The Creative Continuum of Seven Artists - Reveal #1 ~ featuring Monique Urquhart

Hello and Welcome to our very first CC7A reveal. If you're new to the CC7A blog hops, you can read about how we became in one of my previous posts: Introducing the CC7A.

January was Monique's turn and her choice of a theme is National Gallery of Canada.

This is what came in the mail early December from Monique:

A lovely satin pouch hiding a treasure:

Not one, but 2 of Monique's own polymer clay beauties - along with beautiful wood beads to match the theme of the first heart, and gemstones and glass to match that incredibly intricate mosaic. Can you imagine she cut all those small little pieces?! I wouldn't be that patient, that's for sure!

 I've seen Monique's work only in pictures - and I knew her attention to detail is absolutely incredible, look at both the face and back of this lovely heart!

A closer view of the mosaic heart:

At the top of my special Christmas tree you can see the poinsettia bloom, also Monique's work. Therese will also find (if she looks hard) her beaded ornament (along with the lovely pink-hatted snowman :) )

I was drew to the wooden beads and the wood-like heart immediately... and I put them together on the mat... looking for ideas.

I hope it's no surprise to no-one that I picked up the wire :) After wrapping all the individual pieces, I was still looking for how to wrap the large ring and this is what it became:

And all together - I baptized it "In the Woods" :)

I used the 2 long pieces for earrings (which, for reasons unknown to humanity, are still waiting for ear-wires :) )

The mosaic heart group gave me a bit of a challenge. I am not very comfortable with the little leaves, I only used them twice before, but grouped, and I didn't want to group them now. What to do, what to do?

I picked up the wire and started to try different ideas - until I settled on this:

Far from perfect, but I like it (one of the previous versions was unacceptable :) ). I have no leather left to make the neck-piece part, and I was thinking maybe I'll get some kumihimo cord in red, brown, and black and bride it together that way... I'm still looking for a name - the mosaic sends me to Roman times (although the cats will be more of Egyptian times); maybe I'll call it 'Ancient times'  :)

I have one more piece left - I originally meant it as an asymmetrical cross at the top of the wire V of the heart... but it wasn't draping properly. I took it off and curved it, I will try a bracelet instead. And since I'll get cord for the neckpiece, I am thinking to get some extra for a 2nd strand on the bracelet.

A side note: while the picture is not very good (when it'll be finished I'll be able to put it on props and take a better one), the on the top left corner is inspired from Cindy Wimmer's "The Missing Link" book. If you work with wire, that's a 'Bible-like' book!

This is my story - helped by Monique's beauties! I've been wearing the 'wood' necklace for a while now, in fact I wore it for the first day of school, as a quiet balance and a reminder that nature is somewhere in there, under all this snow :)

Thank you for stopping by and please check below to see what my lovely friends have created with Monique's package:

Monique Urquhart (January host)

Christine Altmiller

Sally Russick

Therese Frank

Alicia Marinache <- you are here

Cynthia Macatha

Emma Todd