Art Bead Scene August Inspiration Challenge

The challenge inspiration for August was this gorgeous textile that captures a ceremonial sandpainting. Created by Hosteen Clah, a Navajo weaver and singer (Medicine Man), it depicts a Navajo Nightway ceremony, a very powerful and sacred centre of their universe.

Summer Thunder by Hosteen Klah, Weaving, Wool

This month’s challenge pushed me, just like the We’re All Ears challenge earlier in the month. I spent a lot of time looking at the inspiration photo, identifying the details, noting the details and colours. In the end I identified 3 themes and colourways.

The first one I chose, but the last to be made, is based on the purple found in the stripes, the branches and in the dancers. The set of branches, lower left and upper right, reminded me of flowers reaching outward. This is the same feeling I got from the middle of this polymer clay pendant from Staci Louise Smith.

I had trouble with my photography but there is a strong purple presence around the outside of the pendant, which I carried into the necklace with matte Czech glass beads. There’s also a hint of pink, both in the upper middle of the weaving and in the pendant. I used pink dyed wood beads from Linda Landig’s destash to bring this colour out and added light wood beads, also from Linda, along with deep mahogany round rudrashka seeds. Waxed linen in two colours and a bronze toggle clasp bring everything together.

Spirit Flower Necklace

I also made 2 pairs of earrings based on the inspiration. Both use leather focals from Melinda Orr, ceramic rounds from Gaea Cannaday and waxed linen from Lorelei Eurto’s Jewelry Accord store.

The leather in the first pair is embossed and dyed a rich brick colour that matches the weaving. Paired with ceramic beads in a pale Granny Smith apple green and waxed linen in a similar colour, a riff off of the chairs in the weaving. The dangle from gold plated links and ear wires

 

Floating Above Earrings

The leather rounds in the second pair have a pinwheel kind of pattern and are dyed in a deep green, similar to the stripes in the inspiration. The edges are coated with sparkly gold glitter. I pulled the purple out again with the ceramic rounds. The waxed linen matches the background of the leather rounds. Copper jump rings and ear wires finish off this pair.

Night Way Earrings

Please check out what everyone else has made too.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.