Art Bead Scene: December 2016

The inspiration for this month's Art Bead Scene challenge is a stained glass window by Marc Chagall that was created as a gift to the Art Institute of Chicago.  American Windows was created to commemorate the American Bicentennial and features imagery that honors the arts and America's independent spirit.  You can read more about the artwork and the artist on the ABS blog HERE.

America Windows, 1977, By Marc Chagall, Art Institute of Chicago

Here's a close up of the third panel:  

Stained glass was one of my first creative loves so this challenge definitely struck a nerve for me.  My high school boyfriend's mom, the very talented Cindy Hallman, took me under her wing and taught me the basics of stained glass.  I never made anything more complicated than a couple of sun catchers, but I loved it.  My love of glass in all its forms may have started before this time, but learning about the art of stained glass truly gave me a new appreciation.  

You may not know this about me and my artistic journey, but I was actually actively searching for a stained glass class or workshop to renew my education in this art form long before I even thought about trying jewelry.  I was working full time at the library in the far Western suburbs of Minneapolis and the only classes I was finding were in Northeast Minneapolis.  The logistics just weren't in my favor for stained glass which left me open to the idea of trying a basic jewelry making class.  The rest is history!  

Enough of that detour!  Back to this month's artwork and what it inspired me to create!  I love the cobalt blues and the other pops of bright colors.  I decided that it was finally time to pull out one of the lovely two-holed pendants that I picked up from White Clover Kiln at BeadFest last year.  Even though it's floral, I felt that the design somewhat echoes some of the shapes in the window.  I created links with a variety of Czech glass beads and some matte denim lapis rounds.       

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to post-Christmas!  You can stop by the Art Bead Scene blog HERE to see what everyone else was inspired to create this month.