The Challenge of Travel Blog Hop

The premise of this blog hop was to travel places we've never been through jewellery.  I chose New Zealand since it's a country I've never been too... when I think of New Zealand I think of  bright greens and blues surrounding Mountains  and of course Kiwi birds.... Well my kiwi bird bead has a lovely background but the little brown blob did nothing for me so it is no residing in Fred Fishes aquarium.  (One of these days he's going to run out of aquarium to swim in!)

As I was strolling through photos of New Zealand I kept running into sets for the Tolkien books... I've always loved the intro to The Hobbit... so my necklace is a tribute to Bilbo  and all the hours of pleasure people have had reading about him....  I've even include the  door into his hobbit hole as a bead in  my necklace ....

Using the flag as a jumping off point was suggested... well it's red white and blue with Stars and a union Jack... Those colours are not New Zealand in my mind! I see New  Zealand as blues, greens purples and more blues....






New Zealand's aboriginal population are the Maori's... traditionally they had elaborate tattoos... The tattoos remind me a bit of the intricately filigreed steel beads that I've been  enamelling for the last 18 months... so my trip through New Zealand is colour. 

 The necklace has a lampworked tree bead as a focal and then grades up through blue water, green trees, purple mountains and then back into blue sky;  my version of a New Zealand landscape.

I've finished the necklace with one of my enameled toggles!  All components of this necklace are made by me except for the chain which was purchased as chain.











In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole and that means comfort.
It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel; a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats - the hobbit was fond of visitors.  (From 'the Hobit' JR Tolkein)
 
And speaking of visiting I would love you to visit me on this blog hop! Don't forget to visit the other participants!  A list can be found here! http://treasures-found.blogspot.ca/

 

ABS March Challenge... 'Street Scene in Montmartre'

 Van Gough's Street Scene in Montmarte is this months inspiration for the ABS Challenge... Some months I look at the picture and nothing happens... other months I can see the focal but it never gets into the kiln....  This month I took one look at that painting and thought this will be FUN!

First off... Make a focal ....  Usually my version of the focal is a miniature of some element of the painting...

I wasn't sure about adding the french flag to the bead then thought nope... I can make an enameled French flag...  Lucky it was a French flag... most other flags would have been beyond by enamel talents!... & I couldn't resist trying to do a pinwheel to represent the windmills... I made the mistake of punching all 5 holes before I started... think it would have been much easier to bend the copper into shape &  then punch the hole... Then I had all my new headpins that I had to show off somehow... I'm really pleased with the way this necklace worked out!  With the exception of one tiny commercial copper bead wired onto the focal and the bases of the enameled beads.... this is 100'% hand made from glass rods, enamels, copper wire and copper sheet...

As I was looking for the link to add my name to the list for the blog tour I discovered that I am thisweeks designer of the week for the ABS Challenge...  Here's what Heather Powers has to say about my piece!
& If you want to do the blog tour

Bead table Wednesday & almost wordless wednesday

 This is the pile of components that I've made for this months Art Bead Scene Challenge... No they won't all get used.  & a Close up of the focal.. How could I not participate this month when the painting was full of black tree skeletons?

The painting this month is Street Scene in Montmartre: Le Moulin a Poivre by Vincent Van Gogh

I'll post the painting when I upload the finished piece!

And Yes that does look a lot more like my rug than my bead board....  There's too many pieces!

Almost Wordless Wednesday & Bead Table Wednesday (BTW)

 This little guy mistook me for a giant magenta flower earlier this week ... I was standing under it's feeeder and it flew round and round me looking for a place to land!  Must have still figured I was a wlaking flower as it sat there and possed for me quite happily!

 

Thought it was time for more jellyfish... the one on the right is headed for my lap wheel.... I'm giving it one last chance before it gets flung into the Cove!