Art Bead Scene – Hummingbird Surprise

Tags

art bead, Art Bead Scene, art charm, bracelet, hummingbird, macrame, necklace, NOV ABS, orchid, polymer clay

**Click here if you looking for the Art Charm Swap.**

This month’s Art Bead Scene Challenge inspired jewellery surprised me a little. Here is the inspiration painting:

“Cattelya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds” 1871 by Martin Johnson Heade
Oil on Mahogany Panel, 34.8 x 45.6 cm

Initially I focused on the orchid, and made some polymer clay focal beads/pendants inspired by it. I did string one of the orchids, but I figured it either needed something simple or something totally flamboyant. I went with simple since my supplies are still packed.

Orchid Necklace by Cate van Alphen

But then I thought the finished necklace was a bit too simple for a challenge piece.

Next I realised that the charm I received from Chris Eisenberg as part of the Art Charm Swap looked like a little hummingbird. I matched the beads and thread to the charm without reference to the painting. I made some polymer clay twist charms which are metallic green – they make me think of wings/leaves/petals. I added some AB coated beads and bright purple thread. The purple thread surprised me until I took another look at the painting and saw the throat of the hummingbird.

The charms are on a macrame cord with knots that twist forming a helix effect. I was thinking about the twist of the hummingbird’s wing as it hovers. I’ve been watching “The Life of Birds” on BBC catchup which has some wonderful slow motion footage of this (28:15).

Hummingbird Bracelet by Cate van Alphen

The bracelet is adjustable with the threads sliding through a central bead. I have left the ends quite long and added a little stack of beads to each so that they flit around the wrist like tiny hummingbirds around a flower.

Hummingbird Bracelet by Cate van Alphen

There we go – Hummingbird Surprise!

Orchid evolution

Tags

art bead, Art Bead Scene, Cate van Alphen, flower, focal bead, orchid, pendant, pink, polymer clay, purple

Back in 2010 I made my “Imperial Orchid” necklace. I really wanted to explore the idea further, but I never got round to it.

Imperial Orchid necklace by Cate van Alphen

So this month’s Art Bead Scene challenge painting was just the nudge I needed.

“Cattelya Orchid and Three Hummingbirds” 1871 by Martin Johnson Heade
Oil on Mahogany Panel, 34.8 x 45.6 cm

I started off making a pinstripe of magenta and lavender polymer clay as I could see those colours in the petals. Unfortunately the colours ended up too dark for what I was trying to represent from the painting.

Purple Pinstripe Orchid by Cate van Alphen

For the next orchid I made a subtle marbled mix of white and a speck of the previous pinstripe cane. I dusted on the pink using mica powders. I was much happier with these colours, but I preferred the proportions of the previous purple orchid.

White Orchid no. 1 by Cate van Alphen

So I tried again, and made a third orchid…

White Orchid no. 2 by Cate van Alphen

This time I was happy with both the colour and the proportions. It seems good things come in threes as today, for the third time, my work was featured on Polymer Clay Daily :). This time it was my Spectrum beads.

Polymer clay orchid evolution by Cate van Alphen

The outer two of these are now in my Etsy components store. I’m working the middle one into a necklace.

Art Bead Scene October Challenge – Autumn Beads

Tags

Art Bead Scene, Autumn, curved beads, earrings, handmade beads, leaf, magenta, OCT ABS, polymer clay, polymer clay beads, rust, ultramarine

With the new Bead category for the Art Bead Scene Monthly challenge, I dared to look at this month’s inspiration painting…

“Autumn” 1944 by Milton Avery
Oil on Canvas, 27″ x 35″

I may not have any beading supplies available, but I can still make some polymer clay beads!

I made a sheet of clay with blocks of colours from rust to cream and of course that magenta. I scratched in branching lines like the tree which I highlighted with white acrylic paint once I had folded cut out circles to form the beads. I also painted the edge of the beads with ultramarine acrylic paint to bring in some of the colour surprises of the painting.

I may have harmonised the colours too much. They don’t seem to pop as much as the painting. Maybe it’s because the bright yellow of the foreground is missing?

When I was finished making these beads there was enough clay for only two more smaller beads. Of course as soon as I have a pair of beads, I feel COMPELLED to make earrings.

They are pretty simple, but I only had my wire and those gold beads unpacked from making my Art Charms.

It feels really good to take part in the challenge again :).

ABS July Challenge – Little Mermaid’s Necklace

Tags

amphora, art bead, bead, blue, foam, JUL ABS, mother of pearl, necklace, polymer clay, ribbon, sea, The Little Mermaid

This month’s ABS inspiration painting is “The Little Mermaid” by Edmund Dulac. The problem that I had was that I knew exactly what I wanted to make…

The Little Mermaid, 1911 by Edmund Dulac
Pencil, pen, black ink and watercolour with scratching out on paper, 30.8 x 25.2 cm

I wanted to use my polymer clay “Oceanic Artefact” pendant, on an organic ruffled ribbon, ENCRUSTED with shells and pearls, perhaps with a hidden vial of magic liquid.

The problem was that it took me 3 weeks to get into town to buy the ribbon I needed… and then I couldn’t find my shell beads… but I couldn’t think of another design because I KNEW what I wanted to make! When I finally did get the ribbon, it didn’t ruffle like I wanted so I sewed up the edge with pale blue seed beads. Then it wasn’t as organic as I wanted, and the blue was too dark since now it was double. So I put some white glass beads inside the ribbon and by that time it didn’t really go with the pendant anymore.

Instead I used my little faux mother of pearl Amphora bead (which was going to have been the supporting hidden vial of liquid) as the focal.

The resulting necklace is quite pretty and sea foamy, but it is a bit more Disney Princess than I was aiming for. What I had in mind was a much more complex coral reef complete with sharp rocks and stinging anemones as a reminder of the pain in the original story. But now the time is up.

