October ABS Challenge

This month the Art Bead Scene has chosen a beautiful, Japanese painting. I loved the soft, subtle colors and couldn't resist taking up the challenge. Not least because the painting is of an owl - one of my favorite animals.

I immediately thought of a ceramic owl pendant I had in my stash. The pendant was given to me in this year's Bead Soup Blog Party by Marcia Dunne and made by AngelWhisperer. Finally, it has a home!

The owl is a soft sage green color with speckles of brown. It's almost so subtle you could miss the owl. A little bit like the real thing...

I wanted to keep the necklace fairly simple with a linear chain - not too busy. I used rustic Czech glass beads and leaves to pick up on the forest theme. There are leaves dotted along the chain to draw the eye down to the focal.

For the focal area, I made a "messy" brass wire wrapped circle. I forged a base out of thick brass and wrapped it with handmade headpins. They twist and turn organically like twigs. And below them is a little cluster of grey-green leaves with the owl just peeking through...

The rest of the necklace is made up of a double strand of recycled leather and a hand forged clasp; slightly patinaed for a rustic feel with gentle organic curves.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing my necklace! Be sure to check out the other entries in the ABS Flickr pool.