Sunday 31 July 2011

Vaucresson rose necklace


In pretty much the last minute, I uploaded my entry in the Art Bead Scene monthly challenge for July. For a long time I couldn't think of what to do and figured I'd skip the challenge just as I've skipped or missed most challanges for months now. After playing with my stash or embroidery floss, yarn and ribbons this week, I finally got an idea last Friday: wouldn't it be a perfect opportunity to make a new ribbon flower pendant? I haven't made any for ages now and hopefully one will pass as an "art bead". The artwork that was the theme of the month, Morning in the Garden at Vaucresson by Edouard Vuillardit,  features some lovely white and pink roses that seemed perfect to translate into ribbon roses.


Bias cut silk ribbon is pretty flimsy so the flowers you make are very delicate. Just like the flowers in the paintings (though I admit in jewellery "delicate" and "flimsy" are not normally properties you strive after as it makes the piece difficult to use without damaging). I used hand-dyed pink and grey ribbon for the petals and then stitched the rose to a old rose ox dapped filigree. The metal adds some needed weight, makes it easy to attach bails or jump rings and protect the flower from some of the wear and tear.

The rose pendant is made from hand dyed bias cut silk ribbon, mounted on a piece of filigree. The necklace chain is made from space-dyed viscose gimp that I stitched into a three-strand necklace and added linen thead on which I knotted vesuvianite chips and yellow "jade" beads. It's a pretty simple necklace, which is of cause due to me getting the idea so late and finishing the flower even later (petals are easy to stitch, tricky to puzzle together to make flowers). That's the real reason, but it also makes the necklace look like the rose bush in the painting where the flowers sit on winding branches with few leaves.


From the palette I choose just to work with the pinks and greens with a hint of yellow, omitting the periwinkle/mauve/greyish blue tones eventhough I liked what they added to it. If I'd come up with my idea earlier perhaps I'd have time to think of a good way to use them, but of cause I had to come up with a last minute idea and had to think of a design on the top of my head.


Instead of the dull and simplistic collage I ended up uploading on Flickr, I initially wanted to make an inspiring and beautiful etc etc collage incorporating the painting that inspired the necklace, but I just couldn't make something nice today. This is what I ended up with and I'm adding it here more just to show the painting I'm speaking of than to show a good jewellery collage.

6 comments:

  1. It's a beautiful necklace, and a wonderful interpretation of the painting -- I love how your rose not only recalls the roses in the artwork, but echoes the draping of the silk in the woman's robe. I'd have never guessed this was a last-minute creation!

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  2. Simple, yet beautiful. I think it is wonderful the way you have captured the art work.

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  3. That is such a lovely necklace! I was hoping that someone would do a fabric flower, and you have done a marvelous job. Those beads on the silk strands look just like thorns. And I love that the rose is soft and delicate, just like real roses. So beautiful. I am glad that you were inspired to finish this even thought it didn't make it in time for the blog tour. Stay tuned for August inspirations!
    Enjoy the day.
    Erin

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  4. Thank you! I'm glad to hear you liked it. I'm glad I did do all that last minute work: it was hard coming up with a good idea for the necklace/chain part of the necklace so I almost gave up a couple of times.

    And if you think it looks more like a camelia than a rose, well, I almost think so too. ;)

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  5. Design ideas come to us when THEY want. Lovely necklace.

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