ART BEAD SCENE CHALLENGE FOR MAY!

I did get to my ABS challenge a bit earlier this month thank goodness, as I had sold my Tai Chi Impression brooches at the Art Trail, I decided to make more brooches and also a few more pendants, as I really enjoy the minature painting, getting the movement into these small figures is fun!

The painting chosen this time was by Charles Sheeler and it was on a Shaker theme which is rather different, the buildings have lots of angles and shadows making interesting shapes within shapes as you can see in the picture below. If you would like to read more about the artist or the ABS Challenge here is the link - http://artbeadscene.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/may-monthly-challenge.html

I decided on a pendant and mixed a softer silvery blue clay from the left hand angle of the painting for my background, I use white to paint the figures but add in tones, ( I like doing this bit ) a branch of dark wood cherry blossom picked out some more of the colours from the painting, being spring and the cherry blossom is just about out here I thought it would be nice to add some. You can see my finished painting on the pendant below.

I am off to add paintings to some more brooches this afternoon if you are interested in any of my Tai Chi Impressions or any of my other work you can email me they are for sale!

I would love it if you could spare a moment to leave me a comment I do reply personally to all comments unless you are on google + and I am unable to do so, be assured they are very much appreciated though.

~Jackie~

ART BEAD SCENE AUGUST CHALLENGE!

Goodness I am very late getting this written this month so I will start by showing you the amazing Navajo tapestry Summer Thunder that was the inspiration this month and the link to Art Bead Scene. 
http://artbeadscene.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/august-monthly-challenge.html

I thought it would be nice to make some beads as well as a necklace, as I found the tapestry quite inspireing, I think it was partly the colour and something about the energy in the piece, the colour reminded me of our soil here in Devon it is just about that exact colour! 

So really my beads and necklace ( which is double sided ) are very much about the colour. The energy made me think of cave paintings and ancient art well I researched that a bit but finally went with my own thoughts, so the people in the beads and pendant and the patterns are  just my interpretation of animals and people going about their daily lives. Not sure if it has worked or not as I have never done anything like it before, I hope you will find it at least interesting even if a rather poor attempt.

 ~Jackie~
 Comments are gratefully received I don't get many but treasure every one, thank you.

NEW GIVE AWAY FROM MY BEAD SOUP!

As promised I have the first giveaway from my Bead Soup, to be eligible please leave a comment on this post and blog about the giveaway and I will be delighted to add you to the "hat". Below is the picture of the first giveaway an Agate? pendant I have slipped it on some knotted sari silk cord, in toning colours. This giveaway will be drawn on 1st September, don't forget you must have a visible email address for me to contact you if you are the winner!

White Water Turquoise

I made this necklace for myself with some of my favourite White Water Mine Turquoise, some silver and a handmade pendant from Jean Christen ( Clay Genie ) I love wearing it!

New Jewellery at last

The London trip was nice but would have been a lot better if Lara and I had not both picked up some old virus there, which really spoilt the week! I have been unwell with it ever since which is a really long time and why I did not feel like writing anything as it was all doom and gloom lol. Now I am feeling much better and I have been moving forward with 'The Gold Collection' if your wondering why gold? Well gold polymer clay simply makes my art necklaces and pendants affordable, most people couldn't afford to buy my art designs in high carat gold, so this was a way of making them affordable.

I am useing many beautiful handcut Jaspers, Agates, Fossil materials and rare stones. Faceted and smooth gemstones in variety and choosing the most beautiful high quality gemstone beads and pearls for stringing. It has also been a time of experimentation, I am trying different things and cut the templates from my sketches, finding ways to set gemstones in the clay and I am loving it!

My ideas are moving forward, I have been especially inspired by ferns of all kinds recently; a number of different ones grow in my garden I am particularly fond of the Hart's Tongue fern. The hedgerows and places around here abound with ferns hiding between rocks and carpeting the moss grown floor under trees. So here is a necklace and pendant from The Gold Collection celebrating the Hart's Tongue and other ferns. The necklace will be for sale but the pendant I made as a gift for a dear friend.

I would love it if you would leave me a comment.

Feeling Creative!

Our overhaul of the web site this year seems to be taking forever, Lara who is also the webmaster has been so busy with her commissions and other work that it is on a go slow and only half finished. We really wanted to showcase not just work for sale but commissions, work in progress artwork, jewellery and sculptures.

There just seems to be so much to do with work progressing in the house, it is a very old house so needs constant attention and it has taken us years to eventually get down to the bottom floor, there are four floors and we finished the kitchen last Christmas but still more to do, when I say finished the kitchen I mean it was gutted completely right up to the joists, my husband did all the work himself so it all takes a lot of time. Right now he is finishing two of the windows we had double glazed last year but never got to finish around them. then there is the front door the frame is all rotted out so needs replacing but of course it isn't that easy or straightforward, never is in this house, so we await the various carpenters who will hopefully submit their prices in the not to distant future. I haven't even mentioned the garden yet! The fences one side are falling down and have to be replaced and the whole garden sorted out and my lovely canal pond filled in as being at the bottom of the garden it has become a lot of work to clean it etc. So I will have to bring my large Koi up to the top pond and somehow enlarge it a little bit as I hand feed them and couldn't bring myself to part with them, they are like old friends.

Not much time for web sites you might say, I have been in a very creative mood recently, but now I feel strangely restive with too many ideas popping up in my thoughts and none of them really settling into something definite I can work with, so I am going to show you some of the things I have finished in my Pandora collection.

The little blue lilies pendant has bronze wire the loop at the bottom I was going to add something but don't know just what yet! The Pandora necklace took a very long time to construct as it was so complicated it was really inspiring to create, have to say I enjoyed it immensely and is so comfortable to wear, I love it!

Ancient Egyptian Artifacts

Jackie's hand made clay pendant was announced a winner in the Egyptian Treasures contest in Beads and Beyond magazine in October 2008! The inspiration was the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 in London. Each polymer clay piece was made separately and applied, no molds were used. The central winged scarab is a vintage brass componant, as are the two ankhs, the cabochons are vintage Swarovski crystal. It also includes turquoise and glass beads. It hangs from a vintage brass chain with lotus flower ornaments. This ornate and intricate pendant was inspired by a piece from the tomb called Tutankhamun's pendant.Jackie is now working on an Egyptian collection.

Please click here to see the rest of the collection so far.

~Lara