We're All Ears :: September :: Here Comes the Sun{flower}

Sunflowers never fail to cheer.

Today, I stopped at the local farmer's market downtown on the Square and picked up a humongous bouquet of fresh flowers. I was attracted by the bright colors, the gorgeous purple cabbage roses and the mini sunflowers. I had enough flowers to make three smaller bouquets that I shared with office-mates and the financial firm next door (I won the Packer pool last week, so I felt that I should share the love!), and one large one that graced my desk all day. All for $6. It makes me smile to see it.

In making the sunflower earrings for this challenge I wanted to focus on the iconic yellow and black tones of the blooms. That was kind of hard to do since I don't often buy yellow....anything!

I found these little neglected ceramic drops in the dark recesses of my printer's cabinet drawers, white with black polka dots, from Jennifer Heynen of Jangles. She isn't even making beads anymore (she is a brilliant fabric designer and quilter), and she hasn't been to the Bead & Button Show in many years, so these are practically vintage and totally one of a kind! I paired them with some frosted faux sea glass in a sunny honey color, wrapped up in blackened steel.

Next up I pulled out some new charms that I just made as part of my Papilio line, inspired by butterfly wings in macro photography for the challenge over on the Art Bead Scene Studio (come see our new website and you can read about my behind the scenes inspirations!). Yellow is a hard color for me and I don't have a lot of beads in that color, so this was serendipity that I had just made these. I like making a stack or grouping of spacers. Of course, they work well as a bumper between beads, adding texture, but together they pack a punch. Finishing it off with a golden Swarovski gives this just enough bling that ties in with the flecks of glitter in the wing charms.

Finally, I pulled out some enameled drops and mixed up some yellows and oranges, attaching them to an oval ring that recalls the shape of sunflower seeds. Up close the rings remind me of the black sunflower seeds in the center of the head. I like the movement they have even though they are very simple. I think I might have to wear these today for a pop of sunshine as I move about!

Now it is your turn to show off your sunny accessories! Add your links to blog posts or even Facebook or other sharing site below. Looking forward to seeing where this sunny inspiration takes you!

We're All Ears :: September Inspiration

I live in a mid-sized town of about 25,000. The tallest building we have might reach up to 4-5 stories. There are no sky scrapers to be found in our area.

[Photo credit  :: New York City :: Anthony Delanoix :: Unsplash]

So when I see sweeping vistas of glittering glass dissected with strong steel beams reaching up to the sky, it feels like I am looking at a sci fi movie or a distant alien planet.

[Photo credit :: Lee Aik Soon :: Singapore :: Unsplash]

I am sure that some of you out there might live in big cities, or at least visit them once in awhile, so it isn't such a big deal, but to me these views are breathtaking.

[Photo credit :: Nirzar Pangarkar :: New York :: Unsplash]

I love the geometry...

[Photo credit :: Peter Nguyen :: Singapore :: Unsplash]

and the repetition.

[Photo credit :: Erol Ahmed :: Chicago :: Unsplash]

I love the simple clean lines and the jumbled boxes-on-top-of-boxes shapes.

[Photo credit :: Vladimir Kudinov :: New York :: Unsplash]

I love the fact that there is always one building that totally stands out and dominates the skyline, making an unique skyline that is instantly recognizable as a particular place.

[Photo credit :: Sebastien Gabriel :: San Francisco :: Unsplash]

I love the fact that even if it seems cold and unyielding there really is a wealth of colors all around.

[Photo credit :: Brandon Moore :: Chicago :: Unsplash]

I love the juxtaposition with the hard lines of the buildings paired with the softer aspects of the natural world always trying to intrude.

[Photo credit :: Drew Coffman :: Tampa :: Unsplash]

I adore the reflective quality of the materials.

[Photo credit :: Joshua K Jackson :: Unsplash]

I love the intersecting lines and the dizzying perspective.

[Photo credit :: Matthew Wiebe :: Unsplash]

I find them particularly fascinating at night....

[Photo credit :: Daniel Chen :: Unsplash]

especially when you can see lights dotting the surface hinting at what might be going on inside.

[Photo credit :: Vladimir Kudinov :: New York :: Unsplash]

I truly couldn't pick just one image to be our inspiration, so this is just a small smattering of images I pulled from Unsplash....(trust me... I have double this that I wanted to use!) 

[Photo credit :: Joey Kyber :: Atlanta :: Unsplash]

I wonder which one of these spectacular images will capture your imagination?

Pick an image that speaks to you,

make some earrings

and be sure to join me right here on

Friday, September 16th for the reveal!

