Evolution of a Design

I've been looking for a beadmaking technique that will make the design appear to move when the bead is turned. My idea was to design a bead that looked like flowing water.

This was my first attempt:

Then I made the ripples on the water more intense to get more of a shifting look:

I was also looking for something I could make with really bright color, something that looked like a psychedelic 60's acid trip with multi-colored shifting going on. Here is a photo of that bead:

As I was putting colors together and making the bead, I realized that it looks a lot like fire. "Fire" would fit in perfectly with "Water" in a series designed around the four elments.


So now I have water and fire! The next logical step would be to make air and earth. I'll post whatever transpires next.