Wednesday 29 March 2017

Art Bead Scene March Challenge

It’s time for spring, warmer days, flowers, sun, spring showers, birds and new nests, like this one!




The artwork makes me want to create with birds or flowers or leaves or all of them and lots more yellow and green and blue and and and. I got a little over excited there. J

I loved the inspiration photo and thought I would be making something focusing on the yellow flowers and blue of the sky and distant mountains, fully expecting to use one of the many flower beads in my stash. Then I found one little Humblebeads bird, somehow buried beneath other polymer beads, that I had totally forgotten about


Mama Bird Necklace


That little bird inspired me to make a nest of copper wire that I very slightly darkened with liver of sulphur, just enough to take off the high shine and give depth to all the twists and turns. This mama bird made a very messy nest. Inside it are 3 faceted glass “egg” beads. I put mama bird on a copper spacer, perched as if she was sitting on a branch looking over her nest, and used dark green waxed linen to tie the pieces together

Next I added more waxed linen to the bottom of the nest and tied a variety of glass flowers and leaves to the dangles. The flowers and leaves bring out the blues, greens and pale browns in the art
  

Mama Bird Necklace


The necklace was coming together but I wasn’t quite happy with the composition until I realized a couple of things. I had made too large of a loop at the top of the nest making a gap between the bird and the nest. After trying to fit a wood bead in there, and not liking the look, I decided to just wrap a pale ivory organza ribbon around the loop several times. That took care of the first issue.

Now to deal with the 2nd thing that didn’t feel right. My sweet little bird is a lovely shade of yellow with some fine details carved in. Despite the bright colour she just did not pop out, so I took artistic liberty and added some Gilders Paste, Iris Blue for the wings, tail feathers and around the eyes, and German Silver, in that lovely gold, for the beak and tail feathers. Now it feels better!


Similar to the last few items I created, these pieces will be going to the Dufferin County Museum where they will be for sale in the gift shop from April 3rd until Sept 5th

Please visit the Art Bead Scene blog for the blog reveal to see what everyone else made

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day


6 comments:

  1. I love your little nesting bird focal you came up with! Super cute!

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  2. I love those leaves and how you made the dangle, great color observation!

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    1. Thanks Katherine. I that as much as I love winter, this painting brought out the desire for spring in me and I ran with it
      Mona

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  3. Beautiful job on the necklace. The copper nest is just adorable!

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    1. Thanks Oksana. I don't make them often so I always forget how easy they are to make.
      Mona

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