Art Elements Theme of the Month: Luna Moths

Image from The Spruce.

Luna moths have always been one of my favorite winged insects, so I was thrilled when Jen Cameron picked them as the Art Elements Theme of the Month for March.  I remember my dad finding and showing me one as a small child, and I've been enchanted by them ever since!

Before jumping into share what I made this month, I just have to share a necklace that I made back in 2014 for myself with my coveted luna moth set by Kerri Fuhr.  I probably should pull this one out and take better photos... but you get the idea!  I should also go through my jewelry box and get things more organized so that I can find and wear my favorites more often, but that's an endeavor for another day.  

I've participated in several moth themed challenges over the last couple of years, so I was actually worried that I wouldn't have any luna moth appropriate beads left.  Happily, I was wrong!  See?

First up, I finally got around to using a lovely luna moth ceramic pendant by Tracey Seder Donoughe that Eric bought for me at Bead and Button two years ago.  I happened to have a little container of Czech glass beads that I got from a friend who is going through her late aunt's bead stash sitting sitting next to my little corral of art beads.  I did a double take and realized that those beads looked gorgeous with the pendant... such luck!!  I added in a couple of other styles of glass beads from my stash as well as some brass findings to round out this long necklace design.

I already had a bunch of beads for a necklace design with Andrew Thornton's sweet little pendant but I got distracted when I rediscovered all the little moths that Eric and I made in Heather Powers' metal sketches class at Allegory Gallery a few years ago.  We hammered steel wire on top of the copper to get the patterns and then added Swelligant patinas for the fun (but unpredictable!) color.  I found two that were really close in size and coloring and knew I had to whip up some earrings!  I made some fun cultured sea glass teardrops dangles, added ear wires, and voila!  I might have to keep these for me... we shall see.

So, after a brief earring diversion, I returned to the pile of beads surrounding Andrew's pendant.  I have to admit that I really had a tough time getting started on this one for some reason but I pushed through for a sweet strung necklace design.  I used a mix of Czech glass, freshwater pearls, and agate in various shades of green plus a little bit of cream.

As luck would have it, I got a package from my friend Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori Trovati with a treasure trove of beady goodness for my Simple Truths subscription including a fabulous moth pendant!  While the moth was actually created for the Art Bead Scene Art Journey One, the one that I received was perfect for this challenge!  I couldn't bear to set it aside... I just had to make something with it immediately.

I love the saturated colors in this fun, stylized moth... it just feels like Spring to me.  I picked through my hoard of Czech glass and crystal... finding lots of beads that worked with the pendant.  This is a bold piece that's sure to make a statement!

This is a blog hop!  I hope you'll check out what everyone else made for this fun challenge!

Guests:

Tammy

Beth and Evie

Alysen

Rozantia

Sarajo - You are Here

Karin

Sarah

Divya

Colette

Art Elements Team:

Niky

Caroline

Cathy

Jenny

Lesley

Marsha

Lindsay

Claire

Jen

We're All Ears: March 2015

This month's inspiration for the We're All Ears challenge is simply AMAZING!  Erin found some awe inspiring macro photos by German photographer Martin Amm.  Can you believe these extreme close ups of dew covered dragonflies and damselflies??

The way the water droplets are beaded up all over these little creatures immediately made me think of a certain type of lampwork glass.  I thought I might just have something like that in my stash, but no luck.  But then I started unpacking all my new treasures from the Bead Cruise and I found just the perfect beads!  I won these cute little beaded beads from Kristen Stevens (of Beadwork by KAS) as part of the Art Jewelry Elements prize package and I realized that the texture from the seed beads echoed the beads of moisture.  I added some brass bead caps, Czech glass rondelles, and some sweet little teardrop beads from Unicorn Beads.  

I couldn't stop at just one pair of earrings this month!  For my second pair I did a variation on theme.  I grabbed some left over spacer beads that came with a gorgeous luna moth focal from the talented Kerri Fuhr.  I thought the clear pale green color worked nicely for this challenge paired with some little Czech glass beads and some more teardrops from Unicorn Beads.

Both these pairs will be headed to Unearthed Arts next week.  Check out what everyone else was inspired to make over on the Earrings Everyday blog HERE!

New Earring Monday: Weeks 27 & 28

Ok, I'm back on track timing wise for my New Earrings Monday posts this week.  This week is once again a case of variations on a theme.  This time, the results stem from me trying to decide on earrings to go with my necklace from last month's Art Bead Scene.  Here's a picture of the focal, but you can read the whole post and see the inspiration artwork HERE.

I figured it made sense to use more of the spacer beads that Kerri Fuhr sent along with her gorgeous focal and accent beads as a starting point.  The first pair I made used some of the black lampwork spacers and little Czech glass rondelles in pale green.

I liked the first pair just fine, but I wasn't sure they had enough oomph to stand up to the necklace... thus pair number two.  This time I used pale green spacers and some faceted black Czech glass beads that were a bit larger.

I might actually prefer the first pair on its own, but to go with the necklace I think I have to vote for pair number two.  What do you think?

Art Bead Scene Challenge: June 2014

Well, once again I'm down to the wire trying to get a design challenge finished.  Perhaps the fact that I knew that this one was going to be for me to keep for myself caused me to push it to the back burner and focus on other projects first.  Either way, I have managed to pull it off at the last minute... I leave for my library conference in the morning and won't be back until July 1st.

This month's inspiration artwork is "Trees Laden with Parasites and Epiphytes in a Brazilian Garden" by Marianne North.  Quite the catch title don't you think?  North was a Victorian biologist and botanical artist known for foreign travels, writing, and plant discoveries in addition to her botanical paintings.  You can read more about the painting and the artist over on the Art Bead Scene blog HERE.

Trees Laden with Parasites and Epiphytes in a Brazilian Garden, 1873

by Marianne North

Oil on Paper

As soon as I saw the inspiration artwork, I knew I had the perfect art beads... a gorgeous luna moth focal and accent beads from the talented Kerri Fuhr.  I really wanted to work in all the pretty accent beads in addition to the focal.  Kerri actually sent me quite a few other black and clear green spacer beads in addition to the ones in the picture below so I chose keep the focus on all the lampwork glory.

Because of the tan tones in the moth and the green swirly accent beads, I chose to work with brass for my design.  (Also, I have a ridiculous stash of Vintaj!)  I really only added a few extra czech glass beads and a few brass beads to the mix and made wire wrapped links.  A few little dangles from the pendant and I was done.  To avoid and Christmasy leanings, I stuck with the black and pale greens from the painting.

Thanks for stopping by!