My Twilight Blue and ... 'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose'

John Singer Sargent's wonderful  painting  'Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose 'was chosen as the inspiration for the February challenge of the Art Bead Scene blog. 

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Intrigued by the painting, I decided to investigate ..here follows an excerpt from the JSS Gallery site ..

"..The seed of the idea was first planted in the fertile garden of the Lavington Rectory in 1884 when Sargent was staying with the Vickers. The white lilies in full bloom around the two children in a garden would be the framework on which he would mount this most ambitious project. The idea (a purely fanciful one to be sure) was to capture, not the most perfect sunset, but the affect of the most perfect sunset has, in terms of color, shadows and light on a scene. But it was more than that. How about the artificial light of Chinese lanterns at the precise moment of twilight when lanterns and sun are at perfect equilibrium!  -- Could he paint that magical transient moment that lasts no more than a couple of minutes most -- capture that most perfect color of mauve when the sun is still flush in the sky and the lanterns glowing equally?  Not create the scene from his mind or memory of what it would or should look like, but actually capture it -- could he paint the exquisite beauty between those two minutes?  

Of course not. No one could paint in two minutes and even come close to a faithful adaptation no matter how prepared he or she was prior. But what if he painted only for those magical minutes every day?  If he was faithful, if he kept true to the principles of Impressionism -- painting only what he saw and not what he thought he saw or wanted to see, if he did it every day for two minutes could he capture lightning in a bottle so to speak?..."

And so..a medley of blues is born.. a jumbled array of ribbon  and rags with chains and vintage beads of all sorts and species. Hand patina-ed, handpainted..hand distressed in a attempt to obtain the peaceful 'twilight' tone and dusky textures of  the painting.

The main stage is taken by a beautiful melancholy blue raku cross focal pendant by a favorite and most talented etsy artist, Dorcus, from Wondrous Strange.
Lush midnight blue and faded grey velvet , dusty blue green vintage calico print fabric and sun-faded lavender silk rag strips make up the ribbons..  inspired by the little girl's dresses.  

                                                                              
  I thoroughly enjoyed the last few days.,distressing,constructing..dreaming. ..faintly hoping the necklace may evoke perhaps just a small bit of that wonderful and peaceful, melancholy 'twilight' that John Singer Sargent so wonderfully captured on canvas.

Santa Maria

Sailed to the neighboring island of Santa Maria..population..6,000.. 'a jewel' in the Atlantic.

It was here that Christopher Columbus sought refuge in 1493 on his return from his voyage to America.

Santana..St..Anne

St. Anne's feastday was July 26..








http://www.etsy.com/listing/52600938/necklace-pendant-saint-anne-tile-image

Azorica brown lava pendant..

http://www.etsy.com/listing/51941358/azorica-brown-pendant-flowers-and-lava

Fast cars..beautiful scenery.. Sata IRC rally Azores

The trees draw you in..

Lucky you if you lose a ball in the woods of the Furnas golf course here on São Miguel.  I swear you can feel the trees talking...be careful..you may never want to leave...bewitched.
http://www.top100golfcourses.co.uk/htmlsite/productdetails.asp?id=560

Landing in the Azores..scary!

Sata (local airline)pilots are known to be the best in Europe with an average of 8 to 10 landings per day on short runways and high seas weather. The Azores are nine islands (nine airports!) in the Atlantic,1500 miles from the US east coast.


second try...

Raku Cross pendant...The Dead Marshes

http:MiddleEarths.etsy.com

"Yes, yes," said Gollum. "All dead, all rotten. Elves and Men and Orcs. The Dead Marshes.."

 You know how at times you pick something up and  can't put it down..mesmerizing..as you look upon it you are drawn in..your imagination is in gear..must do something..This is how it was when I opened my package from wondrousstrange (http://wondrousstrange.etsy.com) (see earlier post below..) This raku cross pendant was truly a joy to create..one of those experiences that give you a certainty .. it is worthwhile to create, to be an artist ..to be financially struggling to be sure..but a strange happy, fulfilled.feeling.

 

Mirkwood Forest Clearing locket pendant

This was a special order for a special client...who then graciously sent me a photo of how 'precious' the inside of the locket became.. with the wonderful photos of her young daughter and son..

The Postman ..brings Shallow Waters..

Best part of the day..when the postman brings a package like this one ! Even the stamps were  a treat..

Well rewarded for anxiously waiting for this wonderful creation, 'Beneath the Shallow Waters Sins Are Washed Away...Raku Cross', from the so talented artist who is WonderousStrange..http://wondroustrange.etsy.com
..it just is literally pulling me in to make a pendant..I think lots of ribbons and chain..

Cicero..wisdom from 2060 years ago..human nature dosesn't change..

"The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero 55 BC (passage from a speech to the Roman Senate)

His Jewels..Santo Cristo

"The treasure of the Senhor Santo Cristo is mainly composed of the following jewels: the Aureole, the Crown, the Reliquary, the Sceptre and the Ropes.

Fruit of the mysteries of faith, signs of gratitude because of the miracles that help the mortals continue living, the Ex-Libris of the treasure, the AUREOLE, is the richest piece of the collection of relics. Photographed and documented upon by international art specialists at a meeting in Valladolid, Spain, it was recently considered the most valuable piece of its kind in all of the Iberian Peninsula.

"The AUREOLE, made of platinum gold, weighs 4,850 grams and is inlaid with 6,842 precious gems of all types: topazes, rubies, amethysts, sapphires, etc. In addition to its artistic value, this jewel is full of theology related symbolic elements. The first being the Holy Trinity, represented by a triangle in the center of the piece that bears three letters with the following meaning: "I am what I am" and also "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit". From this triangle the aureoles beam towards the extremities of the piece. The second element is Christ's Redemption, represented by a lamb upon a cross and by the Book of the Seven Seals of the Apocalypse. The third is the Eucharist, symbolized by a bird, the pelican, by the chalice and by the ciborium. The last symbolic element of the AUREOLE is Christ's Passion portrayed, in detail, by the Crown: going from the tunic to the rooster of the Passion and also the crown imbedded with thorns made up entirely of emeralds."
..taken from.. http://www.virtualazores.com/santocristo/cultoi.html

Tile image pendant..Santo Cristo

Much of the inspiration for my vintage 'jewels' comes from my home.. the Azores Islands. It can be the way the moss clings and overcomes the stones,  the old tiles and architecture or lush overgrown gardens and forests.

 
This pendant is a photo image detail  I took of the tiled wall mural in the Sanctuary of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, Ponta Delgada.







Portuguese tiles are known worldwide for their beauty and 'storytelling'..http://www.golisbon.com/culture/azulejos.html

Santo Cristo dos Milagres

Night View..Sanctuary of Santo Cristo

Our Street ..carpet of flowers

The streets of Ponta Delgada are decorated every year at this time in for the passing of Santo Cristo ..his feastday..the 5th sunday after Easter.