Art Bead Scene Monthly Chanllenge - April

This month's Art Bead Scene inspiration is

"Finches and Bamboo."

This was quite an interesting challenge for me. 

It resulted in two different pieces of jewelry made for this month.

The necklace I finally settled on I named:

Gypsy.

There were many different components in this piece.

I'm still debating on one of them.

However, this is what I decided to submit for this month's challenge.

Presenting

Gypsy

The mustard color is muted in this piece, and the red jumps out at you.
Actually, when worn, the piece looks very different.
I was surprised when I wore it.

Art Bead Scene March Monthly Chanllenge

This month's challenge from Art Bead Scene Blog is to make a piece of jewelry using
Gaugin's painting Sacred Spring, Sweet Dreams
as our inspiration.

When I looked at the painting, I was struck by the vibrant colors and the unusual contrast of red and pink.
The rest of the painting looked like a story being told to someone who need the brilliance of the colors to see the painting in the way it was intended.
I love the color palette in this painting!
The closer you are to the main subjects in the painting, the more brilliant the colors.
The farther away from the main subjects, the more muted the colors become.

I based my necklace on this painting.


The richness of the colors is reflected in the focal bead that I made.
The muted colors are reflected in the tiles that I did not make.
There is a blending of both the rich and the muted colors in my necklace.
I like it.
I liked the challenge.
Thanks, ABS.

Art Bead Scene February Monthly Chanllenge

The inspiration for the Art Bead Scene February challenge is this painting titled
"Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose" by John Singer Sargent. You can read more about this beautiful work of art by clicking on the word February.

As soon as I saw this painting, I immediately thought of a glass I love that I have been using sparingly because it is no longer made.
The name of the glass is Orange Sherbet. I have hoarded the little bit that I have, but I knew that, for this challenge, I would be using it. Can you guess what objects made me think of Orange Sherbet? If you said, the lanterns, you're right.

The next day I was busy using my precious Orange Sherbet on the torch. I needed a focal, too, and I made one that I never used.
I didn't need to do that. A few days before I saw this print, I had attempted a layered bead that I couldn't complete when I worked on the torch because my bead release broke. The bead looked all right but there was a bit of bead release on the edges of the holes. There were also some spots where I hadn't been able to finish encasing this bead. It looked rather rough. It reminded me of a large nugget you might find in the ground. As I walked by my bead pile, I saw it, and I knew what I would do.

Here's my entry for the ABS February challenge.

I call this piece "Lanterns" because of the lantern shaped beads that I made for it.
The nugget is huge, but it doesn't distract from the piece.
I think I've captured the spirit of the piece.
I did use some of my Orange Sherbet glass.
All in all, it was a very good day.

Skin of My Teeth, but I Think I made it!!!!! Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge

This photo:
Brown River by Wayne Thiebaud
was the painting selected for the
Art Bead Scene monthly challenge.

From the Art Bead Scene website:

About the Art

"River-delta views from the Sacramento area, cityscapes from San Francisco and beach scenes from Southern California, no matter the subject, these works uniformly attest to the artist’s ability to sensuously manipulate pigment and capture clear light and vibrant color. It is this technical virtuosity, along with the artist’s tongue-in-cheek humor and ability to capture the realities of our place in time, that have helped to make Thiebaud a uniquely American painter."

About the Artist

Wayne Thiebaud (born Mesa, Arizona, November 23, 1920) is an American painter whose most famous works are of cakes, pastries, boots, toilets, toys and lipsticks. His last name is pronounced "Tee-bo." He is associated with the Pop art movement because of his interest in objects of mass culture, however, his works, executed during the fifties and sixties, slightly predate the works of the classic pop artists. Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the well-defined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included in his work.

His family moved to Long Beach, California when he was six months old. One summer during his high school years he apprenticed at the Walt Disney Studio. He earned a degree from Sacramento State College in 1941. From 1938 to 1949, he worked as a cartoonist and designer in California and New York and served as an artist in the United States Navy.

This month, I seem to be running behind.
Having this nasty cold did not help me.
Now, that my cold is fading, I decided, at the last minute,
to enter the ABS January Challenge.
I loved the colors,
so my entry is based on the colors in the palette.
Here's my entry.
It's simple,
but each bead is unique,
and I made each one.
I used a series of discs and donut shaped beads.
Each is a mini minimalist sculpture in itself.

At last,
ta-da!

I'm thinking, I'll keep it!

Art Bead Scene's Monthly Challenge - Cave Paintings

I don't participate in every monthly challenge from the Art Bead Scene Blog. (The link will take you to the monthly challenge.)

This month's (July) challenge is the Lascaux Cave Paintings. The goal is to use an art bead made either by yourself or someone else and turn the item into a finished product. Now, I think my entry will qualify. I made a bead then turned the bead into a bracelet by adding one of my viking knit chains. A random drawing is made at the end of July and a winner is selected. There are prizes. Woooohoooo! So, ta-da! Here's my entry. What do you think?