The inspiration for this month’s challenge is a beautiful woodcut print,
Kanagawa oki nami ura (Great Wave off of Kanagawa) by Hokusai Katsushiki.
This print is one of the series of block prints known as the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji (circa 1826-33).
‘Hokusai was a Japanese painter and wood engraver, born in Edo (now Tokyo). He is considered one of the outstanding figures of the Ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world” (everyday life), school of printmaking. Hokusai’s most typical wood-block prints, silkscreens, and landscape paintings were done between 1830 and 1840. The free curved lines characteristic of his style gradually developed into a series of spirals that imparted the utmost freedom and grace to his work.’
“From around the age of six, I had the habit of sketching from life. I became an artist, and from fifty on began producing works that won some reputation, but nothing I did before the age of seventy was worthy of attention. At seventy-three, I began to grasp the structures of birds and beasts, insects and fish, and of the way plants grow. If I go on trying, I will surely understand them still better by the time I am eighty-six, so that by ninety I will have penetrated to their essential nature. At one hundred, I may well have a positively divine understanding of them, while at one hundred and thirty, forty, or more I will have reached the stage where every dot and every stroke I paint will be alive. May Heaven, that grants long life, give me the chance to prove that this is no lie.“
Have fun with this color palette of beiges, ochre, sea blues, aqua, and blue greens. Pull out the wavy art beads, grab a few strands of sea glass and let’s see what you can come up with for this challenge!
Your entry this month can be influenced by the colors, pattern or whatever you choose to focus on for your creation. Just remember to include at least one art bead in your design.
The Prizes:
A winner will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on July 1st.
Our sponsors this month are 2 very talented artists Elaine Ray and Patty Lakinsmith, please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!
A winner will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on July 1st.
Our sponsors this month are 2 very talented artists Elaine Ray and Patty Lakinsmith, please visit us tomorrow to see the prizes!
Featured Designer of the Week!
From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on the ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.
From all the entries during the month, an editor is going to pick their favorite design to be featured every Monday here on the ABS. We want to give our participants more time in the spotlight! Our Featured Designer will be this Monday, so get those entries in soon.
How to enter the Monthly Challenge:
1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. 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.
1. Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. 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.
***Beads by themselves and beads simply strung on a chain or cord will not be accepted.***
2. Upload your photo to our flickr group. Detailed instructions can be found here and click here for a tutorial for sending your picture to the group. If you can’t upload to Flickr, send your entry and information to Heather.
Please add the tag or title AUGABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.
Deadline is August 31st. Photos are approved by our moderators, if a photo hasn’t followed the guidelines it will not be approved. You may upload 2 photos a day.
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 here.
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 here.
*** 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.
p.s. If you have a blog, post your entry and a link to the ABS challenge to spread the beady goodness.
TesoriTrovati
August 4, 2009 at 4:45 pmFunny….I have a really fabulous page a day master artist calendar (that I picked up at Goodwill of all places) and the art for August 1st was this exact painting! Serendipity! Thanks for another month of awesome artwork inspiration! I think these inspirations are the best yet.
Enjoy the day!
Erin
Katie
August 4, 2009 at 5:03 pmLove this! I love the Japanese woodcuts…The way they capture the beauty of the waves. I can't help but think of these woodcuts when I look at the ocean. Now, to go home and look at the stash to see what inspires me :o) (is there a fast forward button for the work day???)
Jeannie
August 4, 2009 at 5:19 pmI hate to be fussy but the deadline date you have is June 30.
This is a great pic. I must go put on my creative thinking cap.
Good Luck to everyone and lets have fun!
Cindy Gimbrone
August 4, 2009 at 5:46 pmThanks for being today's proofreader, Jeannie! 🙂 It's been corrected to August 31st. Thanks!
Cindy
rosebud101
August 4, 2009 at 5:59 pmThis is going to be fun!
Cindy
August 5, 2009 at 3:13 amOh what a great choice..this has always been one of my favorites. It hits close to home as I was born in Japan. And I just love ocean-insired themes.
furniture fabrics
August 5, 2009 at 12:50 pmOh! This is so exciting. I hope all of you will win this challenge. Thanks for the announcement. i wish you all good luck
Boracay beach resort
August 5, 2009 at 12:51 pmBrace yourself with this challenge, and try to explore some stuff for your art bead inspiration. This will test your creative imagination. Have a very creative day everyone.
Christine Damm
August 5, 2009 at 1:59 pmGreat pick for the challenge! The colors in these prints are so subtle– it will be a wonderful test to try and capture them. Curiously, our French clay friend, Gris Bleu, published a wave pendant in micro-mosaic on her blog today! This must be truly an idea whose time has come!
Regina
August 9, 2009 at 1:39 pmHi Cindy, what a beautiful Japanese print. I find the detail and the color so realistic. I wanted to show you a blog that i wrote for Rubylane where my website is located. The blog also involves a renowned Japanese artist and his mastery of the art form. The link is: http://blog.rubylane.com/node/985
would like to hear your comments on it. I enjoy reading your blog on my weekly blog roundup. I am more into gemstone than artbeads… though i am very tempted by the wonderful beads out there.
lilibulle
August 16, 2009 at 3:09 pmhi! my entry is on my blog, with a tutorial.. i go to flick right now!! Thanks for this beautiful challenge