Amidst the rocks… 
and the ruins… 
from Ruthin Wales.
I left for Wales as the month began… on a trip with family that was part heritage tour and part vacation. ( In depth Wales posts are coming shortly.) I kept flowers in my mind as I was touring castles, exploring old seaside villages, hiking in the national parks…. It was an amazing transformative trip, and I will be feeling and seeing the creative effects of it for a long time coming.
At Ysied cooking class 
from St. David’s 
At Brecon Beacons
But after returning home, and catching up on sleep, laundry, household chores… there was very little of July left for me. I offer you some works in progress for this month – inspired by the theme.
The first showcases these vintage glass pieces. I do not know anything about their original purpose – but when I saw them – I saw frames. ( Sadly there was a blue one too. The set of 4 made me think – 4 elements. I was only able to procure these three.) They have no holes or fasteners/bails of any kind. What do you think they were?
After sorting through many folders of vintage and antique papers ( did you see my post on my paper class with Keith LoBue?) I found some images in the right scale. Two were antique cigarette cards, the other an image from children’s illustrated encyclopedia. ( Yes – mine form my early childhood) I added gesso to the images outside the window area to cloud the colors – I didn’t want them showing through the glass.
antique images 
copper structure with tabs.
Above you can see the copper piece engineered to fit the glass. I had not picked up the jewelry saw in months? a year? and it was so wonderful to be back at the bench pin! Below you can see the piece assembled – well, how it will be.
Currently – the images are drying – a coat of Diamond glaze to protect them. And the copper is in the tumbler – left bright, no patina. I plan to add 3 jump rings from the top arch/bail to add the connection point, and a little movement.
I have missed seed beading in all my travels this month – so I prepared a bead piece, wanting to sit and chill and bead. Well, you can see how far I got:
I hope you have had a wonderful July – whether you traveled or not…
For now – please enjoy a bit of armchair travel as you visit the blogs of my team mates and our guests. Thank you Marsha for a fertile theme, where I am sure many ideas have taken root !
Here is a list of our Visiting Artists:
Alysen
Cat
Divya
Evie and Beth
Jill
Hope
Kathy
Linda
Louise
Martha
Melissa
Michelle
Rozantia
Sarah
Sarajo
Tammy
And our Art Elements Blog Contributors:
Caroline
Cathy
Claire
Jenny ( you are here)
Laney
Lesley
Marsha
Susan
Jenny Davies-Reazor 
Jenny, those glass and copper pieces are amazing, and the flower cab colours work so well with the stone. Looking forward to seeing your Welsh posts later.
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I have no idea what those vintage glass pieces were meant for, but your idea to use them is brilliant!
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I can’t wait to see the labradorite and Lisa Peters cab when you are done seed beading them. I am sure they will be stunning. I was fascinated by your use of the vintage glass. Very creative!
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Thank you for participating this month Jenny! I love that you were able to capture some of the beautiful flowers on your trip to Wales and I cannot wait to see how that trip inspires your work. I think the timing was perfect for this next phase in your creative life. I think it is so cool that you see objects not only as what they are (vintage, glass, color, etc) but you see the potential for what they could become and your creative vision comes to life through your hands. I look forward to seeing your work in person at BeadFest in a couple of weeks. Just wonderful Jenny!
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Can’t wait to see more photos from your visit to Wales. I know it must’ve been the trip of a lifetime.
I cannot imagine what those vintage glass pieces were originally but I love what you’re doing with them. These will be perfect pendants. Can’t wait to see the beading get started on the labradorite and Lisa Peters cab.
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Your trip sounds so wonderful. I look forward to reading your posts about it. I love the way you could look at those little glass bits and see how they could be used as jewelry components. After reading your post about them, I could imagine what I might do with them. But the trick is seeing random things in new ways. I think I’ll be inspired now to keep a sharper look out for things that could be used in creative ways as jewelry components. I’m certain those will sell out at Bead Fest!
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Glad you had such a good trip, it was brilliant to see you even just for a quick visit!
No idea what your components could be? they look like buckle ends, but they’d be too delicate in glass. Love what you’ve done with them though. They look fabulous with copper and your images!
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Wow, this pendant you have constructed is gorgeous and so ingenious! Looking forward to the bead embroidered piece, I’m sure it will be fabulous!
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You were so close yet so far!! Glad you enjoyed your trip to Wales and it has re-centred you. I love those small frames. Happy beading and look forward to seeing the finished piece 😀
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No idea what your glass pieces were, but they are fabulously art deco-ish! I like your choice of making a copper backing with prongs. Can’t wait to see what your bead embroidery piece becomes 🙂 . Alysen
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Like everyone else, I have no idea what those glass pieces might have been for, but they’re so cool! I’m glad you were able to pick them up and make them into something awesome. I cannot wait to see the finished result and hope you share before they sell out at Beadfest!
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I actually thought that the glass pieces were vintage plastic when I first saw the pictures. So look forward to seeing how your glass and copper pieces turn out.
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I’m glad your trip to Wales was a success and you got some much needed restorative time! Excited to see how the pendants turn out! Love Lisa’s cabs!
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I am loving where you’re headed with these pieces. Those glass bits are a great find and the idea to use them as frames is brilliant.
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These are lovely! I commiserate with you on being short of time this month due to travel.
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Those glass and copper pieces are going to be so cool! Have you posted the finished product anywhere yet? I so want to see how they turned out!
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