Friday, February 20, 2015


This month's challenge was inspired by, not only flowers  but flowers thought of in a new way! I loved it!

Malaysian artist and photographer Lim Zhi Wei (a.k.a Limzy) is the creator of these whimsical flower girls. She has a passion for turning every day objects into things of delicate beauty. For 2015, Limzy created a very limited run of a calendar of her Flowergirls. How marvelous would it be to gaze on those dreamy beauties every day of the year! The beauty of this art is that it is ephemeral. It will not last. Yet Limzy has captured the essence of the bloom in such a spectacularly unique way and preserved it in her prints. You can follow Lim Zhi Wei onInstagram and Facebook or on her blog, Love, Limzy.










Aren't these flower girls just adorable!

My inspiration came from the Rembrandt Tulip which I have in my garden. They change every year. I look forward to my tulips because the let me know that Michigan is coming back to life, and they do it with beautiful zeal!

I used polymer clay for my beads and Jade Swarovski crystal pearls>






 My necklace was chosen for the perfect pairings of this months challenge! They choose more than one but I am thrilled because I can be so hard on myself and my artistry.
Miss Katherine tells how she hand formed this bloom from copper, the leaves, too. I am smitten with the way she manipulated the metal into something so soft and lyrical. She also shares how she did a little research on the time period that this painting was created, the early 1900s. She intended to capture the soft and feminine look that was popular in the day in her necklace. I say that she succeeded! Featured Designer :: Katherine Thompson

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2015/02/perfect-pairings-katherine-thompson.html

Friday, February 6, 2015

Here are some more things that I made to meet this month's challenge


This bead is made from copper that has been hand cut and shaped, a pattern pressed into it and pigmented, torch patinaed. It can be used as a pendant. a link or clasp. I quickly put the copper bail on to show use.


This necklace was cut from a tin, shaped and riveted. I used a silk string from Lima Beads and I finally dug into a stash of vintage buttons.



 February Challenge




I formed and shaped the pendant center from copper and pinned it to a brass plate that I pressed a pattern into. The leaf links I formed and patina was added.
the ribbon is dyed and edge stitched silk. I wanted to keep the feminity of the era of the painting in my piece.


"News of Spring and Other Nature Studies"
By Edward Julius Detmold
Watercolor
Amapolis 1913
Wow what a gorgeous painting and I love watercolor. Watercolor paintings have such a lightness to them but look at the expressive detail. I also love poppies and have been working on getting them back into my gardens for several years. The red ones that bloom in May I adore! I don't have a picture of the one huge coral poppy that I do have so this year I will add the photos of the poppies that I have incorporated into my gardens.
To keep in line with the basic theme of my blog I am adding the history of the era of the Paintings that I am bringing to you.

The Victorian Era

Fashions of the Titanic era
by Catherine Bishop

1912 evening dressesAN OVERVIEW OF FASHIONS 1910-1912 
1912 evening dresses

The period of 1910-1912, called the Titanic Era or Pre-World War I Era, saw the end of the Edwardian Era. By 1910 the silhouette of ladies dresses had simplified and became columnar, with a new, long, corset design which gave the body an upright posture.

1912 dressesEvening dresses were usually made of fine silks, with open necklines and short sleeves, which could be cut in one with the body of the dress. Fabrics were silk satin, brocade, lace, chiffon and embroidered silks. Many fabrics could be layered to create a rich effect without a lot of bulk.  The bodicelining was structured, closely fitted to the figure and boned.

Day dress usually had long sleeves, fairly fitted to the arm. For day wear one-piece dresses in silk or cotton (lingerie dresses with lots of lace trim), blouses and skirts, jackets with matching jumpers or skirts were all popular.
1913 ~ 1914 Fashion Catalog

ART NOUVEAU (all the rage: 1895-1915)
The graceful Art Nouveau period started with designers in France and those in America following suit. The most important characteristic of this kind of jewelry was its free-flowing nature. The whimsical lines found in Art Nouveau jewelry suggest the movement, passion, and youthful vigor in the new ideas of the turn of the century. At the heart of the Art Nouveau movement were nature motifs and fantastical elements such as fairies and wood creatures.

EXHIBIT A: Pieces in the style of Art Nouveau, ranging from $8 to $14
EDWARDIAN (all the rage: 1890-1920)
After the death of the UK’s Queen Victoria, the Edwardian era was ushered in when her son Edward took the throne. This was a lavish period with pearls and diamonds paired with emeralds, rubies and other gemstone accents. This era was proven to be a highly decorative and elaborate period, full of regal and bold components.







Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Yay!!! I won!!!

Terri's Blooming Ideas 

Operation Tackle That Bead Stash Challenge
Inspired by a song.
I did guess wrong. I guessed Elton John's, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight", cause butterflies are free to fly. The thing I didn't look close enough at was the toggle. I thought it was a belt but it is a dog collar with a bone toggle bar. The song was by Heart, "Dog and Butterfly"
That girl is so clever!

This was the fabulous bracelet that she made but what was wonderful was that she made it a double challenge and offered a surprise gift for either the first person who guessed the right song or if no one guessed names were pulled from a hat! Well yay for me I won and here are my delicious goodies!

I think of being in Florida when I look at these beads and I am hoping to wear them when I get there. I'm coming Mom!




Sunday, February 1, 2015

January 2015

This month's Art Bead Scene challenge came from a very interesting artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser


Imagine Tomorrows World orange version
Stell' Dir die Welt von morgen vor
By Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Hundertwasser, a visionary and responsible creator, mobilizes the power of his art in order to spread his message for a life in harmony with nature and the individual creativity.

He is a symbolic figure for a non-conformist way of life, a forerunner of environmental protection and an ambassador for a self-determined alternative existence.

I personally was excited to be inspired by this artist.
I had saved this stamp that was on a package I received because I thought it was so cool! The background is metal with a leather frame for the stamp. I applied resin to seal. The dangles are Czech beads.


 My second bracelet is a copper piece that I colored with the melting pot embossing. I scratched into it to reflect the upper background of the painting. Behind the top piece is an up-cycled tin. The accent beads came from a glass bead making class that I took with Terri G. and my daughter Simone. Simone didn't feel well and layed down and slept about 2/3 rds of the class. About the moment I thought she really wasn't going do do anything she stood up, went to the work bench and cranked out a bunch of small beads. I saved them and I think they went perfectly with this challenge.


These cats I made because I used to have an orange striped cat when I was younger. He was a big tomcat, I said his name was Oscar but it might have been Felix (The Odd Couple) Any how the painting kept making me think of an orange striped cat. I used polymer clay and some thingy I found at the hardware store. I had made another bead but it didn't photograph very well and I all ready took it apart...




                   We're All Ears :: January Reveal

Theme Marsala Pantone Color of the Year




I love this color! I made earrings with shaped copper. I used triangle seed beads for the top. I felt they represented the Strawberry Ice Pantone Color. I up-cycled the ball chain for the dangles.
Here is the link for the earring challenge to see all of the fantastic jewelry submitted

Here is the link to the jewelry and bead recap. You can see all of the work done by all of the wonderful artists that contributed.