August Monthly Challenge

Twelve Princesses on the Way to the Dance

Kay Nieslen

Published in 1923

Watercolor and ink

This month we are delving into the realms of fairy tales and dreams with Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen. Influenced by the theater, the design of the Art Nouveau movement and woodcuts from China and Japan, his stylized illustrations were popular during the Golden Age of Illustration.

Which direction will your jewelry take this month? Will you pull from the opulent patterns of the dresses? Play with silk ribbon and floral beads inspired by the Princesses? Will you explore the repetitive elements of the tall trees using wire or gather beads mimicking the branches and leaves cascading down from the forest canopy? Will you mix the dark tones of black and grey with the pastel tones of peach, coral, lavender, greens and warm cream hues? So many directions to go, I can't wait to see what you create!

What is the Monthly Challenge?

Every month we challenge our readers to create jewelry inspired by the featured artwork. You have until the end of the month to share your work and then we pick two winners to receive beads and jewelry-making supplies from our sponsors. Our only rule? You must use at least one art bead in your piece!

About the Art & Artist:

Kay Nielsen was commissioned to illustrate Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales, written by Author Quiller-Couch. It was one of these illustrations that is our featured artwork for this month.

His work was mainly watercolor and pen, focused on detailed and stylized design. His most celebrated illustrations where for the book East of the Sun and West of the Moon. 

Nielsen's work has a theatrical quality. No doubt influenced by his parents, who were well-known Danish actors, and his work on designing sets for theater productions during WWI. In his later life he moved to Hollywood and worked for Walt Disney, most notably on Fantasia.  

Born in 1886 in Copenhagen, he was tutored at home after the age of 12 and then taught art at a traditional academy. While living in London in 1912 his illustration career took off with a series of book commissions. He illustrated tales by Hans Andersen, the Brother's Grimm and Arabian Nights. After his work for Disney in 1941, he returned to Denmark. Unfortunately publication tastes had changed and Nielsen's work was no longer in fashion. He lived in poverty in his later years. His work is now celebrated as one of the pillars during the Golden Age of Illustration. 

Summer Wind Art

Important Changes Happening this Month!

We are process of creating a new home for the Art Bead Scene and it will be finished next week! Don't worry, you'll be able to find us at ArtBeadSceneStudio.com now and always.

The best thing about our new website will be our reader gallery where you can directly upload your entry this month to our site! We'll post directions and details as soon as the new site is revealed. 

We will no longer do the monthly recap since you'll share your photo and links directly here on our new gallery. 

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How to Enter the Monthly Jewelry Challenge:

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.

Upload your photo to our new photo gallery (details coming next week!) Please add the tag or title AUG 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 August 31st.
You may upload two entries per month.

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

Entries for Bead Artists

Art beads must be created by you and fit the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge theme. They can be made for the challenge or ones you have made before. Two entries per month are allowed. 

One entry will be picked by the editors each month for a free month of advertising on the Art Bead Scene. Bead entries have to be pinned by the 30th of the month.

Monthly Challenge Winners

• Two prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted in our new gallery! 

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

Perfect Pairings: Designer + Art Bead Artist

• Perfect Pairings focus on both the jewelry designer and the art bead artist. 

• Be sure to point out all the art bead artists in your work in the description of the photos when you upload to the new gallery. Links to their website or shop are appreciated. That way we can all find new art beads to love!

• From all the entries during the month, an editor will pick their favorite design to be featured on Friday here on the ABS, so get those entries in soon.

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.***

Join us tomorrow to see our prizes and sponsors for August! 

I Took the Art Bead Scene Challenge!

I've been having fun creating beads inspired by this month's challenge inspiration. Gauguin's 

beautiful color palette was my starting point for the birds above. I mixed each of the colors in the palette and decorated my birds with island inspired flora. 

My second go-around with making beads for the challenge I went a little more off onto my own with colors but wanted to capture the same wild feel of the landscape.

How are you doing with the challenge? Have you pulled through your stash and started creating? Join in the fun. In case you missed the challenge here are the details. You can find my lentil and disk beads in my Etsy shop.

