My latest creation. Large, faceted Sodalite teardrops hand-wrapped in sterling silver wire. It was my first time with this technique, and if you think it looks easy, let me tell you, my friend, you are grossly mistaken. I used an entire order of sterling silver wire (what is it, 5 feet?) to wrap these babies. I think my mistake was using dead soft wire. It kept getting kinked up, and it's so soft, there is no way to straighten it back out. All attempts just led to breakage. So one length of sterling silver wire and two hours later, viola! After all, it is the end result that counts, right?
I named these lovelies after a poem I wrote several years ago entitled "The Tempest". Read it and perhaps you'll see why...
The Tempest
The wind is a torrent of darkness
Tossing the churning sea
The rain slices down in it’s madness
And chortles in it’s glee
Leaping and dancing blissfully
In it’s dark and twisted game
Daring the ocean to retort
And buffeting it to shame
In it’s heart it knows no mercy
No stillness lingers there
No goodness can become of it
Within it’s evil lair
It takes the sea it’s captive
And clutches it deep beneath
Then sets it free to burst forth
With what it may bequeath
On and on through the endless night
The tempest rises and falls
Shaking an angry fist to the sky
It smashes the watery walls
‘Til at last it robs all breath within
And takes on a more silent form
As it sinks to the grave of the ocean floor
And finds death at the end of the storm.
I wrote that on March 20th, 1998, at the age of 21. It's actually one of the last poems I ever wrote. Somehow I seemed to dismiss penning verse as a childish pastime. I wonder why? I miss it now, the way the words seeped across the page, so fast my hand could scarcely keep up. At the time it seemed like a never ending well, but it has long since dried up.
I wonder how long the drought will last...
I've decided that maybe I'll try a Weekly Wednesday Writing Prompt. What do you think? It seems to me that there must be other people out there like myself who enjoy a creative kick-in-the-pants. ;) It's worth a shot, anyway.
I picked up the latest issue of Stringing Magazine last week. I love this magazine, because it offers not only great technique, but a wide array of visually stimulating wearable art. And as it only comes out 4 times a year, it's a rare treat for jewelry artists like myself.
So, as I'm flipping through the magazine for probably the fifth or sixth time (each time you look, you notice some detail you passed over before) I realize that there are three designs in particular that have really captivated my attention on each perusal. All three unique and different, which is why I was quite surprised to read that they were all done by the same artist, and a man at that, one Mister Andrew Thornton.
The designs are as follows: The Raven Queen, a dark and stunning combination of black Rutilated Quartz and Lava that I will file away in my mental rolodex for my own future designs, Flight Patterns, an artistic blend of peacock pearls, garnet, watermelon tourmaline and copper chain that showcases a darling bird bead and toggle clasp, and last but not least, The Lotus Eaters, which features glowing chalcedony and pineapple quartz, mixed with sterling silver, all centered around a gorgeous green-blue ceramic pendant.
These three designs alone would have sold me on the magazine, but as it is, the pages are packed with many other lovely, original designs, though perhaps not quite as original as those of Mr. Andrew Thornton. I discovered that he has his own Blogspot, by the way. It's andrew-thornton.blogspot.com in case you're interested in checking it out.
Well, Mr. Andrew Thornton, you've inspired me. Inspired me to branch out of my own comfort zone, to say "the heck!" with symmetry and perfectionism, and to begin to design from the heart, from the soul. To just let go and let come what may. To be inspired and to inspire.
Maybe one day you'll find a design of my own gracing the pages of this fine magazine. ;)
Once again, too much time has passed since I posted last. I have been so busy with my business, Whimsies Boutique, I've hardly had a moment to breathe! Above is a pair of earrings I created just last night. They're called "The Mists of Morning". They're made of pale Blue Agate Rounds, 6mm Indian Sapphire Swarovski Crystals, 4mm Light Azore Swarovski Crystals and Bali Silver hung on Sterling Silver earwires. The beads themselves whispered their name to me the moment I placed them together. :) Ah, see, there is the writer in me peeking out! 
There's a certain romance about a typewriter. A certain satisfaction in each clickty-clack, inking letters, then words, then whole sentences onto a page. A resonance, a permanence, a sense of finality.
These days you must train your ear to hear the whisper of the computer keys. Backspace and Delete keys are too accessible. They cause one to question, to doubt. "Is that really how you want that to read?" "Could the wording be more pleasantly arranged?" Unless you click that print icon, there is nothing to show for an hour's work. A day's. A year's.
I was a teen when typewriters became obsolete, too young to understand the full significance of that change. Computers ushered in a time of super intelligence, of knowledge at the click of the mouse, of drive-thru information. I admit, I am as chained to my computer as the next person, and yet, I cannot help but be wistful for that time, not so long ago, when writing was a process that stimulated all the senses, the smell of the ink, the sound of the keys, the sight of crisp pages piling higher toward completion...
The golden age of the typewriter.
Where do you get your inspiration?
