ABS JANUARY CHALLENGE
Now that the holidays have come and gone, I’m slowly getting
back on track. I thought that a better way to jump-start the New Year is to find
an inspiration challenge and Art Bead Scene (ABS) will always be an awesome
venue for that.
This month’s challenge artwork is a gorgeous 1940’s painting
by Jessie Arms Botke: "Black Peacocks with Japanese Persimmons."
I am awestruck by the details of the painting but I already
know what to do at first glance. I've focused on the details on the delicate
feathers of the peacock’s tail and have chosen the pleasing colors on it. I've challenged myself to make polymer clay cane petals that will resemble the
peacock’s feather and played on some hues of pearl blues, pearl greens, ecru
and gold. I then arranged the cane petals to create my focal flower art beads.
I must admit that I’m an amateur caner but I was very delighted with I've made.
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| Petal canes resembling the peacock's feathers |
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| More focal flower beads from the petal cane I've made... |
Here’s the finished piece:
Since Botke is a fan of metal leafing technique in his
works, I've incorporated some metal elements like filigrees, bronze leaf
connector, and metal chains in the assemblage and added some hints of gold
lining for the flower petals. The metallic spikes which represented the twigs of the persimmon tree have added some modern twist
on the assemblage since spikes and studs have been a trend carried over from
last year’s jewelry style and are still very “IN” for 2013.
