Second Saturday State of Your Studio Blog Tour

Wow. It's already the second saturday in April?? Check out the Beads of Clay Second Saturday State of Your Studio to get into the studios and into the minds of some pretty creative people. The state of my studio is kind of like the state of my mind right now. Kind of chaotic. Everything halfway done. Half assed is one of my favorite terms, sorry. I'm moving my studio AGAIN. Long story. On the up side, moving really forces you to pare down, throw out, LOOK at what you have and what you need.

I like change. I've always been pretty open to change. I think I must have some Bohemian in my background somewhere. I love it when the weather changes. I love watching little children learn and grow and change. That saddens some people to see their little ones grow but I think it's fascinating. I actually like moving. It's an opportunity to redecorate, rearrange, repurpose. Still some changes are very very difficult but it really helps to think of them as part of a whole Circle of Life kind of thing. Everything has a reason, a purpose. I didn't know where this post was going when I started it. Now I do. Kind of random. But hey, like I said, that's kind of the way my mind is right now.

April Art Bead Scene Blog Challenge

I love doing the Art Bead Scene Blog Monthly Challenges. They come up with such interesting pieces of art for the inspiration. Here is this month's inspiration piece.

Finches and Bamboo, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)

Emperor Huizong (1082–1135, r. 1101–1125) Chinese

Handscroll; ink and color on silk; 11 x 18 in. (27.9 x 45.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

John M. Crawford, Jr. Collection, Purchase, Douglas Dillon Gift, 1981

My first thought was there wasn't alot to this. Not alot to draw inspiration from. But I loved those little green bamboo leaves and I was actually drawn to the bottom right corner and thought that would make a cool bracelet shape. I had some wood and other natural material bead in different sizes and shapes that I put together. I also had some silk ribbon in the color of the bamboo leaves. The inspiration piece was done on silk so I thought that was a nice touch. I used my own ceramic bamboo colored leaf pendant as a focal for the bracelet. I think it's cool and funky and fun. I was going to add a little bird charm but I try to keep myself from interpreting these too literally so I left that off. What do you think?