Worshipped by many groups, including the Mayans and the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was generally represented by a feathered serpent. Over time, he gained humanoid features, and became a reptilian man with colorful plumes. Quetzalcoatl was considered at different times a god of air and agriculture.
The Inspiration:
The Quetzalcoatl I know best is the fantasy version - much like a dragon with beautiful multicolored wings. Perhaps because of rainy winter weather, I have been craving rainbows. Rather than make something really upbeat and whimsical, I wanted to use a rainbow palette for something with a little more edge. The first thing that came to mind was a Quetzalcoatl serpent.
I started with a few green beads for a base, choosing emerald green hex cuts and a transparent green seed bead mixture. I also grabbed some yellow lined black 11/0’s, which have an amazing reptilian quality to them. To this I added transparent 11/0 seed beads in yellow, orange, red, purple, blue and aqua.
The Beadwork:
I wanted to make something that would look like wings, with the feathers on the underside spread wide. Using the green beads, I made a base of St. Petersburg chain, then added scalloped loops to the top. For the serpent body, I started with the transparent green mixture, and slowly increased the size of the loops. Eventually I added the colored beads in groups of four, and increased the loops with each new color. Green finished off in the middle again, creating a continuous loop of color.
Although the brightly colored stripes are clearly rainbow inspired, I think I succeeded in making something that wasn’t at all juvenile in mood. It reminds me a little of souvenirs from South and Central America, which is almost what I was going for!
Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading
Love the story and the necklace is spetacular!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Gee, there are some times when I read blogs and I wish I had everyone's phone number so I can call and say what I'm thinking!! I cannot even believe you wrote about this!! How cool! Here is a post I wrote in July of 2008. Very fun! You are so clever!! http://abeadaday.blogspot.com/2008/07/hi-everyone-and-happy-friday-fridays.html
ReplyDeleteThank you! Isn't it funny how even the most obscure things can get caught in our collective subconscious? I think it was Stephen King that said the mind is like a sink with a filtered drain - what gets caught in the drain is often what inspired us.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I was inspired by a Dungeons and Dragons monster, the Coatl, but it's basically the same thing, just not a god. I think the Quetzalcoatl is something a lot more people can relate to.
Stunning! I'm such a sucker for lots and lots of color:) I love the fringy look of it.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! that necklace makes a statement.
ReplyDeleteutterly beautiful
Congratulations! Because I find your blog an excellent read as well as very inspiring, I am passing on the "Sunshine Blog Award" to you.
ReplyDeletehttp://trusk4u.blogspot.com/2010/02/sunshine-blog-award.html