Art Bead Scene

December Bead and Jewelry Challenge

Paris

Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, 1951

This month's painting inspiration was really that, an inspiration! It all started with Terri from Terri's Blooming Ideas asking me to make her some beads for her project. That was fun! She chose a light adobe color but I made a light, medium, and dark version. She picked her faves and also took  a copper heart for the clasp! I say great job Terri!

http://terrisbloomingideas.blogspot.com/2015/12/abs-december-challenge.html

After making her beads I played with the clay and made these

Then it was time for metal!This bracelet bar is pretty simple but I really like it as a reflection of the painting. The second one looks like a caterpillar but the colors are my favorite.

This one I worked on a really long time and it got to a point that I just had to stop. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm making something better or worse. At any rate I really like the structural quality of this focal and the side woven copper piece is another favorite of mine. I used embossing enamels copper rivets and a polymer clay bead.

Then I went all girly! I found the buttons at Jo Ann Fabrics and had to get it because, well, it's a leaf! The copper bird bead came from a craft store too, I cant remember which one and I can't find anymore. I felt that the cream squares and the colors reflected the painting. Lampwork beads by Beth Singleton.

Back to the bracelet bars. This one could also be used vertically for a focal  with the chain or stringing going through the loop part of the bar. 

This bracelet I love! The structure and abstractness. It's kind of edgy and not typical or expected. the copper is shaped and colored with embossing enamels and pigments. The stones are Angelite and there are also Greek beads.

Last but not least I made these small textured and pigmented spacer beads! A little abstract shape and a pop of color!

Art Bead Scene November Challenge

Autumn flowers

by Marguerite Zorach

1940

Colored Silkscreen, 16.5" x 12.5"

About the Art

The colors bright and fresh, on thick smooth cream wove paper with narrow margins as issued. Some minor tape residue and roughness to margin edges outside of image, as is common with this series. While there has been some speculation as to the degree of involvement on the part of the well known artists who's silkscreens were published by this New York firm, one of the Zorach children distinctly remembered their mother working intently on the color screens for this print. This appears to be the artist's only color silkscreen print.

About the Artist

Marguerite Thompson Zorach was born in Santa Rosa, California, in 1887. Raised and educated in her home state, Zorach was one of the first women to matriculate at Stanford University in 1908. However, having shown a great aptitude for painting, Zorach was allowed leave Stanford to join an aunt in Paris later that year in order to pursue art. Zorach spent four years studying at La Palette, a progressive school in the Latin Quarter where she met William Zorach whom she would marry in 1912. In Paris, Zorach was immersed in the ideas espoused by the European avant garde and by artists such as Henri Matisse, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck, among others. During this time she was directly influenced by French Fauvism in particular and began to emphasize the use of color and line over formal representation in her own work. Indeed, as Valerie Ann Leeds has stated, this “keen sense of color and design,” which Zorach began to develop during her Paris years, remained one of her “particular strengths as an artist” throughout her long career. After returning to the United States in 1912, Zorach marked the beginning of her professional career as an artist by exhibiting work at the Armory Show in 1913 and, a few years later, at the prestigious Forum Exhibition of Modern American Painters. Zorach continued to evolve and expand her language of modern American art unceasingly until her death in 1968.

Well I have to say I love this challenge and have so many ideas that I can't seem to stop! 

My first idea was to use translucent clay in colored layers filling the space in the leaf shape. I really liked this and intend to do more with transparent liquid clay.

I made the links by cutting, shaping, and pressing copper and then colored using Vintaj patinas. 

I shaped the copper wire to reflect the black stem that trails in front of the vase.

Bronze freshwater pearls and Czech beads.

I am still working on the photography issues but I will get there!

 

These are about 1 1/4" , shaped copper and embossing enamel.

I love this bracelet! I made the clasp and leaf charms. In the painting there is a leaf that looks like a hart folded in half so that's why I used the heart shape. I used Vintaj patinas for the coloring.  Like the era of the painting I tried to express the painting with color. I used African recycled glass beads, tauga nut rondells, Gaea ceramic bead, all from Lima Beads. The lampwork beads were made for me by  TANERES - Sarenas Beadery

STEEL Grey RAKU Disks Handmade Lampwork Glass Bead -

Love her work!  The other beads are Czech aand jasper I think.

