May Monthly Challenge

Vaas met bloemen in een venster :: Vase with Flowers in a Window, 1620

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder
Oil on Copper, 64cm x 46 cm

About the Art

Rendering meticulous detail, Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder conveyed the silky texture of the petals, the prickliness of the rose thorns, and the fragility of opening buds. Insects crawl, alight, or perch on the bouquet. Each is carefully described and observed, from the dragonfly's transparent wings to the fly's minutely painted legs. Although a vague reference, insects, short-lived like flowers, are a reminder of the brevity of life and the transience of its beauty. 
A rising interest in botany and a passion for flowers led to an increase in painted floral still lifes at the end of the 1500s in both the Netherlands and Germany. Bosschaert was the first great Dutch specialist in fruit and flower painting and the head of a family of artists. He established a tradition that influenced an entire generation of fruit and flower painters in the Netherlands.

About the Artist
Ambrosius Bosschaert, November 14, 1840-December 5, 1926. 
During the 1600s the Dutch became Europe's leading horticulturists, and exotic flowers became a national obsession. Not surprisingly, flower painters were among the best-paid artists. In 1621, Ambrosius Bosschaert commanded a thousand guilders for a single flower picture. Nonetheless, his output was relatively small, for he was also an art dealer, handling works by artists like Paolo Veronese. Anticipating religious persecution, in 1587 Bosschaert's parents moved from Antwerp to Middelburg, a seaport and trading center second in importance only to Amsterdam. Six years later Bosschaert joined Middelburg's Guild of Saint Luke. Bosschaert originated a genre that continued in that city until the mid-1600s: a symmetrically composed bouquet of flowers painted with seemingly scientific accuracy, more voluminous than those of his Antwerp contemporary Jan Brueghel the Elder. Bosschaert's works have been called flower portraits; each flower receives the same detailed attention as a face in a portrait. Usually small scale and on copper, Bosschaert's paintings combined blooms from different seasons, painted from separate studies of each flower. It is not unusual to find the same flower, shell, or insect in many pictures. Like his predecessors, Bosschaert sometimes included symbolic or religious meanings, such as the transience of life.

Blog Tour

The Blog Tour deadline is May 29th.

Links must be added to the Art Bead Scene flickr page where you upload your entry. 

The Blog Tour will be on May 31st.

Monthly Challenge Winners

Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on June 1st.

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors this month are Gaea Handmade and Mo Martin Creative Glass.

Please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

Featured Designer of the Week:

From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.

How to enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork. 
An Art Bead must be used in your piece to qualify for the monthly challenge.

***Beads strung on a chain, by themselves and beads simply wire or cord will not be accepted.***

2. Upload your photo to our flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group.

Please add the tag or title MAY ABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.

Deadline is May 31st. Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn't followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.

What is an Art Bead?

An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.

Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***

p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.