For the March ABS challenge, our inspiration was a painting by Taisia K. Afonina titled “Still Life with Pussy Willows”. I had no idea what pussy willows meant until I looked at the picture and when I did, the painting felt more like a casual Tea table set up than the more formal “traditional” setting that is used for still life drawing in art classes. A note accompanying the paintings emphasizes the above point, by mentioning that the painting comprises of a “Set of objects that are organic and natural, causing numerous associations. Composition of the painting is devoid of stage effects. It seems that the observant eye of the artist captured on canvas daily life of a bygone era. The exquisite silver composition fills us with the invisible presence of those who are dear to us and whom we will always be waiting….”
Rather poetic, I should say and the words “associations, organic and silver” immediately caught my attention. As I started to form a visual image in my head (for the design) all I could think about was something sea or water related and thus I settled in the concept of “Reflection”.
Inspirations work in strange ways and on closer examination of the painting I notices the reflections of the vessels on each other, the light reflection on the vase and the chiaroscuro effect on the sheer gossamer curtain.
Heather had suggested a color palette of pale grays and neutrals with dark peacock teal, purple and dull yellow. But I really couldnt see these colors in the picture. I found cold frosty silver with lots of blue along with accents of purple and on hindsight, ochre. I made two pieces based on the theme – Dew drop and Mirror Mirror and they came together pretty quickly as I found the colors very simple.
Dew Drop
The artisan component is resin pendant that I made with layers of paper and foil and is strung together with gorgeous glass crystals in a frosty blue. The pendant looks like metal, rough with a matt blue patina on it. For added interest I have used silver foil glass beads and silver crystals along with purple glass beads and a double sided purple and green matt crystal bead. The necklace has a lot of intrinsic shine but without that blingly over the top rhinestone type of shine.
Mirror Mirror:
My fascination with/for mirrors is very well known in my circle, so much so that my family never ceases to remind me that I will not live in a room devoid of mirrors. I have to admit albeit reluctantly that it is true. I think mirrors not only help see your yourself, they make a room appear bigger also brighten up the area by reflecting light. I am a big fan of how Ancient Egyptians used mirrors to light up their vaults and how mirrors are used in metal jewelry worn in India during Dandiya.
To cut the long story short, I knew that I wanted to used mirrors in my pendant and create a mosaic sort of look (as an ode to good old Gaudi) to mimic the distorted reflections and depth as showcased in the painting. I used matt silver paper as the base and did multiple resin pours. I made a mistake here. The first pour was ice resin and second was little windows, both of which have difference physical and chemical properties, so I ended up with lots of bubbles in the front and a pattern at the back. I am still wondering how to correct it.
Despite this flaw I really like the piece. It has organically cut shell nuggets from South east Asia, Indian glass beads and a lovely floral clasp. I actually like both these pieces, a first for me, mainly because they are in blue and I tend to shy away from this shade of blue. Maybe as the weather here is burning, roasting hot with complex humidity, I somehow feel that these pieces would bring the much needed coolness to refresh the wearer as well as the onlooker.
Do tell me what you think of these pieces and my unorthodox realisation of the given inspiration. You can find entries of other artists in the Art bead Scene Pinterest page – Beads and Jewelry challenge
I hope you found it interesting
Cheers
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