Art Bead Scene March 2013 Challenge

I was looking back through my posts and realized that it has been a whole year since I've participated in the Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge. Where did the time go? Well, I didn't want another month to go by without submitting a piece of jewelry, so without further ado, I give you Forest Echoes:

"Forest Echoes"

The inspiration piece is a painting by Marc Franz called "Deer in the Forest", and you can read more about it on the Art Bead Scene blog:

I love the juxtaposition of the soft but vibrant colors with the geometric and orderly shapes that the artist incorporated into his work. When I pulled my enameled piece out of the kiln, I was so surprised to see similar colors and shapes that I just knew it had to be part of this month's challenge piece.

I made the focal from copper sheet and added a lovely little lampwork bead from Mary Cobble at Firebabies on Etsy. The handmade chain (which I love and you will possibly see again soon in my Bead Soup pieces) adds to the organic feel of the piece, while the ribbon echoes the softness of the colors and movement in the inspiration piece.

If you can, take a few minutes to check out the other entries on the ABS Flickr page!

Art Bead Scene March Challenge

It has been so long since I participated in The ABS monthly challenge! Every month I print out photos of the inspiration piece and have every intention of contributing, but the end of the month comes and I run out of time. Well - not this month!

The inspiration piece this month is Street Scene in Montmartre: Le Moulin a Poivre by Vincent Van Gogh:

This piece really caught my eye. It has a deceptively simple look about it, with its primary colors that pop out at first. But a closer look reveals layers upon layers of natural, organic hues that add tremendous depth to the painting.

This depth is what I wanted to convey in my piece, Silhouettes on Blue:

The gorgeous lentil beads from Shimmering Light Creations feature the beautiful blue of the inspiration piece, along with many other natural, organic colors incorporated into them.

I combined these beads with lovely amber-colored glass nuggets from Blue Seraphim and copper and vintage brass wire to add depth and texture to the bangle.

As always thanks to Art Bead Scene for hosting this Monthly Challenge.  Take a few minutes to check out the other entries at their Flickr group!

Art Bead Scene December Challenge

I was able to find some time at the beginning of the month this time for the ABS Monthly Challenge.  This month, our inspiration is the Chrysler Building:

What struck me about this challenge is the repetition of pattern and the prominence of texture that are so evident in the terraced crown of the building, so that's what I focused on in my design:

I made the beads from domed discs that I cut from etched copper sheet and then soldered together.  I attempted to echo the repetitive triangular pattern from the building's face in the herringbone wirework in the focal and the three accent beads.

A close-up view of the necklace also shows handmade beads made from copper gears that I also domed and soldered.  For some reason, I always get a steampunk-ish vibe whenever I think of the 1920's and 30's.  I envision an underground sub-culture of strange and wonderful machines and people meeting clandestinely to share their futuristic common interests.  I realize that I am off by a few decades, but the gears felt like they belonged in this design:

To echo the mirror-like appearance of the windows, I have hung little charms made from 4mm bicone beads in a hematite finish and in a clear/no-finish, as well as adding a tiny pop of color with charms made from enameled headpins.

As always, thanks go out to Art Bead Scene for generously hosting this challenge every month.  Check out the other beautiful entries for this month's challenge at the ABS Flicker site.

November ABS Challenge

The Way Of The Jealous Heart

The inspiration piece for this month's Art Bead Scene monthly design challenge is called "Madonna Pietra degli Scrovigni" by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844-1927).  The woman is a character from the Italian poet Dante. She was described as a heartless lady dressed in green. In her hand she holds a crystal bowl reflecting the figures of Love and Dante:

As I was coming up with a design for this challenge, my mind kept going back to the green and the heartless woman wearing the green, and the words "jealous heart" kept coming up.  

Jealous people are usually people who have had their heart broken so many times that it almost seems they are heartless.  They have tried to mend their own beaten and broken hearts by building up walls and defenses.

