Thursday, August 8, 2013

Collar of Death and Decay

With the huge variety of bead color and finishes available to us, one might think that every color palette would be perfect, sensational, or spot on. Perhaps if every beader lived across the street from a huge bead store and had an unlimited budget, this might be the case. Tragically, most of use are limited to what we’ve got, or what we can occasionally get our hands on, so it’s a real treat when a palette totally clicks and couldn’t be improved even a little bit.

My most recent Egyptian Gods piece was inspired by the mysterious and lovely Nephthys - daughter of the earth and sky, wife of chaos, and mother of the god of mummification. Like her sister Isis, Nephthys was a healer associated with kites (a bird of prey), but she was an underworld goddess representing darkness, decay, and regeneration. She embodied the cycle of life where new growth springs forth from death.

Nephthys Bead Palette Nephthys Goddess of Death


I knew right away which colors I wanted for Nephthys. Lots of black was essential, along with hints of green - not fresh and vibrant greens, but dark and mysterious ones. I mixed together some dark emerald and brown 8/o’s, some Indonsian glass beads in a brownish-green, and olive green seed beads, which look a little sinister among the other colors. I also grabbed some lime green long magatamas, hoping to incorporate the same wing-tipped design that worked so well for Isis.

When I brought all of the colors together, I decided to set the magatamas aside and let the more organic glass beads take the spotlight, and then everything just clicked. Who knew that darkness and decay could look so pretty? I created a netting pattern with just a single band of olive green, representing Nephthys’ domain, the edge of the barren Egyptian desert. The small green circle reminds me of my favorite poem, Ebb by Edna St. Vincent Millay - “…A little tepid pool, Drying inward from the edge”.

Nearly halfway through, I decided to bring the magatamas back in for a little texture. There are just a few ‘feathers’ at the center of the collar, facing away from each other. I couldn’t resist a connection between Nephthys and Isis. Although I do wish the green was a little less electric, I love the way the shapes of the beads work in the collar, even in just a small section.

Nephthys Egyptian Collar


Copyright 2013 Inspirational Beading
Subscribe to Inspirational Beading
Get inspired on Facebook and Google+


1 comment:

  1. Hi,

    I just came across your blog and glad i did. I found pleasure to read as you shared important things about jewlery.

    I work with GemPundit.com and am usually very stingy about giving out complements ;) Good Job! Congratulations to you on your wonderful blog.
    I will come back often to read more :)


    - Shivangi Sharma

    ReplyDelete

Blog Widget by LinkWithin
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads

Inspiration Topics

accessories amulet Ancient Worlds Modern Beads animals April's Army art ArtFire astrology astronomy autumn awards awareness bangle beach Bead Inspired Bead Shops bead soup bead spotlight bead stash Bead Trays beaded beads beading theory beads belt bezel birthstones black blog spotlight blue boho bone book spotlight bracelet Bracelet A Week branch fringe brick stitch brown bugles buttons cabochon ceramic chain maille challenge charity chevron chain christmas collar Collections color Color Ideas color triads conservation craft shows crafts crochet crystals cuff Culled Beads current events Current Faves daggers Daily Sets daisy chain Delicas Destash drops Dutch spiral earrings Egypt Egyptian Gods embellishing embroidery environment etsy exotic fair trade fantasy fashion Favorite Beads Favorite Techniques feminine fibers film findings fire polish fixtures Flashback Test flickr inspiration flowers food found object free form fringe Geek Jewels geekery gemstones geography giveaway glass gold gray Greece green herringbone hex cuts history holiday home decor insects inspiration tip inspired beader Inspired by... Inspiring Links ivory Jewelry Stash knitting ladder stitch lampwork lariat leaf fringe leather lights literature loomwork macrame magatamas Master Class Medallions metal free metalwork Mini Collar a Week mixed media mixture Mood Board MOP multi-color multi-strand music natural beads nature necklace Necklace a Day Nepal chain netting New Beads ocean ombre orange paint paper patterns pearls pendant peyote photography Picasso finish pink Pinspiration PMC polymer clay poster sketch purple quick inspiration rainbow RAW red resin ring Ring a Day rivoli Rome Russian spiral scarf science seed beads shell silver soutache spiral rope spring square stitch St. Petersburg steampunk stringing stripes summer tagua TBT The Elements thread Tilas Time Capsule tools trade beads triangle weave tribal tropical turquoise tutorial two-hole beads Ugly vintage Wear it Twice weather white winter WIP wire wishlist wood World Beaders yellow
Blog Home * About * Beading Tutorials * Advertise

Learn About Sponsoring Inspirational Beading with Project Wonderful
Affiliated With ShareASale.com and Amazon.com