The Lure of the Poppy

And I don't mean in an opium-drugged sort of way.  What is it that's so alluring about a solitary poppy fluttering by the roadside, or a whole field of them waving amongst the corn?  It can't even be just me that is so fascinated by them, when you see how many designers include them somewhere in their work.  This week I finally succumbed and bought a stunning lampwork bead I couldn't really afford by the amazingly talented Claire Morris of Rowanberry Designs ( www.etsy.com/shop/RowanberryGlass ):

It's similar yet nothing like a pendant I made a while back:

And that of course prompted me to trawl through my Flickr contacts to see who else was poppy-inspired.  Well, as it turns out, rather a lot of you!  From beadwork (the multi-talented Claire-Louise Patrick, who also makes stunning lampwork www.cielcreations.co.uk/ ):

To polymer clay (Hazel Ward - a polymer clay and budding lampwork artist whose work I very much admire www.continuumdesigns.co.uk/ ):

To sculptural lampwork (a lady with immense vision and creativity, Laney of www.izzy-beads.co.uk/ ):

To fabric hair ornaments (by the equally talented Helen Reich www.empressbarrettes.etsy.com/ ):

 
And that's not to mention the plethora of photographs, drawings and representations of the humble poppy using various other media, from my talented Flickr contacts alone.  I could have gone on for pages sharing the fantastic creations inspired by poppies (but all that messing about with code has just about finished me off!). ;D

Maybe you all feel the little zing of pleasure that I do, when you see a clump of scarlet-topped greenery clinging tenaciously to vibrant life in a crack in the central reservation of a busy road.  Maybe I'm just barking.  Whatever - bring on the poppies! :)