From this frame of mind came "The Way Of The Jealous Heart":

The focal is made from brass pieces riveted on top of one another with the definition for "heartless" decoupaged into the heart shape.  The  brass heart falling from the cutout frame has been pierced, beaten and sewn up, leaving a long chasm in the middle of it.

The focal dangles from a chain made from beautiful art beads from http://www.firebabies.etsy.com,  http://www.blueseraphim.etsy.com, http://mermaidglass.etsy.com and http://www.beadsofpassion.com, and the heart 'window' is from Rings and Things.

Check out the other beautiful entries for this month's challenge at the ABS Flicker site.

Grandma's Quilt: September Art Bead Scene and Love My Art Jewelry Monthly Challenges

"Grandma's Quilt"

Art Bead Scene Inspiration Artwork
"Housetop" by Lillie Mae Pettway

My grandmother is one of my most favorite people I was blessed to have in my life. She taught me so many things, and was an incredible influence on my character - on the woman I am today. I wrote about her in a blog post called "Teapots" (which you can read here) where I spoke about my childhood and the wonderful times I spent with her.

When I saw this month's challenges for Art Bead Scene and for Love My Art Jewelry, I knew that I would be combining them into one piece called "Grandma's Quilt". She was the person who taught me to sew and to embroider. I'm not very good at all at either, but she was patient and persistent, and I loved the stories she would tell me as we sat together at the sewing machine or with our projects on our laps.

Her mother used to knit, and made the quilt squares these pictures were taken on that my grandmother crocheted together into a quilt. I've had it for my whole life, and someday I will pass it on to my grandchildren and tell them about the remarkable woman who gave it to me.

Glass Mosaic Micro-Mosaic Focal:  Molly Alexander

Lampwork Beads: Blue Seraphim

Vintage buttons, beads, etc.

To see more of the Art Bead Scene entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about the inspiration artwork here.

To see more of the Love My Art Jewelry Art Spark entries, you can go to their Flickr group here and read more about this month's challenge here.

A Humble Thank You

Wow - I am really overwhelmed this morning.  I found out that I am the featured designer of the week at both Love My Art Jewelry and at Art Bead Scene. 

Thank you so much - I am humbled and honored!

Take some time to check out both of these fantastic blogs featuring communities of uber-talented artists and fantastic tips and tutorials for jewelry makers.

Art Bead Scene August Monthly Challenge

It has been a long time since I've participated in the ABS monthly challenges.  Life has slowed down a bit now with everyone back in school, and I've had time to create this week, which is a lovely change for me!

This month's challenge is based on this 1899 illustration for American Crescent Cycles by Frederick Winthrop Ramsdell (you can read more about this artist and the illustration here):

I wanted to play up the color palette from this month's challenge by pulling out the deep rich teal, gold, sienna and lichen.

These colors compliment the hand-etched and colored copper, and are reflected beautifully in the lampwork beads from Blue Seraphim.

I also added some industrial touches with forged and riveted links:

Take a few minutes to check out the other entries for this month's challenge at the ABS Flickr site.

Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge for May

This month, the inspiration for Art Bead Scene’s monthly challenge is Berthe Morisot’s “Hide and Seek”:

 

You can find more information on the artist and the painting at the Art Bead Scene  blog.

I love the color palette – the warm clay tones in particular - for this challenge, and decided to make my jewelry piece based on that:

I used a simple bangle design and covered the heavy gauge copper wire with coiled copper wire and handmade lampwork beads from Firebabies and Gardanne Beads.

I decided to spice up the design by wrapping long strands of copper wire with balled-up ends over the beads and coils, again bringing in the deep pinky-clay colors from the painting.

Take a couple of minutes to check out the other beautiful entries at Art Bead Scene’s Flickr group.

* If you are interested in purchasing this bangle, you can find it in my Etsy shop.

