My post for the Art Elements monthly challenge is a bit different this time. I still feel super bad that I wasn't able to have a project for last month's challenge, and again this month I did not have time to create something inspired by our awesome theme. However, I am still posting - why? Beause the ocean, all of her creatures, and tide pools are one of the major influences in all of my work. So I do hope this showcase of some of my previous work will prove inspiring to you all, and also to myself! I need to get back to beading this month, for my own sanity's sake!
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| Cetaceans - whales and dolphins. The center necklace is my reaction to the film "Blackfish", which if you haven't seen, I highly recommend. The necklace on the right, is inspired by Disney's Fantasia 2000, "Flight of the Whales". |
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| Fish: Fish beads make me happy, so I try to grab more for my collection whenever I find them. Egyptian plaster, Peruvian ceramic, Czech glass, and numerous artist beads and other materials that aren't pictured - all end up in my "fish" box...hmm, maybe I should rename it the Creel? I also like to stitch fishes, and the orange fish brooch is one of my very earliest pieces of beadwork, from before I knew how to embroider, bezel, or even do a proper picot edge! |
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| Cephalopods: Octopus, squid, nautilus and prehistoric cephalopods all show up in my work regularly. There is simply something mesmerizing about their alien gaze and intelligence that inspires me. |
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| Organic: I regularly incorporate ocean made components into my beadwork. Coral, shells, pearls, kelp, beach stones, and many other items - these items already look like they belong in a seascape, and are fun to use to add to the environment I create. |
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| Jellyfish: Jellies, along with cephalopods, are some of my favorite sea creatures. I love watching deep sea documentaries, with all of the varieties of jellies that never see the light of day. Growing up, jellyfish were regular encounters while beach combing in Alaska and Oregon, and seeing them flattened on the sand or rocks always made me curious about what being with them in their element would be like. |
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| Artisan Fossils |
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| Fossils of Sea Creatures |
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| Fossil Shark Teeth: As you can see from all three of these collages, sea fossils are very prevalent in my work. The fossil records of ancient seas are one of the most intriguing aspects of our world's geology. I just love encountering a new stash of fossils to incorporate into my work, and tend to hoard these pieces so that I have them ready to hand when inspiration strikes. |
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| Tidepool Environment: I consider all of these pieces "tide pool-esque". The jiggly wiggly wavy seaweed and kelp, snails, starfish and other critters, the combination of dry and wet looks and textures, plus the look of a shallow body of water all say tide pool to me. |
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| Oregon Tide Pools: This piece is directly representative of tide pools in Oregon. The blue-black color of the rocks, large orange starfish, miriad of snails, sea urchin, sea anemone, mussels, barnacles, kelp and jellyfish - I worked to create all as realistically as I could in beadwork. This is still one of the largest bead embroidered pieces I have ever made! |
I hope you enjoyed this showcase! Please hop along and see how everyone else was inspired this month!
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