In January 2019, when Art bead Scene came up with their new set of challenges, I swore to participate in each one of them. However, I let the first Art Journey go and participated in the second with my Blondine and Tortoise necklace. The third and current one is based on flowers and bees. Inspired by the encaustic artwork of Ms. Fritsch, here is my Copper choker chord necklace.
Meet The Bees ::: The Artwork of Jessie Fritsch
Ms. Jessie Fritsch uses beeswax to create her artworks. This particular series is apt for the process as it focuses on bees. Her creation process is fascinating. Fritsch heats the beeswax mixed with paint to about 180 -200 degrees. She then applies the waxy paint layer by layer to the canvas with a spatula. She then fuses one layer of wax with another and cools them to create her artwork. To learn more about Jessie Fritsch and her encaustic art, watch this video.
Bees are vital to our survival in ways that we might not fully comprehend. Did you know that 1/3rd of all the food we eat comes as a result of pollination? Take a look at this article to know more about bees. As someone who works more than 14 hours a day, I identify myself often as a worker bee. But after going through the infographic on the site and looking at some cold hard facts (listed below), I know that I have it easy.
Bee Facts
- 10 flowers can yield one drop of nectar
- {one bee can hold one drop of nectar}
- 10 drops of nectar yield one drop of honey
- 10 drops of honey yield one drop of beeswax
- 1000 flowers yield one drop of beeswax
Art component – Copper Pendant
After learning about bees and how vital they are, I knew that this challenge required a special art bead/component. but, I do not own a lot of art beads. Whatever I have, are either gifts or contest prizes, which a few exceptions which I bought. Since I make my own OOAK art components, I do not find the necessity as well. This year, since the art journey inspirations were posted in January, I had time to create two pieces for the challenge. One was in Brass – shaped like a flower and the other was copper. For this challenge, I textured the copper pendant and patinaed it with LOS. But it lacked dimension. So I added black patina ink and brass swellegant paste to it. You can see a WIP picture of the piece below. I took the picture in the process of tab setting a bright pink glass cabochon in it. I thought of adding wire or metal component in the form of a bee to it at that stage.
To bee or not to bee
My initial idea was a beaded necklace with this pendant and a metal component modified to look like a bee. Somehow, it was not organic. The next several ideas backfired as well and I let the component sit for the next few days. Then this Saturday, I was looking for beads to do more Kolam III pieces, I came across this black cord choker, I had altered months back. It was an another UFO. That and a bright yellow bead gave me an idea. I could do away with the bee. The whole necklace could be an abstract translation of the painting of a bee drinking nectar from the flowers. The singular elements had to repeat enough times to create a story.
Colour and pointy shapes became by repeating elements. I chose colours like yellow, pink, and black to emphasise the bee on a flower visual. I added pink and yellow colour to the choker and attached the pendant using a bright yellow bicone glass bead. Still, something was amiss. I went back to the artwork and realised that stripes were missing. A little Swellegant paint and it was complete.
Copper choker cord necklace
The result is a very kitschy, gypsy style Copper choker cord necklace. It may not be the neatest piece that I ever created but it is certainly quirky.It is also very different from anything I have ever made before. It was also extremely hard to photograph – the colours may look slightly different in each picture. I purposefully, did not correct that in editing as that it is how it looks in reality.The flame painting, the enamel colours, and swellegant have a subtle shine that is difficult to explain. How the piece looks depends on the light it is viewed in.
While this design is not what I envisioned in the first place, I am happy that I used two UFOs in it keeping up with my plan to use as many as possible before creating new pieces. Also this Copper choker cord necklace is for sale. Please write to me to buy. Please share your thoughts and feedback on my design. Looking forward to hearing from you.
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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