Art Bead Scene – December Challenge Blog Hop

I had meant to join in on the November challenge but ended up not being able to participate. Even with everything going on in December I was determined to try my best.

The inspiration for this month is this very structural painting by Pieter Jansz Saenedam.

"Choir of Sint-Bavokerk, Haarlem" 1635

by Pieter Jansz Saenredam

37.1 x 48.2 cm" Oil on Oak Panel

About the Art

Passion for the purity of light and line, so strong an element in Dutch art, is found at its most abstract in the art of Saenredam. He restricted his subject matter largely to the portrayal of whitewashed Dutch ecclesiastical interiors, which he shows stripped of centuries of medieval embellishment by the Reformation's iconoclasm, as seen in the Choir of St. Bavo, Haarlem. It was in this great church that Saenredam and Frans Hals were buried.

My take on the painting is mainly influenced by the form and lines in the structure and hallway flooring.

The first piece I made was influenced by the linear lines of the columns. I chose these gorgeous Bronze Clay rectangles with leaf pattern, created by Lesley Watt of Thea Elements. Lesley added alight stain of colour to bring out the details on the rectangles. I paired them with Silverneedle Agate round gemstones, strung on Rose Gold links, connected with handmade jump rings also in rose gold. I went for a full mixed metals look by topping off the earrings with Sterling Silver ear wires.

Bronze Clay Rectangles,

Sterling Silver, Rose Gold Plated Wire

I was very taken by the optical illusion in the tops of the arches. They appear to have a distinct point at the very top. Examine them closer and you will see this is an illusion. The play of light and the casting of the shadow of one arch onto the next that give this impression. It makes the arches appear to be intertwined.

My second piece is based on these arches. The focal bracelet bar, also by Lesley Watt of Thea Elements, follows the shape, and the colouring of the arches. The beautiful blue and yellow design on the rustic stoneware bar is a brighter interpretation of the colours on the floor and in the chandelier. Where Brandi Hussey saw greens in the columns and floor tiles I saw shades of blue, and ran with it.

I used clear Yellow Quartz gemstone nuggets and a lighter blue tone of glass tri-beads to bring the bracelet bar colours all the way around, then added antiqued brass spacers and clasp to pull the rustic look throughout the bracelet. Two strands give the right balance to the width of the focal bar.

Starburst Bracelet

Rustic Stoneware Bracelet Bar, Yellow

Quartz, Blue Glass Tri-beads, Antiqued Brass

Now check out what everyone else has created here.