Friday, November 30, 2012

challenge of color!

here we arrive at erin prais-hintz' final challenge for 2012; the challenge of color! thank you so much, erin and brandi hussey. i've long been a fan of brandi's work, and am thrilled to finally be able to use one of her palettes to make a piece of jewelry.


i saw the blog hop last year and decided i would try my best to do it this year, because it looked like so much fun. i actually got to participate in all four of erin's challenges this year. i've so enjoyed them and feel like i pushed some boundaries with my work. :) yay!

so i chose the richat structure.


the richat structure is located in the sahara desert.

the sahara desert


it's a wonderfully mysterious land form; no one really knows how it came to be. there are theories, and i'll share two of them here. first; it's a crater from a meteor. this idea really isn't given any credence by scholars because the structure isn't deeply concave and is missing the kind of rocks and minerals formed when such a high-velocity collision occurs. so, the other supposition that i would like to mention is that it was once a dome, that has slowly eroded in a totally unique fashion.

richat structure

but everyone agrees it's a fascinating land form and requires much more study. i thought one of the coolest stories about the richat structure is that the astronauts can see it from space, and always look for it on missions. they've named it earth's bulls-eye. ;) visit this amusing description from a scientist's point of view of how the structure might have formed and how the structure has been rather sensationalized by some psuedo-scientists.

i chose to focus on the astounding circular aspect of the structure.


i created this spiral focal with heavy gauge copper wire. then i added a few circles on either side to create a framework, to which i added gemstones, in order to reflect the rich geology of the structure. and i went a bit crazy with the wire.



so the colors on my screen are really disappointing me. :( the piece in person is much more like brandi's palette, i swear! ;)

for the back i used simple chain and a cassie donlen toggle.



so here's my dilemma; it doesn't feel quite right to me. but i'm not sure what it needs. more wire? more beads? more *color*?

i'm so glad i was able to participate in all erin's challenges this year. thank you so much, erin and brandi!!! please visit erin's blog for the full list.




31 comments:

  1. I love your focal and it captures the "Earth's bullseye" so well! I like the colors in the necklace .. earthtones with pops of color here and there with the wire. I'm not sure what more it needs .. it's beautiful!

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  2. Oooo, I don't think it needs a thing! I love that spiral focal and don't think you went crazy with the wire at all. The metal, the spiral, both reflect the spirit of the place! Well done!

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  3. Weren't the Challenge of Color palettes just beautiful? I was so happy with the ones I got. You made such a gorgeous piece with yours! I don't think you need to change it any, it's subtle and beautiful. You did a fantastic job on this challenge!

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  4. I think it looks rich and opulent with the metal and those rich colors.

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  5. You've captured the swirly pattern in your palette! I don't think it needs anything else - it looks really good to me! Great job!

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  6. So cool, Beth... could I add that your design has a certain "alien" aspect? Love it!

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  7. I love it just the way it is! The circular focal is so wonderful!

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  8. My first instinct is to say "Yes! More color!", because one cannot have enough color (right?)! Maybe more of that vibrant blue? Maybe a few tightly coiled wraps?

    Whether you add more or leave it, I LOVE that you went with the spiral in the center! It's such a fabulous part of your palette, and something I was drawn to, too. Thanks for playing along!

    P.S. Thanks also for the link to that hilarious description of the Richat structure! I'm still giggling.

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  9. I like it! Good job and I like the way you focused on that circular movement of the sand. There's movement in that focal you made. As for the colors not showing up in your pics, if you're using a digital camera see if there's a button labled WB, this is the white balance. Go ahead and press it and see if it gives you a pictoral choice of lighting (a sun for outside, a "house" showing shade, etc.) or if it says the type. For inside, you want the one indicating either florescent or what they call tungsten. If you have regular bulbs in your house, ok the tungsten setting (same if you have florescent). This usually counters the "yellow" tone of most indoor lighting. Play with it a bit when you have time, just don't forget to reset it to "normal" or "outdoor" lightig for when you're back outside. If you don't have the WB on your digital, or you used your iPhone (like I did), go to picmonkey.com and play around there. They have some apps that will let you change the lighting/color tone a bit until you get what looks right to you. The nice part about picmonkey is they don't store your pics on their site, they save right back to your computer. Good luck!

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  10. I like the idea to use the earth's bulls-eye as inspiration of your focal. That was clever!

    I have the feeling that something is off balance on the left side (facing the photo). I would add a bigger donuts or button to see how it goes. But apart from that, I like your creation!

    Ambra

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  11. A very unique piece. It's cool that you used the bullseye. I would never have guessed that the pic was from the Sahara desert. I think that we all learned more about our earth from this challenge.Great job.

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  12. More colored beads in the large rings :)

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  13. Totally love your interpretation of this color palette! And what a lot of beautiful work you did with all that wire wrapping - super fantastic :) ~JLynn

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  14. I love that you not only incorporated the colors, but also the shape of the landscape in your design!

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  15. Beautiful piece. Love the rugged look to your wire work and the spiral motif.

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  16. I think you have captured the essence of the palette you chose. This is a wonderful design!

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  17. Your wirework is fantastic! I love how not only did you pull inspiration from the color palette but also from the picture itself. The earthiness of the necklace and the "bullseye" focal are wonderful!

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  18. Oooh fantastic piece, well done

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  19. I love how you echoed the topography of the inspiration in your wirework -- the circles are so powerful. Nice work!

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  20. Totally love the spiral! Spirals are such an ancient tribal image and that totally suits where this is located. I had no idea what the Richat structure was so I thank you for enlightening me! So glad you could participate with me! Enjoy the day. Erin

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  21. Oh this piece is incredible! I love it! I agree with Sally, the fact that you were inspired by the palette and the picture is just wonderful!!

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  22. Lovely texture on the copper swirl. If you really think it needs something extra I suggest dark blue beads on the left bead cluster.

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  23. Wow - love, love, love your wire work. The spiral is ingenious and is perfect for this piece! Thanks for sharing the info on the Richat structure - I knew a little about the Sahara, but not that - I learned something new today :)

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  24. I've never heard of this place, very cool! I think you have a beautiful interpretation and to my eye it looks done. Great job!

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  25. Oh, wow! Your finished piece is wild and beautiful, like the landscape it represents. Very, very inspiring!

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  26. Fantastic interpretation of the colors and the image -- primitive spirals. Beautiful work of art!

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  27. I love the way your piece echoed the spirals in the desert. Very eye-catching.

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  28. I might be tempted to add a few more beads with more color. I love color. But I love the way you mimicked the look/texture of the piece with the spiral and such. It's very pretty just the way it is.

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  29. I love it, Beth, the spiral is fantastic and the colours are great too.

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  30. Impressive!! So beautiful and so earthy!

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  31. What a fascinating earth structure! The piece you made is fabulous and I really think you don't need to change a thing.

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