A little late for BTW but finished on time for ABS

Don't you just love acrynoms.
  (!#$%#@&*^+_) I  DON"T!!

Really they can mean a million different things to millions of different people.

It can be so confusing.  

If you follow regularly you may know that BTW on my page is not "By the Way" 

but Bead Table Wednesday and I missed it this week.
(But you can go get inspired by the other jewelers)  

ABS is not the abbrieviation for those (troublesome sagging) six packs I used to have 

but the Art Bead Scene Blog Challenge. 

So now that we have all that sorted out. 

Here is my entry for the Art Bead Scene August Challenge inspired by Frederick Ramsdell. 

An Art Deco Poster for American Crescent Cycles. 

I love the poster, the girl's long flowing hair and blowing dress have such nice movement. 

I wove hand dyed silk ribbon in an auburn shade 

through some really unique antique brass chain I have that reminds me of bicycle chain.  

I was picturing in my mind a pendant that was a bicycle wheel on one side 

and had a portrait of the girl inlaid in the other 

so I got out my polymer clay and started mixing colors to match the palette.  

(Unfortunately my green turned more blue in the oven) 

My eye was drawn to the wheel with the silver spokes, pink rim and white washed tire.  

This inspired the pendant which I made first and then baked.  

Next I added the bezel on the front and the handles 

which if you look closely resemble the handles on the bicycle in the poster. 

I spent a lot of time sketching to create a line drawing portrait 

to insert in my bezel with the girl's profile and flowing hair.

When I finally had a successful result I minimized it in Adobe Photoshop 

and printed a whole page of her.

You may see her again in other jewelry. 

One of the last additions to my necklace is my favorite part- 

the three graduated loops of antique brass chain hanging from the pendant. 

I knew I was finished when I added that. 

It balanced out the whole design.

I also am in love with this leaf chain that is dangling from the knot of silk. I have been adding it to everything I make- it is sooooooo nice.
I inserted the white lily, which you see many of in the poster, just for the photos,
I never found a place for it in the necklace.
I made that a long time ago and it is still looking for a home.
I am really puzzled by how this all came together.  

No sketch, except the portrait, just intuitive combining of ingredients and well, 

sometimes that's when I do my best work. 

Let go and let it happen.
Click here to see some more wonderful creations!!

My First Bead Table Wednesday

My Bead Table, Wednesday June 22nd, 2011

I have been so busy teaching crochet on Wednesdays 

that I have been unable to take pictures for this event until today.  

I have two weeks off so I am working on my June ABS Challenge piece today 

after spending the whole morning taking pictures, editing them, uploading them to flicker, 

and adding them to the Bead Table Wednesday Flicker Pool.  

I am not sure where I need to send my blog link 

so I may not make the blog hop but at least I got my table photographed.

These are my chosen ingredients for the Art Bead Scene June Challenge.

The inspiration painting, Ophelia, by Odilon Redon, 

is under all the mess of beads and findings I hope to include.

I wet felted the wool portrait just below my pasta machine,

my plan is to make it into a collar type of necklace 

and dangle the other beads and findings from that. 

I love these colors so I have been very inspired 

and hope to make a really unique entry. 

My stash has a serious shortage of yellow 

so I will be making polymer clay art beads in that missing color.  

Hope you can make it back to see the outcome. 

Have a great week!! 

Heather