Karen Barraza
Chadwick, IL

When I first received the items for the first round, the first thing I thought was "Nativity scene", then my second thought was that everyone would think of that. After much thought I decided on a Phoenix rising, it just all seemed to fit. Legend has it that the Phoenix rises every five hundred years in Arabia. The Phoenix is hatched from a brilliant red egg (faceted jewel) that is nestled in flames and who if anyone would be the only one to witness this occurrence but a lowly camel.

The Battle plan was as follows:

The only glass that seems to really bring out the beauty in the bird and the flames was Uroboros, which I used for the moon, bird, and flames. I used Spectrum glass for the dark background with yellow and orange for highlighting the flames. The filigrees added just a touch of elegance to the wing tips.