The beads are singing

This is "Aria".   After having most of the beads and the ribbon together for months and months - she finally sang to me.  There was so much hemming and hawing about starting this piece; add the ribbon?  Don't add the ribbon?  Showcase the orange? The blue?  What to do?  I kept setting it aside, and setting it aside until one day she sang from afar.  Oddly enough, it was my trip to Meijer Gardens and the butterfly exhibit (as well as the sculpture garden) that struck the final chord.  My mother in law and I took the tram trip through the sculpture exhibits, and one of them just happened to be named "Aria".  It was an abstract.  Big. Loud.  And ORANGE.  But for some reason - once the name "Aria" was in my head, all of the questions were answered - and it came together in just a day or two.
A few of you may remember that the ceramic focal piece was blogged about back in September.  I went to an art festival in Rockford, where I found the OTHER Cheryl Stevens (spelling different but art at heart just the same!).  I bought this piece, as well as a few others, and then sat on them until well into the holiday season.  This piece really started coming together after I purchased the ribbon, not the Shibori silk that so many are working with, but a pretty watermelon-y pink sheer organza that made all those colors just pop.

 
So I started beading, and creating - and then another question arose - do I put it with the blue amazonite pieces pointing downward - or UP?  I rather liked them up - and had planned to finish it that way.  Alas, along comes hubby - taking one look at it, and proclaiming it to look like a FOOT.  Toes and all.  Crap.
Now that's ALL I could see with it 'toes up' too.  Darn it!   So back to pointing down (because for some reason, I then see no toes, thank goodness), and the song is now sung.  I MAY finish the necklace portion with a pretty spiral rope at some point - but I'm going to see how she does with the big  hole beads/spacers and ribbon at the art gallery first.  Some of the clientele like the embroidered pieces, but not the higher price of the completely finished pieces.    I hope they like this one, A LOT.

Oh, and one more thing before I head back to the bead table to start blending seed bead colors for another peacock themed piece - I am having a SALE in my Etsy shop right now!  Use coupon code Mom25 for 25% off all beads AND jewelry until Friday, April 25th.  Mother's Day is Sunday, May 11th!  That's less than a month away!  There's sure to be something YOUR mom would love.... I hope you can quick check it out.
And also - for any local readers - or those that may wanna road trip! - don't forget that SUNDAY, April 27th is my IN HOME Bead! Celebration - from 2 to 5pm.  $1.00 bead strands and bags (major clearance!), clearance jewelry, a create your own project, a POSE and POST corner where I'll be snapping pics (with the new PHONE!) and posting them on Facebook during the show, and MORE!  It will be fun - and bring a friend - have fun with TWO!  Message me if you need directions or an address for that GPS....

Peaceful beading,
TTFN