a bit of yourself to every piece.
I mentioned above the flexibility of this piece. One thing Ronit does in most of her work is to have the necklace attach to each side of the pendant. This lets her change out the necklace - or wear the necklace without the pendant. Also, notice the section of peyote on the left side of the necklace -- that too is removable and can be worn as a separate bracelet or part of the necklace as a whole. This gives a lot of flexability to the piece.
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3 comments:
Ok, I'm probably going to be spending lots of hours here in the next few weeks. But I just had to comment on this entry. The advice about adding to the "square" is great advice, and something I should have done with my African Daisy. I had thought of a few things, but was so behind and just managed to get it entered into our etsy beadweavers challenge on the last day.
Ronit did an amazing job with your pattern, which was already cool to begin with. Great teamwork, ladies!!
Ronit is a dear friend of mine, and I also had the pleasure of knowing Oreo; your pattern captures her personality very well. Together with Ronit's design and workmanship, the result is spectacular.
Now that I finally figured out how to leave comments I'd like to thank On A Thousand Hills and my dear friend Genevieve for their kind words. Of course, the biggest thanks goes to Ginger who did such an amazing job on the pattern - she actually made a number of patterns of Oreo for me and it was real hard picking the best one. Beading this necklace was a really helpful way to deal with my grief and, while i'll not bore you with the details, each aspect of the necklace from the choice of colors to the choice of beads and the composition has symbolic value for me.
Ginger - thanks again so much for your kind words and your amazing artistry and generosity!
Big Hugs, Ronit
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