Making glass beads can be a constant creative drain.
Are you bursting with ideas, or completely blank when you sit down to torch? Need help igniting your creativity making glass beads? Here’s how I spark my inspiration?
Sitting down to torch is always the worst time for me unless I am prepared! So, I’ve resorted to doing a few things that I’ll share with you that helps spark my imagination’s flame.
1. Capture the moment…
My handy-dandy iphone captures anything that stirs my soul. Most of the time they are quickie moments, gone in a blink of the eye. Like sunsets, sunrises, foggy dew.
You can take pictures to capture the moment & file them away to visit when your mind is experiencing a creative blank.
‘Evening Sunset Mist’
Above-Evening sunset with fog…color combinations are amazing for a bead… soft, romantic peachy pinks & yellows contrasting with yummy earthy browns, all drenched in creamy softness!
I think when something touches your heart, it’s a nod from the Divine that this is important to your soul’s well being!
Making glass beads from photos’ inspiration. Use texture, shapes, lines, color & composition in photos. Remember #1- express your emotions
‘Fog at Sunset’
Above-There wasn’t enough light for the iphone’s camera, causing the photo to be grainy…which I loved. All the colors became richly hued droplets resembling a impressionistic painting. (bead potential?)
My landscape sunset painting was inspired from a photo I took. It becomes color inspiration for making glass beads.
‘Twilight magic’
Above-This is emotional bliss! ‘The moon, glazed in shimmering mist, danced across the dew kissed grass.’ Can you feel the magical moment? Imbuing your glass art with emotional energy creates a connection with the viewer. It’s all about feelings when you’re making art!
Color scheme for this photo: creamy golden yellow, pastel violet, rich reddest browns, jewel tone greens. Do you know how to use a color wheel for inspiration? I like to teach color theory in my glass bead tutorials.
2. Want more help making glass beads? Start a Color Scheme File somewhere…
I have one on Pinterest and record photos on my iphone. It’s so easy to fall into a rut using your favorite color schemes. You can jar your creative juices with new color combinations that catch your eye.
Below is a dress I was trying on. It didn’t fit, but I loved the color combo… so I took a picture! What a great combo-plaid with flowers!
Color Schemes for making glass beads ‘Plaids & Flowers’
*Idea Alert- Making glass beads: Some beads could be plaids, some different colored flowers, some with leaves w/ flowers. Dominate color could be the yummy turquoise. Hot pink, orange, yellow, green & white as the supporting color scheme.
Or you could give your beads a Impressionistic feel similar to the splattered flowers. (Possibly new techniques to learn, like powders, that will expand your creative boundaries?) I teach how to use powders in my glass tutorials.
My #1 influencer is color. So, I stayed with my motif of fish and used the colors from the material for my color scheme. My glass art is more free flowing so the abstract plaid was not as much interest to me. But the idea of how the plaid is actually blocks got my mind clicking. I used a similar concept (technique) with my gridded flowers in Tutorial 104.2
3. The concept of plaids can get you thinking in unusual directions!
Can a repetition of blocks create plaids? Breaking a complicated design into its simplest forms can open new doors of inspirational help for making glass beads. Because glass beads are 3-D forms, a new dimension must be added into your way of thinking. Do you push the boundary of 3-dimensional with your beads?
My box hydrangea tutorial shows you how to take the block plaid concept into a bead. What would you make with the box shape?
4. Below is Another Idea for making glass beads-Using Repeat patterns
To die for color scheme! Again, didn’t fit but I’ve capture the luscious colors!
Color Scheme ?
*Color Scheme-Gorgeous turquoise as the dominate color but this time combined with greens, blueish purples, yellow golds & accenting with purplish pinks (WOW!). Where on the color wheel are these colors?
*Design elements on beads. (think repeatable patterns when making glass beads)-1. the scalloped pink edging, 2. leaf motif, 3. the tiny pink flowers & 4. the large flowers. What beads would YOU create? (Can use your Flower Tutorial 103 for flower shape help)
What is the color scheme in this dress? Did you figure it out on the color wheel?
Get a closer look at this color scheme:”Pink Lilly & Purple Hydrangea Blooms” The glass lampwork hydrangea flowers are taught in my Hydrangea Tutorial 104 and the Necklace is for sale in my shop
5. What Things Express Your Creative Spirit when your making glass beads?
You have personal taste & inclinations…(things you love, love, love!) They come from your personal experiences and they are unique to YOU alone! Express them in your glass art!
I have loved Art Nouveau since childhood! And even when it’s not in style or trendy, there’s always a group of people that love it. (So, no worries about if someone will buy it!) Just follow your creative spirit!
Art Nouveau antique dish
This antique bowl has the gorgeous swirls and curly-cues that I love. They inspire me so… snap, snap, snap with my iphone. (I did ask before I snapped) Going antique hunting is a wonderful way to hone in on what eras or styles you love! How about those luscious grapes? Great color scheme!
Glass hydrangea pendant in copper wire with art nouveau influences ‘Hydrangea Splendor’. Hydrangea flowers taught in my Tutorial 104.
Above-This is how I translated my obsession with Art Nouveau into my glass art work. I’ve got all the curves and sensuous flow of this era’s style, yet my personal love of flowers & artistic personality shine through. I feel it’s uniquely ‘ME’.
* Side Note: Tracing my heritage a few years ago, I found my ancestors came from a town in South Bohemia, Czech Republic. Dominating the town was a glass factory. It probably employed most of the town. Can my instant love & natural talent with glass be traced generations back?? Hmmm.
Have you checked out my hydrangea tutorial? You’ll love it!
Patsy
P.S. Would you like to know how I created the above necklace? Let me know…I’d be happy to share!
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