CHALLENGES














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!




September Art Bead Scene Challenge
My polymer clay beads 1 1/2" long tube beads. Inspired by September Challenge
 painting.

View of the Pond at Charleston, East Sussex

by Vanessa Bell

c.1919



Polymer clay leaf, 2" long.




I really liked the purple furry coat it reminded me of Prince! I thought the look was funky and elegant.
I used Czech rounds, links from somewhere and Swarovski drops.

I have to say not my favorite fashion period but, alas, Orlando Bloom saves the day!
I was drawn to the necklace from Nepal because of the shell like shape to it. I felt it could lend itself to this challenge. I was drawn to the Hungarian pieces because of the flowers and animals which reflect the statement given above. I wanted to incorporate the two for this challenge.
For the focal bead I had added more things to it but it was a bit garbled so I took them off and just let the colors, shapes and textures speak for themselves. 
I used brass sheet metal and embossing enamels and pigments. The wire is a bronze wrapping wire and was twisted. 

The bracelet I struggled with I had it all together bet the leaf is so slender that it looked good but wasn't as balanced as I felt it should be. I used Sari Silk from Lima Beads http://www.limabeads.com/Multi_Color-100-Silk-Sari-Ribbon-P21834
The round swirl discs are from Taneres on Etsy
The clasp is antique or vintage I repurposed it with a Grace Bead I think it is a Grace ://gracebeads.com/.
I thought that I saw an insect in the painting so I made it a dragonfly.
The leaf is sheet metal shaped and enameled with embossing enamels and pigments.












July

Art Bead Scene Challenge

Still Life with Seashells by dutch painter Balthasar van der Ast
1640



 Van Der Ast became one of the most distinguished still life painters in the Netherlands. His unique subject matter, such as seashells and fruit, also made him notable among his peers. He is considered to be one of the founders of still life painting in the Netherlands.

I am very excited about this painting! It is so beautiful and I know most people remember collecting shells whenever they were on vacation.
I especially like the shell right above the black swatch.  It is very unique to me. 
Well anyway, I love working with metal and the embossing enamels so here is my first bead.


I can see myself progressing as an artist and I really like this pendant.

Second piece. Polymer clay focal created by Katherine T ~ myself.  Well I couldn't get that black and white or pearly white shell out of my mind and it almost drove me out of my mind. I really had to work on it  and it didn't come together until I was gifted the metal beads. I purchased the wood disc beads with Mother of Pearl inlay from, The Bead Gallery in Ann Arbor. You can look at the older posts to see my visit there.Vintage leaf dangle. If you notice there is a leaf in the painting, Yay! Even though this is my inspired necklace I try to capture the feeling of the painting I thought the swirls on the metal beads helped interpret the swirls of the shells.



June Art Bead Scene monthly challenge
Feuilles
by
Stephanie Lois





Here are the jewelry pieces that I created with my special gifts from  Mary Harding I won them from Art Bead Scene. I absolutely love how different these pieces are! Each one is a reflection of my personality. 

This bracelet fit the vibrancy of this month's Art Bead Scene challenge so well it made it easy and delightful for me to put the two together! I absolutely love!!! the silk string, ( I'm guessing it's silk ) it is so pretty. It worked well with the beads that I made to meet the challenge too. I also was able to have some of my beautiful flowers blooming at this time that I felt reflected the colors of the challenge. 

 


Copper Leaf earrings, hand shaped and colored with embossing enamels and pastels. Silk gifted from Mary Harding.


Copper Pendant ~ Leaf Shaped ~ Hand Crafted by Katherine T of Barn Burd Designs ~ June ABS Bead Challenge ~ http://barnburd.blogspot.com/
Copper leaf pendants hand shaped and colored with embossing enamels and pastels.

Asiatic lilies, sun drops

corn poppy

day lilly

ILLUSTRATION BY THEO CARRERAS

Theo Carreras was an illustrator of some well known books about insects, like "Marvels of Insect Life," and was known for his detailed still-life illustrations

BARN BURD DESIGNS ~ By Katherine T~ BEADS~JEWELRY~ART: Earrings Everyday June Challenge  Inspired by tide...

Brass patterned and shaped by Katherine T. with metal pigments

What Is Pain?

As an artist, pain is often expressed and relieved through our art. This month's Art Bead Scene challenge is about the experience of pain. 


Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940
By Frida Kahlo

Kahlo created at least 140 paintings of which 55 are self-portraits. These self-portraits often incorporate symbols of physical and psychological wounds. After an accident, her extensive injuries left her in a great deal of pain. Although she recovered from her injuries, that affected nearly every part of her body, she had relapses of extreme pain for the remainder of her life. The intensity of the pain would leave her confined to a hospital or bedridden for months at a time. The medical complications and permanent damage also prevented her from having children.
Having to spend much time in bed she was able to spend her time painting. It's in these paintings that we see her expression of her life and most certainly her pain.


