This month the Art Bead Scene chalenge: create a piece of jewelry inspired by Hokusai’s "great Wave".

Recently I purchased a new Mixed Media book – Amulets and Talismans: Simple Techniques for Creating Meaningful Jewelry by Robert Dancik. He teaches classes at the Shepherdess, although I have never had the pleasure of working with him… The book really is sparking some great creative ideas for me, things that I will apply to shrines and the like. But for now – I wanted to make an amulet tube bead…

PVC pipe – $.93 for 5′. Sawed, sanded, scraped, inscribed. Stained with acrylic paint and a patina of shoe polish. The brass discs were a little small when domed, so I added the felt. Cobalt links it to the palette of the print, but adds visual weight to the bead. The chain is minimal – cord with 2 raku discs. ( One seen here) You can see the other entries, its a diverse group!

I look forward to experimenting more with these. I see them in shrines, removeable to be worn? What do you think?