I'm embarking on a new project. I've done jewelry making/beading off and on since I was in middle school. Lately it seemed to lose quite a bit of its allure. Also, being a year and a half out of school, I find that I miss research projects (crazy, I know!). I decided I needed a new project, and landed on the idea of recreating historical jewelry from paintings.
It's not terribly heavy on the research, but it should be fun! I'll be going through books of paintings to find some where jewelry is in existence, and is feasible to reproduce (beading mostly, as I don't have a forge). Some of it will be as faithful a reproduction as possible (using modern materials, and no pearls, gold, or precious gems - I have a budget, thank you very much!), and some will be more modern interpretations based on colors, patterns, etc.
I'm thoroughly looking forward to examining paintings in detail, and I hope you'll come along for the ride. Eventually some pieces will make their way to my Etsy shop, and hopefully there will be other assorted things there as well, as I finish the recovery from the past couple months (not really the best time, as the retail world heads into the holiday season, and I run out of free time, but here's hoping!)
Ginevra Bentivoglio by Ercole de' Roberti, National Gallery of Art
Madame Moitessier by Jean-August-Dominique Ingres, National Gallery of Art
