Art Bead Scene: October 2016

It's no secret that I adore glass in all its many forms: stained glass, lampwork glass, glass sculpture, mosaics, beads, artwork, and oh so much more!!  Bearing that in mind, you can bet that I was thrilled when I caught sight of the October Art Bead Scene challenge inspiration... it's a gorgeous Art Nouveau cameo glass lamp by Emil Galle.  Seriously, check out this beauty!  You can read more about the artwork and the artist over on the ABS blog HERE.

"Dragonfly Lamp"

By Émile Gallé, late 1800's- early 1900's

French Art Nouveau, Cameo Art Glass

The shades of purple and amber feel a little unexpected to me, but I think it's perfect for fall.  I wish I could see it lit up in person... I bet it gives off a lovely glow!  I recently painted a new batch of large dragonfly focal pendants and I thought it would be perfect to work one of those into a design for this challenge.  Now to just find an art bead to use!  I quickly solved that dilemma by looking in a little box of lampwork beads by Sheila Davis of Stone Designs that my husband bought be for Christmas.  My photos don't do it justice, but the lampwork bead has a luminescent glow to it and includes a mix of the colors present in the lamp.  I added an amethyst and Czech glass bead along with some brass bead caps to complete the pendant.

I may have taken some liberties with the color of the dragonfly focal, but I think that the mix of components works overall.  My normal necklace design uses a plain chain but I wanted something more exciting and colorful for this challenge.  I mixed in some rutilated quartz beads in a pretty yellow/amber color along with some green gemstone rounds.  To bring in more of the purple and to echo the pattern around the bottom of the lamp shade, I added some purple Czech glass maple leaf beads.

Thanks for stopping by!  You can see what other jewelry makers are inspired to make this month (and past month's too!) over on the group's Pinterest board HERE.