Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Pretty Palettes: February Reveal...

Today is the Reveal for Halcraft's Pretty Palette challenge hosted by Erin Prais-Hintz!  I was lucky enough to be asked to participate as a Pretty Palettes Partner.

Here's what I had to work with!  Erin sent along an assortment of swirly pale purple, mottled pink, dotted green, flashy copper, and luscious black.  The black wasn't really black though; it was faceted crystal coated with an AB finish and coated again with a dark finish on half the beads.  The result is the illusion of great depth.  She also included crystal encrusted rondelles.


Here is the piece that I made.  At first I was going to focus on the night sky aspect of the image, and maybe do something with constellations.  But as I read over Erin's introduction to this month's challenge, I was moved to create something with a mythical creature.

I sculpted the dragon out of polymer clay and used one of the "black" crystals for the eye.  When you look closely, you can see the line created by the drilled hole.  I thought it looked almost exactly like the inspiration image!

Once I finished sculpting the dragon, I attached the wing (which has a small range of motion) and a bail on the back so that it could attach to the base of the necklace.  When everything cured, I painted the dragon with acrylic paints and pearlescent pigments, and touched it up with Gilder's Paste to bring out the highlights and make the details extra pronounced.

Here's a close-up of the dragon's face.

While the paint was drying, I stained the leather and aged it.  I cut it into a strip, punched holes, and inserted an eyelet.  Using nearly everything from the Pretty Palettes selection, I strung a simple beaded necklace.  The beaded necklace is attached to the bail on the back of the dragon and the leather loop.  The leather loop became the closure as fits over the tail and snuggly nestles against the polymer.  In hindsight, I wish that I had done a more dratic curve of the tail to make it less likely to come apart.  (It hasn't yet, but I get nervous!)

I'm happy with the way the piece turned out.  I feel honored to be able to participate.  Thank you, Erin!  If you want to see what the other participants came up with CLICK HERE.  Make sure to add your link if you created something with the beads from this creative challenge!

12 comments:

TesoriTrovati said...

OH MY WORD! I knew that you were going to create something magical but this far exceeds my wildest imagination! I think that your dragon is so very special and that bead is the PERFECT eye for it! That is what I loved about that bead, that it looked black but had a hidden depth to it that made it so much more special. I am utterly speechless at what you made! It is so very you and I just knew that this challenge was the one for you! Thank you, thank you for playing along with me. You are my 'something good' always. Enjoy the day. Erin

Unknown said...

I love this piece. The dragon is amazing and charming. I love how it connects to the necklace. Great use of the beads and interpretation of the inspiration. I just love everything about it.

Terri said...

Wow Andrew that's amazing!

Alison Adorns said...

WOWZA! the carving is amazingly detailed, the colors are perfect, his spikey horns are so realistic, the eye has so much depth it seems unending. And the leather clasp reminds me of a collar or leash for the baby dragon! The stringing is a perfect compliment to the sculpture!

Shai Williams said...

Incredible! I collect dragons and this necklace is so perfect.

Sarajo Wentling said...

Wow! Your dragon is just amazing!!

The Crafty Mama said...

Andrew, this is so whimsical and gorgeous. The textures on the dragon are perfect, and I find myself wondering if you made the horns or if you found something that looks just like horns and placed them perfectly! Thank you so much for participating. I adore your little dragon!

ladelizchica said...

Wow you little fellow looks very real and the detail work is wonderful .

Michelle Mach said...

The dragon is amazing! I love all the subtle magic you worked with the coloring and the way you created his eye to echo the original inspirational photo.

Terri said...

I'm sorry Andrew, I thought I had left you a comment...Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice comment.
I'm in awe of you sculpting skills. That Dragon rocks! Love the size you selected for the jeweled eyes. Sweet! And the way you did the horns...perfection. I have to say I really enjoyed your interpretation of this months challenge.

Eileen Bergen said...

The dragon is amazing! It's beautifully done. Wow!!

I thought the inspiration image was a piece of quartz until you mentioned night sky. Then I looked closely and saw the people in this panoramic shot. What a lovely palette it makes.

Katie Hacker said...

This is AWESOME! My dragon-loving daughter is amazed that you made it yourself. Thanks for inspiring us!