Art Bead Scene March Challenge

The inspiration picture and palette for this month's Art Bead Scene challenge is a riot of saturated color:

Nave Nave Moe (Sacred Spring, Sweet Dreams) by Paul Gaugin 1894, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

About the Art:

Gauguin painted this after he moved to Tahiti in 1891, seeking inspiration from the native "primitive" culture, which he regarded as more real and more sincere. It is characterized by clear outlines, flat forms, and vibrant colors, which reflect the influence of native art on the artist.

 

What really stood out for me in this picture is how the vibrant colors look so simple and primary at first glance, but are truly layers and layers of colors blended and shaded to create the beautiful depth evident in the painting.

 

I used the idea of layering colors when I created the focal in my necklace, called "Simple Blessings":

 

 

The butterfly is made from etched and formed copper on which I layered about six different colors to create a beautiful, natural patina.  I kept the script from the Irish Blessing light to keep the contrast with the dark greens, blues and browns.

 

The chain is made from links of copper wire with a drawn head on one end and a loop on the other to connect them together.  I wanted to keep the design simple yet still highlight the vibrant colors from the picture, so I used one beautiful ruby lampwork bead from Mary Cobble at Firebabies with two Czech pressed glass green beads on either side of it.

 
Take a few minutes to check out the other beautiful entries at Art Bead Scene's Flickr group.
 
If you are interested in purchasing this piece, it is currently for sale in my etsy shop.

February Art Bead Scene Challenge

I love this month's Art Bead Scene challenge picture, Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, by John Singer Sargent:

The delicate colors and sweet subject matter are wonderful, but what really caught my eye in this painting is the contrast between light and dark, and how the artist used this to tell his story.

With this in mind, I created my challenge piece, "Light of the Heart":

I combined a beautiful metallic heart focal from Earthenwood Studios with gorgeous lampwork beads from White River Jewelry and Blue Seraphim, my own enameled beads and findings, and yellow jade rounds.

I used beautiful vintage gold seam tape paired with a matte black toggle to finish off the piece.

You can see this and other challenge pieces at the Art Bead Scene flickr group.

Art Bead Scene January 2011 Challenge

Happy 2011!  Every month, Art Bead Scene issues a jewelry challenge and provides beautiful inspiration pieces to give us a place to start with our design.  This month's beautiful challenge art piece is:

"Brown River" by Wayne Thiebaud

I was struck first by the fantastic color palette, and then by the gentle movement of the river through the geometric shapes of the colorful fields.  Taking this inspiration, here is the piece I came up with:

These beautiful beads are from Gaea of Gaea Beads, and I paired them with (surprise!) copper wire to bring out the earthiness of the beads.  I love the organic shapes that these beads have, coupled by the fun geometric dots.

 

The focal was inspired by another one of Kerry Bogert's "Totally Twisted" designs, and I love the whimsical quality of the trapeze coupled with the polka dots on the heart.

For more inspiration, hop on over to the Art Bead Scene blog!

December Art Bead Scene Challenge

This month, Art Bead Scene gave us two paintings to use as inspiration for our challenge piece, both by John Anster Fitzgerald:

 

 

"The Storm"

 

"The Captive Robin"

 

What captured my eye in both of these pictures is the use of color to bring the subjects to life, and that's what I tried to do in my piece.

 

The piece I submitted is one I made a few months ago, but fit this challenge perfectly:

"Robin Redbreast"

 

The focal is made from an etched and soldered bezel with a digital collage topped with antique watch parts and filled in with ICE Resin.  The chain is made from Picasso finish glass lentil beads from Artbeads.com, and copper beads from Rings & Things.

 

As the cutoff is December 31st, it isn't too late for you to enter.  Check out the Art Bead Scene blog for more information and get creating!

Fun Monday Surprise - Thanks Art Bead Scene!

A big "thank you" goes out to Art Bead Scene and to Lorelei Eurto for featuring me as their Designer of the Week for my November entry into their monthly challenge.  What a fun way to start off my crazy week!

