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| Lovely Em models the completed necklace. |
A couple of months ago, a dear family friend asked if I could please
create an "over-the-top mixed media necklace with art charms, in forest
green, deep blue, and plum purple."
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| Tierra Cast toggle with seed bead/faceted Czech glass bead section. |
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Though I don't do many necklaces in general, and it has been AGES since
I've done any mixed media work (I've been really focusing on my lampwork
beads lately), I couldn't bear to tell her "no can do." So I pulled stuff from my stash, took pics and sent them to her to see if I was on the right track...and I was.
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| Pressed glass flower dangles and upcycled necklace chain. |
But inspiration was elusive - I knew I had *most* of the
elements I needed, but what about the design? I didn't have a clue where
to start, and it felt like something was missing anyway, so what's a
girl to do? Go on an inspiration hunt, that's what!
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| Ribbons and recycled (fair trade!) sari silks wrapped with 19 ga. annealed steel wire & connected to upcycled necklace chain. |
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| The center of the ribbon section features one of my lampwork beads strung onto the blue and green sari ribbons - I love how this turned out, and I think I'll make more lampwork beads with holes big enough to fit multiple ribbons. :) |
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| The other end of the ribbon section - also finished with a wrap of my beloved 19 ga. annealed steel wire |
Poring through my stash of jewelry magazines and surfing my favorite
jewelry sites, I found some mixed media necklaces I liked. Made rough
sketches of my favorites...and then I really looked at them. As I didn't
want to copy someone else's work, I decided to focus only on my
favorite element of each piece.
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| The center of the necklace front - how it all comes together. |
I made a list and rough sketches of each of those favorite elements, pulled the ingredients from my stash, ordered a
bird connector from Bello Modo, and then started laying things out, playing with texture and color, and trying to get it just right.
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| The charm
cluster: custom art charm by C. Hansen using Vintaj Arte Metal blank,
Vintaj patinas, paper, chalks, & sealer; one of my lampwork
hearts, one of Peg's sparkle-icious dichroic glass cabochons, a cute little beach stone, and more of the adorable pressed glass flower drops. |
Once I started placing components here and there, the necklace came together amazingly
fast - it was one of those
takes-forever-to-get-rolling/comes-together-at-light-speed
things.
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| Bead links made with 19 ga. annealed steel wire, Czech seed beads, and Czech glass beads. |
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I'm *really* pleased with how it turned out, and even better, my client LOVES it! win/win!
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| The bird connector was originally brass-tone, but that didn't work with the color scheme, so I used my new Vintaj patinas on it - love the results! (I *need* Vintaj patinas in lots more colors!) |
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Now that I've gotten my feet wet with this design concept, I think I'll try making more mixed media pieces using this strategy. Stay
tuned for pics!
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| The view from the other side. Please ignore the messy kitchen counter! |
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| How the charm cluster hangs when it's worn. |
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| Another view of the whole necklace. | | | | |
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6 comments:
Love your design and all the components. I think you did a smashing job and your client is very lucky to get something so wonderful.
Dana, thank you for your very sweet comments! It was definitely a challenge, but I *love* how it turned out, and I think I'm ready to start doing more pieces like this. It's fun to do something a little different now and then!
That is beautiful. I love the charm cluster, and how you hung it from the necklace. Gorgeous colors, too!
Cassi, I really appreciate your kind words about my work - thank you! My client chose the colors...but they're some of my favorites as well.
Love it !
Love it !
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