|
Who is your most favorite painter in
history? I have asked myself that question over and over
since I started designing beadwork for a living. As many of
you know, I love history, especially when the subject matter
is about women. Whether a painting was created by a woman or
a portrait was painted of a woman, both are intriguing to
me. Not that I don’t have favorites created by men,
certainly I do, but I mostly design inspired by women. I
want to know who they are and what their lives were like. If
my inspiration is about the painter, I want to know who they
painted and where they painted. If my inspiration is
directed to the person in the painting, I want to know who
they are and as much about their lives as possible.
So, what do I look for in a painting
to inspire me to design? Many times, I am looking at
clothing and jewelry, then I look at color and composition.
If the person is famous, what were they famous for? What in
their history has a tale to tell? You may ask, who are my
favorite painters? The list isn’t too long but it does
include Élizabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755 – 1842) (the
court painter for Marie Antoinette); Johannes Vermeer (1632
– 1675) (The Girl with the Pearl Earring); Sandro Botticelli
(1445 – 1510); Mary Cassatt (1844 – 1926); Lavinia Fontana
(1552 – 1614) and Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882) to
name just a few. Do you have a list?
For the Love
of Art focuses on the
relationship between you and a favorite painter’s paintings.
This style of box was called a “casket” in the 18th century.
Basically, it means a trinket box and would have been placed
on a lady’s toilette table. It usually contained the lady’s
earrings and necklaces so that they were in easy reach.
The construction of the box begins
with a metal base that is bezeled. The wall of the box comes
off of the base to the desired height. This style of box
usually had feet, so CZs and pearl cabs are bezeled to lift
the box up off the table for better scale. In my first
sample, I focused on the works of Élizabeth Louise Vigée Le
Brun. Four of her most well-known paintings are centered
around the outside of the box, under glass domes. Between
each painting is a flourish of marquise cut and round CZs,
breaking up the bezel work of the paintings.
As in the caskets of the time, the
lid is no exception to this style. It was common to have a
“portrait diamond” as the button/handle that would assist in
lifting the lid off the box. In the age of the royal Fabergé
eggs, a portrait diamond was a flat-bottomed diamond that
was faceted along the sides. An enameled portrait would be
placed under the diamond to magnify the image.
The lid base is metal onto which the
beadwork is attached. The button has a self-portrait of
Élizabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun under a glass dome that is
bezeled and extended to get height. A floor is created in
beadwork to hold a ring of set CZ’s to pull the portrait
colors together. The underside of the lid has a construction
to hold the lid into place, securely.
For the Love
of Art: A Masters Class
will dive into the design process with a focus on your
favorite paintings. Whether you choose to have a mix of
different artists or you focus on one artist’s work will be
up to you. You could also personalize it by using images of
your family or your pets. This box will be an heirloom
piece, so designing it however you like is very important.
Skill level:
Advanced.
Workshop
Length: This workshop is
designed for our Beadventures Travel “South America &
Antarctica” event.
Dimensions:
3.5 inches wide by 4.25
inches high
|
