ArtFire

Over 20 years ago, a very dear lady that I love very much by the name of Nora Hair taught me the art of making corsages. At that time we were using silk flowers, lots of ribbons, and lots of puffs of tulle! Those were wonderful hours of shared creativity. Nora is gone now, but her teaching lives on through my work. I was blessed to have known her and to have been loved by her. This brooch is in the style Nora taught me except that I have used my french beaded flowers and leaves in place of the silks that we used so long ago. All of the beads are glass! Tiny beads of matte finished translucent peach glass create a softness in the roses and their buds. Light green calyxes and leaves combined with pearl white glass Babys Breath create contrast and texture in the composition. One leaf of pearl white glass beaded in Russian style and a large organza puffy peach bow bring additional elegance and softness. The corsage brooch has a long pin clasp at back (see Picture of back view) and all of the stems are wrapped in a satin metallic green floss that adds an element of jewelry style sparkle. Hours of painstaking work are exhibited here in five peach roses, 2 peach buds, calyxes ornamenting each flower base, a total of six leaves, and two sprays of Babys Breath have been individually prepared for this design. All are hand beaded on non-tarnishing wire for a very long enduring composition. If the bow gets tatty over the years, It may be cut away and replaced effortlessly. French beaded ornaments have a history dating back as far as the eighteenth century and for a time almost disappeared. The few books that are available offer instruction for creating work as ornamentation for the home. I have altered construction to make the work more suitable for jewelry application. Overall size of the brooch is six inches by 3 inches. The design may be elegantly employed at the belt, evening bag, hat, or shoulder. Also for pulling up a swag of skirt on an evening dress it would be divine!

Softly diffused light transfers through the etched transparent peach glass of the roses that creates a lovely quality. Impossible to define and undeniable in hand!

glass seed beads, nontarnishing craft wire, pin clasp, organza ribbon, floral tape, embroidery floss