June Monthly Blog Tour

Nighthawks is one of the most iconic images of the 20th century. The brightly lit interior glowing like a beacon on a dark night, the three diners who each seem very much alone even while sitting together so closely, and the strong linear lines and striking colors of rust, green, cream, brown and mustard yellow are so iconic. I love how Edward Hopper chose to focus on seemingly mundane scenes and how his art seems to tell a story. And the perspective of the wraparound window is very intriguing, making me want to know what is just around the corner.

The woman in the picture is missing something. So says Sharyl of Sharyl's Jewelry Garden and what she set out to create is the missing piece (above). She used a fresh summery palette that complements the painting so well. I can see the woman in the red sundress donning this on her way out on the town!

Angela Lund-Logan interpreted the scene with her Nighthawks earrings with wire criss-crossing like the paths of these characters intersecting at this street corner, and the vibrant green glass handmade beads echo the lines in the window. A very lovely design incoporating her own handmade enameled ear wires too!

Reading about the thought process of an artist is so interesting. The way you pull together the disparate elements littering your studio space that were waiting for just the right moment to shine is so darned cool! Bee Tree by m.e. always has amazing stories of her process. I love the way she balanced the masculine and the feminine in this necklace and how it really tells the story of the painting with every bead choice.

 These poppies look like they would rustle in the breeze and smell glorious! Miss Emma Todd of A Polymer Penchant (above) created these beauties as a piece for that beautiful woman in the red dress to wear on her "One Hot Date."

Tracy Stillman created earrings from the deep color palette of this painting. She gravitated to the dark colors of green throughout as well as the clever little embossed rectangles that catch the light and remind me of the windows looking in.

Ghie Malig of Trinket Tales is a new name to me on the Art Bead Scene. She crafted a very layered and meaningful cuff bracelet entirely by hand. I am always amazed at what can be made from polymer clay. You must check it out!

Kirsi from Finland tells us that when you are in love everything seems very black and white. She envisions that this ravishing beauty should be wearing a necklace like this featuring a lovely ceramic heart (above).

Miss Cece Cormier of The Beading Yogini created an intricate multistrand bracelet in honor of her sister using the color palette from Miss Brandi as a jumping off point. Astounding design!

Everything from the tops of the stools, the oblong shape of the building and even the long crooked nose of the patron are all represented in this beautiful necklace by Pam of KlassyJoolz. The color palette is rich and classy.

I am always excited to see what happens when someone tries their hand at making the beads and components they need to use for the challenge. That is exactly what Lynda Carson of Fresh Baked Designs did. She made a very beautiful faux cinnabar pendant and charm for the necklace and earrings that she envisions the lady in red should be wearing. If you want to see her process, she gives a great tutorial!

The negative space created by the wraparound window in the diner is so intriguing to me. Fulgorine took that concept and mixed it with another artist inspireation - Frida Kahlo - and a very moving and raw personal experience and created an inventive focal that gives you the same voyeuristic effect. It may seem that the open windows are empty but I hope that the fact that these seemingly lost souls have found one another in this diner gives me hope that the emptiness won't last for long.

Rocky of The Claying Mommy created an entire garden of polymer clay flowers in the palette of the inspiration painting. These rich and earthy blooms look like they would be right at home on the lady in red.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for taking the time to submit your designs to the Art Bead Scene. We so enjoy seeing what the jumping off point does for your creative sparks! Looking forward to next month!