Wednesday, January 1, 2014

December Monthly Challenge Recap


This month the landscape painting by Kandinsky shimmers with life. I love the unconventional colors of this wintery landscape. I can feel the sharpness of the air around me as the colors of the sky melt into the frosty landscape and I long to cozy up in that little cottage in the woods. I just love this painting. And I love what it has inspired you to make!

[I have to apologize for the lateness of this post... Flickr was playing mind games with me the past few days and their new format was not allowing me to access any of the photos. But today is a different story. Better late than never, right? Enjoy!]


Kelly of MackinArt has a way with seed beads. I love the way her beaded components mimic the rolling hills. The bright circles of yellow and blue are a perfect match to the swirls of snow drifts in the landscape. Read more about her inspiration at her blog, MackinArt.


Cate Van Alphen created this bead in the summer, inspired by tropical tide pools. But as beads are sometimes wont to do, they argued with her, and popped up in time for this month's painting. The colors blended in harmony to represent the fading night sky. Read more of her inspiration at Fulgorine.


Karin of Backstory Beads found inspiration in the strong lines of this landscape. The light and the color bring this a vibrancy that indeed testifies to the electrifying nature of this cold and frosty season. You must read more of her inspiration at Backstory Beads.


Kathy Lindemer at Bay Moon Designs was inspired by the cool color palette that Brandi Hussey created for us (those are my favorites!). She imagined a muted hazy sun in this landscape, either setting or rising, and made this bracelet that brings it all to life. Read more of her inspiration on her blog Bay Moon Designs.


Ann Schroeder of BeadLove picked out that little cottage in the woods as her focal. I told her that I, too, was drawn first to the house. I love the mix of brights and pastels in her necklace grounded by the darkened brass. And the red! I picked this painting and I swear to you that I never once saw the red in it until she pointed it out! Read more of her inspiration on her blog BeadLove.


Vintage Crab Jewelry gives us the swirling eddies of snow in these lovely earrings. These look like the frosty peaks of snowdrifts on a crisp and cold winter day.


Oksana Bevs brings all the colors of the Kandinsky to life in this lively necklace.She made the lovely focal in a glass fusing workshop and it happened to contain all the right colors for this landscape.


I am not sure if this is a sunrise or a sunset, but Miss Alice of Alice Dreaming has covered all the heavenly bases. The swirls of the components make me think of snow dogs that rise up and whip the snow in mini tornadoes in a frozen field. A serene and peaceful design! Read more about her design at Alice Dreaming.


There is something so happy and hopeful in this bracelet by Karin of Gingko et Coquelicot. I don't know if it is the sunny yellow or the way this likely jingles when you wear it. I swear I never saw the green in this painting until I spied this bumpy green glass bead in this bracelet! Read more of Miss Karin's inspiration at Gingko et Coquelicot.


I am so smitten with the little houses in this necklace by Ruby Acorn. That is what first drew me to this painting, the tiny house in the quiet woods. I can picture that there is a parliament of owls perched in those dark trees hooting the night away. And the bright flowers and pink glass drops make me think of a snow garden formed from the drifts blown in all directions and the promise of a sweet spring.


I almost missed this pretty bracelet by Susan of Lady Flowers as it beat the posting of the challenge marker in the Flickr pool! Glad I kept looking! I love it when beads that I have hoarded find a purpose in response to an inspiration, like what Susan did here with her Winter Seascape bracelet. Read more of her inspiration on her blog Lady Flowers.


I only recently was able to finish my piece for the Simple Truths Sampler Club for December and are sending them out a tad bit late, but I hope that they will inspire the members to create something special. You can read about my creation on my blog, Treasures Found.

 Thank you for being a part of the creative inspiration on the Art Bead Scene each year. We look forward to taking you on a new creative journey in 2014 and hope you will join us!


4 comments:

Alice said...

Such lovely pieces! I'm always amazed at the variety of designs that come from the same inspiration art. Thanks for you hard work at getting all these photos in one post!

Keith@ Vintage Crab Jewelry and Crafts said...

Thank you for showcasing my earrings. I love what you said about them!

OksanaB said...

Happy New Year!!! And thank you for the challenge! It was so much fun to participate. Looking forward to the new ones :)!

Sarajo Wentling said...

Well I'm way late to the party this month but I did finally get my piece done and my blog post up! I couldn't pass up the chance to play with one of Tracee Dock's cute little house beads.