Earrings Everyday November Challenge

All about the forest floor! Well I do have a pod shape that I have been playing with but I will be showing that later. 

When I was in Florida I was searching for Sea Beans. One seed pod I found, which I don't know the name of, had a papery shell that I peeled off but the seed was very small.

The shapes I created by fold forming copper is representative if those papery shells. I also used  

XAZ Raku Beads from Lima Beads as the seed.

I happen to like these very much!

Thank You Jody!

Last night I was able to have a jewelry show for my hostess Jody. She loves jewelry and that makes me very happy!

Jody works as a teacher in the Davison schools and as you can see the way that I display my jewelry works great in the class room.

Isn't she so cute!!!

This young man, Jack, was my star shopper! He only likes the best and was so sweet to buy a bracelet for his teacher Jody! He is here with his friend Zoey!

Here is how I carry my boards. My husband made these boxes for me.

Three boards in a box.

A nice handle to help with carrying. I pull my boards out which are all ready ready and I'm ready to sell. Usually they rest on a table easel or a small easel. 

Thank you to all who attended!

Call It The Use What You Got Theme.

Every time I think I have my gardening wrapped up I seem to find one more thing to do. I needed mulch for my front garden and not wanting to purchase it I was on the hunt for some free unwanted leaves or pine needles. I was helping my friend plant some flowers in her yard and I looked over and realized she had a row of pine trees! Hooray!!! It only took me 10 years. So she gratefully allowed me to rake up leaves and needles to finish this garden.

As I was working I thought to myself that I don't have an ultra glamorous landscaping but I have things that have either been found, salvaged, gifted, from someone Else's junk pile, or found for a steal like this bird cage looking thing. I don't know what it is exactly,but it holds plants upright when they grow through them. Eventually it will rust and crackle.

I have always loved insulators. My Dad was in excavating and used to bring them home all of the time. Unfortunately all of those are gone but I have accumulated some through the years. The ceramic ones are beautiful too.

Seems there is an old chair at a yard sale or on the side of the road, like this one. I use it to help shade a just a little bit too sunny spot for my wild ginger. Old pottery that will become a spot for a plant or toads. I have a few tipped over old ceramic vases for toads to find a happy home with all of the bugs they need.

I love these old plant stands. I should have gotten a better picture because it is cracked and chipped old paint. I love it. Again, another stand for plant support.

 Pumpkin decoration , old glass cracked ash tray, brass fire hose end, plow-ish thing. I use it to  push a plant back from overflowing into a walkway. 

I love this little corner. I don't even know how long I've had this bicycle chain but I have drug it with me where ever I landed. This corner has the mini coral bells and little bottle stoppers and ceramic head that came off it's lid. Parts of an old chair that finally came apart, but WAIT! You can still use the parts, in this instance to keep Tucker out of my garden.

New old chair holding old things, tools, or something I just like to look at like this old sprinkler and a ceramic alligator that I made when my kids were little in a class. What ever makes me smile! 

I'm all about the red!

I aaaaabsolutely love red, consequently I plant a lot of things that turn red or varieties of red, in my gardens.

Here are some.

This is a shrub called bridals veil. I am not sure of the botanical name but in the spring it has pretty clusters of white pom- pomish flowers. 

It takes very little effort to grow. I did it from a small sprig that had a couple of roots on it.

This is a small wigelea I think it is called Wine and Roses. It is more purple but I wanted to show it against the Creeping Jenny ground cover.

I just bought this coral bell and of course I don't remember the name I just saw the color and went for it. The leaves are large and I can't wait to see how this grows and flowers.

If you can see it there is a small coral bell in the right corner. I love it because it is a mini.

Red Maple.

Seedum.

Viburnum.

Nasturtiums keep going till hard frost.

Some awesome staples for the garden, tall sedum on the left, and another plant that I got from a friend but don't know the name of. I has these feather duster flowers. I'll post about it again next year when it blooms and get the name.

Another gifted plant. I love how the yellow is blushed with pink. Ok not red but still beautiful.

Ahhh, can't wait for next spring all ready! Bulbs went in and I was so happy to find the blue alliums. I used to have these years ago but lost them to too much moving. I also finally got my red poppies back and I adore them!

 Tucker says, "See you next spring!"