As man of you know, every month Art Bead Scene features a piece of art for inspiration. The challenge is to use an art bead in your design, anything from jewelry to collage art. I was intrigued by the choice this month, a beautiful watercolor and ink painting – hundreds of years old.
The Conference of the Birds by Habiballah
Page from a manuscript of the Mantiq al-Tayr (The Language of the Birds) of Farid al-Din `Attar
ca. 1600; Safavid Iran (Isfahan)
Opaque watercolor, ink, silver, gold on paper
10 x 4 1/2 in. (25.4 x 11.4 cm)
Perusing through my art beads, I set out to see what I might find that would evoke feelings or colors from this piece of art. I found a lampwork set that I have held on to for years…just waiting for the right project. It is a large set of tabs and coordinating spacer beads. Unfortunately I can no longer find the information for the artist (if you recognize the lampwork/artist, please let me know). Not only were the colors just right, but I can see a stream running through the beads, just as in the painting.
I added a touch of the gold in the painting by working with bronze wire. The wire knots were made by hand, one by one.
To see how others were inspired by the ABS challenge this month, visit the Flickr pool here.
Thank you for stopping by!
-Cindy
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Cindy,
This, as with all your work, is beautiful.
Miss Cindy, this is truly special. I love those glass beads, and the chain style you chose really complements it well. It has an old vintage feeling to it, but a modern twist with those great beads. So very pretty! Thank you for sharing your gifts with us!
Enjoy the day!
Erin
Those knots are amazing! And the finished bracelet is gorgeous….really beautiful..love the color combination. It’s perfect. 🙂
Your wire work is impeccable, as always, Cindy. The center lampwork bead does evoke the stream in the painting. Wonderful interpretation.
Thankfully, the s-word has almost disappeared here – our winter has been unusual, to say the least… and I will not be sad to see it go.
Have a lovely Sunday.
This is gorgeous it fits the artwork perfect and I love how you photographed the bracelet you can just see the water flowing. The pink is the perfect touch BEAUTIFUL!!!
Lovely, great choice in beads, the wire work and the bracelet is perfect.
Love your multi strand bracelet. Your wire knots are stunning and the beads are a great interpretation of the river in the painting, beautiful.
Jenni
It has an antique look to it. Love the copper/gold with the blue/gray colors. Very nice work!!
Wow Cindy, what a lovely bracelet. My eye just kept traveling around it. Ok, I did get stuck drooling on the wire knots for a while. 🙂 Love the colors you put together, what a special bracelet you made!
Hugs!
P.S. I think we need to do a trade…some beaded beads for wire knots!! 🙂
Wow! Yes – those lampwork beads are a perfect choice! But those knots! Totally awesome! This is just an amazing work of art!
Beautiful! I love the handmade wire knots, and the lampwork beads are gorgeous!
I intended to get a piece done for the Febuary ABS Challenge, but time slipped away from me.
Wow Cindy, you are right, that lampwork bead is a PERFECT fit for the artwork! As for the hand knotted wire beads I found myself saying out loud ” how does she do that?” they are incredible, I can’t imagine being able to wire wrap bronze wire so perfectly. Gorgeous piece!
Really wonderful design. I love the combination of one strand and two strands; very eye catching and unique. The wire knots are awesome! Maybe you could do a tutorial post or class on how to create them!
That is spectacular! The colors are perfect – I love the choice of the bronze wire. Your wirework is some of the best I have seen. Your jump rings look so nice and thick. Do you make your own? Very inspirational work. Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful color combo Cindy! I love those wire knots!!
Hey Miss Cindy…it’s so nice to finally be able to visit my Dave blogs on my new iPad…I abso love your bracelet and your amazing wire techniques…it is my face technique to use I only hope I could be as good as you one day…I practice a lot and buy a lot of books…would love to take a workshop one day…well nice to see you…ttfn Lana…xox
Lol that was suppose to say fave…dang auto correct…..
Oh my! Those knots are lovely. Those beads are incredible. A feast for the eyes today – thanks!
Oh! I am in love with those knotted beads! Just gorgeous!
What a gorgeous bracelet, Cindy! And those knots looks so complicated and hard to make but so perfect in this work. As always, you really made a beautiful bracelet and it truly evokes the feeling of the art!
You gotta teach me how to make those knots – they are beautiful!
Such a beautiful bracelet Cindy! The lampwork beads are just perfect for the challenge, and your wirework is, as always, so wonderfully neat. The knots are amazing – I can never get mine that good!
OK my dear- when are YOU going to give a wireworks class? Those knots are stunners! Your work is so perfectly beautiful. Hope you enjoyed the winter vacation with the family- now it’s back to routine again!
Such a brilliant interpretation of the art! Once again, we see the value of certain items that are lying around in our stash for years because we knew they would be useful! The “river” connection is right on target! I didn’t want to be the first one to ask, but others already did, so, yes, could we please have a tutorial on those incredible knots? Oh, I can just feel that bracelet slipping around my wrist!
Beautiful! I love how you have balanced this bracelet with the gorgeous focal lampwork beads on the one side and the knots and cranberry beads on the other. What a fantastic interpretation of the painting. Very nice indeed!
Thank you so much, everyone. I sure appreciate your kind comments! 🙂 I’m glad you like the wirework… I haven’t worked with bronze wire in a little while and although its more stiff to work with, it is a great alternative!
What a beautiful bracelet Cindy. I love those wire knots. They are stunning. And the lampwork beads are perfect for the theme and the knots. Thanks so for sharing this with us.
Wow, that is gorgeous! I have missed seeing your wirework!!!
Great post Cindy…your lampwork beads pair beautifully with the inspiration piece, which is divine btw. Your wire work is stunning as usual…love the monkey fist links!
I keep coming back to these luscious colors…what a great project and it was executed to perfection!
It has been interesting to see what each of you picked out of the picture for your inspiration. I really like the way yours transitions. Beautiful work as always!!
The glass beads are so pretty and the love knots are great! I have to try those again. I just love how they look in a bracelet! Thanks for the inspiration Cindy!
Cindy, that bracelet is so the embodiment of the feeling of the original watercolor! Everything is so balanced and sumptuous and those handmade knots are just the perfect touch. Masterful!!
Gorgeous, as always! What a perfect reflection of the inspiration…
Beautiful!
It’s gorgeous, Cindy, absolutely gorgeous!
That is REALLY pretty!