Drawing book

I'm just paging through my drawing book and I realize that its over, I'm no longer a BTec student and now I have to face my family, the world and myself. Where to from here? Looking for a job is not as easy I thought it would be.
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Miss cast

Look who had a miss cast, I feel bad that these links didn't cast because I has hoping to make another Mafu necklace and sell it. Things will be hard while looking for a job, lord knows where to from here.
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NWJ tree

I heard that NWJ trees (for casting) are neat and the people that put them together can add a lot of elements in one tree. This is my tree, it looks better then the one that I built for the black lace necklace. What do you think? NWJ tree or not?
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End of year show BTEC

Well this is it, the end of the year show that marks the being of our lives in the big bad world. We’ve all worked very hard to make our displays as neat and presentable as they look. I’m a bit worried about where to from here, I think there are so many doors but not all of them are open for me to use. Being student of the year really humbles me and as I mentioned in the early posts, people have different ways of expressing how they feel, I’m still speechless. As the eldest amongst the siblings I think I’ve set bar high enough for the rest to reach and still left space for them to raise it to the next level.

I must say that I enjoy blogging and I hope that what ever I do next year will still allow me to carry on.

Earrings

Beaded domes

These are the domed elements that are beaded, I also gave them to Thenjiwe in order to be beaded but unfortunately I back the back at a very late stage for me to convert them into jewellery. I see a lot of potential in them, I feel as if I can do a lot with them.

Black lace

This is the final piece from the new links, I call it black lace because, a lot of miss fortunes have been happening around my Mafu necklace. I decided to bead it black because, most of my pieces are brightly coloured and this would be something different and abit formal.

Mafu on

I know I've posted a pic of my necklace before but it was on a pot, I just wanted to see how it looks on someone. The top that Shanal is wearing complements it, apart of me feels that it would look better on a topless person but on who?

Display

We all have been worrying about our end of the year display as we felt that this display would play a big role in our end of the year mark. The problem with my work is the fact that its very colourful and I don't want it to look busy by add a lot of colour to it. I ended up using white mblasolo cloth and white perspex to lift up my jewellery so that it wouldn't lay flat. What do you think about it?
Two things that are left for me to do now is to get ready for the exhibition that's on the 7th of December and for me to get a job :-l.
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MAFU

This is it, my Mafu necklace its taken me the whole night to put it together and Im happy with the way it looks. Ive had so much trouble with sorting this necklace and Im glad that all seems over now. ( so call me Linda Mkhonto, Mangethe, Zikode, Nongalo, Mafu)

Beaded elements

I would like to take all the credit about beading these but I had help. I'm glad they are done but I'm not sure about the way the look.

Cast element

As much as getting help making these links would have been wise, I think that casting them was a good idea. It took some time, building these trees because I shake and I hadn't built one since last year.

Display

It seems like I try to do one thing and the next doesn't work out, I'm worried about my display. Everyone seems to have everything under control but I'm lost.
Most of my jewellery has sold and the pieces that I have, are either test pieces or I don't think they will fight in with my end of the year display.
I'm currently working on a piece that has links that are an elaboration of the ones that I used in my Mafu nacklace. This necklace is different in every way, I'm even thinking of using one colour beads.

String

It has taken me some time to get the string that I use in beading my jewellery and that is one of the things that she (the beader) is using against me. She says that she's run out of string. Today I lent how to go to in order to get some information about my Mafu necklace, I'm hoping that all is well now.

Speechless

We all have our own coping mechanism and I'm afraid mine is just not knowing to say or being speechless and smiling it off. A lot of things haven't seem to be adding up in concern with my final hand in for my Btec, not only has Thenjiwe being giving me the run around with my necklace but today she just left without saying a word. I've sold most of my btec pieces and therefore hardly have anything to show, I still haven't got a final display. Luckly my elements cast for a new necklace and its clear that ill bead this one myself, so there goes my birthday celebration.

Beader

I'm producing a range of beaded jewellery and I haven't motioned the lady (Thenjiwe) that is beading for me. I think this is because I'm not pleased with the way she handled my order. It's been almost two weeks since I gave her my links and the last time I saw her, she had not started with anything.

Flower

What do you think?

New

I've been known for soldering jumprings, different wire shapes and beading around them, allowing the beads to add the finishing touch. This time I felt that I should something that's different, like doming the jumprings and someone brought to my attention that I put the domes together. Can't wait to see these beaded.

Plan on paper

This is helping me out to sort out the shield shape on my necklace and the colours.

Final colour

I must say that I've been putting off. Setting the rest of the colour sceem because I strongly believe that colour can make or break a piece. Here goes something, these are my colours and I have arranged them in a way that the yellow and orange beads in the center or not next to each other. Hope you see what I mean.
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Shield

In Zulu beadwork, one finds a lot of diamond shape pattern and it is said that, that shape represents the shield which is a sign of protection. I'm going to base my Mafu necklace on some of the colours that are in this necklace (intshebe) and will try and get Thenjiwe (the lady that will bead the Mafu discs for me) to bead the shape aswell.

Blue

I'm glad I've finished this necklace, it has taken me a while to complete.

Colour planning

This necklace isn't finished yet but I have to sort out the colours and I'm really having a hard time doing that.

Next

I wanted to do something that is different from what I was working on and something with more metal.

A cross

I like the way this looks.

Stock B

Stock

Naming

I've been thinking of names for my neck piece, its taken a lot of searching research and digging deeper. I looked at fruits, shapes and even friends names. Funny enough I found its name in me or in my zithakazelo (praises or family line), someone mentioned that the links reminds them of clouds or bubbles. Mafu is one of the praises which also mean cloud, there it is the name of my necklace is MAFU ( call me Cebekhulu, Linda mkhonto, mangethe, nongalo, mafu)
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Drawing

This is the neck piece that I'm busy working on, I don't know how it will look in the end but I hope all goes well.
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More NSA

I'm making more stock for the Christmas sale at NSA, I haven't used these beaded discs before so this is my chance to see if people will like them or not. Hopefully they get some sort of recognition, even if its some sort of feed back. I'm hoping to start getting people to help me with more of my stork making. This didn't work that well last year, hopefully all goes well from now on.

Free

These links are also 100 but they occupy more space, not only do they do that but the way that they are linked allows more movement, this is how I will link this neck piece.

fourr

Still the same links but linked in a star. Formation. There won't be much movement here.

four.jpg

100 links
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Reflect

I'm feeling a bit stressed, I don't know weather its too early or its too late to start feeling this way. I think I should write down everything that I have to do and give it a time frames and in that way I'll get more things done. There is more to these links then I thought there was. I want a finished product now, what do you think, don't you want to see the finished item.

Beaded dome

I used size three and size one beads, they don't look that neat though.

Domed

The domed earrings have beaded discs in them and as much as it is not visible, the discs are stuck on. So with this dome, I've drilled hole on the plate before I domed it and the holes distorted, learned that lesson. The hole in the middle enables me to bead well.
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Domed studs

The studs before these are flat and I used less metal, I'm still trying to move away from less metal to more metal. Making jewellery that allows me to use more techniques then just wire making and soldering.