Peacock Power!

I have really been intrigued by the peacock feathers I've seen in fashion, and jewelry lately.  Recently, while my sister was visiting from out of state, we went to Old Sacramento and had a really fun day.  When passing by a shop, I noticed a pretty top that had peacock feathers on it and little rhinestones.  Not overdone at all, but fun looking!  So after some well needed coaxing from my mom and sister, I ended up buying it.  Little did I realize that it had made a bigger impression than I thought.

Just The Feather So Far. . 

One day I sat at my beading table and thought, "I wonder if I could somehow make a free-form beaded version of a peacock feather?"  So I Googled some images of peacock feathers to see which ones I would like to use as my color inspiration.  They were ALL so beautiful.  Nature is always the best in the way of inspiration!  No wonder - It comes from the hands of the best artist!

So after playing around with color combinations from beads in my stash, and combining a few stitches, such as herringbone, St. Petersburg chain, and brick stitch, I had my feather!  It was so much fun and such a challenge at the same time!  The rest of the necklace was woven in herringbone and then surface embellished with dark colored gold-stone chips (a beautiful man-made stone).

Incidentally, I also made it for the December 2011 Challenge for Etsy Beadweaver's - Arabesque Style.  This style usually includes paisley patterns, interlocking vines, and motifs.  Granted, the style of this necklace is much less busy-looking than most Arabesque-style artwork, but I positioned the peacock feather in such a way as to evoke the image of a paisley pattern as well as attaching the crystal encrusted pendant which is in the shape of a paisley.  Additionally, the clasp reminded me of a curling vine that interlocks with the loop side when attached.  If you'd like see other bead artist's rendition of this style, go to Etsy-Beadweavers.blogspot.com between December 9 - 15, 2011.

So here's the final result - The Peacock Necklace.

 

The clasp is positioned on the side, with my tag - a new addition which I am pretty excited about!

The Whole Set!

Now every time I look at this necklace I will think fondly of the time I spent in Old Sacramento with my family - especially my sister!