You Pick Bead Exchange

I have blogged about doing exchanges that stretch what you typically do.  And this is one of my favorite ones found on Lampwork Etc.  It's called You Pick 7.  Each participant posts an inspiration photo and everyone interprets it in the best way that they can.

So...I'm pretty sure you can pick out the bead that I made for this photo above.

This one, was one of the hardest for me. I know, it should have been easy, but finding the right colors and the gentle gradations of it, felt tough.  What would you have done?

This is the photo that I chose for others to make.  I love the organic forms and I thought that these colors were represented in both CiM and Moretti- and that it might be something that a beginner through advanced glass beadmaker might be able to interpret.  After I chose it, I saw one of this series by Matisse at our Atlanta Hight Art Museum up close.  It was pretty amazing.

If you would like to see more photos and the conversation about the exchange, pop by here.

If you were choosing art for others to interpret, do you know which piece you'd choose?  Tell us.  and if you have a link, we'd love to see that too.

Girl With A Pearl Earring...and Necklace

I love doing interpretations of famous paintings. You might remember that I've done Son of Man, Birth of Venus, The Kiss, and others. Well, I've added Girl With A Pearl Earring to the list. You might have noticed that there isn't a close up of it. Of course there's a reason. I need to make it again. It's close and gives the impression of the painting, but I want to do a better face on it.

I wore it the other night to our Southern Flames chapter meeting. And I was thrilled that folks knew what it was, without me explaining it. (always a good sign) So watch for another rendition at some point of the painting. And I have a long list of others to do as well. Nice break from sculpture and so much fun too.

If you have a favorite painting that you think might be interpreted, please post and let me know. I'd love to add to my list.

My Glass Bead Interpretation of Klimt's "The Kiss"

Gustav Klimt painted "The Kiss" circa 1907. It's a gorgeous piece with the two lovers entwined in each others arms on a bronze background in the flower meadow.

Art Bead Scene, ( a very cool blog and hang out place), has a February Challenge to interpret this painting using a handmade art bead and then incorporate it in jewelry.

Loving this picture so much, made me want to try my hand and seeing what a bead would look like if I tried it.

Knowing I wanted to make it partially sculptural, I knew I had to edit out parts of it, or the detail would overtake the rest of the bead. I was sad to leave out the flower escarpment, but I knew that the main focus of the art piece was what I needed to show.

I used black and white to designate the man's section of the blanket or robe in the picture and a little blue and red to signify the woman's area of it.


Their arms and legs are in relief on top of the base bead to add the sculptural element to my bead.

Making the jewelry was the hardest for me. I wasn't sure what to do. If I strung it in primarily black, white and yellow, I thought it might seem a little too harsh, so I drew the brown out of the woman's hair to add a softer, more earthy feel to this ode to love. I used brown pearls, coconut and brass beads, along with a little copper too.

I'm still debating whether to offer it in my Etsy shop as a necklace or just the three lampwork beads that I made. I'm going to noodle on it and feel free to comment and help me make my decision.

Meanwhile, pop over to your torches and join me in this February Challenge. It's fun to stretch yourself in new ways. And this painting makes my heart sing and hope it affects yours the same way.

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...and just in case you were wondering, we had a fabulous day in class here in Atlanta, GA. My students rocked the whimsical bead world and I can't wait to see all their beads coming out of the kiln. Today is day 2 for this class and then two more days with 8 new students.

Catch you later,
Marcy