I made a necklace for Art Bead Scene's July challenge. I couldn't believe that the last Art Bead Scene challenge I did was six months ago. (See my Inspired by a Painting post.)
Inspiration
When I saw Blue Feather (a sculpture by Alexander Calder) that had been chosen for this month's inspiration, I thought it looked impossible. And then I thought, I should try it. (People who know me know that if something's easy, I'm not that interested.)
The difficult part was finding an appropriate art bead in my stash. Most of my art beads are nature-themed, not geometric. I finally chose a handmade porcelain turquoise bead by Joan Miller. I combined it with glass rondelles, gunmetal chain, a tiny black donut, and a few black glass triangles.
I was especially happy to use those triangles, as I'd bought them 3-4 years ago at a bead shop that's no longer in business. I fell in love with those beads, but of course as soon as I bought them I couldn't think how to use them. Lesson learned: If you wait long enough, you'll find the right project for those impulse buys!
Where's the Orange?
Orange is definitely one of the striking features of the Blue Feather sculpture. I did include some orange, which you can see a full-length photo of this necklace on Flickr. I must still have some orange phobia, given how I added only a speck of orange and located it in a galaxy far, far away from the soothing turquoise focal.
I'm glad I challenged myself this month. Hmmm . . . What else do I think is impossible?