Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Color Challenge

I have trouble with color. It's hard for me to branch out from a single color family. I try, but it never seems to work. Brown on brown is a safer, but not as interesting color choice as, say, brown on blue and green. I love it when an artist mixes blue with reds or pinks and makes it look fabulous. I get giddy when I see a sprig of yellow sticking out of teals and greens.

So, when I saw this post from Erin of Treasures Found, I knew it was my chance. Erin asked about 50 of us to choose a single color. After we chose our color, Erin picked a color palette for each of us based on our color.

Let me say, I am an earthtones girl at heart. Give me browns, mosses and coppers any day. However, I wanted to do something different, so I chose gray. I don't work with grey often, but it reminds me of winter, which reminds me of Christmas, so it can't be all bad.

Here is the palette Erin chose:



Could it be more perfect? I love the dark grays, the red and the white all mixed in. This palette and all of the palettes used in this challenge were created by Jessica Colaluca from Design Seeds. If you have a few minutes (or a few hours), check out Jessica's blog. Her color palettes are nothing short of gorgeous. It seems she can take almost anything and pull the most beautiful colors from it.

I started thinking about what I wanted to create. I knew right off that I wanted to play up the winter/Christmas idea. The red and the grays just screamed for snowflakes and flowers. I immediately beaded a few small flower motifs. I envisioned a field of flower motifs blooming in the midst of a snowy night.

A trip to the bead store yielded some light green pearls and stumbled upon this wonderful large link gunmetal chain. Early on, I had decided against gunmetal. This chain made me change my mind. I grabbed some black diamond swarovski crystals from my stash and went to work.



As I tried to add my motifs, I discovered my idea didn't translate well. My imagined field of flowers ended up forming an incoherent jumble.

I left the chain hanging on my necklace display and tried several different things. Then it dawned on me. The chain, crystals and pearls were wonderful together. The necklace didn't need a garden. It needed a single bloom.

Immediately Lisa Kan's Corsage Cuff came to mind. Lisa's designs are both beautiful and versatile. I beaded the flower from her bracelet design and slipped it over the crystal and pearl strands.

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I beaded another flower, this time in red. I also adapted Lisa's netting technique for a 14mm rivoli. The end result is a single necklace with several different looks.


I am really pleased with the way this piece came out. I love the simplicity of it and am excited to wear it during the holidays.





I think I like the rivoli best. What do you guys think?

Oh, in case you are wondering abuot those forgotten flower motifs, I did find a use for them. Come back later this week and I'll show you.

Erin, thank you so much for giving all of us this opportunity to challenge ourselves with color.

Jessica, thank you for providing the wonderful palettes.

Erin, it seems, is an over achiever. She made a piece for each of the twelve colors available. Definitely check out her blog post on Treasures Found. The rest of the challenge participants are listed below. Be sure to check out all the wonderful creations. I've set aside most of my day to do so. :)

18 Tari Kahrs ~ Orange ~ Citrus Tones
23 Amy Severino ~ Orange ~ Winged Tones
25 Tanya Goodwin ~ Gray ~ Pecked Tones (you are here)
28 Linda Landig ~ Green ~ Cacti Dark
35 CJ Bauschka ~ Teal ~ Teal Air
41 Jenni Connolly ~ Gray ~ Paw Tones

30 comments:

  1. just stunning, love how you focused on the eye in your creations, wonderful colours...

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  2. First--yay you are in Kansas! Me too!

    I love the sweet flower motifs you made. They look so pretty perched on the necklace. Wonderful color and textures!

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  3. This is gorgeous, Tanya! This is one of my favorite looks, a focal off to one side, with multiple strands. I love how you made it interchangeable with the focals. Coolly elegant, but the flower focal adds femininity. I think I like the last one the best.

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  4. I just love it! What a wonderful pallet and your piece it stunning!

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  5. Wow, I love it (or them)! I'd probably wear the red flower the most. But all your flowers are gorgeous! Great job!

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  6. Oh Miss Tanya! I am seriously stunned by the gorgeousness of this single bloom! This is most definitely a style that I would wear again and again. It is simply brilliant how you made different blooms so that it is interchangeable with different moods and outfits. I could see this working with a whole range of colorful blooms, and I would want one in every color and style! So delighted that you chose to jump out of your color rut and come and play with me!
    Enjoy the day.
    Erin

    P.S. I think I like the red one most of all!

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  7. Great designs and with all those itty bitty beads. Be blessed to be a blessing

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  8. These pieces are GREAT! Nice job capturing your palette!

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  9. Wow! Great necklace and such a wonderful idea to be able to change the flower focals around. I like them all but I think the first is my favourite...or maybe the last....too hard to decide when they are all so lovely.
    Jenni

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  10. Gorgeous! Love the interchangeable flowers, each adding their own feel to the necklace. I couldn't pick a favourite, but today I'm partial to the two last ones as they add more of a touch of colour than the first. The "poppy" for the big splash of colour, the rivoli flower for its neat and tidy design.

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  11. Oh my goodness - your design(s) are absolutely gorgeous! I love the versatility it offers with the interchangeable flowers. I am drooling all over my keyboard right now - great job!

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  12. I wouldn't have been able to resist the chain either. And I love how you put it together with so many different looks with the interchangeable focals.

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  13. I love it. It turned out really well with your palette. I like the colors in the palette and the chain you used for it. I really like the red flower best I think. Very nice.

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  14. Well isn't that clever! The idea of seed beading sends shivers down my spine, but I love to see what people can do with it. This is great, and I love that palette too. I want that bird ;)

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  15. Oh my goodness, I absolutely love these necklaces! Contemporary with a touch of sweetness! The flowers you created are gorgeous. Wonderful work and a really fun color palette.

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  16. I love mixing seeds with metals and you pulled this off wonderfully! Your palette choice may have been a step out of your norm but you rocked it!

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  17. How gorgeous! Love seeing a fellow seed beader here, and I really enjoyed seeing the three different paths you explored. I think the rivoli's my favorite, too, but I'd be happy to see any of them show up in my stocking this Christmas ;-)

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  18. Such an awesome design! I love the ability to have several different looks. You did a wonderful job with your palette. I love all three looks!

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  19. I am... so absolutely amazed and impressed by this. Your flowers are absolutely gorgeous. And I love the versatility!

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  20. Wonderfully gorgeous! What a great design, and versatile too. I love it.

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  21. I like the rivoli the best also, but all of them are awesome. And you paired the flower with a well designed necklace.

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  22. That's a beautiful chain, I want it! Ehm... I would definitely wear that red flower.

    Ambra

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  23. A statement piece with mega presence, wow. I think I like the red one best too...maybe I am just feeling festive today. Amazing.

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  24. This is gorgeous! I've never seen Lisa's corsage done up in this way! It's gorgeous!

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  25. This is so very cool. You really did justice to your palette! Well done.

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  26. I am so partial to red, that is definitely my favorite one! All three are really beautiful!

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  27. All three are amazing! I wish I could do beadwork like that!

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