Thursday, May 31, 2018

Art Elements Challenge - Tide Pools

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!
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". 


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!
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. 

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.
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. 
Artisan Fossils
Fossils of Sea Creatures
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. 
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. 
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!

Guests

Deborah  
AE Team Members:

18 comments:

  1. OH WOW I always love seeing these collages of your work! It's totally amazing, I could look for days at what you do! And those fossil pieces - amazing! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your amazing beadwork never ceases to amaze me! You have obviously a HUGE body of work. And this collection of sea inpsired pieces are all beautiful. Such a varied collection of beaded treasures;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I so love and enjoy seeing your showcase! I really would love to see (and touch) them all in real! Your work body IS a tide pool :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my you have been busy, I'm in awe of your beadwork, it's amazing

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a wealth of beautiful work!!! You are indeed inspired by the ocean and all it's shapes and colors. Your bead work is exquisite! Some of my favorites are the "Flight of the Whales" piece, ALL of the cephalopod work of course and the fossil like pieces. Such a feast for the eyes. Thanks for sharing!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. That was a total treat for the eyes, and so creatively inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am always amazed by your bead work. All of your pieces are beautiful. I can't even pick a favorite. I love them all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. There is so much to see and discover that it can't be done with one look.
    Wow. Even so I can say that the brownish nautilus piece is definitely my favorite. I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a beautiful collection of work, your designs always leave me gasping and intrigued because I love your attention to detail

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow. wow. wow. Someday I want to be able to freeform/free style like you! You have so many diverse pieces!

    ReplyDelete
  11. You're right, these past works are inspiring and right up the tidepool alley!! Reminds me that I have some Ammonites that are waiting to be used in some wire weaving!

    ReplyDelete
  12. It's very clear the ocean has been a source of great inspiration for you. What a lovely collection.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, you are inspired by sea life! Incredible work! The jelly fish inspirations, the tentacle pendant and a lot more are really inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Must admit I barely saw anything after the fish!! I need to make a beaded fish they are fabulous.. then I saw the sharks teeth! wow!! you make such beautiful pieces that I agree you need to get back to it!! thanks for sharing your previous work, I have loved drooling over the photos :D

    ReplyDelete
  15. It's wonderful to see all of your beautiful beaded pieces together, the fish brooches have got to be my favourite though, I love mine, he has the best spot on my wall display so I can look at him all the time!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow! So many cool creations! I'm just beginning to try my hand at bead embroidery and it's exciting to see how many interesting things there are to learn. I hope you get to return to beading soon!

    ReplyDelete
  17. You really are inspired so much by the sea. Your work is just lovely and unique. I hope you have more time to create soon!

    ReplyDelete
  18. (Hi, Lindsay! Arianna is proposing another doll meet up, on a Friday afternoon or Saturday sometime soon? And I'm wondering if we should exchange email contacts, so we don't have to work between here and Flickr XD)

    ReplyDelete