Art Bead Scene November 2015

This month's Art Bead Scene challenge inspiration is a lovely muted fall floral silk screened by Marguerite Zorach.  I find the colors quite striking and have a number of art beads in my stash that would work well this month... this could be another month of multiple entries for me depending on how my month goes.  You can find out more about the artwork and the artist over on the ABS blog HERE.

Autumn flowers

by Marguerite Zorach

I've been a member of the Simple Truths Sampler Club that Erin Prais-Hintz offers through her company Tesori Trovati for quite some time now.  For the last couple of years, Erin has committed to making something inspired by the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge for the club each month.  Sadly, many of her little treasures are languishing in my art bead cabinet (mostly because I want to keep them all for myself!) but that is not the fate of this month's offering!  (By the way, Erin does currently have spots in the Sampler Club... find out more about it HERE.)

This month Sampler Club members got a tiny peak at the November artwork a couple of days early since she sent them out with the October selections.  Because I had such early access to her pendant, I knew I wanted to make something with it before attempting anything else.  Here's the pendant that I received... she calls them "Love, Autumn."

It's hard to tell in my photo, but there is a fabulous pearlescence to the pendant that helped drive my bead selection for this project.  I really wanted to break out of my normal design mode and play with a mix of bead shapes and colors... all in a (gasp) asymmetrical design.  I chose a mix of mostly Czech glass beads that pulled out the various colors from the pendant and the painting that inspired it.  I was fortunate to have some plated hematite beads that echoed the pearly blue in the pendant with their metallic sheen.  To round things out I also threw in some brass beads and gemstones (red wood lace stone?).  Originally, I was thinking I'd use waxed linen for my stringing material, but it was quickly apparent to me that I would be better off using beading wire. 

Without further ado, here is my finished necklace!  I'm pleased as punch with how this one turned out.  How do you think I did?