When I found out about ABeadStore.com’s Winter 2010 contest, I came up with a concept and got creative.1 I had been wanting to do a more elaborate design based on my (I’m a) Gay Fan Necklace that features my signature kick ass fan design created with enamel rectangles in the lovely colors of the rainbow. So that’s what I did for this contest. To better showcase the bright, rainbow colors of the enamel rectangles, I used only black beads for the rest of the piece. I have a lot of black beads because I heart the color black – it goes with any color, even more black. I strung together a rather stunning piece2 consisting of five strands at various lengths using various shapes and sizes of black glass beads. Two of the strands feature multiple rainbow fans. I named the piece Little Bit of Rainbow.

I didn’t spend as much time plotting and planning this piece as I do with most contests. Might have been because I knew what I wanted to use as the focal point but it might also have been because sometimes my bead muses are nice to me and make my creating a little easier. When I do a contest piece, I want it to be unique and spectacular because I know the judges are probably going to get hundreds if not more entries and if my piece bores them, it’ll get tossed to the “not even close to what we were looking for” pile. Of course, as it turns out, my spectacular is not the same as other people’s spectacular. That’s the other thing that makes entering contests difficult, several voices with several opinions that are not necessarily the same as mine, judging my work. And in the bead world, I’m an oddball because I don’t bead weave or wire wrap. I just string beads on bead wire until it looks pretty. I love what I do and think I’m brilliant at it and I just have to constantly remind myself that that’s all that really matters.

I submitted pictures of this piece to the eclectic catagory cause that’s how I roll. Votes were taken and I didn’t win. I have no idea what my vote count was cause they didn’t give out the numbers, I just know that the people voting obviously don’t understand my artistic genius. But you guys do, right? That’s why I’m sure one of you lovely readers will rush right over to my virtual jewelry shop and buy this beauty, right? Right.

Little Bit of Rainbow Necklace
Little Bit of Rainbow 5 Strand Necklace (Original Piece) 1 of 2
Length – from end to end is about 17″. Available for $57

1I’m really good at stating the obvious, obviously.
2If I do say so myself, and I do.