Monday, December 2, 2013

4th Annual Challenge of Color


Mom and I are participating in Erin's 4th Annual Challenge of Color.  Erin allowed us to try two different types of color challenge - the simple challenge, use Colourlovers.com and peruse their palettes or The Twist Challenge. I went with the simple challenge - though I created two palettes in Colourlovers.com to use for our piece.

We tried to create two pieces for this challenge - because I created two color palettes - but we ran out of time.  The last two weeks I have moved into mom's house (FINALLY!) and we have been cleaning, painting, working in the yard at my house to get it ready to be put on the market.  Mom took 5 days of vacation, and I took two weeks vacation to get everything done (still have things to finish up) but I am so ready to go back to work tomorrow so I can relax.

So, only one piece was finished but I do have the second piece to show you to give you an idea of what we are working on.



This is the color palette I created called Ice Dragon.  I started off with white and then just added blue colors I liked.

Now, for years I have been wanting to created a pendant from this idea.  I thought this was a perfect opportunity for me to beg mom to draw something up for us to make.  I picked out several ideas and mom tried to make two of the ideas work but couldn't so she created this for me.

"Ice Dragon"

I have been collecting dragons since I was 17 years old. I have all the Dragon Riders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey, and I love the movie How to Train Your Dragon.  I have so wanted us to create a dragon piece and like I said I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try.  THANK YOU MOM for sawing this piece for me!!!!!

So, if you don't know what a dragon is:

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan (namely the Japanese dragon), Korea and other East Asian countries.[1]
The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact of recent centuries. The English word "dragon" derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), "dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake".[2]

If you want to learn more head on over to Wikipedia where I got this information.


Here is a close up of the beads - the lampwork glass beads are made by us and the accent beads are Sodalite beads.


Here is a closer view of the dragon pendant.  Of course, mom modified a pattern she found for the pendant.  Once the image has been scanned in for future pieces - it is then glued down to a sheet of copper.  I saw out the perimeter of the pendant and mom saws out the design.  Mom then files and sands the piece and hands it off to me for enameling.  I used a base coat of clear first and then I start adding my color enamels.  I used white and four different colors of blue - from lightest to darkest blue to get the colors I wanted in the pendant.



Here is the second color palette I created called Loud and Vibrant.  This was actually the first color palette I created but I couldn't think how I would use the colors on the pendant so that is why I created Ice Dragon for the pendant.  So, I asked mom if we could create a dragon plate from these colors - I have an idea on how I want to use the colors on the plate.

So, this is the second piece we are working on.


I can't wait to enamel this piece and share with you!

Here are both pieces together.  This gives you an idea of how big the plate will be once we are done with it.

So, that is our pieces for the 4th Annual Challenge of Color.  Mom and I want to thank Erin for allowing us to participate in her challenges - we love these challenges because it makes us go outside our comfort zone and try something new.  So - THANK YOU Erin!!!!!

To see a list of participants please go to Erin's blog and check out all the wonderful pieces.

11 comments:

  1. Love how you've comingled that wash of beautiful blues. Your lampwork beads keep the palette icy and the sodalite brings a touch of the exotic. And your dragon pendant - dark, light, warm, cool - keeps us looking! Brilliant as always!

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  2. All I can say is WOW! I do love dragons also and that piece is just fantastic! Ice Dragon indeed! The color palette is perfectly named and colors also perfect. Amazing!

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  3. That is truly an amazing piece. Your and your mom's work is always outstanding, but you may have outdone yourselves. :) The saw work and the enameling are gorgeous. I also can't wait to see your second piece. The colors look fantastic.

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  4. Mouth-dropping gorgeous!! That's all I can say (with my mouth open LOL). Gorgeous pendant and beautifully combined with the lampies. I can't wait to see the second piece when it is finished

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  5. Oh man! I just love the way your minds work! What a great focal you created! It is abstract but still clearly reptilian. I love the idea of an Ice Dragon. Something you wouldn't associate with their usually fiery demeanor! I am happy to hear that the move is going well. You girls will be unstoppable with all the creative time you can share! I am also happy that you could carve out time to be part of the Challenge (I 'let' you be a part of it... pfft! It is so cool to see you two back again!). Thank you so much for playing along with me in the 4th Annual Challenge of Color! Enjoy the day. Erin

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  6. You and your mom make the pendant AND the lamp work beads all while moving and getting ready to sell a house?! Let me take my hands off the keyboard to give you a round of applause. Great work!

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  7. Scrolling through the blog hop and this one just moves! No. It soars! Wonderful!!! :)

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  8. Well, as a dragon lover I of cause just love that pendant and necklace! The icy colours are perfect for the impending season, a real winter dragon necklace. (As I also love fibre I can't help but imagine the dragon shape with yarn woven through the pierced design.)

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  9. The focal is stunning. I like the way you pulled your colors together. The blues of the IceDragon--perfect.

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  10. Wow! LOVE that dragon, it's truly amazing! Gorgeous palettes too!

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  11. What an incredible WIP - as a novice enamaller I'm just in awe of the creative process that has occurred here - what a fabulous design and what great collaboration between yourself and your mum - love it!

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