The Challenge of Music Reveal

Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.

~Ronald Reagan 

Welcome to the Challenge of Music!

Each quarter I pledge to Challenge my readers with a new theme. This quarter our theme is Music.

I asked anyone who wanted to play with me to share a favorite song or artist or style of music and use that as the inspiration for an accessory or something creative of their choosing. The requirement is that the participants share something about that music, like the lyrics, or information about the artist, anything that can help us understand their muse. I knew that it would be great to get a glimpse of musical influences from around the world. Knowing that the music we choose to listen to is like a cultural fingerprint, this will be a most entertaining way to learn more about all the unique personalities that are playing along. Since my post is quite long, let's get this party started!

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One of my favorite artists is Sara Bareilles.

From the moment that I first heard her sing "Love Song" I had to hear more. Her album "Little Voice" quickly became the only one that would be playing in my car, much to the chagrin of my children. It was the last song on that LP - "Gravity" - that gave me chills the first time I heard it and still manages to put me in a trance. I push repeat on that song almost every time I am in the car {alone} and sing along with Sara at the top of my lungs. I do love to sing, and can mostly carry a tune, and I would like to fancy that if I were to be a famous singer, I would sing songs like Sara Bareilles. If we are ever driving in my car together I will be sure to regale you with my karaoke version of this song. ;-)

However, when I found the video for "Gravity" I was utterly mesmerized. It is truly one of the most remarkable videos I have ever seen (and I saw the first video on MTV back when they actually played videos!). I have come to find out that it was directed by an award-winning director named Matthew Cullen who along with his team at Motion Theory is responsible for some of the most memorable commercials and videos around. Here is what they say about the video for "Gravity" on their website:

What begins as an evening stroll soon unfolds into the ultimate journey for Sara Bareilles. Her every step changes the world around her, as if she's taken a million strides. As the story unfolds, Sara's motion creates the illusion of defying gravity itself as she seems to walk calmly away from Earth into space. We pass practical celestial objects as we move farther away, such as a man carrying an airplane, balloons resembling planets and lights making up constellations and galaxies. Every element is made up of choreographed people and simple props, grounding our journey in emotion and humanity.

It's an impressionistic environment, with visuals rooted in the universal themes of the lyrics. In a single take and a combination of dance, unique props, and amazing lighting, Motion Theory's Mark Kudsi led a team to create an entire universe in the span of a city block, infusing the journey with subtle design and visual effects. The result is a video that covers great geographic distance as it ventures over the emotional landscape of what inspired "Gravity" in the first place.

 

 I simply cannot get enough of this video. See if you agree.

 

Every time I hear this song I think in terms of ripples on a pond that are ever widening. The colors I get are soft and serene, like the sky at dusk on a wintery January day, the kind where the colors bleed into one another in shades of icy blue, dusty peach, vanilla cream and dove gray. I pulled out this amazing hollow bead from Stephanie Ann Dieleman. That hollow seems so delicate but it is quite strong, a reference to one of my favorite lines, "You loved me 'cause I'm fragile/ But I thought that I was strong/  Then you touched me for a little while/ and all my fragile strength is gone."

{Gravity}

I wanted this piece to have the feeling of being pulled in different directions, like being in orbit, ever-widening circles, like those ripples on the pond with each piano chord. I was also thumbing through my Calder book for inspiration.  I used a free-form wire technique with galvanized steel wire, then added a frame in heavier gauge wire underneath because I thought it was too flimsy. In each scroll there are tiny gray-blue seed pearls and Swarovski crystals in my favorite Tabac finish over gray, each bead orbiting in its tiny universe. I was clearly influenced by the celestial nature of the video, playing it on an endless loop in my studio this past weekend as I was pulling this together. It was incredibly difficult to photograph this piece, it is more like sculpture. Wearable art! I really love this piece. I think that it truly captures the feel of the song from the color of the musical tones to the stirring climax of Sara's ethereal voice and the stunning video images. Plus it is propelling me in a completely new direction. I plan to make more things like this and that has me excited about creating again.

{Gravity}

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Another favorite song is "Uncharted." This is from her album "Kaleidescope Heart". This song has personal meaning for me as it does for Sara. 

