Art Bead Scene With a Side of Jasper

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Art Bead Scene, Art Journey #3, Gaea, Gee's Bend quilts, jasper beads

My first post of makes as a regular contributor to the Art Bead Scene is up! It was really fun making pieces inspired by Gee’s Bend quilts, which I love. Check it out here.

I also wanted to show a jasper necklace I made. I’m not a huge jasper gal (though I should explain to myself why I still have a box full of jasper beads!) but I loved this pendant on sight. I also really liked these jasper round. I don’t know the type of jasper for either, but I loved how they look together.

I added some round ceramic beads in matching colors by Gaea and a few larger metallic glass pearls. I love the warm color combination.

I have today off and plan to de-stress and thoroughly enjoy my long weekend. I hope something positive is going on for you too.

Art Bead Scene Blog Contributor

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Miss Fickle Media, Shannon German

ABS November 2016 – Necklace with coin pendant by Andrew Thornton and clasp by Shannon German, inspired by Lee Oscar Lawrie’s metalwork owl above the door to a room in the Library of Congress.

I’m excited to announce that I’m now a regular contributor to the Art Bead Scene blog.  My introductory post is today! Click here to visit.

I look at a few historical pieces I’ve done for ABS challenges over the years. It’s fun to look back as well as to the future. My regular posts will be the second Friday after a new Journey is posted.

I hope you’ll visit me there.

Art Journey #5 – Joseph Cornell

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Art Journey #5, Helen Chalmers, Joseph Cornell, Miss Fickle Media, Nikki Thornburg

I am very excited by the art inspiration for Art Journey #5 with Art Bead Scene and artist Joseph Cornell. Cornell was an assemblage artist, and the works are so intriguing. There is so much interest in each piece, but they don’t seem busy. Some could even be described as spare, though they are absolutely overflowing with inspiration.

When I saw Hotel de la Duchesse-Anne, the canceled stamps in the corner made me think of an assemblage pendant I have by Andrew Thornton that has a canceled stamp in the center.

I was looking for something in my Miss Fickle Media stash when I came across a vintage seed bead and tiny seed pearl strand she made with her handmade brass clasp. I loved the idea of it with the pendant. I wanted more heft, so I made a similar 30″ seed bead strand with a couple of larger vintage lucite beads in the same army green as in the pendant. Further up the strand, I put some large seed beads to draw the eye up. I wanted the strands to hang together, so I used two large hole lampwork beads to string them through above the pendant, the bottom by Nikki Thornburg and the top by Helen Chalmers. That bead has red in it, a nod to the bright spheres in two of the inspiration pieces.

I added a third, shorter strand of pearls. In the inspiration piece Untitled (Medici Princess), the princess is wearing a longer necklace with a medallion pendant with a picture of her father and a shorter strand of pearls. I wanted to get that multi-necklace look in my single piece.

When I was taking pictures, I realized I wouldn’t be able to show the dual necklace look because the part with the pendant is 30″ and the pearls are about 18″, but I hope this photo gives you a sense of it. I added a little keyhole charm from Vintaj that looks like an old found object to add to the assemblage feel.

2019 Art Journey One with Art Bead Scene

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Art Journey One, Heather Powers, Miss Fickle Media

Art Bead Scene has a new format. They offer multiple inspiration pieces on a theme (topic, artist, etc.) and provide artists more time to create a piece using an art bead. They are calling these art journeys, and there will be nine per year. The first uses inspiration by Heather Powers. There are two drawings that are so fabulous. When I saw the first one, I thought “what wonderful inspiration!”

Then a second inspiration piece was added, and I liked it even more! (You can buy Heather’s art prints, including these two in her shop.) 

I really love both of the inspiration pieces and the colors, but I admit I struggled with this challenge. I have plenty of things in my stash that would work, but I’ve found that nature based inspiration is not easy for me. That is something I can work on.

I feel like Heather’s drawings show natural elements as jewels, so I wanted to make something sort of “fancy.” I ended up choosing this polymer and resin butterfly focal by Andrew Thornton. 

I remember Andrew saying it was a faux version of a technique, but I can’t remember the name. He made it for a magazine. You can see how the design in the wings is translucent. It was already assembled with the dangles (I love how the balled headpins make the pearls look like little legs.) I added some small gemstones to the center holes for additional color.

I wanted to bring in a metallic to highlight the edging around the wing designs. I’ve had these fancy Czech glass ice pearls in gold and cranberry waiting for the right project. I also used vintage metal spacers. To bring in a lighter color, I used irregular stone beads because they reference the color of the center moth in the first picture. I finished off the back with hessonite garnets and a clasp by Miss Fickle Media.

