Unexpected Surprises of the Heart

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller

A few months ago, I was approached by a woman in a convo on Etsy. Would I possibly be interested in making a piece of jewelry for her using her polymer clay beads? I was intrigued, so I asked to see a picture of the beads.

I was blown away by these.

Aren't you?

I had to hold myself back a bit to be sure that I didn't scare this lovely lady and her pretty beads off. ;-)

Did I mention that the bead artist in question is Cynthia Tinapple? Do you know who Cynthia is? I confess that I didn't but I was tipped off by some of my bead friends that I should get to know her. You see, Miss Cynthia is the editor of the Polymer Clay Daily, a blog dedicated to all the artful things happening in the world of polymer clay.

Miss Cynthia was planning a trip to Nepal in November. While she is there, she plans to work with the village women there to share the art of making polymer clay beads and the celebrate the beauty of their culture. You see, these Nepali women don't see the value of their rich cultural heritage. But Miss Cynthia does, and she wanted them to see what can become of their handiwork in a completed piece of jewelry.

Wow. That is a truly noble cause.

I am still not sure how Miss Cynthia found me, but I am so glad she did!


At the time I was preparing to travel to Michigan for the Inspired by Nature retreat and it just so happens that along the way there was a Rings & Things traveling beads show stop that day in Chicago. What a great excuse to buy beads!

I purchased strands of leather disks, dyed magnesite, dyed coral nuggets, shell heishi, rustic brass spacers and twisted aluminum cubes.

The following week I spent a few days with my friend Jess at Vintaj where we learned all manner of techniques to work with the Vintaj line. One of the coolest new things to come along is the Big Kick where you emboss metal. It is really quite addicting!

Armed with this bevy of beads and this new-found embossing knowledge, I jumped into the project. {Of course, if you mean by jumped that I took my own sweet time and left it until the last possible second before the November 1st deadline, then yeah, I guess you could say I "jumped" right into it!}


As a way to tap into her inspiration, she sent me a link to her Pinterest board filled with colorful images of textiles from India, hanging lanterns from Morocco and embellished walls of monasteries. Looking at those images she selected it looked as if her beads were those textiles come to 3D life. There was a riot of color in these images, and it was clear to me after holding these beads in my hand that Miss Cynthia is a kindred spirit, able to take the inspiration and translate it to her own art. Having those images handy as I created these pieces was truly a blessing and so inspiring.

Each of her beads is slightly different. The amount of hours that went into each one, to create the canes and slice them so thin... to painstakingly place each tiny mirror and each miniscule hole-less bead into the design... it simply blows me away. I knew I need to get my creative mojo to come out and play for this one!

I really had no other parameters other than that Miss Cynthia requested some lush and more substantial pieces. I actually ended up making three pieces: necklace, bracelet and earrings. The Laila earrings are posted on Earrings Everyday blog today. Check it out.

{Meet Me at the Bazaar}

The necklace sort of sprang to life from the beads, as if they just wanted to be dancing in that circle! Multiple strands repeating the lively palette with varied shapes and sizes. Cynthia's beads separated by vintage textured saucer beads (that I have been hoarding for a few years). And a hand embossed arte metal clasp and hook to complete the look. It is so pleasing to wear (I had to try it out!). It garnered a lot of compliments!

{Dance of the Bells}

However, the piece that I like the most is the bracelet, despite the fact that I had to pull it apart three times and restring it. First the colors were wrong. Then the magnetic clasp was too dainty and finally, I didn't cut the wire long enough. Doh! Miss Cynthia had told me that she imagined whatever piece of jewelry I created would have a jingly quality. I am not a fan myself of wearing bracelets, but this one with its substantial brass leaf bead, the three strands of color and some brass belly dancing bells really hits it out of the park for me. I love the sweet jingle of those bells. I have to find a way to make another one like it!

Miss Cynthia has the baubles and told me how pleased she was with these pieces, that I exceeded her vision. Right now they are being packed up to travel halfway around the world to a remote Nepali village. I can just imagine these women touching the pieces I made and marveling that they, too, can make jewelry and in turn make a life from this living. But most of all I want them to be inspired by the fascinating story that their culture weaves into the fabric of life. And I hope that they will be inspired.

Thank you, Miss Cynthia, for finding me... for seeing the potential in this arrangement... for giving me a chance to make you something special... for believing in me. May your journey bring you unexpected surprises of the heart.

The thing about collaborations is they can be really outstanding or really horrid. It seems that there is no middle ground for people on this. For my part, I actively seek out collaborations. My show in 2010 is proof of that. I find it thrilling to bring another artist into the game and look forward to dynamically working through the process together. By working together you bring out the best in you both, and you also push yourself to rise above your own limitations, because now it is not just your own reputation at stake, but your collaborative partner's as well. It was a pleasure to be a partner in your success, Miss Cynthia!

Your turn...
Have you ever participated in an artful collaboration? What happened? Was it a good experience or a bad one? Do you actively seek collaborations or do you prefer to stick to  your own designing?  If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be and why? (It can be any artist, living or dead.)