Monday, January 29, 2018

Art Elements "Use Your Stash" Challenge

Pendant made by Art Elements member Jenny Davies-Reazor
Pendant made by Art Elements member Jenny Davies-Reazor
Art Elements Challenge for January is to begin the new year by creating with a handmade artisan component from your stash! In my case,  I was one of a group who were sent an artisan component by a member of the Arts Element group to use to help give those artisans a chance to destash. The idea is to help folks start the year 2018 with a clean slate.

I was one of the lucky ones who received an artisan pendant to use.  The component that I was sent was created by Art Elements member Jenny Davies-Reazor.  The mixed media artist Davies-Raezor has a wide range from ceramic tiles, pendants and shrines to mixed media collage and ...more pendants!  
This pendant is an original hand sculpted pendant that was cast in plaster in order to create a mold.  Each pendant is pressed and pulled from the mold, and finished by hand. She used earthenware clay, and glazed it on the reverse. 

Her work is diverse - but unified in its inspiration: nature, mythology, goddesses, archetypal symbols. I  was thrilled to have an opportunity to work with a beautiful pendant that has a crescent moon hovering in the swirly night time sky.
crescent moon ceramic with a textured pattern of moon, stars in the sky
crescent moon ceramic with a textured pattern of moon, stars in the sky


The crescent moon ceramic has a textured pattern of moon, stars in the sky. I added a handmade ceramic "Flourish" word bead to the moon pendant to add some additional symbolism, color and interest. I attached the word bead by Scottish artisan Grubbi. The focal that I created is attached to a hammered copper ring. 


Celestial necklace by BayMoonDesign
I then used antique copper chain and wire to add some white and blue beads. One of my handmade artisan copper clasps holds the necklace together.  The necklace is a perfect graduation, anniversary, birthday, or valentine gift and is available for purchase here.

Please check out what the others created.  We all love comments.  Feel free to let us how much you love our creations!
Niky Sayers
Lindsay Starr



Thursday, January 18, 2018

We're All Ears :: January Inspiration :: Color of the Year


Photo by Remson Pellisserry on Unsplash
Photo by Remson Pellisserry on Unsplash
Purple tends to be a color that people either love or hate.  I love purple so I was very enthusiastic when I saw that  January's We're All Ears Challenge is focused on purple.  Pantone Color of the year is what they are calling Ultra Violet.  To me it is purple. Since I like purple so much, I have a nice collection of purple beads,  I get to dip into it to make Ultra Violet earrings! 
Pantone color ultra violet

Because I have embraced this color for years, I have come to realize that when designing jewelry you need to take into consideration that there are three distinct purples: Red-Purple, Purple, Blue-Purple. Red-purples are warm, blue-purples are cool, and pure purple is neutral. I have developed some  combinations that I know work with different shades of purple. I love that fact that the Pantone people created  eight different color palettes that feature PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet to help us bring this year's beautiful shade into our designs. All color bases are covered; brights, deeper hues, pastels, mid-tones, and metallics. Each of the eight palettes demonstrate its own distinctive feeling and mood. 

To further inspire your  creativity, within each of these eight color stories Pantone has included three suggested color harmonies. The color harmonies provide examples of how individual colors in the palette can be mixed together and in what proportion. The color bars which make up the color harmony accompany each highlighted color story by Pantone.  These palettes are a wonderful resource for a designer.


I used the Intregue palette for one pair of earrings.  I have a couple of go to favorites that I use when designing jewelry.  One is green so Pantone's Intreue would be a go to palette for me. 


Intregue


Pantone palette Intregue


Modern purple and green earrings by BayMoonDesign
Modern purple and green earrings by BayMoonDesign
These handmade purple and green earrings combine beautiful artisan modern lampwork and Swarovski crystals with silver. The violet and silver earrings have an organic and modern look to them. This silver, purple and green color palette is perfect for the lampwork by SRA artist Sue Kennedy.  The earrings are available for purchase HERE.


Purple Haze



Pantone color palette Purple Haze



Purple and lilac earrings by BayMoonDesign
Purple and lilac earrings by BayMoonDesign

My other go to favorites that I use when designing jewelry with purple are Ultra Violet and Misty lilac.  The Pantone palette Purple Haze is another palette that has my favorite purple combinations. The purple and lilac earrings have textured ceramics by Marsha Neal Studio.  If you would like to purchase these earrings they are available at BayMoonDesign.

photo of a purple drink by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash
Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash
I intend to grab a warm purple beverage and enjoy seeing what everyone made with my favorite color.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

January Art Bead Scene Challenge


Title of watercolor:  Spring  By: Frances MacDonald

Title: Spring
By: Frances MacDonald
Date: c. 1900-1905
Medium: Watercolor on linen

Every month the Art Bead Scene challenges their readers to create jewelry inspired by a featured artwork. You have until the end of the month to share your work and then they pick two winners to receive beads and jewelry-making supplies from their sponsors. The only rule is that you must use at least one art bead in your piece!

This month's artwork is Spring by Frances MacDonald (1873-1921). She was a Scottish painter who contributed greatly to the “Glasgow Style” during the 1890s.  She was a great influence during the Art Nouveau period and the styles that it ushered in. Her style of Art Nouveau (literally “new art”) with its fluid linear forms is inspired by natural plant life, drawing on nature, gender, symbolism, mythology and modernity. The dreamy colors of the period were light and neutral, metallic and natural. The shapes are languid but there is also an element of more modern geometry, like squares and intersecting lines.




Pantone's Color of the Year--Ultra Violet
Pantone's Color of the Year--Ultra Violet

The color of the year for 2018 is Ultraviolet and this painting is perfect inspiration for using violet in a piece of art jewelry.  I love purple so this is my big chance to use some from my hoard of beads to create. 
Pansies Photo by Jakub Jacobsky on Unsplash
I look forward to pansies in the fall and spring so I couldn't resist these floral beads by by British artisan Natalie McKenna of Grubbi. The pansy beads have the perfect purples, greens, and yellow colors in the painting and the subject of pansies is perfect for this watercolor.  

Long Pansy Earrings by BayMoonDesign
Long Pansy Earrings by BayMoonDesign
I love the fact that these ceramics have a pretty back which is a green leaf.  These pretty floral beads are paired with violet Swarvoski crystals and pearls that dangle from the bottoms.  A couple of Czech glass matte metallics English cut beads and a few Czech glass luster root beer AB O-beads top off the earrings.  The pansy earrings have sterling silver ear wires. These handmade earrings are available HERE.

Other side of Long Pansy Earrings by BayMoonDesign
Other side of Long Pansy Earrings by BayMoonDesign
 These pansy earrings make a great birthday or Valentine gift.

I find the fact that these earrings are ceramics amazing. They look a lot like wood. I discovered that these ceramics are made from stoneware clay. Once shaped they are left to dry out for up to 7 days, they then go through their first bisque firing at cone 04 for approx 14 hour including cooling. They are then glazed with high fire glazes and fired for a second time to cone 6 (1222C) for approx 18 hours including cooling. A third and fourth firing in the kiln makes the image/word permanent. A lot of time and effort goes into these miniature pieces of art.

What are your thoughts on these ceramics and earrings?