Please pass the word

and get a friend to join you in the fun!

We're All Ears :: September Reveal

It was all about line and movement for me this month.

 

 

The challenge of translating a fast-paced music video like "Torque Starter" for me lies in picking something to focus on. I chose to focus on the section near the end when the glowing ball was making spirals that overlapped on themselves.

It took me a fair bit of trial and error, but I finally made something that felt right. Just a few feet of wire wrapped around two different size Sharpie markers made the base of the spirals, wired them totether and added a little glowing crystal rondelle for the flash.

I wanted the ear wires to be integrated into the design, so I came up with a spring that sort of unravels. And yes, I purposely made them asymmetrical! Nothing groundbreaking in this design, but it did open my eyes to new forms (I could see flowers like these) and how to manipulate the wire to suit my vision.

There was so very much in this interactive performance art that you could use to inspire your designs. I can hardly wait to see what you did!

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Let's see what you created!
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We're All Ears :: September Reveal

My color palette for this month was very earthy shades of moss green, brown and tan, with touches of a light aqua and copper and brass metals. I wanted to honor the spirit of the forest and the wonder that these tiny worlds hold, the forest that is teeming with life. There is a softness in these furry mosses, a curve to the landscape of these tree trunks, an organic patina to these miniature peaks and valleys.

A seed pod holds within it all the makings of a plant or a tree. What a marvel those tiny seeds are! There is so much potential within.

Seedling Springs Forth
polymer clay fractured beads - JKD Studio
pearl head pins, hand painted bead caps
Vintaj wire, brass ear wires

Like a seed bringing forth new life, these silken roots reach deep down as if seeking a place to take hold and push their way through the crowded forest floor.

Deep Roots 

polymer clay - Humblebeads
wood plank beads
silken Japanese knotting cords on Vintaj brass wires

 Once the seed takes root and beats the odds of growing tall and strong toward the light, the leaves provide the shelter and the wings to make this regal beauty flutter.

Breathe Out The Sky

 hand patinaed flower bead caps and leaves
glass peanut beads
copper ear wires

What inspired you about the Macro World photography? Do share!

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Let's see what you created!
Please take the time to hop around to the participants.
Leave kind, encouraging comments.
Visit their shops. Make new friends!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An InLinkz Link-up

We're All Ears :: September Inspiration

Macro photography fascinates me. I love to see the up close and personal worlds that talented macro artists can capture. The inner workings of a flower... The secret life of bees... The unexpected textures of metal... Thankfully, with the advent of DSLR cameras and all the fun gadgets that you can buy, the world of macro photography is more accessible than ever.

I went looking for amazing macro nature shots and stumbled on a very gifted artist named Damon Clarke. His macro shots of the forest are what I wanted to share with you today, but given the fact that his work is copyrighted, I couldn't very well use them, even in good faith. But you really should check out his work at www.macrophotography.com.

Inspired by the beautiful worlds Clarke's Forest Collection, I remembered that a few years ago I took a macro photo safari of my own at Pfiffner Park on the banks of the Wisconsin River. That was to test out a set of macro filters (similar to these) for my DSLR camera. Unfortunately, my regular DSLR lens bit the dust when I decided to drop it on my studio floor (and it didn't bounce...imagine!), but I still have those macro filters and one day I will get another lens that will work with it. You just screw these filters onto the front of the lens and turn it into a macro. Of course, to replace, I did buy a more fancy macro lens, but I really loved being able to swap out the filters, and even layer them for enhanced detail. 

Now I mostly take pictures with my iPhone and I did purchase a set of Photojojo magnet snap lens, including a macro/wide angle (but it requires an extreme close up, so it is more suited to flowers and lichen than to jewelry). So this series of pictures made me pine for my damaged lens.

What I love about each of these pictures is the way they all feel like tiny worlds to me. As if I could just shrink down and fall into one to explore the terrain, like an ant scouting a location, charting a course for a brave new world. The one on the left makes me think of the banks of a wide river, like the Amazon, with its twists and turns and coursing currents. The one on the top right makes me think of aerial views of farmlands with crops planted. The one in the middle - my very favorite - feels so alien to me, as if these are dwelling places for some other interstellar race built on the top of a verdant mountain.

So, since there is a shift in the seasons upon us, I thought that these would be a fitting inspiration for September. I am really looking forward to seeing how this inspires your designs!

What inspires you about this world within a world?

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To participate in the We're All Ears creative challenge:

Make earrings inspired by this picture.

Write a post on your blog.

Add your exact blog post URL link to the
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Friday, September 19th.

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