It started with a charming little old mother-of-pearl belt buckle ... then I added some of the tiniest, vintage mother of pearl buttons you ever did see (probably made for doll clothes), and then some cultured pearls, and a long, long, antiqued brass chain ...
A big piece of pearl shell and some Swarovski crystals ... Bits of copper and glass ...
And, voila! It's a necklace!
This cloth was rolled with gladiolus and turmeric, then steamed.
I'm not sure what this was wrapped with ... maybe lilacs and lilac leaves. This is how it looked after steaming.
This is how it looks after soaking overnight in rusty water with a bit of vinegar added. It changed from a rather glorious yellow to a slightly more mellow color. Also, the rusty water coaxed some patterns to the surface of the cloth.
This is how it looks after soaking overnight in the rusty water with a bit of vinegar. You can see that the soaking brought out blue from the white background. The coaxing of the blue also turned the yellow to green. I like it!
"BELIEVE" - A wee nod to my jewelry making, lest it gets lost in all the folds and wrinkles of my textiles.
PHOTO :: AYNNE PRYCE
It's been about forty five years since I last saw Aynne, my dear high school friend. She lives in California and I live in Connecticut, but thanks to Facebook, she has resurfaced in my life. This is how it is now, for so many of us: rediscovering old pals, far away in time and space, but still soulmates.
Memories are heaped upon memories ... her fabulous smile ... listening to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ... our teacher assigning one word descriptions to everyone in the class - she was ethereal and I was enigmatic ... both of us devouring books - Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Hesse's Damian spring to mind ... buying the same dress, unbeknownst to each other - hers black and mine red - then each of us wearing the dress to school on the same day, totally unplanned, and certain there was great meaning in the coincidence ... exploring Innisfree Gardens in Millbrook while sharing a yogurt (my first taste of the stuff) ... ice skating on Vassar Lake ... sharing secrets ... sharing friendship.
PHOTO :: VASSAR COLLEGE ARCHIVES
I'm sure I haven't a single photo of Aynne from that time, let alone a photo of the two of us together. But now I do have a lovely photo of her wrist, adorned with many gorgeous bracelets, one of which - the labradorite one on the far left - was made by me. That feels good ... feels special.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Aynne will know what that means.
A current photo of Aynne, stolen from her Facebook page. Beautiful!
It was Red Tag Day at Goodwill, meaning 50% off anything with a red tag. I was looking for metal that could be used to embellish jewelry and I found this brass basket, for $1.50. The pretty white pitcher is not from Goodwill - it was a gift from a dear friend. I just popped the metal pieces in there to keep them away from the cats. Then I decided I liked the look - a bouquet of weird metal. :-)
I wonder how many months (years?) will pass before I actually use it. I'm a procrastinator, you know.
This is what I've been doing lately. Lots of sterling silver and copper. And fumes, from the Lenk torch that just broke after about half a dozen uses. I actually made these sterling rings some time ago, but I wasn't happy with how they looked, so I spent some time today working on their finish with my trusty hammer.
The ball ends, below, are made with the torch ... it's very fun to do!
I've been making the curvaceous links (below) thanks to Deryn Mentock and her online class, The Art of Closure. Aren't they awesome? I love all the loopiness!
The links above are sterling silver. The links below are copper. As you can see, my expertise is not high end --- I guess it's a good thing I like the primitive look!
It's not very much to show, but it is what's been occupying me today!
Now it's time to switch gears. In other words, it's time for some sewing. Yes!