La Primavera Bracelet
©2025 by Cynthia Rutledge
Every new design that I create has a story. Whether the story begins before the design is in the creative process or the story happens as the design develops. It is always an intriguing and exciting adventure.
In the case of this design, La Primavera Bracelet, the story was developing as I was beading. Watching the addition of each element reminded me of the famous painting by Sandro Botticelli, Primavera. The painting was commissioned between 1470 & 1480 by Lorenzo de’ Medici as a wedding gift for a cousin. This huge panel still resides in the Uffizi Museum in Florence, Italy, the original palace of the de’ Medici family.
The meaning of this life size painting is still unclear, which makes the masterpiece so intriguing. Primavera in Italian means “spring”. The characters in the painting are Zephyrus on the far right as the God of the March wind. He is in love with Cloris, the Goddess of the breath of spring, turning her into Flora, the Goddess of Spring. Flora’s gown is covered in botanicals that are found in Florence. It is documented that over 190 species of plants and flowers are in the painting. Venus, the Goddess of Love, resides not quite in the middle, with an aura or arch around her to draw your attention. The orange grove was a de’ Medici symbol. The painting encourages you to look at it from right to left, as cupid points his arrow towards the Three Graces, the daughters of Zeus, and then to Mercury, the messenger to the God Zeus.
La Primavera Bracelet begins with a strip of peyote stitch that is embellished with five - seven bezeled marquise-shaped CZs separated by faux “hinges”. The hinges are embellished with natural Keishi pearls to make them look like they can pivot. The bracelet ends in a simple bar clasp.
Workshop: This is a 1-day workshop
Skill level: Intermediate to advanced
Bracelet length: Samples are 6” but are easily adjusted to the desired size.
Techniques:
Edge-stitching
Flat, odd-count step-up/step-down peyote stitch
Netting & embellishing techniques
Stitching-in-the-ditch
Tubular, even-count peyote stitch with decreasing