Have you joined the Art Bead Scene’s new Art Journey yet? The deadline for this first one is February 9th. To see what others have made, visit the blog.

Art Bead Scene May 2018

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Art Bead Scene, Joan Miller, Miss Fickle Media, Sondra's Estate Beads Destash Depot

The Art Bead Scene inspiration piece this month is Primavera by Sandro Botticelli. 

Primavera means spring, and this is a lovely representation. I appreciated that the blog post this month had a little video with some information about the piece. I’m really a “what it looks like” kind of gal rather than researching meaning, but it was quite interesting and answered a couple of questions. It is such a peaceful scene, but then there is that blue-grey figure that seems kind of menacing. I found that is Zephyr, god of wind. 

These are the three graces. I love the look and feel of their gossamer gowns. They immediately reminded me of some amazing vintage Japanese glass twist beads I recently got from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash Depot. They are so lovely with a luminous quality and light AB-type coloring that shines from the white glass. These, in turn, reminded me of a Joan Miller bead with a wavy design and luminous quality of its own in the blue-grey of Zephyr. I remember describing it to my mother after I got it as the most beautiful bead I’d ever seen. Now I’ll admit I’ve said that more than once in my life, but still. I was excited to see the two beads together. 

When I saw them together, I knew they were a winning combination. My first thought was to introduce some version of an orange color, the pop color in the painting, into the design. But I decided it would be so much more elegant to keep to a quieter color scheme. I had semi-matte opaline rounds in mind as they go very well with the glass twists. In looking at my Czech glass, I chose some silvery  “mercury glass” rondelles, light blue faceted bicones and light green druks – the colors of the waves on the Joan Miller bead. I finished the piece off with a sterling clasp by Miss Fickle Media.

I hoard art beads pretty hard, including a nice stash of Joan Miller, and it’s always gratifying when I find what I think is the perfect project for one. I really love how this turned out and how it looks like the three graces dancing in a spring wind.

 

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Art Bead Scene Challenge – November 2017

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene

The inspiration for this month’s Art Bead Scene challenge is a 1906 oil painting –Crozant, the Bouchardon Mill by Armand Guillaumin.

When I look at inspiration, I often first look at colors. In this painting, the color that presents itself to me first is purple. But the other colors and subject matter reminded me of a polymer clay autumn scene bead by Andrew Thornton. Looking at the inspiration color palette, Andrew’s bead has it (almost) all – brown branches, green leaves, a gorgeous blue background that could be the sheen of the sky at dusk or a body of water turning colder. There is also a pop of bright red, just like in the painting. Perfect.

I chose some dark green manik-manik glass beads that are a real favorite and Czech glass the same blue as in the art bead. The polymer has a subtle sparkle as do the Czech glass facets. I’ve also used some small red white heart beads as spacers to brighten up the look and bring in more pops of red.

There is a slight asymmetrical element to the spacing of the beads, and the necklace is meant to hang asymmetrically as well with the larger art bead a bit up on the side. Also, remember that purple was the color that stood out to me? I didn’t feel that it fit in with my design with beads, but I chose purple waxed linen as the stringing material. Although the color doesn’t show, I know it’s there. I do that often to make a design feel more complete to me.

As soon as I saw it, I knew Andrew Thornton‘s autumn bead was meant for something special. I haven’t made anything for the Art Bead Scene for several months; I’m glad I was so inspired this month.

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ABS July 2017

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Art Bead Scene, Erin Prais-Hintz, Green Girl Studios, Pam Wynn

I haven’t participated in an Art Bead Scene Challenge for quite a while – I think since last year – and I miss it.  Limited creative time and energy get in the way. This month’s challenge art is Tiger in a Tropical Storm by Henri Rousseau.

When I saw the challenge art this month, I had an idea for beads right away, but hadn’t gotten around to doing anything about it. I might not have except for seeing this post by Erin Prais-Hintz about her beads inspired by the art this month. Seeing her beautiful work and the gorgeous color palette again inspired me to get to work!

I had in mind a pendant from Green Girl Studios with a tiger on it and some black and orange striped African glass. I did end up using those, but I was surprised how many other beads I was choosing from without even looking very hard.

I love this polymer piece by Pam Wynn with what appears to be a tiger’s tail amongst the greenery and stormy winds. How perfect is that? I also did use some of those African glass beads, a long African bauxite bead and simple cut stitchtite nuggets.

