My designs

My designs

Thursday 29 November 2012

Challenge of Color 2012



I am participating in the Challenge of Color, hosted by Erin treasures-found.blogspot.com and Brandi brandigirlblog.com.

The challenge is to create an accessory following a palette of colors, chosen by Brandi, to match the beautiful pictures of Earth as Art, from the US Geological Survey site. Check the satellite photos all out starting here.

Erin sent me my two beautiful Landsat 7 photographs, with Brandi's color palettes chosen from each photo. You can see my 2 options below.

This is the first color palette.


According to Wikipedia,  Rio Demini (sometimes known in English as "the Demini River") is a river in the Amazon Rainforest of  Brazil. Rio Toototobi is a tributary of the upper part of the Demini, near the headwaters of the Orinoco near the border of Venezuela (I have swum in that river). Some strong colors in this palette; I had to try a lot of beads combinations to get some beads that had the right value and saturation to balance the piece. (Yes I am reading Brandi's blog to learn the color theory terms.)

I found a whole bunch of beads, so I started working on 3 different necklaces (crazy, I am). One does not have a determined exact length yet, so one clasp is not yet on that end (and the lovely silks are not yet cut). They are all a bit different from first idea and notes, but here they are.

1.  Wisteria Vine
     The colors are not totally true to the color palette, but the combinations were totally found only by pulling things to get those greens and purples together, so I included it. How else would I have found how perfectly that silk highlighted Sheila's focal and beads? That palette was the inspiration for sure.



Wisteria Vine  included the following:
etched focal, and etched round lampwork beads - Sheila of Stone Designs by Sheila here
shiny purple lampwork round at the bottom - Amy of AHouston here to see lots of happy shiny beads
lampwork leaf - Kim of Mandrel2 here   
hand-dyed silk ribbon - Jamnglass here
Also, Argentium Sterling silver (love working with this non-tarnish sterling), and a Swarovski crystal
Argentium jumprings - Ralph of UnkamenSupplies here

2. Dusk on the Demini River 
     Picture dark weeds in the water, likely tannin-darkened water with the tree roots (as in tea), and some sun filtering through at end of day in soft mauves, and purples, just before dark. Sorry, the pictures are not great, like dusk itself.





First time with waxed linen. Not quite like stringing with silk, but easier in some ways. I am not totally happy with this necklace, but it was fun to do. I would have done a double strand of seedbeads to balance weight of both sides, I think.

Dusk on the Demini included the following:
waxed linen in lilac - WhiteClover Kiln here
tie-dye focal, maroon leaf lampwork beads - Leah of  Beadsof Passion here
etched and shiny spacer lampwork beads - Daniel and Janelle of Radiant Mind/Beads and Botanicals here
Antiqued brass turtle, and extender chain and hook - Fallen Angel Brass here
Also included amethyst stones (Canada Bead), and seed beads

3. Autumn Garden  (before frost)
     This one reminds me of the fall garden with the grass, weeds, flower leaves enjoying the cooler weather in fresh greens, and my amethyst mums going strong. Notice the same kind of focal as #2?




Autumn Garden included the following:
3 silk cords (2mm) from Marsha Neal Studio here 
tie-dye focal and lampwork big hole bead for a bail - Leah of  Beadsof Passion here
green grass lampwork spacer - Amy of AHouston here
black spinel rondelle - StoneyMarie here
peridot rondelle - krs517gemjoy here
bottom copper ring (I antiqued it) was made by Mikel of Muphintops here
copper coil ends - made by Welcome to My Mind here
Also included copper chain and jumprings I antiqued, hook I made, and some seedbeads. What is a fall garden without some seeds.


Next, the second satellite photo of Earth as Art is here:


Lake Disappointment is an ephemeral salt lake in Western Australia, which typically is dry except during very wet periods such as the 1900 floods, and in many recent tropical wet seasons due to climate change since 1967. Lake Disappointment was named by the explorer Frank Hann in 1897.[1] Hann was in the area exploring the east Pilbara, around Rudall River. He noticed creeks in the area flowed inland, and followed them expecting to find a large fresh water lake. To his disappointment the lake turned out to be salt, and subsequently it got its name of Lake Disappointment. (from Wikipedia)

4. Lake Disappointment
I found the exact right artbead for this color palette right away (from my friend Leah at BeadsofPassion of Etsy). That made it easy. The small blue beads are also hers, as are the two dark chocolate ribbed beads. Leah, these all went so well together. Love them so much. Plus all of the other wonderful, handmade parts too.