She says this of her centerpiece song on her third album, "I was worrying [to a friend] about how I was never going to be able to write another song, and I was starting a lot of songs but I couldn't finish any of them. I was really worried about stepping into the unknown and I didn't know what to expect the second time around... and that afternoon, I sat down and wrote 'Uncharted.'" 

That is a powerful statement to me because I feel this way all the time. I am always feeling like I have to top myself which often causes me to seize up and not produce a thing for weeks on end (as happened recently). Not because I lack ideas or that I am missing the skill necessary, but more that I wonder if I can keep up with myself or others. I know that it is not healthy to compare myself to where others are on their journey, but that doesn't stop me, as I am sure you can relate. Then I create a few things that are utter crap (I just don't show that side often enough ;-), clear that junk out of the way, and press on. And eventually, I come up with something that brings the spark back.

The bridge on this song has one of my favorite lines:

Compare where you are to where you want to be, and you'll get nowhere.

I tried to keep it simple with this necklace, but, well, that didn't exactly happen! I wanted an explosion of color, to refer to the Kaleidoscope Heart of the album name. I used that line above from the lyrics on one of my new Story Beads to form the centerpiece in a lariat-look necklace, but it really can be worn extra long or doubled up. I added the silk strands, glass beads, agate rounds, a kaleidoscopic Swarovski crystal button wired to a brass cog (from an experiment a year ago that went nowhere), a few coils of colorful wire and two chains for a pop of color and movement. I added a pewter heart from Green Girl Studios and a colorful beaded tube from JulsBeads. There is a playful asymmetry in this piece to show that were I started was much more simple than where I am today and the path is ever changing and branching off. I am wearing it right now, in fact to remind me of this wisdom.

I have to remind myself all the time that it does me no good to compare where I am today with where I am headed, nor to what someone who has gone before me has achieved. I need to be in the moment. My moment. And when I am, I can be free from worry and comparisons and negativity and realize that my path is uncharted, and I get to make my way as only I can. 

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As I was doing the research on Sara,  I came across this really adorable video for the song "Gonna Get Over You." I love that she is trying to get through this tough break up by be-bopping around the grocery store. Her alter-ego in this video is a really put together rocker chick that has this really awesome rockabilly style with the poufed hair, tight jeans, white t-shirt and black leather biker jacket. However, the first thing that I noticed is that she is not wearing any jewelry. Egads! That is just not right! So I decided at the last minute to make just one more... something fun that would speak to her broken heart but also to her tough exterior in this video.

My necklace features some upcycled and new chains in gunmetal and black along with a some festoons of rhinestone and silver chains. It was trickier than I thought to get those chains just right. Still not sure if they are.

The focal is a great raku heart in light blue and grungy brown from Lisa Peters Art and a sterling silver heart charm just floating around my stash.. I can totally see Sara wearing this in that video, can't you?

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Thank you so much for joining me in the Challenge of Music hop. Since you were kind enough to sit through my entirely long post, if you leave a comment here, I will be having a surprise giveaway in a few days! Any old comment will do, but you MUST have a way for me to contact you via email either in your profile or comment. 

Are you as pumped as I am to hop? Please join the rest of the talented participants in this most musical challenge!

Erin Prais-Hintz - YOU ARE HERE!

Marcie Abney
Molly Alexander

Christine Altmiller

Elisabeth Auld

LJ B

Lori Bowring Michaud

Shannon Chomanczuk

Cece Cormier

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Malin de Koning

Beth Emery

Michelle Escano-Caballero

Erin Fickert-Rowland

Therese Frank

Amy Freeland

Tanya Goodwin

Stephani Gorman

Amy Grass

Beth Hemmila

Kristina Johansson

Jennifer Justman

Tari Kahrs

Susan Kennedy

Ema Kilroy

Kathleen Lange Klik

Kirsi Luostarinen

Paige Maxim

Beth McCord

Natalie McKenna

Alice Peterson

Cat Pruitt

Bobbie Rafferty

Johanna Rhodes

Cynthia Riggs

Sally Russick

Sarah Sequins

Amy Severino

Staci Smith

Kristen Stevens

Lola Surwillo

Stefanie Teufel

Sandi Volpe

Holly Westfall

Shaiha Williams

Happy hopping!

P.S. Did you enjoy the hop? Would you like to play next time? Watch for the next quarterly Challenges in May, August and the return of the Challenge of Color in November!