Here's what Lorelei had to say about this piece:

"As soon as I saw Molly's necklace, I knew it was my favorite interpretation of Klimt's painting, Tree of Life.

The beautiful etched pendant, with it's curly tendrils of branches mimics the tree in the painting, and of course, I love anything with wood beads. I love the asymmetrical nature of this piece. I think the interesting metal bail that Molly made for her pendant is my favorite part about the piece.  A little unexpected tidbit that one might not notice right away!"

Thank you so much!

(Incidentally, the bail is made from copper hanger tape from my local hardware store that I shaped to fit my piece.  Then hand-colored it to match the etched pendant, added etched copper washers, and riveted it all together to finish off the focal.)

It isn't too late for you to enter November's monthly challenge - go to this page for more information and to see the other entries from some fabulously talented artists!

Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge: September

It's taken me a while, but I've finally finished my September Art Bead Scene Blog Monthly Challenge piece.  Here is the inspiration for this month:

Persia by George Barbier (1882 - 1932)

 

I was struck by the elegant curves of the individual elements in the inspiration picture: the feather in her hair, the leaves on the trees, the branches, her hands. I wanted to try to bring this graceful feeling into my piece while still allowing my style to show through.

 

Here's how I interpreted the elements from the inspiration picture:

 

I etched a piece of copper with a scroll pattern and soldered a bezel to it. I then used Missficklemedia's patinas to color the copper as well as the branch links from the chain in gold and deep red shades. I filled the bezel with another branch charm and ICE resin, and riveted sweet flower connectors to the front of the focal to achieve the look I was going for.

Take some time to check out the Art Bead Scene blog for their Featured Designer of the Week, who will be chosen by the editors of the blog. The one featured this week is Elisabeth Auld, and her piece is just beautiful!

Thanks Art Bead Scene!

Each week, the editors of the Art Bead Scene blog pick one of the design entries from the current monthly challenge and feature that designer on their blog.  So what a wonderful surprise it was to find out that I was chosen as Art Bead Scene's Designer of the Week for my August design!

 

If you haven't been out to their blog, it is the go-to site for all the up-to-date jewelry designs and trends.  In their own words:

"Art Bead Scene is an interactive blog with the goal of uniting bead artists of all materials and the jewelry designers who use art beads in their work.  The blog has published daily since March 2007!

To us, art beads are incredible, tiny works of art made by hand from the finest materials by some of the best artists in this country and around the world. We think art beads are the heart of excellent jewelry design, and we celebrate the artists and products that agree with us."

Take some time and check out their articles, tutorials, artist interviews, product reviews and SO much more!

Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge: August

Well, I finally took the plunge and am participating in my very first Art Bead Scene Blog Monthly Challenge.  Here is the inspiration piece:

"Sunrise" by John “Jack” Savitsky (1910–1991)

I absolutely love folk art, and the color combinations in this painting are some of my favorites!  I am drawn in by the texture, colors and repetition that the artist worked into the image.  For more information on this painting and on the challenge, you can visit the Art Bead Scene Blog.

My interpretation of the piece is fairly literal:

I took the opportunity to work on my torch-fired enameling skills, and am pleased with the results.  This focal is my third attempt, as I wanted to get the colors just right.  In the painting, they range from delicate to bold, and I wanted to maintain the balance of the two like the original artist did.

I also wanted to make sure that the sun was the main feature of the piece, and that the pendant, as a whole, included the texture that almost tactile in the painting.

For the accents, I dangled small charms from the bottom of the pendant to represent the repetitive quality of the houses in the painting.  In addition, I wanted to add texture to the chain while still keeping it simple, so I added only three of my handmade enamel beads to it.

Take some time to check out the Art Bead Scene blog for their Featured Designer of the Week, who will be chosen by the editors of the blog. The one featured this week is EB Bead and Metal Works, and their piece is just amazing!