February Monthly Challenge Sponsors: Soul Silver and Driftless Glass Studio

We have two very talented lampwork beadmakers as our wonderful sponsor for the February Challenge. We will have 2 Lucky Winners this Month!

Soul Silver

Sally Sutherland in a lampwork artist living in Scotland. Her glass beads are inspired by the scenery and changing light of her countryside and a bit of magic and whimsy are stirred in with her incredible sense of color. Sally is one of our new Art Bead Scene team members and we are super excited to have her as a sponsor this month. 

Sally is donating a $50 gift certificate for the Jewelry Pinterest board winner. 

Visit Sally at her website, Etsy shop, Facebook and Instagram. 

 Driftless Glass Studio

Heather Scherger is a regular participant in the Art Bead Scene challenges, so she is a familiar face to our readers! Heather became addicted to glass many years ago and balances beadmaking with raising her family. 

Heather is donating 2 bead sets valued at $50 for the Monthly Recap winner.

Visit Heather at her Etsy shop, Facebook, Instagram and her website/blog.

The Two Crowns by Sir Frank Dicksee

Submit photos of your wonderful Jewelry creations using one or more Art Beads here. Submit photos of your wonderful Bead creations here.

This Month's art has many different elements that can be used for inspiration:  Delicate flowers, rich fabrics, ribbons, horses, gold, crowns. 

We can't wait to see where your creativity takes you with the art for this month's challenge! 

**IMPORTANT** Please remember to put FEB ABS in the title or tag of your submission(s).  Pinterest doesn't keep Pins in the order they are posted.

Provide us with the artist of the Art Beads used and we always love to know all the materials you used. 

***Art Beads MUST be used in your entry.***

February Monthly Challenge

The Two Crowns

Sir Frank Dicksee

1900

Oil On Canvas

About the Art

The Two Crowns was first exhibited at the 1900 Royal Academy exhibition where it was received with critical acclaim for it's lush, detailed painting. 

"In The Two Crowns Dicksee portrays an English medieval prince returning home in triumph on a white horse decorated with three feathers. Wearing a golden crown, he gazes up at a crucifix, Christ's crown of thorns contrasting starkly with the jeweled headpiece and opulent armour of the prince. Although surrounded by admiring onlookers, the prince is transfixed by the sight of this representation of Christ, a vivid reminder of the lack of importance of temporal power and riches." - Tate Museum

I'll be honest when I first was this painting, I wasn't particularly struck by it's religious message and was immediately drawn to the colors, flowers, the dresses of the women and that gorgeous horse. But as I read about the painting I liked the idea of looking past outward and temporary beauty toward those things of lasting substance. No matter what your religious views are, finding riches in things that can't be counted surely is worth a moments pause by princes and paupers alike. And for the record, can we agree that those ladies are fawning over that glorious horse, no? 

About the Artist

"(27 November 1853 – 17 October 1928) was an English Victorian painter and illustrator, best known for his pictures of dramatic literary, historical, and legendary scenes. He also was a noted painter of portraits of fashionable women, which helped to bring him success in his own time.

Dicksee's father, Thomas Dicksee, was a painter who taught Frank as well as his brother Herbert and his sister Margaret from a young age. Dicksee enrolled in the Royal Academy in 1870 and achieved early success. He was elected to the Academy in 1891 and became its President in 1924.^[1] He was knighted in 1925, and named to the Royal Victorian Order by King George V in 1927." - Wikipedia

Dicksee's work was technically astounding and beautiful but his career was marked by a clash of the old vs. new in the art world. His work was considered old fashioned by the end of his career but critics still valued his work and his portraits gave him a long and lucrative career. Women of wealth and prestige were thrilled to have a portrait by Dicksee displayed in their homes. 

Our Sponsor

Please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

How to Enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. You need to have a Pinterest account. Go get one ASAP if you don't have one already. It's easy, fun and inspiring.

2. Email us at absmonthlychallenge@gmail.com to get added to the monthly challenge board.

Subject: Monthly Challenge Board Request

You will be emailed an invite to the board within 48 hours. Accept the invite and you are ready to pin your entries.

3. Two ways to pin your entry to the board:

Pin your photo from the internet (on your blog, Etsy shop, etc.)

Add your photo directly from your computer

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 added to wire or cord will not be accepted.***

Please add the tag or title FEB 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 February 28th

You may upload two entries per month.

