It's a Sea Urchin!

I decided to treat myself to a bit of indulgence and took a class from a long-time artist friend, Marilyn Moore, whom I met in the late 1980s when I joined the Northwest Basketweavers Guild. We were both basket weavers at the time and have since explored the wonderful world of texture, color and materials.

Both Marilyn and I have a fondness for working with wire in a variety of forms.  She designed a number of project classes using wire that she teaches all over the country, including right here at home at Fusion Beads in Seattle.  If you've never been to their store on Stone Way, it's worth a visit, even if you're not a beader.  There's plenty of eye candy and luscious things to touch!

So I played hookey from work last Friday and took Marilyn's "Sea Urchin" pendant class.  The pendant starts out with a natural stone "donut" that serves as the foundation for the wirework.

Using fine wire and a very small, steel crochet hook, you begin crocheting as if you're making a wire doily.  Still using the crochet hook, you begin forming loops of wire that actually create a knitted "fabric".  We strung beads on the wire before beginning, so that we could incorporate a bit of bling into the finished product.

So here's my first Sea Urchin...

The entire pendant is about 2.5" in diameter.  There is a bail on the back so that I can place it on a necklace.  Of course I'll have to make a silver or beaded necklace for this pendant!

I'm off to work on another Sea Urchin...ta ta for now!

Deborah