Art Spark Designer of the Week...

Is our very own MaryAnn....

Seasons by MaryAnn Carroll

I love this challenge because when I think about nature what I really love is the beautiful spot that I live in in Central New York. Although living on top of a hill is not the best place to always reside during the winter time, it is the absolute BEST place to be during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

I made these hollow pendants quite some time ago and saved some for myself. When I decided to make something from it, I struggled with the fact that it was flipping back and forth due to it's semi-roundness. I took apart many a design before I came up with the idea of giving it some weight by hanging beads from the bottom. I love the way it turned out. It's fun to wear and the "weights" made this a perfect way to use this piece.

I didn't add anything else to this other than a copper chain since I want the bead design to be the main focus. This necklace reminds me of all four seasons that I experience while sitting inside of the home that I feel very fortunate to spend my time in with my husband Bill and my three dogs... One, a rescue who needs LOTS of attention, the other a lab with serious breathing issues (laryngeal paralysis), improved wtih surgery and my little poodle who went blind overnight and ultimately needed to have his eyes removed. He does absolutely great though! Gotta love 'em!

Her piece is so beautiful and serene.  I know the rest of you are working hard on your Nature Inspired piece!!  In case you missed the official challenge, you can read about it here.


Strut Your Stuff
For those of you who want to show off your creations we have a new Flickr group.  You can find the link on the left sidebar of the blog.  Of course, there are just a few guidelines that have to be followed.  
1. Take pictures of your current creation and upload it to our Flickr pool.
2. Since we are a group promoting "creating handmade with handmade," your jewelry should consist of at least 75% handmade. This doesn't mean that you have to create everything that goes into your piece. You could use beads/components created by other artists. Please give credit to that artist in your description.
3. Your submission can also be loose beads/components, just keep in mind the handmade rule.
4. Five pictures may be uploaded daily. Please understand that we only have room for five each so anything over five will be removed.
5. Have fun, show off!!