The challenge of color for me was including the browns and the ochre yellow. I had some beads that went so well with the blue, and brown but had too much of a warm yellow or orange to them. I wanted to include the palette colors if I could. I think I did it!

The design challenge was that the beads all had different sized holes - of course. Hence the time spent in sketching and laying out. I thought I had a great idea with small yellow jasper, which helped to seat the focal bead, but their yellow was too warm. Then I found the leather in my stash in that great blue that I needed.

I didn't have waxed linen in the color I wanted for linking the ring and disc beads (like an ecru), so I used many strings of sewing thread, as a temporary measure. I wanted it messy and dried grass looking. So that part will be replaced when the waxed linen in undyed natural arrives.

This necklace was a lot of fun. I appreciate the opportunity to mix colors that I haven't done before. I tried to make circles or cycles of the sand and the water.




Included are the following:
Leah of Beadsof Passion's  here etched tie-dye focal, blue spacers, ochre ring,
     and dark brown ribbed lampwork beads
Other lampwork bead - round creamy ribbed disc made by Classysassy here
Creamy ceramic gear ring - Karen Totten here
Porcelain bird in chestnut brown - SummersStudioEtc here
Silk ribbon - JamnGlass here
also, Greek leather; Vintaj findings, Fallen Angel Brass hook, artistic wire; Czech beads


Thank you for looking at my long blog post.
A big thank you to all of the artists for their beautiful pieces that I can play with to make jewellery.
A huge thank you to Erin and Brandi for the opportunity to learn and expand my love of designing with color.

Here is a link back to Erin's blog to check out the other participants,
here


Andrea Ross


38 comments:

  1. Wow Andrea!! What a wonderful set of necklaces you made. Those lampwork beads are stunning and you were able to get those palettes so well. I especially like Dusk on the Demini River. You captured the feeling of the area and the colors perfectly. I love your write up of the setting. I am especially fond of the Amazon River and all things tropical rain forests so this has a very special appeal for me. Loved all the details of how you made your pieces and all the choices you had to make. That was a fun part of the challenge for me too.

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  2. Andrea,
    Those are really beautiful pieces of jewelry and an amazing use of color. You really nailed those color palettes. Fantastic!
    -Susan

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  3. Gorgeous - you really captured the feel of the palettes. I'd steal any of those necklaces right out from under you LOL

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  4. Andrea, your work is beautiful. I keep going back to the first necklace...love the focal and the way you wrapped the ribbon. What beautiful beads you had to use!

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  5. Hey colour palette buddy! Love how you used these colours, you pieces are all lovely and tactile looking :)

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  6. Wow woman - you did some serious creating! All are very very pretty, and you matched the palettes wonderfully. Great job!

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  7. Thanks everyone. Having lovely artisan-made pieces to put together is a real joy. Andrea

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  8. All 3 are beautiful! Lake Disappointment is definitley NOT a disappointment. It's beautiful!

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  9. Those are all just stunning. The focals you chose are all beautiful and work so well with the palettes. I love how you used linen, ribbons and silk in your designs. They add such a great texture and movement to your pieces.

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  10. OMG, you have such an amazing eye for color! This hop was designed for you! All three are stunning! I love your use of fiber throughout ... gives each piece such an organic earthy feel ... and that elongated focal for your second necklace is just gorgeous!!!!

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  11. Both pieces are just perfect!

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  12. Gosh! These are breath-taking beautiful! LOVE the tie-die focal. I hope to be able to mix colors so beautifully some day!

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  13. These are absolutely stunning - I just love both pieces, the colours are spectacular! Ęø̴Ӂ̴Ę·

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  14. Wow - you have truly used some fantastic artisan beads in your pieces! Each piece is just stunning, and I love how you designed your creations! I'd say you mastered these palettes for sure!

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  15. LOVE these, Andrea... pairing fiber with glass components produces such a gorgeous effect! Did you have all those wonderful handmade beads already on hand or did you need to make a few "shopping trips" (I know, bead buying is SOOO unpleasant LOL)?

