The Opera Bag by Joyce Lukomski

The Inspiration: Since childhood I have been fascinated with the beauty, excitement and intricate detail of costumes…period costumes, costumes from the theater, costumes from the stage and costumes from the opera. I would savor every detail and imagine myself in one of these exotic creations. That memory was the inspiration for this project. The entire time I worked it I enjoyed dreams of being in attendance at opening night at the Metropolitan in the old days.

The Mission: I have been doing canvaswork for many years and recently fell in love with beading and its many techniques. My mission was to combine both of these art forms into a piece of art that flowed effortlessly into each other and for each art form to enhance the other without contriving or compromising either.

The Execution: I selected the timeless tortoise motif for working the bag because I felt it spanned both time and country of origin and belonged to the world. On the Intermezzo side of the bag the motif was worked on 18 mesh canvas using Au Ver ŕ Soie Soie d’Alger silk threads and a few beads. On the Intermission side of the bag, the entire surface was beaded in the same motif using tiny size 15 beads on 18 mesh canvas. The flap was worked in bead weaving done on a beading loom using a mixture of platinum, white gold, yellow gold and crystal size 11 Myuki delica beads.