A detail shot of the skulls. They're made from salt dough. Painted in a rustic, folk art style.

I'm getting ready for my Dia de los Muertos Halloween party. Here are a few shots of party preparations underway. Lots of paper flowers and painted skulls. More to come! The alter is in the first stage of development as I establish the levels.

Here is the finished necklace. It took me a while to resolve the final form. What I have achieved, I think, it a nice balance of old and new components, in a very wearable piece.

I've finished more beaded beads and a bezel around one of the vintage buttons.

Tension within a composition refers to the interplay of elements. In painting or drawing, it's the way objects or subjects interact with each other, colours blend or contrast. Tension is also affected by the manipulation of perspective. Lines in drawings also create tension, as they cross and diverge or play against the edge of the canvas.

Tension is defined in clothing or jewelry by the way it plays against the lines of the body. Sometimes designers choose to enhance the body, sometimes disguise or manipulate the organic shapes. For example, a designer like Colette Dinnegan favours lines that flow with the natural shape of the body whereas the architectural structure of an Issey Miyake garment reshapes the silhouette.

In my composition, I've thought about tension with the composition and also how the final piece will interact with the body. I intended juxtaposing disparate vintage elements. I wish to create harmony, so I will use beaded beads to resolve tension between the disparate elements through repeating pattern and colour. I would like my necklace to grace the collar bones and shoulders with flowing lines.
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This is the back of the beaded watch face. I've left the bezel open. I've had such a great response to this, people like the front as much as the back, that I've decided to design a swiveling bail so the wearer can choose which side to show.