COME BY TO SEE NEW WORK.
SHOULD BE GREAT WEATHER FOR ART-STUDIO-HOPPING.
ALL WEEKEND I’LL BE CELEBRATING MAKING MY 3000th NECKLACE, BRACELET OR EARRINGS. IT ONLY TOOK 24 YEARS. HA! BUT WHAT FUN ALONG THE WAY!
FRIDAY, AUG 16 FROM 6 TO 8 PM. wine and cheese to celebrate 3000.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, AUG 17 & 18 from 10 TO 4.
CATALOGUES FOUND AT HULL BUSINESSES. ALWAYS FREE.
“A Venetian Memory”
I’m trespassing in unknown territory here. While I have a unique necklace to present, I know very little about it. So this blog is all speculation based solely on my 25 years of experience.
In Venice, I was walking to a bead shop near St. Pantaleon Church, set in a small plaza on a canal. There was also an antique shop in the plaza. I spent some time looking in its windows, discovering several treasures which impassioned me. Recall how I love hunting for interesting beads and you’ll understand how I wanted to pounce on a necklace and a bracelet in that shop window. It was closed. Later, I thought.
The bead shop had beautiful local glass beads made in Murano which I was pleased to purchase and thrilled the prices were close to what I pay for them in the USA. I sauntered back to the antique shop. Still closed. I was to make two more trips until I could enter the shop.
I looked at all their jewelry butsettled on to the two I zeroed in on earlier in the day: for myself I bought a pearl necklace with a front closure similar to the one I am presenting to my readers plus a honey yellow glass bead bracelet with this orange and brass dangle.
Once I arrived home on May 8, I placed the bracelet on my work table. On June 10, I finished the necklace. I had purchased a strand of giant Baroque* pearls last October. I removed the clasp and centerpiece unit from the bracelet, strung the pearls and voila, a Venetian Memory!
A close-up of the centerpiece.
The clasp/centerpiece is a gold-colored brass of excellent craftmanship with 6 orange glass cabochons bezeled in place with filigree work on top and bottom. This circular piece is attached to another brass circle with a 1950-style flower soldered on to it. Quite a remarkable example of workmanship.
The necklace consists of two pricey components—the pearls and the clasp/centerpiece. 20″ of pearls which range from 14-17 mm each (one inch is 25.4 mm) and a clasp/centerpiece (meant to be worn in front) which is 2″ long. $149.
—————————————————————————————————————————
*Baroque pearls are natural freshwater pearls featuring unique markings, imperfections, irregularities and subtle beige coloration unevenly marked.
A MAX MOMENT
This is one of Max’s most endearing traits as he calms down as he approaches 15 months: when he jumps on my bed, he takes a big mouthful of the throw into his mouth, brings both paws beside his mouth and gets a contented look. It’s his “blankie”, his security blanket!
In New England, Valentine’s Day is inexorably linked to the weather which is usually snow, sleet or ice. I started making these necklaces during the weekend of the Martin Luther King holiday. Ice was the weather horror of that weekend. With a forecast of snow followed by rain followed by single digit overnight temps, I planned for a forced two-day homestay by shopping for tasty food. I stocked crab cakes, cod which I cook Mediterranean style, lobster meat for a Lobster roll as well as sautéed over angel hair pasta. I did not forget Chardonnay and Merlot!
The three necklaces shown below were strung on the sofa in front of a fire with the dog Max curled up on his spot. It was a pleasurable two days with no broken bones since the furthest I went was to the deck gate to let Max out…after pouring hot water to defrost the gate latch.
I decided to string simple seed beads and save the excitement for the dangles that are such fun to assemble. Descriptions follow, left to right.
A search of my “HEARTS” box produced three gems that I could just put on a chain and present at a low price because my labor is negligible (unlike stringing those seed beads). I show them in the second photo. Again, from the left.
Certain dog-loving readers have asked for more Max photos. I shall graciously let him steal the spotlight every other month. This is Max on the sofa, which is for play as well as rest in his mind. He is just shy of 9 months of age.
