Studio Saturday - Design Basics

Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.

This weeks winner is Valerie C., congratulations!

You have won a ceramic clasp from Gaea, compliments of Lorelei Eurto.  Please email Lorelei with your mailing address and she'll send that right out to you.

Welcome to the Humblebeads Studio this week.

You know how when the universe wants to tell you something you'll keep hearing it over and over again from all sorts of different places? Well, the universe has been saying to me - good design is good design and returning to the basics will give your work strength, vitality and new life.

Margie Deeb gave an insightful talk on the Bead Cruise about Finding Inspiration Everywhere and using the basic elements of color to improve your jewelry design. That really got my attention. So much of my design process is based on instinct, what I like and want to work with at the moment, that I don't give much thought to using those basic principles of design anymore. And this is something I've been working on this week, having a thoughtfulness to my process.
I've been keeping a little checklist in my head:

Unity - an overall cohesiveness to the design, each element relates to another part.

Balance - usually asymmetrical, but there is a sense of each part balances another whether in shape, color or texture, etc.

Repetition - it may not be overt, but there is repetition and some form of pattern.

Texture - a play of textures adds excitement to a piece.

Contrast - there has be some part of the design that stands out, the contrast can be in any of the other design principles. A lack of contrast is a sure-fire recipe for a boring design.

Color - color can be second nature, but taking a little time to think out a palette based on color theory principles can add a new sophistication to a design.

So what creative lesson has the universe been whispering or shouting to you lately? 

Leave a comment and we'll draw one random winner next week to receive one of my Poppy beads.

Findings Worth Finding - Viva Mexicana

TierraCast has a new line of beads, charms and findings called Viva Mexicana!  The line is inspired by Day of the Dead, Mexican Milagros (Miracles) & Religious Iconography and Talavera pottery designs.

I'm lovin' the Paloma connectors and beads! 

You can view the entire line at Rings & Things.

Match this collection with your favorite sugar skull and flower art beads for a Fiesta inspired creation.

Ceramic beads from Gaea

2010 Color of the Year!

Turquoise

“In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”
To read the entire article from Pantone, visit this link.

Add in splashes of red with turquoise for a vintage inspired look.

Mix turquoise with bronze and copper for an earthy feel.

Add blue, cream and brown for a surf and sand combination.

Green and yellow combined with turquoise add a playful spring quality to a color palette.

Beads featured are from my Humblebeads Etsy shop.

February Monthly Challenge Prizes

We have prizes this month from 3 different artists! Winners will be chosen randomly.



ABS Editor Jennifer Heynen of Jangles is donating a set of Hearts.
Jennifer's art is so fun and playful! These hearts will make a great addition to someone's bead stash.

Visit Jennifer at her blog, Etsy Shop, and Etsy Shop #2!

Mary of Jubilee donation is a set of raku beads. Mary's beads are so wonderful and earthy. There are so many possibilities for the lucky winner of these beads.

Visit Mary's Etsy Shop!

Jenn at Blue Seraphim prize for one lucky entrant is a set of glass lampworked beads.
The color and texture these beautiful beads would make a great necklace or bracelet.
 
Visit Jenn's Etsy shop!

Get your Art Beads, Art Buttons, Art Charms or Art Pendants out, start creating and enter this months challenge! 

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

"Luna Park" painting by Vestie Davis has the bold colors along with bold repeating designs and words. Great inspiration this months challenge.

February Monthly Challenge

Luna Park

Vestie Davis (1903-1978) New York :: Oil on Canvas, 16" x 20"
American Folk Art Museum, bequest Gloria Bley Miller 2008.5.16

"Born in Baltimore, Maryland on November 10, 1903, Davis went to New York City in 1928 and worked as a circus barker, newsstand manager and undertaker. Completely unschooled in the arts, he began painting after seeing a gallery painting on 57th Street. He said, "I can paint like that" and went to the paint store. Within a few days, he completed a work which sold. He is referred to as the city primitive. Discovered by a collector, he was featured at the Museum of American Folk Art. At first he painted only buildings but found that more popular were scenes with people. None of them are ever in a hurry. There is a sense of peace and joy and civility."

"Vestie Davis's New York is a bright and shiny place with impressive and diverse landmark buildings, bridges, parks, and beaches. It is a hub of civic, business, and recreational activity chronicled in the artist’s meticulously detailed pictures from the 1950s through the 1970s. Davis focuses on New York’s historic, civic, and mercantile interests in works such as Fraunces Tavern, Wall Street, City Hall, New York Public Library, and Brooklyn Bridge. Recreational sites are beautifully rendered in Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center and the fantasy architectural Luna Park at Coney Island. A preservationist, Davis predicted that some of his favorite sites would not survive the rapidly changing needs of the city. He faithfully rendered scenes of Steeplechase at Coney Island and the Ninth Avenue Elevated subway with this in mind."

Your entry this month can be influenced by the colors, pattern or whatever you choose to focus on for your creation. Just remember to include at least one art bead in your design.

The Prizes:

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

Our sponsors this month are sponsors: Jennifer Heynen of Jangles, Mary at Jubilee and Jenn at Blue Seraphim, 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 the 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. 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.

***Beads by themselves and beads simply strung on a chain 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
FEBABS 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. 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.

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

Monthly Challenge Winner!

Snow birds JANABS
Originally uploaded by Janet Snowden McDonald

Thanks to all who entered this month, your designs are truly inspiring and beautiful.

Congratulations to Janet Snowden McDonald! Her entry was picked randomly from all the qualifying entries this month.

Janet will receive beads from our three sponsors: Mary Ann Carroll, Humblebeads and SueBeads.

Join us tomorrow for our new monthly challenge!

DESIGNER OF THE WEEK

Each Monday we feature the Designer of the Week. One of our editors pick their favorite from the Monthly Challenge entries. This week's featured designer is Lisa of Lucid Moon Studio with her entry, "Monet's La Pie."



ABS Editor Lorelei Eurto says Lisa Petrillo creates a calm and relaxing feeling in her necklace design, just exactly as the painting by Monet. " I love that Lisa used a few bird beads in her design, the owl from Green Girl Studios, and the Bird focal from Lynn Davis. The wood beads give it that earthy feel, and the icy silver chain and opal beads mimick the snowy scene perfectly!"

See more at of-Lisa's jewelry at her Etsy shop. Read up on what she's up to at her blog.

© Musée d'Orsay

Join us later today for the winner of the January Monthly Challenge!