ENTRIES for ART BEAD ARTISTS!

• Beads Makers Pinterest Board - Art beads must be created by you and fit the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge theme. They can be made for the challenge or ones you have made before. Two entries per month are allowed. 

One entry will be picked by the editors each month for a free month of advertising on the Art Bead Scene. Bead entries have to be pinned by the 27th of the month.

Beads only - do not post jewelry on this board. If a post doesn't fit the challenge it will be deleted.

Monthly Challenge Recap

• Please post at least one single shot of your creation on the Pinterest Board. This will be used to make a collage for the Monthly Challenge Gallery. Every creation will be added to the collage, regardless of a blog post. So everyone gets included!

Your entry must be on Pinterest 2 days BEFORE the recap to be included.

• Be sure to share with us the name of the art bead artist in the description of your photo so that if you are selected for the weekly Perfect Pairings on Friday, both you as the designer and the art bead artist can get the credit you both deserve!

• An Link Up button will be added to the bottom of the Monthly Challenge Recap post. Here you will be able to link up your blog post if you have one.  Be sure to hop around and see all the great inspiration and leave some comment love!

• The Monthly Challenge Recap with Blog Tour will be posted on February 28th.

Monthly Challenge Winners

• One prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted on the Pinterest board.

• One prize winner will be selected at random from all blog posts added to the hop for the Monthly Challenge Recap post. So if you want to be in the pool for the second prize, be sure to use the Link button at the bottom of the post to share your process and inspirations!

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

Perfect Pairings: Designer + Art Bead Artist

• Perfect Pairings focus on both the jewelry designer and the art bead artist. 

• Be sure to point out all the art bead artists in your work in the description of the photo on the Pinterest Board. Links to their website or shop are appreciated. That way we can all find new art beads to love!

• From all the entries during the month, an editor will pick their favorite design to be featured every Friday here on the ABS, so get those entries in soon.

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.***

2017 Monthly Challenge Ebook

Grab your copy of our inspiring Ebook! 

Inspiration delivered! Don't miss a thing with our monthly update and download your free Ebook. 

We are starting a brand new email list, so even if you signed up before, you'll need to sign up to get the Ebook. Read all about the 2017 Monthly Challenge booklet here. 

Have you pulled out your art beads for this month's challenge yet? Doesn't a flowering field of bright orange, red and yellow sound like a little slice of heaven on these cold, gray winter days? 

Don't forget along with fortune and glory there are $100 worth of Humblebeads to win in this month's challenge! Can't wait to see what you make. 

January Monthly Challenge

 Field of Flowers

Egon Schiele

1910

Chalk on Paper

About the Art

This early drawing by Schiele is a mixed media study in black chalk, gouache, gold bronze paint and white body color on paper. Egon Schiele studied under Gustav Klimt and was influenced by the early expressionism of Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. You can see the world of expressionism colliding in this explosion of colorful blooms. Schiele's signature dark lines and the flattening of space in between the background and tree, speaks of an artist who approached the subject in terms far beyond wanting to portray something decorative. He reveled in the surface of the image, in the exploration of materials and a bold graphic style that was very modern and brute in his day. 

I had only seen Schiele's nudes and distorted figures, but his flowers were an unexpected surprise. He loved creating and whether it was an exuberance of flowers, a forlorn stylized tree or a self-portrait dripping in suffering, he seems to have an honest examination of each and tried to get to the heart of his subject. 

"At present, I am mainly observing the physical motion of mountains, water, trees and flowers. One is everywhere reminded of similar movements in the human body, of similar impulses of joy and suffering in plants." Egon Schiele

About the Artist

"(12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and the many self-portraits the artist produced, including naked self-portraits. The twisted body shapes and the expressive line that characterize Schiele's paintings and drawings mark the artist as an early exponent of Expressionism." - Wikipedia

In his short 28 years Schiele produced over 3000 drawings and painting. He created some of the most impressive examples of drawings of the twentieth century. 

In his early years his was mentored by Gustav Klimt and participated in group shows until his first solo show in 1914. He's work was emotionally challenging and disturbing sexually to the public. His early years were filled with controversy and ended in a short imprisonment. 