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    1. The handmade components were all on hand. I live in Canada, and sometimes things take a while in shipping, so I had to stay within my stash. Yet, I did have quite a few to choose from, and was glad there were some there to match the colours I needed. I only shopped for some seedbeads. Yes, I have a big stash of lovely handmade things and wire to make things, and I am not ashamed to admit that I love shopping handmade.

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    2. Oh, just seeing your response, Andrea, as I was going through and making sure I didn't miss commenting anywhere. Yeah, I'm In Canada, too (New Brunswick, otherwise known as the-middle-of-nowhere!), so I have learned not to count on Customs or Canada Post to make things easier for my Muse. Part of the reason I love polymer clay, I stock lots (mail-order, naturally) and then I create. No biting my nails waiting for that special bead. But I buy lots of handmade in other media, too!

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    3. Hi Half-baked notion, for me in Eastern Ontario, near the NY border, some Northeast US packages come faster than Canadian artists' packages from across Canada. You never know. I also have had packages come from Washington state very quickly. Oh the mail, and customs. What can you do?! I also try to have a big stash of beads and wire on hand. Good to hear from you.

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  16. Wonderful job Andrea. I like all of your pieces. You did a great job using your colors. The second one is my favorite.

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  17. I love how one palette can offer multiple inspirations! I think each one is gorgeous, and I really like how you made each your own. Of them all, I think the last necklace has to be my favorite. Something about that blue and ocher working together is just so appealing!

    Thank you for playing along!

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    1. Thank you for all your work of choosing the palettes from the photos. I loved your color theory articles and have to re-read them. So much I want to learn. I think that color combos come easily to me (got it from my mom who is a quilter), but I loved your articles about the reason and perception of how some colors do made great combinations. I too love the blue and ochre, but I had not combined them before. It was your palette that led me to that. Andrea

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  18. Wow, I mean really gorgeous designs. I cannot chose a favorite. I want them all!

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  19. These are all amazing. Fantastic work.

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  20. You did a fantastic job...love all your inspiration in all the designs for Demini River! Perfect beads and designs for the color palettes! Love the little bird in the Lake Disappointment piece.

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  21. Fantastic responses to the challenge. Boro lamp-work beads give a jump-start when interpreting landscapes, aren't they.

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    1. I do love Boro lampwork beads as well, but these all happen to be the 'soft' glass. Love glass in any form, it is my weakness.

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  22. I'm practically drooling. I'm such a sucker for beautiful etched lampwork and what youve created here to show off all those beauties well, it's just multiplied! So very pretty, I could not pick a favourite!

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  23. Hello fellow Canadian! I love your designs they have a beautiful flow.

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  24. OMG, Andrea, that is some seriously gorgeous work you have there. I would be hard pressed to pick one: they are all beautiful, matching their respective pallete to perfection.

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  25. I love hearing the thought processes behind the creations. You were very inspired to create so many pieces! All those glass beads are very special. I will be bookmarking Miss Leah's site to come back another time! I think that my favorite of all of these is the Lake Disappointment palette. I don't use mustard colors like ever, so that one has proven to trip me up! I especially love learning about the origin of the name as I had wondered about that! Thanks for joining in the Challenge! Enjoy the day. Erin

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    1. Thank you so much for creating presenting this color challenge. I love color so much...

      Mustard and ochre are not colours that I would generally work with either, although I know friends who do love it (hence some materials stagnating in my stash). The palette threw me off at first, but I loved the blue and the combo of colours, so I had to try it.

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  26. Incredible pieces...you do such beautiful work! Definitely becoming a blog follower, so I can...you know...FOLLOW! You provide so much to learn and be inspired by!

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    1. Welcome Donetta. Thank you for your kind words. I am still working at being a novice at jewelry-making, and am loving it so much. As long as I can fit in a few hours here and there, I love to design and try to make my hands do what my mind sees.
      Andrea

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  27. Very nice pieces. Great colors, you brought out your palettes very well. I really like the simplicity of the second piece with all the little dangles.

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  28. Wow, Andrea, you've got a fan in me! I love all your pieces, especially the Wisteria Vine! Thank you for the links to your suppliers, too!

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  29. I know this is late...but thank you for featuring my bead in your beautiful jewelry! ( I got 2 views today in my Etsy from your blog post)

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  30. You are welcome Sheila. Thank you for making such gorgeous beads. I may need to rework that one as I think it might be a bit heavy for the silk alone. This is reminding me to get it out and look at it again.

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