Art Elements Theme of the Month :: Mandalas

 

I'm a bit late getting my blog post together, but I still wanted to share what I've been making.  The August Theme of the Month for Art Elements blog and Facebook group was mandalas.  I knew that I had some fun and colorful options in my stash.  I barely scratched the surface, but it just felt good to be creating.

First up, a couple of pairs of earrings featuring fabulous enameled components by Cathleen Zaring of Blue Hare Art Wear.  She calls this style "star flower" but they seemed very mandala like to me!  This first pair may have opened me up to splurging on a bunch of lucite beads.  The beauty of lucite is that you can go chunky without adding much weight.  The enameled charms have some heft to them, so large gemstones or glass would just get too heavy.  But I digress.  This pair has some fun lucite rounds and Czech glass in colors to complement the charms.  

The second pair I made has similar colors but in vastly different proportions.  A much brighter pair for sure!   These have some vintage plastic squared barrels (for lack of a better descriptor) topped with Czech glass.  Turquoise and orange is one of my favorite color combos... so yummy!

I managed to complete a necklace this month too!  Yay!  I love this amazing double sided polymer clay focal by Staci Louise Smith.  I've been holding onto this baby since 2014 when I went to Bead Fest.  I knew I had to design something with this for the mandala theme... spotting the perfect cocoon beads by my friend Anna Pierson of Sagahus Components sealed the deal.  I added in some Dzi agate rounds in a great green and rusty orange-brown as well as Czech glass in a few different shapes and finishes.  I'm especially smitten with the crusty texture on the green rounds.  It's tough to see in the pictures but, trust me, it's awesome!

Seriously, you have to love a reversible pendant!  Both sides are super cool.  Staci gets a real depth to her colors with her polymer creations.

Last, but not least, a work in progress for you.  I needed some calming zen action, so I pulled out my drawer of cabachons and found this lovely cobalt blue butterfly cab by Jenny Davies-Reazor.  The repeating butterfly motif gave it a mandala feeling that I continued on with the surrounding rows of beads.  I'm going to need a quick trip to the bead store for some seed beads to complete my design, but I'm well on the way to a completed project.  I'm thinking this one is going to grow up to be a brooch just because of the size... but we shall see.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to!  Have a wonderful long weekend my friends!