Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Tortured Innocence



Click on image for more details.



An innocent soul tormented by it's cage.
Whirling, twirling, metal swirling round and round.
Closer, closer, spinning closer.
Light is growing faint.
Hope disappears into the night.
Will the spinning ever stop?


Whirling copper coils surround a pink lepidolite stone.

I oxidized the copper with Liver of Sulfur.I didn't want the copper to turn black, so I left in for only a couple of seconds. Then I used a brass brush to clean up just a few small areas to highlight it. It gives this piece a polished look, while keeping the dark, ominous feeling, creating an interesting contrast with the pink stone.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Memories


Click on the image for more information.



I decided to go in another direction with this necklace. It's a little bigger and more involved than most of my other work.

An oxidized sterling silver frame filled with cloudy blue aquamarine nuggets, watermelon tourmaline and a sprinkling of tiny labradorite rondelles. The wrapped link chain is also studded with these beautiful beads. The beads used in this piece have a wonderful organic look and feel.

I named it "Memories" because it reminds me of a place we used to go when I was a child. While my family was still living in New York there was a park we would go to that was close to the ocean. My father and brother would skip rocks accross the water while my mother and I would sit on the swings. Near the fence to the park were some tiny colorful flowers. That park is one of the few things I remember from that time.

The focal piece for this necklace is 5 1/2" wide and 2" tall. Including the top edge of the focal, the necklace is 23" long. Because the top edge of the focal is a straight line, the necklace hangs a little bit higher than most necklaces of this length.

Click on the image to go to the listing for this piece in my etsy shop if you'd like to see more pictures.

There is also a pair of earrings to match this necklace. I made miniature copies of the focal for the necklace and suspended them from the handmade ear wires with simply coiled "hangers".


Click on the image for more information.