January Monthly Challenge Sponsors + Prizes

Our Wonderful sponsors for the December Challenge.
We will have 2 Lucky Winners this Month!

Creative Impressions In Clay

Tari Sasser of Creative Impressions In Clay uses low fire white clay and bright underglazes to create Fun, Funky and Functional buttons, beads, pendants and other jewelry component. Any button can be a pendant, connector, or clasp. One of the great features of clay is that it can be altered and manipulated for your needs.

We love Art Beads and Buttons! 

Tari is donating over $50 in Button, Beads and Jewelry Components.

Visit Tari at her Website and Facebook.

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Mona's Lampwork

Mona Sullivan of Mona's Lampwork creates beautiful lampworked beads. She chooses wonderful color palettes for her bead collections. Some bead caps that coordinate with the bead colors. All beads are annealed for lasting strength. Check out everything Mona has to offer. You need these!!

Mona is donating a $50 gift certificate to her Etsy Shop.

Visit Mona at her Etsy Shop, and Facebook.

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

Textile Design for Cretonne by Lois Milou Jones has with many different elements that can be used for inspiration: leaves, flowers, reds, fuchsia, yellows and greens.

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

Please remember to put JAN ABS in the title or tag of your submission(s).  

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.***

Amuse Your Muse Monday with Rebecca of Songbead

Happy New Year! Not the first 2014 Art Bead Scene post by any means, but my first blog post of the new year. Let's hope it's a good one for us all - full of creativity, inspiration and Art Beads! I have some exciting plans for Songbead - watch this space - and I am looking forward to seeing new beads coming from my Art Bead Scene teammates too. 

When I looked up January and its symbolism, I found out/reminded myself of much - January comes from Janus, as I'm sure many of you know already - the literally two-faced God of Roman mythology. But did you know (I didn't!) that Janus is the God of the doorway? He's also the God of new beginnings, transitions and time amongst other things, but it's this idea of a doorway that really captured my imagination. It reminds me of that image that comes up in many stories - being faced with a collection of doors and having to make a choice....which doors will you choose to enter this year? Who knows where each one will lead.....

I could have chosen 'Doors' as our monthly theme for these Art Bead curations, but I thought that would be a little tricky, coming up with door beads every week! So instead, I took inspiration from January's birthstone; also apt as many of us work with gemstones alongside Art Beads. I decided to make a treasury to share with you today, and somewhere along the way, the rich slightly purplish shade of Garnet became a brighter, more coral-red. 

'Red, Burgundy, Coral Handmade Beads for January on the Art Bead Scene' by thecuriousbeadshop

Little Lady / Spring Tone Ce... gaea $22.5	Handmade Ceramic Beads Round... KaysCreaCorner $4.2	Handmade Lampwork Beads ORAN... NancyLarkin $12	Handmade stoneware ceramic b... ChelleV2 $15.25
Book Bead Blue Leaf Front ... maryhardingjew... $14	Strawberry Soda - Handmade L... sarahhornik $36	RESERVED FOR KAREN…..Handm... Bohulleybeads $3	feathered friends - cardinal... TesoriTrovati $16
Dahlia Pendant humblebeads $18	Little BIRD HOUSE beads hand... CreArtistEleme... $5.9	Breast Cancer Support Epheme... Moreskyejewels $5.5	Handmade polymer clay wrappe... ekkaBoutique $9
RED TULIPS, Lampwork Glass F... SerenaSmithLam... $15	Red and Coral Glass Disc Bea... Rachelcartglas... $24	Red handmade lampwork glass ... MayaHoney $16.5	Handmade Lampwork Red Bead S... SilverReflecti... $14.99

Sponsored by send bulk email from excel.

Perhaps I felt that beads for the new year needed more vibrancy and more visual punch.....however it happened, I hope you like what I've curated for you. Please leave your own links for red, coral, burgundy and garnet Art Beads in the comments below, yours or another's. I'd love to see some more vibrant inspiration for this month! (And of course, those of you looking ahead - these are perfect for a certain day coming up in February.....).

And now for the BeadBlogger Links:

A Bead A Day
Special sparkly gloves call for special sparkly earrings! Lisa is sharing the results of her trip to JoAnn, etc. 

Resin Crafts Blog
The combination of transfers to resin clay and a resin glaze can result in some spectacular pieces!

Looking at Yarn Sizes
Which size yarn should you use? This video covers the various sizes of yarns and what they might be useful for.

The Writing and Art of Andrew Thornton
Using a lap grinder, Andrew facets polymer clay to create really cool, geometric beads.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Are you looking for copyright free images for your artwork? You ought to know the ins and outs of vintage image copyrights. Usage restrictions may depend on where you find the images. 

Snap out of it, Jean! There's beading to be done! 
Jean writes the story of the very first piece of jewelry she made for 2014..."The Viola Pendant", and tells how it came to be designed and named. 

Mixed Media Artist
Cyndi has a review of a new book on working more paint into your mixed media work...everything you need to know!

Beading Arts
Cyndi finished up her last piece for the 2013 Bead Journal Project! On to 2014!!


Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.

