Art Bead Scene November Challenge - Reveal 1

This months (November) Art Bead Scene Monthly Challenge is an inspiring painting by Marguerite Zorach called Autumn Flowers

First off I had this fern leaf necklace that I had made for last years Bead Soup Blog Party which couldn't have been a better match for this painting. The antique copper focal made by Sam Waghorn has the ferns depicted in the painting and the copper colour is a perfect match.

 But.... that would be cheating. This is a challenge and so I needed to make something new.

I had this leaf beautiful ceramic leaf pendant made by Bo Hulley Beads. I selected some matching beads and sari silk but no inspiration came to me. I wanted to create something in a different style to my usual designs.

Then I made a lot of glass leaf headpins in shades of amber, and wire wrapped them, I had in my mind a necklace full of cascading leaves but again I couldn't get it to work.

I think the main problem was I had run out of antique brass chain which I wanted to use in both designs so I will return to these when I have restocked.

Then I pulled out this necklace that I had made way back in 2011 when I first started making jewellery. I liked the design but it stretched quite easily and I never did anything with it, then I had this inspiration to add some amber leaf headpins to give it some structure. I set about making some headpins but I didn't make them on the end of a piece of wire as I didn't want it to show. I made the leaves off mandrel and then attached the wire afterwards using a blob of glass, this way the wire is hidden under the leaf.

The necklace base is made by threading beads onto wire and then winding them together and scrunching them up. I then threaded the wire of the headpins into the base.

This is the finished necklace.

I don't think it is cheating using the existing necklace as I always thought of it as unfinished - now it is.

Don't forget to have a look at what the other designers have been up to.

Thanks for looking.

Linda x