It was an honour to take part in the 2023 Earrings Challenge of Battle of the Beadsmith. I bowed out at round 2, and it was amazing to be a part of the competition, alongside many truly creative bead artists. (Good luck to you all!) I’m thrilled to have taken part and am super proud of my crazy, enormous earrings!
I entered the competition initially to help spark my creativity and it really did that. However it really gave me a much-needed confidence boost too! To everyone who left me lovely comments on the pictures, I’ve been really chuffed – thank you!
The tutorial is now available so you can make your very own Om Shanti mandalas! Below you can see a few pictures that I had prepared for the Battle that you haven’t seen yet.. and find out a little about the design.
Inspiration
My Om Shanti earrings are inspired by a large mandala design on my yoga mat (which of course is my favourite colour – pink!) I’ve been practicing yoga for many years and enjoy the sense of calm I can (sometimes) find when we meditate in class. Mandalas have different meanings in different religions but generally represent the spiritual journey, starting from outside to the inner core, through layers.
I have made several mandala designs before but I loved how the Ginko beads really suited the petal shape I wanted to recreate with this project. I think the possibilities for these components are endless and I’m really looking forward to experimenting with pendants, daintier earrings and statement necklaces. I had fun experimenting with colours and it took me a few tries to settle on this vibrant combination.
‘Om Shanti’ is sandscrit – at the end of every yoga class we chant “Om shanti shanti shanti” which means ‘Peace in body, peace in mind, peace in speech or spirit’.
Products used:
- Size 11 and 15 Miyuki seed beads
- Ginko beads
- SuperDuo beads
- 8mm Preciosa Chatons
- 4mm Preciosa Bicones
- 3mm Czech glass pearls
- TierraCast earring posts
- Cotton tassles (handmade)
Suppliers – Most supplies came from: BeadingSchool, Tanzee Designs and Jill Wiseman Designs.
Stitches: freeform/peyote
