PAT LANGFIELD

FEATURE ARTIST:
***************************************
PAT LANGFIELD
of PORTIA'S CRAFTS

(www.portias-crafts.co.uk)
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If there are any arachnophobes out there ...
please don't jump! Even though the jewelled
spiders and bugs you are about to see look
very real, they are works of art and stunning
to behold!
















I came across Pat's work recently, when she responded
to a project design I had put on Facebook. I'm always
looking to promote other craftspeople's work and skills ...
so I caught up with her and below is the result of my
'interview':

WHEN DID YOU START CREATING YOUR BEADED INSECTS
AND WHAT LED YOU TO THIS?

I've been making the spiders and other bugs for the last year.
I first got the idea from a friend who said she had seen something
similar at a craft fair. I was intrigued and started looking it up
on the internet, only to find spiders of all varieties and how to make
them everywhere.














Every spider has the same head, body and legs (you can't mess
with nature!) but everybody's version of a spider is quite
different. My bugs are made from beads and crystals and I
use head pins and florist or jewellery wire for the legs.
















At first, I was quite tentative with the design of the spiders I made,
but over time, I have noticed that my spiders are tending to get larger
and more extrovert looking as I gain confidence.

What is fun about creating spiders, is sourcing the perfect body bead.
It's now quite hard for me, not to look at someone's chunky necklace
without seeing a potential family of spiders!

I just love to search in charity shops and at car boot sales for beads.
I quite often find some absolute treasures!

Spiders came first and then I ventured into dragonflies and butterflies.

Strange shaped beads are handy for the
odd moth and flat beads are great for brooches.
Occasionally, I'll make little bumblebees, but having never seen any bead
that resembles a 'bee' body, I have to create them from polymer clay.






ARE YOU SELF-TAUGHT OR HAVE YOU ATTENDED
COURSES & CLASSES?

When I retired 6 years ago, I had no craft experience at all.
I first started with card making and then discovered a class
for jewellery making run by Elaine Hodgeson of:
http://www.beadylane.com/

Elaine taught me all of the different techniques for
jewellery making and from this, I've developed my skills.
I have loads of books, piles of magazines and no end of
craft 'favourites' saved on the computer. The internet is
just the best thing ever for researching methods!




A Goth-style
spider necklace
by Pat.



WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

... The internet is what inspires me ! I can be surfing aimlessly
or simply browsing Facebook and all of a sudden, I see something
(with all the instructions for making it) and I just have to have a
go.

I always like finding new ideas, because I believe too much repetition
of the same thing can get boring and too much like 'work'! I am
supposed to be retired after all!!









Last year, I was in a bridal shop with my daughter and I was looking
at their tiaras (and the frightening prices attached). When I got home
I couldn't do anything else, until I had made my first tiara!









My inspiration is also fuelled and I get excited when I can turn something
that someone regards as a bit of 'junk' into something new and special
that someone else wants!


DO YOU SELL YOUR WORK - IF SO WHERE?

I've very recently made my first ever website:
www.portias-crafts.co.uk
It was fun doing that and I was so thrilled when I
got my first sale!

I frequently go to a car boot sale/Sunday market where
I have all of my crafts on display. Despite the fact that
most people do go to a car boot sale for an absolute
bargain (me included!), I still do manage to sell
enough of my pieces at normal prices to make it a
worthwhile way to spend a Sunday morning. I get a
lot of fresh air as well, which I tend to miss out on when
I'm tucked away crafting in the spare bedroom.

During the summer months, we live in our narrowboat.

Pat's
narrowboat
named:
PORTIA
can be seen
cruising the
canals of England and Wales in the summer.

... Just imagine ... a sunny day ... peace and tranquility and
spiders, dragonflies and butterflies hanging in the
boat windows, sparkling! Not only is it a handy way to
show and sell my bugs, but it is a great conversation starter
and we get to meet some really nice people on the canals
and towpaths.

I also sell on Ebay when it's a free listing weekend, but rarely
list items when there is a listing fee. All the little fees here and
there in the Ebay process really add up.

I only tend to do two regular craft events: the Rotary Club
Hobbies Fair in Goole and Christmas Fair at Gools Waterways
Museum.















HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT PROMOTING YOUR WORK?

Word of mouth. Business card. Website:
www.portias-crafts.co.uk
Portia's Crafts is also on FACEBOOK and I have a blog:
www.patlangfieldart.blogspot.com
(although I am a bit hit and miss with my posts on these
sites - don't forget ... I am retired!).















WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS ABOUT GOALS FOR
THE FUTURE?

I want to continue to be enthusiastic about making things
and I would like to want people to keep buying the pieces
I create. I'm not really trying to build a business as such,
it's more a of a hobby that will tick along at a comfortable
pace. For me, the biggest thrill is when someone tells me
they love my creations! I really inspires me to make more
and more ...

I simply have to sell them as well, otherwise I'd be knee
deep in beaded spiders!













******************************************************THANK YOU, PAT, FOR SHARING YOUR
BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS WITH FELLOW
WIRE ARTISTS.

YOU ARE INSPIRATION TO US ALL - TO
LOOK TO NATURE, TO MOTIVATE OUR
IMAGINATIONS FOR NEW DESIGNS !!

