We're All Ears :: March Reveal

When I first spotted these pictures I was captivated by the bubbles of dew. So mesmerizing how they magnify everything. And I love the way they cling to these minute insects looking like they are adorned with crystal jewels! Do you think that the insects are bothered by this? I wonder if it affects their vision. I think it makes them look even more fascinating!

Beads from Kristen Stevens, Marsha Neal, Marcie Abney, Meital Plotnik and mystery glass

I just knew that glass beads would be the way to go for this challenge. So I sorted through my stash and came up with these lovelies. But I also found some beaded beads that really captured my imagination as they reminded me of the eyes filled with dew.

I wanted to not only use the colors and the dew drops as my inspiration but also the beauty of the dragonfly. To mimic the segmented body, I used these ceramic spike head pins by Marsha Neal in a soft lavender color. I quite like that each one is a little bit different, hand of the maker and all. I tried putting other art beads with them, but they competed too much. So I went with a funky spiky spacer and some bling-y rhinestone rondelle beads, topped off with a shimmering crystal. I call these "Graceful Flight" for the beautiful movements of dragonflies.

Did you know that a dragonfly's eyes have over 30,000 faceted lenses in them? Each one of those units or facets is called Ommatidium. Each facet forms a picture, sort of like a giant jigsaw puzzle, that allows the dragonfly to process the scene in front of it. I thought that these beaded beads from Kristen Stevens was like those 30,000 facets. They are reading very brown in this photo, but they have this beautiful purpley iridescent shimmer. I paired them with some Swarovski crystals in an opal star shine shade. Did you notice the cutest little headpins I found in my stash? Teeny, tiny sterling silver dragonflies! What luck! I call these "Ommatidia" to honor the incredible vision of these insects.

That dew! They are what drew me to those pictures. The dew drops covering their iridescent orbs looked like crystal encrusted chandeliers. I have a LOT of lampwork glass beads, but I really couldn't find what I was looking for in my stash (how can that be!?). And then I remembered that not long ago I bid on some pretty lampwork glass on a Facebook page that posts auctions (Lampwork Beads for Sale?! I can't recall!). I thought the beads were so pretty and I may have been the only one that bid on them. Meital Plotnik is the artist and she is from Israel. They took a little bit to get here, but they were worth it! There is a soft swirling green and blue underlying all the raised dots in peach, tangerine, rose and mint. I paired them with some crystals and bead caps and these pretty pearl head pins from my stash (I really have more than I know what to do with!). I call these "A Drop of Dew" as those beads remind me of the image of the dew on the eyes of the dragonflies.

I feel really bad that I don't know the name of the artist who created these glass beauties. They look like tiny galaxies swirling inside! I pulled out the jade green color with some palace green opal Swarovski crystals. I happened to have these tiny brass open links sitting there. I thought they reminded me of the translucent wings of the dragonflies. These wings are filled with a polymer substance called chitin (KY-tin) and veins. They are incredibly strong and if the species lacks any color in them, they appear to be glassy, as if they are invisible windows. Did you know that the dragonfly's wings can work independently of one another? They look so fragile but yet are so very strong and versatile despite being "Invisible Wings."

So, that is it for me. Whew! That was a lot for me! You may have noticed that there was one bead (the beaded links from Marcie Abney) that I failed to use. I simply ran out of time. So I will tuck these away for another day...

I am looking forward to seeing what you will share with this inspiration!

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