Blondine and the Tortoise necklace

Until last month, I had not heard of Virginia Frances Sterrett. Nor had I heard of Blondine, let alone the Old French Fairy Tales (1920) by Comtessede Segur. I was introduced to this artist, character, and the story book ( in that order) through the Art bead scene challenge for March 2019. The challenge began in 2019 after a hiatus in mid 2018. The last ABSC I took part was in April 2018 with the Shiva Shakti Prema necklace which I won. Out of the three paintings in the inspiration post, I picked the one titled Blondine and the Tortoise. It is a fantasy story about a girl and the painful journey that she undergoes to learn about the fate of her friends. Much like the Grimm tales, this one too is full of suffering.

Blondine and the Tortoise

Had I been my usual self, I would have located the necklace in the crux of the story by incorporating elements from it. It would have been narrative in nature. However, I am quite lost at the moment. So I decided to simplify and use elements like shapes, colours and textures from the painting. Having picked blue, dull green, and orange as my colours, I wondered about the art bead. since this was the ABS challenge. I picked up Staci Louise’s triangular bead with vines and flowers on it, similar to those in the painting. However, the phallic symbolism and the placement of the holes leading to a very Lingayat style necklace (albeit without the casket) did not work out for me.

I tried several others from my tiny stash of  art beads but had come back to this one as I didn’t have any that was a better fit. I comforted myself saying that, the bead could become the tortoise supporting the orange clad Blondine. Plus, it gave the necklace the long, linear style that I wanted for this inspiration.

Blondine and the Tortoise necklace

I made this necklace during my “breaks” over 3 days. The real challenge was to use old beads from my stash to make a new design that was saleable. The overall form of the necklace is quite different from my usual creations. But the bold use of colour and the asymmetrical pattern of the looped beads puts it in my wheelhouse. What do you think? The necklace is sold.

So far, I am unable to find any subtext in the piece. But if you do, please tell me in the comments. I would love to write a story ex post facto.

I hope you found it interesting
Cheers