Let me count the things I love when creating necklaces: creative clasps, asymmetry, chunky beads, bold statements, anything that puts a smile on one’s face.
I have a saying in my studio: “Life is too short to make boring necklaces”. I’d rather have fun mixing up colors, styles, throwing in some whimsy, and presenting the resulting creation to the public.
I’ll admit I was pleased with this necklace. The beads are rock crystal and faceted (more unusual than smooth); the necklace is asymmetrical, and possesses a creative clasp I bought last year and have been eager to use! It hit a lot of the things I love!
Rock crystal is also called natural crystal. Natural crystal is a quartz without other minerals present. It was formed when molten rock magma cooled beneath the Earth’s surface and crystals formed. Over time, other minerals infiltrate the natural crystal, add color and the results include well-known semi-precious stones like: amethyst; citrine; rose quartz; smoky topaz, to name a few.
Crystals are favored by healers. Rock crystal is associated with balance, clarity and energy.
Information for this necklace follows:
Title: “Music of the Spheres”
Length: 21”
Featured beads: Faceted rock crystals with brushed sterling silver circles. Sterling silver hook clasp by
Priscilla. Matching earrings included.
Price: $119.
I intuitively named this necklace “Picaresque.” Upon thinking of the meaning as rogue or bohemian, it is really appropriate. This necklace is all about the centerpiece; I made it in a class in the 90’s, wore it in the bohemian era on a cord, and put it aside.
Recycled, reused and re-invented, it is happy now with yellow jade beads tying the centerpiece to the necklace. Only after living in Hong Kong and becoming a regular at the Jade Market did I realize how many colors of jade there are! This strand is a honey mustard shade, interspersed with the same ethnic beads as the centerpiece. It is finished with a gold metal clasp.
Let me describe the delicious beads featured in the centerpiece: The most roguish are the two irregular rounds of ram’s horn—the first and only time I had a chance to buy ram’s horn; from Morocco’s Atlas Mountains as I recall. My next favorite beads are the jasper and yellow striped beads. They are trade beads from Mozambique that I bought in a Lisbon, Portugal flea market in 1965…long before beading was a word that had even drifted through my mind!
You’ll also notice a conical wood bead in the same honey mustard shade, two ethnic jasper beads of unknown provenance, green sand-cast glass African beads, and glass jasper spacers. The framework for the centerpiece is brass wire.
The necklace measures 22” with the centerpiece 3” wide by 3 ½” long. The price is $215 including shipping.
Let me count the ways. It is warm in texture and in color. It is different: not gold nor silver. You can actually find earrings in the retail world…or in my studio. Yes, copper has moved into the mainstream. I’ve been using it in my jewelry since the late 90’s and I remain firmly committed to this orange-y metal. Now there is a clue why I like it!
This necklace is named Anisoptera, the species name for dragonfly and which, translated from the Greek, means uneven wings. It is made in Mexico from Patty Healy (CA) designs and executed in copper and brass. What I find unique about her use of copper is that she has it heated with a torch resulting in a bright and warm red-orange color. Note also the brass accents soldered on the wings and those perfect brass bug eyes!
I wanted the necklace to stay with the copper color, so I used a coordinating strand of dyed freshwater pearls with a tad of apricot pearls as contrast.
I made the clasp from copper wire: I hammered the circle flat and hardened it in that process; the toggle is bent copper wire. I want my necklaces to look as good from the back as from the front! I made earrings to accompany the necklace. The earrings are 1 ½” long with copper ear wires.
The necklace measures 18 ½” long. The dragonfly is 3 ½” long and a little over 2” wide. “Anisoptera” is light and easy to wear, not to mention fun! The price is $125 and includes shipping.
This necklace is named Anisoptera, the species name for dragonfly and which, translated from the Greek, means uneven wings. The pendant is made in Mexico from Patty Healy (CA) designs and executed in copper and brass.
Priscilla Beadle 