Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Bracelet Bar For January Art Bead Scene Challenge

My art bead is made from polymer clay, pressed image, carved and colored by myself.
It reflects the flowers shapes and colors that I saw.











Sunday, January 17, 2016

 January challenge


Well I haven't posted much of anything lately because it seems all I do is work on my blog images. I haven't seemed to get exactly what I feel expressed me as an artist yet but I feel that I'm getting there. 

Here are my beads for this month's challenge from  Art Bead Scene's

 




I made a bunch of polymer clay beads to reflect the palette

I love these





I think these look like calico

Thanks!

Monday, December 28, 2015






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!











Monday, November 23, 2015



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.


Friday, November 20, 2015


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!




Thursday, November 19, 2015

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!