"Vacation is what you take when you can't take what you've been taking any longer."
If that is true, then I need a vacation. How about you?
The Art Bead Scene challenge for March is a symphony of rich color and pastoral subjects from the Master Artist Gaugin. His most famous paintings are known for their shimmering vibrancy, bold lines and primitive yet complex composition. It is a feast for the eyes and transports you to another world and time. Since I find myself short on funds and time, this is the sort of escape that I can handle.
I love being a part of the Art Bead Scene community. I love to be surrounded by other bead-freaks like me, but I also learn so much. For example, I learned that Gaugin was once making a living as a stockbroker to support his wife and five children, but was driven to paint and did so in his free time (although I cannot believe that he had much free time with five children!). I can understand that sort of determination and it gives me hope that there is life outside of a corporate world. It is said that he frequented museums and gathered work by other emerging artists. I love that idea! I am trying to do that myself and that is great motivation to keep pursuing that course. By making connections with other artists he explored a wide range of inspirations and that is what I have been doing without even realizing it. I also think that by being in community with other artists of any medium you raise the bar for yourself and learn so much.
Gaugin was a French post-impressionist painter who traveled to Tahiti and the South Pacific in the1890s and began to paint those native peoples that he encountered. His paintings are filled with life, but they are also very stylized and simple even with a complex color palette that is so inviting.
Our color palette for this challenge is filled with contrasts... cool blues and pastoral greens to vibrant reds and dancing oranges and shimmering pinks. I looked to my stash and found this lovely green flower focal from Jangles. Pairing this ceramic focal bead with resin, glass, czech and crystal, I tied it all together with the dark gunmetal galvanized steel wire to mimic the hard lines of the subjects in the painting. The lilies in the foreground are translated into the sweet czech bellflowers in a steely gray.
I call this "Island Dreams" because that is what I am dreaming of escaping to right about now!
There was an overwhelming response to this month's painting inspiration. To see some extraordinarily talented people weave their magic, head over to the blog hop happening here.
What is the most tropical vacation that you have experienced? What was most memorable about it? Have you gone on Spring Break this year yet?
Are there tropical plans in your future?
If you could travel to any tropical destination, where would you want to go?
I need a virtual escape so... Do tell!
Enjoy the day!
9 comments:
I'm pretty desperate to get back to Hawaii in the next few weeks. I try to go once a year, and I didn't get a chance last year, so I'm really twitchy. Really, really twitchy for some sun and sand!
Erin, I love the vibrancy of the colors you picked for your monthly challenge! The focal is to die over! The piece really does make you dream of an island paradise!
I don't think I have ever been on tropical vacation, unless you count living in Guam for a few years when I was a toddler :)
I would love to visit Hawaii, the non-tourist locations - to see something new and wonderful. I also would love to go to New Zealand and do a biking tour.
A gorgeous piece Erin! You pulled out all the colors and put them back together in a way that reflects the mood of the painting. Lovely!
Let's see, I've been to Hawaii, Bermuda (not really tropical I guess), Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas. This was all BC (before children). They are all so lovely and have unique qualities of their own, but I'd have to say Hawaii was my favorite. We did the tourist thing on Oahu, (don't count this out as it really is fascinating), relaxed on Kauai, and saw molten lava, huge waterfalls, and black sand beaches on the Big Island. I'd love to take the kids there someday.
Hi Erin, wow that necklace is so pretty all those colors together just look fabu. well lets see do i need a vacation? Just last week had a lot of personal family issues, had to pack my entire studio because my basement flooded 3x then my 15 year old son was taken by ambulance to the hospital he was hurt at his final regular season game they thought his ankle was broken and they wanted to stabalize it so they felt it best to transport him that way it ended up the doc said worse than a break as he tore the ligamnets in his anklse and across the top of his foot his first injury in his whole hockey career then yesterday we recieved an e-mail from our jr.c team head coach and Jack has been noticed by there scouting staff and he has been invited to there spring skate this division of hockey has 16-21 yrs old on the team. each team in the division allows one 16yr to be on the team so this is a really big deal for him to reconized st this age. we see the doc today to see how bad the tear is he has until the end of may to recover i'm so proud of him he is only 15 and 6'1" and 210bls he is an amzing young man anyway i could really use a vacation i have never been anywhere tropical and i dream of Hawaii i would even be willing to vacation anywhere there is a big bead show with workshops that wouldreally be my dream vacation. ttfn :) Lana
Erin, I *love* your necklace - that focal is gorgeous! Your style is so identifiable :) As to vacation? I need one desperately, but won't get to take vacation until June. Won't be tropical - my husband doesn't do beach or hot, so it will be a mountains and lake vacation, which is fine. I'll visit my sister at her beach house later in the summer ;) Have I done a spring break this year? No - my day job is in the admissions office of a local college, and spring break is our busiest time of year!
Oooh...pretty! LOVE that pendant and the colors!
What a bright and happy necklace, Erin!
I read EB Bead's comment - I lived in Guam growing up as well! And the Philippines. But when I think of Island beauty, it has to be Hawaii! We went for our honeymoon - it will be 16 years next week!
What a beauty, Erin! And I think the nearest I got to was a trip to Egypt! Not so tropical but still hot:-). I wanted to study archeology for a lon time ao travelling there was I dream come true. Now I'm stuck with economics:-)
That is REALLY pretty, and to me, unexpected with that pop of green. VERY cool. I used to have a Gaugin print and it was very tropical with lots of greens, and that's what I thought of when I saw your necklace. Pretty!
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