 Necklace shown on model.



Necklace shown on dog ~ Shorty
(for those who don't know me, I think I'm funny)
When I first saw the painting for our April inspiration I was delighted and excited to see the colors, textures and objects to choose from. At first I tried to make something that was cheery and happy but I just felt like something wasn't right. I looked again and again at the painting and slept on it. When I woke I realized that the painting, does show beautiful elements but in reality, to me,  expresses something much deeper.
As I would look at the painting I would read it like a page, literally, out of a diary. I would continually follow it from left to right, top to bottom. In the beginning I see those wonderful objects that looks like a sunny happy place, but as I would go down I felt the more disturbing element of something unhappy. Her face, the monkey and cat then the thorns showed me a life of physical and emotional pain. 
When I was around 25 years old I was in a boat accident which has affected my neck dramatically. I also understand mental and emotional pain as a constant companion. I have some very important people in my life that have experiences that deal with this everyday.
My necklace is to represent the pain that I experience. The polymer clay pieces are like thorny bones. The red beads are Czech.




My second necklace is a necklace with polymer clay, and tagua nut beads. I wanted to represent the colors of the prints that were brought to the United States in the 1940's which is the time of the painting presented to us this month. I also wanted to reflect the hand made, hand carved, Pre-Columbian style of jewelry that Frida herself wore.

APRIL 2015 EARRINGS EVERYDAY CHALLENGE

This month's Earrings Everyday earring inspiration came from The City of Arts and Sciences located in Valencia, Spain. The buildings were designed and conceived by Spanish architects Santiago Calatrava and Felix Candela.







There used to be a building that my husband and I would pass by and it had those aqua windows which I noticed on the buildings from this challenge. I've always loved the color of them. I kept being drawn to them so that's where my inspiration came from. When I look at the buildings I see an element of nature along with the sleek and structural. I used 2 bead caps (that I need to straighten out a bit) and aqua glass Yes they are more organic but oh well this is what I came up with!



February Challenge

"News of Spring and Other Nature Studies"
By Edward Julius Detmold
Watercolor
Amapolis 1913


Copper focal riveted to a textured and colored brass background. Brass formed and colored leaf links
Focal riveted from an upcycled tin, silk string and vintage buttons.
Hand formed copper, pressed design and riveted.
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
Period Fashions Reference Library

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.



Brooch Cartier 1913
1900's Silk Ribbon Jacket




















"Choir of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem" 1635 
by Pieter Jansz Saenediam

Polymer clay pendant and accent beads. 12 Czech Glass Metallic Faceted Black Hex Beads. This bead addressed the cooler side of the palette.
Polymer clay pendant and accent beads. Swarovski crystal pearls, Czech druk beads. I wanted to address the warm pallet of this challenge.






















 Earring challenge inspired by marbled paper

November 2014 - Art Bead Scene Bead and Jewelry Challenge

"Cattelya Orchid and Three Hmmingbirds" 1871 by Martin Johnson Heade



 Copper toggle focal with a polymer clay charm
Polymer Clay Bead ~ By Katherine T. ~ Nassarius 100. I really enjoyed the orchid pods or leaves. I saw pod shapes.












October 2014 - Art Bead Scene Bead and Jewelry Challenge


"Autumn" 1944 

by Milton Avery

Polymer tube beads with lampwork beads.



I used copper and the super duos to represent the fall colors of the painting.There are 2 lamp work beads from Beth Singleton Designs from Etsy. She makes a wonderful neutral brown group of different shaped beads that I adore. I made the leaf charm from copper wire. The rondelle spacers are tagua nuts from Lima Beads, button clasp from Tierra Cast also from Lima Beads.





CHALLENGE #3 - SEPTEMBER 2014
" The White and the Red Rose " 1902 by Margaret MacDonald
                                                         


 I used my beautiful daughter's face as my inspiration. I used poly clay and a Nunn sticker for the face and Vintaj components.

Thia is my bracelet and again I made the link from poly clay and Vintaj components.
I was having a hard time with the face at first and made an alternate focal. My friend Beth said that it was cool so I'll keep it for another project!



AUGUST 2014 - Art Bead Scene Jewelry Challenge
The Indian Rug by Anne Redpath











CHALLENGE #1 June 2014
http://humblebeads.blogspot.com/2014/06/michaels-beading-challenge-blog-hop.html

The challenge was to use the beads selected and you had the freedom to add 3 others from your own stash.
The necklce set was inspired from the beads and my first time playing with polymer clay. The bracelet was inspired by the fabric.













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