Color Inspiration- Gorgeous Gourds

While at an annual pumpkin festival in Northern Kentucky on a sunny afternoon, I spotted a beautiful pile of sunlit gourds overflowing from an old tin and wood wheelbarrow.

Bold patterns and contrasting colors orange, cream, beige, peach, lemon, pale yellow, dusty dark green, and mint green were all jumbled together.

The curved necks of the squash twisted and bent around one another, forming natural, organic shapes.

Inspired by this vivid display, my mind began to fill with ideas for jewelry designs using autumn-themed colors.

Historically, vegetal gourds have served many practical purposes around the world used as tools, musical instruments, and objects of art.

Food often sparks inspiration for creative projects, and gourds are especially remarkable in this way.

Today, I'm inspired to create a unique linked bracelet using handmade clay beads I found at a local weekend artisan fair.

It's always worth browsing through art fairs. You never know what you'll find.

I was drawn to the subtle fall colors in these handmade clay beads and their natural, imperfect shapes not quite round, and not exactly alike.

Like gourds, they share a similar design language while leaving room for perfect imperfection.

The orange and beige beads have a shiny glaze and a cool feel to the touch.

The green-striped beads, with their light and dark variations, contrast beautifully with the orange.

Both colors complement each other and echo the freeform, organic patterns found in gourds.

I chose to make the bead loops on either end large enough to fit two jump rings per hole.

The added weight of the two copper jump rings gave more structure to the design and balanced the larger bead size.

Using copper also created a more substantial, cohesive look throughout the bracelet.

I used 18-gauge wire to create the double-ended bead links.

This thicker, harder wire is more difficult to bend, but it holds its shape well once the loops are closed.

Use a good round-nose plier to form uniform loops.

The stronger wire helps keep the beads securely in place and prevents them from pulling away from the double jump rings.

Mixed metals gold, silver, and copper used for the wire, jump rings, and toggle clasp reflect the shifting hues of the autumn palette.

I chose a simple gold-toned toggle clasp to complete the bracelet, allowing the variety of metals to speak through the design.

The toggle is easy to put on and its round shape complements the soft, rounded forms of the clay beads.

The clasp stays securely in place and becomes a subtle design element of its own.