Rings n Things Remembrance or Surreal

For the month of March, Rings n Things sent a sample of jewelry making materials focused on "Remembrance Jewelry." This group of goodies might inspire you to make a piece of jewelry that pays tribute to someone or highlights a childhood scrap that's special to you. But all week, I've been talking about surrealism and Tim Burton. So my mind is swirling with ideas that aren't necessarily about remembering but about taking the the grotesque and making it beautiful or juxtaposing startling pieces together. Hmmmm let's see what I've got here...

...a glass bottle with a cork, a "watch" case with glass crystal, a square antiqued copper box....

...a blue diamond shaped vessel, a purple diamond shaped vessel, a small glass bottle and brass bezels.

So as my mind percolates some ideas, I'm wondering what is your mind coming up with?

New Bead Series: Surreal Rhythm

After accompanying me on the "Bead in Search of an Art Movement" journey, you'll be the first to see my new bead series which I've entitled "Surreal Rhythm." These beads have the flavor of surrealism in their rhythmic pattern. I chose a limited color palette for the first bead because I was developing the pattern and technique.



I really liked the pattern on this, preferring to melt in the dots rather than leave them raised. I didn't want added texture to the bead. I like the two colors but decided to see if I could add more color without losing the pattern.




The high contrast of yellow and blue in "Flame" is visually exciting. So I wanted to take this another step further and try another high contrast color combination.




The blue and orange-coral are cooler and more calming than the yellow and blue yet the rhymthm of the pattern keep things exciting. I'm going to experiment with more colors to see how many I can add and keep the pattern.

And I haven't forgotten about the free bead for comments! I'll be posting a winner for the very first Surreal Rhythm bead above tomorrow. I'll take all commentors from this week and pull a name out of a hat!


Have you enjoyed this week's journey? Do you have suggestions for additional color combinations? Tell me what you think!

Miro: Sign-like Forms and an Overall Rhythm

Working at the torch on a technique, I find variations in the inspiration source. It can be a slight variation or it feels completely different than the inspiration. The beads I'm holding in my hand are completely different from what I intended but I liked the variation and went with it. They had a particular feel to them and I've spent this week taking you on my trip to discover to which art movement they belong. I've landed on surrealism.

Surrealism always felt strange rather than metaphorical. And I thought of Dali not someone like Miro. But Miro's style is what I'm reminded of when I look at the new beads. Nancy Doyle describes Miro's painting style: "In 1923, there was a big change in Miro's art, moving toward more sign-like forms (i.e., like hieroglyphs), geometric shapes and an overall rhythm".

The Carnival of Harlequin which is hanging at my local Albright Knox Art Museum, is a good example of the metaphorical use of shapes and rhythm.



That describes what I see exactly in my beads - sign like forms, geometric shapes and an overall rhythm.

Tomorrow we'll end our journey with the debut of the new bead series.

A Bead in Search of an Art Movement

I told you last week, I am developing a new bead series but was wondering which art movement best described it. As a glass artist, my work is influenced by various art movements. If I had to describe a predominant style, it is Modern. I've even named one of my bead series Modern Folk Bird.




Often, I'm inspired by a pattern I've seen and want to recreate in glass. When I go to the torch, I first work on the technique to create . I've rarely recreated a pattern accurately and end up with something different. It may remind me of a specific style and that will send me off on a research project - determining exactly what art movement will describe the budding new bead series.

It becomes a bead in search of an art movement.

Modern and contemporary art is misunderstood but when you know the reasons and the ideas its trying to convey, it's so much more interesting and challenging. So I want to share some of the ideas and historical context behind Dadaism and Surrealism.

So read along with me and share your thoughts. I'm going to continue the free beads this week too. I need to clear out the studio to make room for the new bead series. Leave a comment and be entered in a drawing to win free beads.