Mellow (NEW)
A necklace in my four-piece capsule A Study in Scale, exploring smaller scale designs, Mellow features a mosaic-like arrangement of amber, orange, wine and muted pink gemstone beads in a composition that is warm and harmonious, with glints of gold bringing light and rhythm to the whole. For more info on the necklace, please click on Details, and if interested in my musings, please go to Story.
Discover the other pieces in this capsule:
Alternation
Gleam
Trails
The identification of the beads startsfrom the bead in the centre, moving upwards, with measurement for some of the bigger beads, with metal beads named last.
Length: 53 cm cm/21”
Weight: 60 gm
Orange banded agate: approx. 17 mm long and 11 mm at its widest
Orange aventurine: 4 mm
Haematoid quartz: 10 mm
Diamond shaped rhodonite: 23 mm long and 12mm at its widest
Orange rutilated quartz: 11 mm
Faceted wine-red agate: 8 mm
Gold -plated silver bits
Gold coloured metal discs
Gold filled crimp tubes
Gold-plated silver toggle clasp
Gold-plated silver Manik identity disc
This was the last of the four necklaces that I worked on for my capsule of A Study in Scale featuring lighter, smaller scale gemstone beads. It was also the one that I found the most challenging to get ‘right’. I love the lightly faceted plump oval orange banded agate, and they were the main beads around which I built the design. I had also wanted to use the diagonally cut rhodonite tubes for some time, and they seemed to be suitable for this composition. And so, after my usual iterations of moving the beads round and around, I had a design that I felt quite happy with – of the orange banded agate, the cut rhodonite tubes, some haematoid quartz with their hazy, swirly inclusions and some small, faceted garnet discs. And yet…
When I looked at it again the following day, it didn’t thrill me – the orange banded agate, the rhodonite tubes, the garnet discs felt like they were all having separate conversations, rather than talking to each other. It was back to the design board, and this
time I decided to cut down on the rhodonite, throw out the garnet, and brought in various other beads in the same tonal palette – some small orange aventurine, bigger orange rutilated quartz, and some faceted wine-red agate. That’s a lot more beads than I would usually use in a design, but as I worked on it, I could feel it coming together coherently.
And so finally,here it is, warm shades of amber, orange, wine and muted rose meet in a composition that feels richly layered, yet surprisingly soothing. The soft pink rhodonite gently tempers the warmth, the haematoid quartz lets the necklace breathe, while touches of gold bring light and rhythm to the whole. Like a carefully composed mosaic, the many colours and forms create a whole that is lively, warm and unexpectedly harmonious. For someone who appreciates a warm tonal palette that is joyful, yet mellow.
I am calling it Mellow, and I think Mellow would work best with both soft pastels and strong darks like black, navy, jungle green. Experiment and enjoy!
