Yin & Yang - Complementary Contradictions

The theme for this month – Complementary Contradictions, was picked by me, after winning the July challenge with my Roses in the Night Sky bracelet (Thanks again to everyone who voted for me!).

Yin and Yang are the Chinese symbols of harmony, as they are opposites that complement each other. If you would like to read more about this symbol and the Chinese theory, please visit this page of Wikipedia.

At first I wanted to create a pendant of the traditional, rounded symbol, using rocailles. But later I decided to use the black and silver Aiko's that a very dear friend from the U.S. has sent me. They are very uniformed and perfect for peyote work, so I then decided to design the symbol in straight lines and create a bracelet instead of a pendant. I also used 24k gold-plated Delica beads. The closing is also representing Yin & Yang - two straps in opposite directions and colors.
I have spent about 3 hours working on the 'body' of cuff and additional 2 hours of work on the closure... ;) I really like how it came out.

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I now realize that it has been more than a month since my last post.
I have been so busy and troubled lately. Unfortunately, I have some family 'issues' and health problems. I hardly find time to bead (I still haven't finished the embroidered cuff), but when I do find some free time to do my beadwork, I really enjoy it! It allows me to take a break from life, so to speak... I hope this period of time will pass quickly, as well as the health problems, so I can get back to my beading routine... I really miss the days (and nights) when I was able to finish a work almost every other day!... :)

New 3D Rectangle Pendant (Aiko vs. Delica)

I'm hooked on the three dimensional geometric shapes lately. This is my new design of 3D rectangle and beaded bail. I used Delica (red) and Aiko (all the other colors) beads.

Until not long ago I have used regular seed beads for this kind of works, but then I started to work with Japanese Miyuki Delica beads. The result is much better, because these beads are more uniformed and allow you to make clean lines. You can see the big difference of the two kinds used to make these 3D stars.

BUT then, thanks to a very dear friend, I discovered another kind of uniformed beads. She has sent me some of her favorite Japanese Toho's Aiko beads as a gift (and some more exciting things :)) to try them out.
What can I say? She is right - the Aikos are even better than the Delicas! They are much uniformed and have a larger hole, which makes it easy to pass the needle several times, without worrying about breaking the tiny beads.
Thank you so much my dear friend, I really enjoyed using the beads ! And I hope you like what I made with them! :)