He later married and had to serve in WW1. During the war he still produced artwork and was even given a spare storeroom to use a studio. 1918 he started to enjoy his first commercial successes with over 50 pieces of work accepted into the Successions 49th exhibition. He died at age 28 from the Spanish flu pandemic, three days after his pregnant wife passed away. 

Read more about Egon Schiele and view more artwork at the Art Story.

Our Sponsor

Our sponsor this month is Humblebeads. Please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

How to Enter the Monthly Challenge:

1. You need to have a Pinterest account. Go get one ASAP if you don't have one already. It's easy, fun and inspiring.

2. Email us at absmonthlychallenge@gmail.com to get added to the monthly challenge board.

Subject: Monthly Challenge Board Request

You will be emailed an invite to the board within 48 hours. Accept the invite and you are ready to pin your entries.

3. Two ways to pin your entry to the board:

Pin your photo from the internet (on your blog, Etsy shop, etc.)

Add your photo directly from your computer

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 added to wire or cord will not be accepted.***

Please add the tag or title JAN 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 January 30th

You may upload two entries per month.

ENTRIES for ART BEAD ARTISTS!

• Beads Makers Pinterest Board - Art beads must be created by you and fit the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge theme. They can be made for the challenge or ones you have made before. Two entries per month are allowed. 

One entry will be picked by the editors each month for a free month of advertising on the Art Bead Scene. Bead entries have to be pinned by the 30th of the month.

Beads only - do not post jewelry on this board. If a post doesn't fit the challenge it will be deleted.

Monthly Challenge Recap

• Please post at least one single shot of your creation on the Pinterest Board. This will be used to make a collage for the Monthly Challenge Gallery. Every creation will be added to the collage, regardless of a blog post. So everyone gets included!

Your entry must be on Pinterest 2 days BEFORE the recap to be included.

• Be sure to share with us the name of the art bead artist in the description of your photo so that if you are selected for the weekly Perfect Pairings on Friday, both you as the designer and the art bead artist can get the credit you both deserve!

• An Link Up button will be added to the bottom of the Monthly Challenge Recap post. Here you will be able to link up your blog post if you have one.  Be sure to hop around and see all the great inspiration and leave some comment love!

• The Monthly Challenge Recap with Blog Tour will be posted on January 30th.

Monthly Challenge Winners

• One prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted on the Pinterest board.

• One prize winner will be selected at random from all blog posts added to the hop for the Monthly Challenge Recap post. So if you want to be in the pool for the second prize, be sure to use the Link button at the bottom of the post to share your process and inspirations!

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

Perfect Pairings: Designer + Art Bead Artist

• Perfect Pairings focus on both the jewelry designer and the art bead artist. 

• Be sure to point out all the art bead artists in your work in the description of the photo on the Pinterest Board. Links to their website or shop are appreciated. That way we can all find new art beads to love!

• From all the entries during the month, an editor will pick their favorite design to be featured every Friday here on the ABS, so get those entries in soon.

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.***

December Monthly Challenge Winners

Congratulations to the December Monthly Challenge winners! 

1 winner was chosen randomly from all the challenge entrants.
1 winner was chosen randomly from the Linked blog entries.
Winner of a month of advertising on ABS from the Monthly Challenge Bead category.

::: 

Our First lucky winner is Dawn from LaTouchables!

She has won over $50 in Products from Tari at Creative Impressions in Clay.

:::

Our Second lucky winner is Gloria Allen from Wings & Beads.

She has won a $50 in Products from Blue Hair Art Wear.

:::

Our Winner from the Bead Entries of the Monthly Challenge is Driftless Glass Studio. 

She has won a Month of Advertising here on Art Bead Scene. 

Please e-mail an image and link for your ad.

:::

 A huge thank you to Creative Impressions in Clay and Blue Hare Art Wear our November Monthly Challenge sponsors!

Winners, please E-Mail Tari, tari@claybuttons.com or claybuttons@gmail.com 

(claybuttons.com email address is acting wonky) with your information (Name and address) so your prizes may be sent to you.

A Big THANK YOU to everyone who entered this month! We were so fortunate to have so many beautiful entries and experience such creativity from our wonderful readers.