I was happy to be able to bring in a little more of the bright orange with a plastic donut and some of the darker green with waxed linen. I feel like I’ve captured a little bit of the chaos in the painting with the mixed materials. Visit the Art Bead Scene Pinterest jewelry page and bead page to see more interpretations of this month’s challenge.

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Art Bead Scene Challenge – February

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Art Bead Scene, Artisan Clay, Erin Prais-Hintz, Kristie Ann Roeder, Tesori Trovati

The monthly Art Bead Scene Challenge offers a piece of art for participants to use as inspiration for making an art bead or something that contains an art bead.  The inspiration piece this month is the oil painting The Two Crowns by Sir Frank Dicksee.

The colors in this piece are so rich, and that’s what inspired my piece. I was first drawn to the white of the horse, and I thought I had a white clay and glass pendant by Kristie Ann Roeder of Artisan Clay. When I went to look, it was white and teal, which worked as well!

I also used a rosebud charm by Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati, a gold flower connector, moonstone rondelles and some teal and rose colored Czech glass.  I kept trying to think of a design I liked using gold sari silk because the painting definitely brought that to mind. But they just didn’t work for me, so I used a little piece of it as a photo prop.

I think this necklace looks appropriately opulent (more so in person with the moonstone flash.)  I’m pleased with this necklace, and I love the Art Bead Scene challenges for encouraging me to use and combine materials I otherwise might not.

 

12 Designs of Winter Vacation

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Andrew Thornton, Art Bead Scene, Toni McCarthy

Ok, I’m unlikely to actually make 12 designs, but even posting multiple designs in a week is unusual for me.  During vacation, I have more design time and hope to make and share several pieces.  That reminded me of the Art Bead Scene blog’s 12 Days of Christmas posts, which are proving very fun.  I recently came across jewelry artist Toni McCarthy and absolutely fell in love with her chunky, eclectic style.  I love large beads but often don’t know how to use them. I saw this necklace by McCarthy and had an idea of how to use some with a strand of carnelian nuggets I recently acquired. The bright colors also appealed to me.

My original design, captured here in a quick picture so I could recreate it when I got to the construction stage, was quite heavy. I changed it, even though I thought it perfect, because I know from experience I won’t wear super heavy necklaces.  Here are some of the beads I had to let go.

I desperately tried to include at least one of those two yellow glass beads, but they were just so heavy.  I loved the two dotty discs by Andrew Thornton, and they weren’t heavy, but I had to remove as much as possible to get the colors and weight I needed, and I’d just as soon use those in a way that will show their texture better.

I love the bright blue seed beads between the carnelian as well as the white Mali wedding bead, although neither shows well in this picture.  The melon cut red dyed coral bead almost got cut, but I loved the bright red and the texture helped replace that cute little green plaid bicone in the previous photo.  I replaced my beloved yellow glass with a yellow clay bead to preserve the color without the weight.  I added a small blue paper bead for more texture; it was gifted to me, which makes it extra special.  This large bead design also allowed me to use one of the large, rustic clasps I am also drawn to.

I’ve sketched designs for about half a dozen other necklaces in recent days. I hope to post a couple more of those on this blog before I have to go back to work.

Art Bead Scene Challenge – December 2016

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America Windows, Art Bead Scene, Eden Art Glass, Fanciful Devices, Marc Chagall, Marian Rios, Staci Louise Smith

The Art Bead Scene Blog shares a piece of art for inspiration every month.  The challenge is for participants to make something based on that art that uses an art bead.

This month’s inspiration is America Windows, stained glass panels by Marc Chagall. The panels depict various scenes in vibrant colors against a bright blue background.  What caught my attention in an art bead way is that the pieced nature of this worked looked to me like a crackle treatment.  I immediately though of a couple of tiny crackle connectors I have by Marina Rios of Fanciful Devices.

In considering my design, I originally planned to use the two connectors together.  However, as I got started I decided to just use one to connect a Staci Louise Smith crackle pendant to the rest of the necklace.  I used a couple of different blue Czech glass beads and finished it with some chain.  I like how the chain ties into the metal of the connector and the brown in the pendant.  I also used a blue ball headpin from Eden Art Glass for a nice little pop of blue at the bottom of the pendant.

In the sixth panel of the work, there is “a dynamic swirling form of colors and shapes” that is echoed in the swirl of the pendant.  I’m pleased with all the tiny details that come together in this necklace to make it a very pretty piece.

Please visit the Art Bead Scene Pinterest page to see what other participants make based on this month’s inspiration.