May Monthly Challenge

Title: Primavera

By: Sandro Botticelli
Date: 1478
Medium: Tempra on panel

What is the Monthly Challenge?

Every month we challenge our readers to create jewelry inspired by the featured artwork. You have until the end of the month to share your work and then we pick two winners to receive beads and jewelry-making supplies from our sponsors. Our only rule? You must use at least one art bead in your piece!

About the Art & Artist:

An early Renissance painter, Botticelli was overshadowed by his more famous contemporaries like Michelangelo and Raphel. He began his art apprenticeship at the young age of 14. His father and brother were creators of gold leaf and Botecelli was first trained as a goldsmith. He learned a detailed and delicate painting style during his younger years. The painter lived and worked for most of his life in Florence. His two most famous paintings are the allegorical subjects Venus in Primavera and the Birth of Venus. Most of his work focused on symbolism, allegory and religious subjects. His paintings were more stylized than other Renaissance artists with elongated features, weightless bodies and unnatural poses.  Many of his subjects focused on classical Greek and Roman myths.

Primavera is one of the most written about paintings from Renisannce. It’s surrounded by mystery with some of it’s meanings never decoded. I can’t do the painting justice, so here is a great video introduction to his painting of Venus and the glory of spring.

Read more about Botticelli and see his other paintings at WikiArt.

Click on the images below to view details of the painting.

Create Your Account: Take a minute to create your account on the site right here. I recommend using your full name or business name as your username.

After you create your account, add your profile photo and bio.

(If you have a long-lost WordPress account you may need to reset your password.)

Entering the Monthly Challenge:

When you are ready to add your monthly entry go the submit page. You’ll need to login before you can submit your photo. You can submit photos from your computer or mobile device.

Remember to add your blog or shop link and art bead details to the description.

You can upload two photos for each monthly challenge category (jewelry or beads).

Add your photo to the gallery for the current month.

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How to Enter the Monthly Jewelry Challenge:

Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.An Art Bead must be used in your piece to qualify for the monthly challenge. Upload your photo to our new photo gallery. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog or shop, if you have one. Deadline is May 31st.

You may upload two entries per month.

***Beads strung on a chain, by themselves and beads simply added to wire or cord will not be accepted.***

Entries for Bead Artists
Art beads must be created by you and fit the Art Bead Scene’s monthly challenge theme. They can be made for the challenge or ones you have made before. Two entries per month are allowed.

One entry will be picked by the editors each month for a free month of advertising on the Art Bead Scene. Bead entries have to be uploaded to the photo gallery by the 31st of the month. See above to create an account.

Monthly Challenge Winners

• One prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted in our new gallery!
• Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on June 1st.
• Be sure to point out all the art bead artists in your work in the description of the photos when you upload to the new gallery. Links to their website or shop are appreciated. That way we can all find new art beads to love!

What is an Art Bead?

An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.

Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***

Join us tomorrow to see our prize and sponsor for May!