Visit us tomorrow to see what January's challenge brings.

September Monthly Challenge Color Palette and Bead Picks

I really like the dark and somber color palette in this month's challenge painting. Mixed in with those muddy neutrals are the loveliest unexpected pops of fall colors - the minty green in the sky, the pink mixed in with those red poppies, the periwinkle and my favorite is that ocher yellow. Even though the poppy red is the predominate color I would probably use it as an accent in my jewelry and focus on those smaller patches of interesting colors. 

And that's the interesting thing about the monthly challenge - you can pick and choose which colors that speak to you and use that as the inspirations for your next challenge. It's been a while since I've done the monthly challenge but these colors are so intriguing I think I will jump in and create a few new pieces with this fun fall palette. 

I picked some beads from the Art Bead Scene team shops that I would love to use for this challenge!

Top left to right:

Gardanne Beads, Tesori Trovati and Mary Harding

Bottom left to right:

Humblebeads, Firefly Design Studio, Creative Impressions in Clay

Monthly Challenge Color Palette & Bead Picks

Isn't this month's challenge artwork fun? I love the playful abstraction of the park and trees. But what I couldn't help notice about this month's inspiration was how on trend it is with the Pantone color palette for fall.

Even through the colors may be Pantone's color picks for the season, they really stand the test of time!

If you haven't seen this month's jewelry challenge head over to the blog post to read all about it. You have until the end of the month to enter. 

Here are some offerings from our Art Bead Scene contributor's shops that would fit perfectly in with this month's challenge. 

1. First up is the copper pendant from Mary Harding. I like how the curves are mimic the painting.

2. Tesori Trovati's leaf pendant pulls the sharkskin and potter's clay shades from the painting and gives a not to the subject matter - just in more literal terms.

3. Birds and parks are constant companions so one in that pop of orange would be a great focal. Enamel bird from Gardanne. 

4. The teal disks from Humblebeads picks up the green/blue hues in the painting and the branch them mirrors the curving branches in the inspiration piece.

5. More birds in a modern style from Swoondimples. I love the purple and think it's a perfect match.

6. As September starts to wave at us, mustard yellow is more and more appealing. This button from Creative Impressions in Clay can also be ordered a pendant. 

7. Ceramic rounds Firefly Designs Studio in that lovely muted shape of pink would look great with any of the other pieces listed here.

Monthly Challenge Color Palette Inspiration

Well, there isn't much in the way of color inspiration this month in this print from Utagawa Hiroshige. It's pretty much monochromatic from black to blue with touches of brick red and muted rose. But who doesn't love a good midnight blue or shades of denim in the summer? 

But even though the colors are limited the inspiration still abounds. I gathered up some beads from my fellow Art Bead Scene contributors to help spark a few ideas for your muse! 

Feather by SwoonDimples. Disks from Humblebeads. Clasp from Mary Harding. 

Button from Creative Impressions in Clay. Crab from Firefly Design Studio. Enamel work from Gardanne Beads.

Bird from Firefly Design Studio. Enamel pendants from Gardanne Beads. Wobbles from Humblebeads. Tube beads from Tesori Trovati.

Monthly Challenge Guidelines

April Challenge Color Palette

This month's amazing inspiration is from one of my favorite artists, Helen Frankenthaler. I fell in love with her abstract expressionist paintings and sophisticated use of color when I was in art school. This painting just makes me swoon.

I could make jewelry for days with this color palette. Love the pops of color in terracotta and orchid mixed with those succulent greens and balanced by those neutral hues. 

I could see you mixing in colors with leather, waxed linen, sari silk or color patina on chain. Get creative with how you use color in this month's challenge. 

I checked out the Art Bead Scene editor's shops for a few picks that would work perfect for this month's challenge. 

Top: 1. Creative Impressions in Clay 

(Don't forget Tari can make any of her buttons into pendants for you!)

2. Humblebeads. 3. Swoondimples.

Middle: Gardanne Beads. Firefly Design Studio.

Bottom: Tesori Trovati. Mary Harding.

So what colors are you loving from this month's painting? 

Do you find the abstract paintings more freeing or more of a challenge to interpret? 

April Monthly Challenge Details