I’m calling these beads Princess Pinto Bean (for now) because the brown/dark umber color variation reminds me of a pinto bean. (Also the name is a bit silly and it makes me laugh). On the serious side, these beads were inspired by my childhood memories of Hakata, Japan and my adult research into Tenmoku pottery.
I’ve included a sketch of an idea for the completed necklace, but there is no way of knowing how the finished piece will actually turn out. What I do know is creating these beads was pleasurably labor intensive. During breaks while moving the art studio yesterday, I would make these beads. The brown clay is actually three shades of brown ranging from terra cotta to chocolate. I folded in several leaves of gold leaf, but in the finished beads only a few flecks shine through (which turned out to be a very good thing). The mottled black finish, in the style of yohen glaze on Tenmoku pottery, is actually a very dark umber glaze that I purposefully made matte by mixing in black gesso. I can’t wait to see the finished necklace, but for now I’m unpacking boxes and making more beads.
