Meet Hydra, a luscious blue hydrangea bouquet
It all started with this blue hydrangea bouquet bead that I made while I was writing my Hydrangea Flower Tutorial 104.
A sweet blue hydrangea bouquet I called ‘Hydra’ has been just sitting around since I wrote my tutorial.
Every time I walked passed her, her sweet floral petals waved at me. As she flirted with me, I knew what she was up to. She flashed her delicate, blushing blues & pinks, taunting me to spotlight her in a jewelry piece.
glass lampwork Tutorial 104, Hydrangea flowers
2 Months making ‘Grace’
Finishing my last pendant necklace of pink hydrangeas opened up a multitude of new ‘what ifs’ that I was dying to try!
So, I got my creative juices flowing for Hydra.
My dreamy aspirations for Hydra?
I wanted a simple design with well defined components for this blue hydrangea bouquet. I wanted it easy to construct with wire weaving & I wanted Hydra to steal the show!
My Design for ‘Hydra’
My design had swirling Art Nouveau influences. I imaged flowing leaves of metal entwining the glass leaves of the hydrangeas.
beginning design for glass lampwork blue hydrangea bead
I gingerly placed my delicate ‘Hydra’ inside the graceful pencil design. She looked very comfy with her surroundings & seemed to beam a bit.
Wires to Use?
Hydra quickly cued me about what color wires she preferred. She sparkled with silver & gold.
wire selection for blue glass hydrangea bead
Building Hydra’s Framework
The wire framework had to fit perfectly so measuring, curving & hammering became time consuming & tedious.
building framework for blue ‘Hydra’ flower pendant
Hammering is positively an art! It had to be exact & flawless. Too much, not enough and the ring no longer fitted it’s position.
brass wire for bead pendant
Each ring was part of a puzzle. It had to lay precisely…not touching, with plenty of space for wire weaving & future unexpected changes.
hammering and leaves of brass for glass pendant
Leaves were sculpted from the bend-resistant, heavy gauge wire, so my silversmith son, Christopher, stepped in to help. He saved my sanity!
Flowing brass leaves to continue the Art Nouveau influence
Phase 2: Working on the Crown of this blue hydrangea bouquet with silver work.
Hammered Sterling Silver wire encircled the golden brass as well as formed the filigree top of the pendant.
sterling silver wire top design
silver frame on glass flower pendant
‘Hydra’ seemed happy, her petals perfectly perched gracefully over the brass wire halo. The gold tones looked luscious next to Hydra’s bluish purple petals. This blue hydrangea bouquet was definitely smiling!
Wire Weaving
Musical note-like drawings danced around Hydra as I played with wire patterns that would become wire weaves to accentuate her beauty.
Blue ‘Hydra’ flower pendant being fitted
My Final choice? A sun burst effect using the wire weaving. (Hydra gave the final nod of approval.)
Art Nouveau pendant-adding wire weave
‘Hydra looks stunning! Adding more layers of silver hammered wire & a sterling bead pinnacle strengthened the structural base. It’s coming together after 3 weeks of work!
‘Hydra’ glows with sterling and brass weaving
Making Glass Flowers
But Hydra needed something more!
glass flowers & buds on wire
Hydra wasn’t happy… something was missing!
It was time to take a break! I needed a fresh perspective that I hoped a few days away would give me! My mind was mush!
Two “Aha” insights came easily, after I returned. Firstly, this blue hydrangea bouquet needed more! A real bouquet of flowers. Which led to 3 days of making hydrangea flowers & buds on wire.
the perfect hydrangea flowers and buds
And the winners are!
Each flower I used had to fit perfectly…not too big, not too small and just the right shape to fit safely next to other glass and wire pieces. You can’t bend glass to fit.
Secondly, the wire leaves were too large… reshaping became necessary. More work! This is truly a labor of love! (And definitely an obsessive, neurotic artist working here!)
adding more flowers & smaller wire leaves
Wires everywhere!
Ahhhh…don’t the smaller leaves look & feel better?
With the added glass flowers & buds, Hydra burst back into the limelight of the pendant!
Now, what to do with all those wire pieces!
But Hydra isn’t happy yet!
The spaghetti of wires have to wait!
It’s the leaves… more wire weaving is needed to visually pull them into the design.
Hydra is smiling!
What about some sterling silver ball buds to add more zest?
ARE WE THERE, YET???
weaving wire leaves
Finishing up! Secure ALL wires… safely! Where, where, where to safely hid all the ends??? Christopher… help!!
Almost home!
securing all wires!
Thought we were finished??
Nope! You want to wear it, right?
This blue hydrangea bouquet didn’t want any old chain! Hydra wanted spice & flowing swirls of Art Nouveau elegance!
After a week of failures, this coiling vine wire finally emerged. Hydra nestled into her new surroundings and announced she’s ready for her veil.
art nouvea necklace vines
It’s Patina time!
Applying a coating or veil of black patina added more dimension to Hydra. It’s like shading in a painting to help the focal points pop and shine. Sorting like ‘look at me’. And Hydra definitely wanted to be the center of attention!
patinaing silver and brass
Rich, elegant, easy to wear with anything, Hydra has it all! She was ecstatic!
As I smiled back at her, she had one more request. SHOW ME OFF!!
Polished patina
Two months, a plethora of mistakes, lots of screaming and many bottles of wine, I’ve realized I’m high maintenance, obstinate and high strung. (My son can confirm this!)
But Hydra is happy and that’s all that counts!
Truly, it was a hard birth but wasn’t it worth it? All beautiful creations take time, massive effort & a passionate belief it is possible!
Patsy
P.S. Now what to do with the collection of wired flowers that took me 3 days to make??? Hmm…earrings? Stay tuned cause these will be stunning earrings! Now where is my sketch pad?
This article was way too long so I split it into 2 parts...Read the 1st part by clicking here!
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I just loved reading and seeing the design process….. Thank you. Those glass flowers are just splendid!!! I hope to get a torching/lamp working station set up one day so I can try making these gorgeous flowers from your tutorials.????
Hi Diane, I’m thrilled you enjoyed Hyra’s birthing. My passion for glass verges on obsessive and it sounds like you have the same enthusiasm for glass as I do! There is truly a magical experience with glass, whether you play with it in fire, collect it or wear it. No other art medium can match glass! I hope your ‘torching’ days come very soon! Think small at first…I started with a $30 hot head!
WOW, thank you for letting me peak into how you came up with this design. It’s wonderful to see how you work and the end result is stunning as always. Thanks Patsy – xo
Hi Dionne, Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed reading about my creative process! I was a little worried after my friend expressed his concerns about my post. All my glass art talks to me (especially my fish) in their own way. The easiest glass pieces to make are the ones where I get out of the way and just let the glass flow where it wants. Many times I start off making a certain fish or flower & it turns out completely different.
All I can say is WOW!!! It is just beautiful, I do the wirework, and can make simple beads but nothing like that. I am awed.
Thank you Constance! Truth be told, I’ve had lots of failures in both my lampworking and wireworking. It does help to have a son who is a silversmith when I get too stressed out with all those wires! I tend to jump in over my head with my design visions. It all looks so simple on paper!