July's Art Bead Scene Challenge Results in Bracelet with Women Figures

 "Fireworks at Ryogoku (Ryogoku Hanabi)"

No. 98 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 8th month of 1858. 

By Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando)

July's Art Bead Scene Challenge is this festive image of this print by Utagawa Hiroshige that shows pleasure boats on the Sumida River, with Ryogoku Bridge in the center. Fireworks add to the excitement in the print. The color inspiration is monochromatic from black to blue with touches of brick red and muted rose. I choose to work with the denim shade of blue.

Tribal Bracelet with Women Figures by BayMoonDesign

I really struggled with what I was going to make.  It wasn't until I spotted the bracelet focal by Inviciti that I decided what to make for this challenge.  I love the women figures and the color of the pewter focal.  The bracelet focal has been oxidized a deep red.  It reminds me of the red in this print. I made it into a multi strand tribal bracelet. The bracelet is held together with denim colored Irish waxed linen thread. I used red and cream colored Czech beads, cream wood beads, and black cultured sea glass. The materials used give it an ethnic and rustic look.  I think this bracelet would look great with a pair of jeans.  It is available for purchase HERE.

I feel like I captured the colors in the print.  What do you think?

Tybee Island

Tybee Island is located 20 minutes from Historic Savannah, Georgia. It is a small barrier island with a three-mile-long Atlantic Ocean beach that's backed by sand dunes.

Tybee Island, Georgia

Five Miles of Public Beach

This barrier island boasts five miles of public beaches perfect for sunbathing, surfing, and playing in the sand and surf.  There are salt marshes, and other natural resources and wildlife to explore, including sea turtles, endangered birds, and nature trails for hiking.

If you enjoy outdoor adventures on the water, this is a perfect spot.  

I only had an hour or so to explore while visiting nearby Savannah, Georgia so I walked alone the shore taking photos and looking for shells and enjoying watching others on the water.  When I got back, I was inspired by the beautiful water and beach to make some nature inspired starfish earrings.

Starfish Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These starfish earrings are made from natural brass sheets that have been embossed with a starfish pattern. The earrings are hand painted also with aqua, and blue patinas to created this beach jewelry. I used amazon chips to mimic the ocean water. The metal has a protective coating to keep the color vivid for years to come! I have hung them on brass ear wires.  These earrings are available for purchase HERE.

We're All Ears July:: Flight of Fancy

[Photo credit :: ellehem :: Unsplash]

These pictures are some of the photos from Unsplash that are offered as our inspiration for July's We're All Ears.  The theme is flight of fancy.  I find ballooning an exciting means to enjoy vast vistas.

[Photo credit :: Daniela Cuevas :: Unsplash]

There are many other aspects of ballooning that people enjoy. Ballooning offers exceptional quiet (except when the propane burners are firing) and the lack of a feeling of movement. Since the balloon moves with the direction of the winds, the passengers feel absolutely no wind, except for brief periods during the flight when the balloon climbs or descends into air currents of different direction or speed.

[Photo credit :: Manik Rathee :: Unsplash]

Brothers Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne Montgolfier were inventors of the first hot air balloon. They used the smoke from a fire to blow hot air into a silk bag. The silk bag was attached to a basket. The hot air then rose and allowed the balloon to be lighter-than-air.

What inspires me about these flights of fancy? I love the shape and colors of the balloons. I created this pair of earrings to pay tribute to the shape of the hot air balloon and basket.

Hot Air Balloon Earrings by BayMoonDesign

My other pair of earrings is a salute to the earlier attempts to fly--way before hot air balloons. For many centuries prior to ballooning, humans tried to fly just like the birds and studied the flight of birds. Wings made of feathers or light weight wood have been attached to arms to test their ability to fly. The results were often disastrous as the muscles of the human arms are not like a birds and cannot move with the strength of a bird. Leonardo da Vinci made the first real study to flight in the 1480's. He had over 100 drawings that illustrated his theory on flight and mechanical flight. The drawings showed the wings and tails of birds as well as ideas for man carrying machines, and devices for testing the wings.

Long Yellow Wing Earrings by BayMoonDesign

These wing earrings are a salute to mother nature's great invention--wings. These yellow earrings have natural bronze wing charms that are beautifully detailed. I added cultured yellow sea glass to them. These are long earrings-- 2 inches long from the top of the ear wires. The wing earrings are available for purchase HERE.

I confess a fear of heights, but I do think I would love to travel in a hot air balloon over a grand vista like the Grand Canyon or Sedona.  Does ballooning inspire you enough to give it a try?  

My Polymer Clay Geometric Beads

Tube bead by BayMoonDesign

I am taking an online class "Polymer Clay Cane Design Boot Camp" by artist Heather Powers.  I just finished the first class where we made a flower cane.  When I saw the cane, I considered not even trying to make it.  I was convinced that I couldn't do it. The flower cane was made up of geometric patterns--triangles and circles and it looked very difficult.  I am glad that I gave it a try. I ended up with a tube bead and half dozen round beads.

Round Beads by BayMoonDesign

After we made the flower cane, we used a technique called "millefiori", which means "a thousand flowers". The technique involves taking a single slice of the cane and decorating a bead with the veneer of slices. This looked very scary too, but I was able to accomplish this too.  My beads are certainly not perfect, but I was amazed I even ended up with beads that looked like they were suppose to look. 

One thing I need to work on is reducing the size of my cane.  My beads turned out a little large than I would have liked.  Hopefully the next batch will yield more beads that are smaller.  I would also like to make a lentil which looked too imposing to even try.

I am pretty happy with my results.  What do you think of them?