Art Bead Scene Challenge - Shadowy Branches Necklace

It's Art Bead Scene Challenge time...for January, it was a wintery, chilly scene...

Monet's "La Pie" © Musée d'Orsay

My interpretation focuses on the shadows and the branches with the idea of a solo piece holding court in the midst of it all. I used some silver-toned craft wire to create a branch with lots of texture and shape that frames the solo Bronwen Heilman glass feature. If you're familiar with her work, this doesn't seem like her norm, but it's one of a few freeform, smooth, lovely glass disks that I got last year (or maybe even the year before) at Beadfest in Philadelphia. I love the juxtaposition of the smooth bead with the texture of the wire...sort of like the warm sun on the cold snow in the painting.

I've been thinking about this challenge for a couple of weeks and this idea came to me during a lecture on Joint Operational Planning. Yes, while learning about how to come up with war plans, I was sketching jewelry. I guess that's how I tie my two worlds together...part of operational art is learning how to think outside the box. So, my very military-looking pink notebook has a great combination of ideas! haaaaaaaaaaa