January Monthly Challenge

Textile Design for Cretonne, 1928? 

by Lois Mailou Jones

Tempera on Paper

About the Art

Lois Mailou Jones would return summer after summer to paint on the Vineyard. In Boston, Lois Jones’ mother was a beautician and had a beauty shop with a friend. One of her private customers, Mrs. Gibson, lived in Vineyard Haven. She wrote, “Mrs. Gibson discovered that I was talented and she said I must come and paint in her garden. She had a wonderful set of Japanese books of handpainted flowers. That is very important in my career because she said, “Let Lois come over and paint in my garden and then she can borrow these books.”
“I used those flowers for my cretonne designs and those cretonne designs were printed and sold all over the country, as far as California. It was all going back to Mrs. Gibson who lived in Vineyard Haven.” These early textile designs are a testament to Jones’ exceptional versatility as an artist. Interestingly enough it was these textile designs that eventually launched her into a fine art career.

About the Artist

Lois Mailou Jones (November 3, 1905 – June 9, 1998) was a prize winning artist who lived into her nineties and who painted and influenced others during the Harlem Renaissance and beyond during her long teaching career. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts and is buried on her beloved Martha’s Vineyard in the Oak Bluffs Cemetery.

Dr. Jones began painting as a child and had shows of her work when she was in high school. “Every summer of my childhood, my mother took me and my brother to Martha’s Vineyard island. I began painting in watercolor which even today is my pet medium.”

After graduation from the School of the Museum of Art in Boston, she designed textiles until a decorator told her–”You couldn’t have done this, you’re a colored girl.” She began looking for a way for her name to become known and was turned down for a job at her alma mater. She was hired by Charlotte Hawkins Brown after some initial reservations and founded the art department at Palmer Memorial Institute in North Carolina. As a prep school teacher, she coached a basketball team, taught folk dancing, and played the piano for church services. Only one year later, she was recruited to join the art department at Howard University in Washington D.C and remained as professor of design and watercolor painting until her retirement in 1977. While developing her own work as an artist, she is also known as an outstanding mentor.

In 1937, for her first sabbatical from Howard University on a general educational fellowship, she went to Paris for the first time where she worked very hard producing 35 to 40 pieces during one year’s time, including “Les Fetiches” a stunning, African inspired oil which is owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum [1] and one of her best known works and her first piece which combined traditional African forms with Western techniques and materials to create a vibrant and compelling work.

“The French were so inspiring. The people would stand and watch me and say ‘mademoiselle, you are so very talented. You are so wonderful.’ In other words, the color of my skin didn’t matter in Paris and that was one of the main reasons why I think I was encouraged and began to really think I was talented.”

After marrying Haitian artist Louis Vergniaud Pierre-Noel in 1953, Jones traveled and lived in Haiti. In many of her pieces one can see the influence of the Haitian culture, with its African influences, which reinvigorated the way she looked at the world. Her work became more abstract and hard-edged, after her marriage to Pierre-Noel. Her impressionist techniques gave way to a spirited, richly patterned, and brilliantly colored style. Further travels to eleven African countries enabled Jones to synthesize a body of designs and motifs that she combined in large, complex compositions.

In 1980, she was honored by President Jimmy Carter at the White House for outstanding achievements in the arts. Her paintings grace the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Museum of American Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, National Portrait Gallery, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the National Palace in Haiti, and the National Museum of Afro-American Artists and many others.

Lois felt that her greatest contribution to the art world was “proof of the talent of black artists.” The African-American artist is important in the history of art and I have demonstrated it by working and painting here and all over the world.” But her fondest wish was to be known as an “artist” — without labels like black artist, or woman artist. She has produced work that echoes her pride in her African roots and American ancestry.

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors this month are Mona's Lampwork and Creative Impressions In Clay.

Please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!

Monthly Challenge Recap

• Please post at least one single shot of your creation in the Flickr pool. 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!
• 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 Mondays, both you as the designer and the art bead artist can get the credit you both deserve!
• An InLinkz 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. It is no longer necessary to add your blog post URL to the description unless you want to. 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 31st.

Monthly Challenge Winners
• One prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted on the Flickr pool.
• 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 InLinkz code 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
• Formerly the Featured Designer of the Week, our new Perfect Pairings will now 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 in the Flickr pool. 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 Monday here on ABS, 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 added to 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 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 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.

December Monthly Challenge Winners

Congratulations to this Month's winners! 

1 winner was chosen randomly from all the challenge entrants.
1 winner was chosen randomly from the InLinkz blog entries

Our first lucky winner is AnnSchroeder.

She has won a $50 Gift Certificate from JDK Studio.

Our second lucky winner is Alice Peterson/Alice Dreaming.

She has won $50 gift certificate from BeadSwede Studios.

       JDK Studio                 Beadswede Studios    

                 

Thank you JDK Studio and Beadswede Studios for being our December Monthly Challenge sponsors!

Winners, please E-Mail Tari, tari@claybuttons.com with your information (Name and address) so your prizes may be sent to you.

A Big THANK YOU to everyone who entered this month using "Winter Landscape" by Wassily Kandinsky, as your inspiration. 

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.

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!

An InLinkz Link-up