I suppose disappointment is also part of the story.

ABS June Challenge

Tags

ABS challenge, art bead, beads, bracelet, butterfly bead, glass beads, JUN ABS, multi-strand, polymer clay, polymer clay bead, stone chips

When I first saw this month’s ABS inspiration painting I wondered why it was a photograph! It’s a lush botanical study by Marianne North.

Trees Laden with Parasites and Epiphytes in a Brazilian Garden by Marianne North
Oil on Paper

I made some red and green polymer clay cube beads and used them in a multi-strand bracelet with a mix of glass beads and stone chips. I wanted to create something lush like the painting.

Then I made a polymer clay butterfly to add to the clasp so it would become a FEATURE when it twists to the top (as clasps are wont to do).

The butterfly is attached by one wing only so it can flit about a bit (and so you can move it out of the way to close the toggle).

ABS May Challenge – Go Rococo

Tags

Art Bead Scene, art beads, bracelet, gold, handmade beads, necklace, periwinkle blue, polymer clay, rococo

Last month I didn’t manage to make an ABS monthly challenge piece because I was working on my Bead Soup*, so I’m pleased to present one this month. The inspiration painting is from 1741, the Rococo era.

Capriccio Padovano, 1741 by Bernardo Bellatto
Oil on Canvas 19.3″ x 28.7″ (49 x 73 cm)

For my colours I used the periwinkle blue of the sky and, in place of the yellow ochre of the brickwork, gold (because when I think Rococo too much gold is not enough). Then I thought of the Rococo interiors and I made a pattern like fossil rich marble.

I made a polymer clay focal that also functions as a toggle.

It comes together as a necklace.

But since I seem to get lucky when I make bracelets for the ABS challenges it can also be worn as a multi-wrap bracelet (cunning eh?).

I can’t wait to see what they have next month as inspiration.

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* I’m giving away a set of beads as part of my Bead Soup Blog Party reveal, entries available until the end of May.

Birdies!

Tags

art bead, Art Bead Scene, beaded, bird beads, birds, bracelet, cuff, faux ceramic, felt cuff, polymer clay, sequin

The first thing that sprang to mind when I saw this month’s Art Bead Scene inspiration painting was “Birdies!” (in the voice of my 3 year old).

Birds On Riser, 1944 by Adolf Dietrich
Oil on wood, 57.5 x 50 cm

I made some faux ceramic bird beads using polymer clay. I gave them all different colourings as in the painting. My initial idea was to have a row of birds making a bracelet like a paper doll chain, but some of the cheeky birdies turned inside out. Instead I put them on a white felt backing to create a cuff with a sprinkling of beads and sequins to represent the icy snow.

I made some extra beads, so this little birdy needs a home. Leave a comment below if you’d like to adopt him (he assures me he can even manage an international flight).  If you share this giveaway on facebook/twitter etc let me know and I’ll put your name in the hat again for extra chances to win. 🙂

 

I’ll let you know the winner on Monday 7th April 2014.

Tweet! Tweet!

February ABS Challenge

Tags

art bead, earrings, FEB ABS, geometric pattern, handmade beads, pink, polymer clay, purple, rose garden, silver

This month I have made a pair of earrings for the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge. I used some of my polymer clay beads because the geometric pattern reminded me of the painting. I used my round Stroppel bead method to make the beads.

ABS Inspiration painting
“The Rose Garden” (1920) by Paul Klee

I wanted to incorporate the flower motif in the earrings, so I used some links from an old bracelet and I added an additional spiral at the bottom. I was tempted to make some wire roses, but I didn’t have the time to practice getting them nice.

January ABS Challenge

Tags

art bead, bead, glass beads, JAN ABS, necklace, polymer clay, recycled sari silk, wire wrapped

Despite all my lovely intentions at the beginning of the year (note NOT the “R” word) I was half resigned to missing the first ABS challenge. But then my lovely beads from Rebekah Payne arrived yesterday and they were so appropriate for the inspiration painting I decided it was too good an opportunity to miss (see the flickr pool – I’m not the only one to think so).

Textile Design for Cretonne, 1928? by Lois Mailou Jones
Tempera on Paper

It’s quite a simple design – I made an articulated pendant using some wine coloured copper wire, Rebekah’s polymer clay focal bead, blue glass beads and a recycled metal bead. I think the metal bead looks like a seed pod and I like how it repeats the spots as a texture.

The necklace is several strands of recycled sari yarn which I wrapped the ends of using matching wire and added more blue beads to make the clasp. I love the effervescent texture from the silk yarn. You can’t quite see it in the photos but there are strands of orange in the yarn picking up the colour from the bead.

A bit last-minute, but I like it. 🙂

ABS December – from rockpool to snowscape

Tags

art bead, creature bead, DEC ABS, focal bead, handmade bead, pendant, polymer clay, snowscape, Wassily Kandinsky

I love my creature beads, but sometimes they can be real divas to work with! Take for example “Rockpool Creature”…

I made this bead at the end of summer, and I pictured colourful corals in tropical rockpools. As I was getting it ready for listing in my shop, it kept insisting it was in fact this month’s ABS inspiration painting – Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky.

Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky, 1909
Oil on cardboard 75.5 cm × 97.5 cm

You start to feel silly arguing with a bead, so I gave in 🙂 I wired the bead with the yellows on the horizon brightening to white cloud above like the landscape. I added some dark blue wire to represent the bare trees (I think some of the shapes came from “Cannons“). Then I added some crystals and pale blue and purple icicle dangles.

This bead did NOT want to be a necklace. I think it really wanted to be an ornament but, as parents do, I thought it should work for a living. So it became a pendant (for now).

I wish you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS, and a new year full of unexpected treasures.