HAPPY BeadyBug MAKING!!

BEADS & BOWS

How come everything always seems to come at once?
Just like buses!! I've been so busy working on various
ventures: designing, creating, teaching ... not to mention,
all the mundane, turning cogs and conveyor belt motion
of 'living' ... that I haven't had a chance to update you
with new wirey inspiration.





















Apart from designing some new projects for
MAKE JEWELLERY MAGAZINE, I've been
working on some kids & designer KITS for:
LONDON JEWELLERY SUPPLIES.






















They have some incredibly exciting competitions,
special offers, party packs and beautiful beads
and new tools coming up on their website very
soooon ...
So, if you subscribe to their NEWSLETTER you
will be able to keep up with all these things as
they erupt onto the market ... !

I'm also very much looking forward to seeing
my latest commissioned project in
CREATIVE BEADS & JEWELLERY Magazine.
All the materials for this were supplied by the
wonderful Georgie, from MADCOWBEADS.

And I've done some more filming for
BEAD TV . They are trying out a new format
to give their subscribers extra special
close ups, to improve the instructional quality of
their product. So, look out for this when my
Bangle tutorials are shown.





















Also, keep half an eye out for my Knitted wire
project coming out soon in:
BEADS & BEYOND magazine ... I will try
and keep you updated on all these things!

And if you live in the U.K. (down South)
THE BIG BEAD SHOW is fast approaching on
31st March ... and this is definitely worth a
visit!

But now, back to projects. Here's one that almost
ended up on the 'cutting room floor', yet I felt it
didn't deserve to be disposed of altogether. It's a
decorative hairband design, which could be adapted for a
Prom, Flower Girl, Race Night ... or just as a fun hair accessory.
With this HOT BOW HAIRBAND, you can most definitely
'paint the town red'!!

The materials required for this are:
1 x metal hairband, 0.4mm, 0.8mm & 1mm silver-plated wire,
0.5mm red coloured wire, approx. 12 x 6mm silver beads,
1 x 12mm red bead, approx. 274 red seed beads.
Tools required are: Round and chain nosed pliers, wire
cutters, hammer & steel block and a cylindrical mandrel
(such as a pencil - or a Coiling Gizmo).




















1. To make the BOW: Cut approx. 18" of 1mm wire. Place
your round nosed pliers at the centre of this length to create
a loop, with the wires crossing over and extending on each
side.


















2. Place your flat nosed pliers about 3" (7.5cm) from this
central loop and bend the wire back down on each side.




















3. Using the tips of your round nosed pliers, create a wiggly
or corrugated end on the wire - forming a maximum of 5
'wiggles' before bending the wire back towards the central
loop.



















4. Secure the projecting wires next to the central loop and
cut off any excess and neaten the ends.




















5. Place the bow frame on a steel block and hammer the outer
edge to work harden and flatten, avoiding the central loop.




















6. Cut at least 12" (31cm) of 0.4mm silver wire, and secure around
the central loop. Straighten one of the ends out and thread with red
seed beads, using enough beads to reach the wiggly outer frame.
Wrap the wire around the edge of the frame and bring the wire back
towards the central loop.




















7. Continue threading seed beads and weaving the wire back
and forth between the central loop and outer frame to fill the
bow framework.




















8. To make the centre decoration of the bow: cut approx.
8" (20.5cm) of 0.4mm silver wire and thread with about
12 x 6mm silver beads (or, as many as you need to surround
the focal bead). Bring the beads together to form a loop.



















9. Cross one the 0.4mm wires over the other and bring it
down the centre of the beaded loop. Thread this wire with
the focal bead and push the bead into the centre of the loop
of silver beads. Secure the projecting wire around the opposite
side of the beaded frame and pull the extending wires straight
out on either side.




















10. Thread the ends of wires of the beaded centrepiece, through
the each side of the central loop of the beaded bow frame and secure
by wrapping.





















11. Cut off any excess wire and neaten the ends. You can now
choose to wire or secure this onto a hair grip, a brooch finding
or ... a hair band.























12. To make the curly base of the hair band frame, use
a Spiral Beadmaker or Coiling Gizmo, to create an
even coil of 0.8mm wire of approx. 3" (7.5cm) (alternatively,
wrap your wire around a pencil or round nosed pliers,
just like making jump rings). Stretch this coil out to
elongate it, until it is about 34"-36" in long.

Secure the end of the wire around one side of the hair
band and wrap the rest, quite loosely and randomly,
around the top curve of the metal band, securing it on the
opposite side.

If you wish to add another layer of coloured wire on top
of the silver base, create a second coil and wrap over the
first layer. For this, I used 0.5mm red coloured wire.

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And ... have you ever thought of using a metal hair band finding
to create a choker necklace ... here's a quirky matching necklace
and earrings to match the HOT BOW HAIRBAND!






















So, have some fun making shapes and beaded ornaments, from
buttons to ribbons ..., to decorate hair accessories. Here are a
few more of my designs:






















Here's a FLOWER HAIR BAND.





















... and here's a DRAGONFLY one!

Right, must be off now, I've got lots to do and I can't hang
around anymore! I'm back to being, busy, busy, busy!!

(o: HAPPY WIREWORKING!! :o)