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Friday, September 21, 2018

We're All Ears :: September :: Ode to Autumn

Well, Autumn has not disappointed me yet! She has been mercurial...one moment prancing around like summer rising and the next moody, misty and damp. The colors are just starting to make their debut, while at the same time leaving a crunchy carpet underfoot. She never ceases to amaze, delight and surprise me.

For this challenge - this Ode to Autumn - I decided to sit down with art beads that were leaf shaped. What I came up with for my "leaves" was, at times, surprising.


Resplendent

This first pair started with those handsome carved blood red tiger eye leaf beads. I never know what I am going to find when I sit down to do this, and that bag with the burgundy colored leaves (I also have them in a creamy mother of pearl) literally fell into my lap! I have a little bead shop in my town called the Blue Bead, and although they don't carry much that I like to use, I still feel compelled to go in every now and then to buy something. These were the best find ever! I went over to my tower of black jewelry trays - there are about 8 of them all stacked together with the little flocked inserts holding layer upon layer of art bead treasures, like a sort of beaders' archeological dig - and spied these tiny ceramic flowers. They are from Summers Studio. Miss LeAnn Weih was the artist and I got to know her a bit many years ago when I first started out. I loved her ceramic treasures. But she stopped making things like this back in 2013 or so. I do miss her, so wearing these would remind me of her.


Forest Tapestry

Another artist whose work I have hoarded and who I admire very much is Nancy Adam of Round Rabbit. She is also not making new ceramic treasures. So whenever I unearth them in my tower o' art beads, they always take me back. Typically, I have one-offs and orphans in my collection, but I was lucky enough to have a pair of these marquis-shaped charms (I also have them in a rich purple). I know that these are not leaves, per se, but they have that leafy shape and the colors were just perfect for this season. I paired them with tiny celadon-hued jasper briolettes (at least I think this is a jasper...as I have a whole strand that are each a little different and no notes on where I got them nor what they are called). The design reminds me of intricate tapestries as well as the intricate veining on leaves.


Leaping Greenly

The title of these earrings is a reference to my all-time favorite poem by e.e. cummings, the first stanza goes like this

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

 
These charms really look like the real thing, don't they? I got them from Terri DelSignore of Artisticaos. The finish is very matte, almost chaky, and I wonder if they were actually made from molds of real leaves, because they look so realistic. I paired them with some dichroic baubles from Maryse Fritzsche-Thellens of Glass Bead Art. I originally bought an entire set of these fabulous beads in a variety of rainbow colors. These remind me of glowing embers in a fire.

Thanks for taking a walk with me and my forest of earrings! I am looking forward to seeing how you interpreted your own Ode to Autumn. Here's to the return of sweaters and glorious sunsets and apple crisps and the forest's foliage at its finest! Happy fall!

8 comments:

  1. Your earrings capture all the best colors of the season. I especially love the leaves in the last pair and agree they look very realistic. I'm still waiting for the first signs of fall here, besides the "pumpkin spice" flavored everything in the stores.

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  2. Oh, these pairs are all so pretty and so different. My favorite would be the first pair. Thanks again Erin for your monthly inspiration.

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  3. LOVE all of your earrings. I thought about doing mine in a leaf shape too but not only did I not have that shape cutter, but the pumpkin really went well with what I went with. All three of your pairs are sublime, and I think it's wonderful that you have so many art beads from which to choose! Alas, we are seeing no signs of fall in the Deep South. It's still hot as blue blazes. We might get a cold front next week and we can't wait!

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  4. Love the colors in all your earrings, Erin! And the names match the earrings really well too. :) I'm in love with the last pair. (Also, they look like mango leaves, which are considered auspicious in Hinduism, and thus they remind me of festivals. :D )
    Thank you for the fun theme this month!

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  5. All of the earrings are unique and special. You did a great job building a collection great components to pull from. I loved the theme. So perfect!

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  6. Oh I wish I could get a peak into your tower O'art beads but then I think I would have pangs of jealousy enough to last a few months. That aside, I love the third pair. The combination of colours, textures is fantastic.

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  7. Sorry to be finishing my hopping so very late. It's been crazy town around here! I so loved this theme and, as always, enjoy seeing what you were inspired to whip up. I think my faves are the middle pair with Nancy's charms. Those are just perfection!! Can't wait to see what you dream up for us next!

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