Spring Pansies

Sterling silver pansy pendant with a bezel set 5mm faceted white topaz stone on a sterling silver chain. $128.

March is a crazy weather month in Pittsburgh. Mild one March, a foot of snow the next. No matter what the temperature though, you can count on it being gray and gloomy. Not this March. It's sunny and warm and downright glorious.

I'm not sure how long this warm streak will last so I am savoring every last bit of it. Life has moved outdoors. Yard work, car washing, and sitting down with a glass of iced tea and a good book on the patio. Ahh.

The crocus and daffodils are in full bloom, the yard is framed by the bright yellow of forsythia, and flats and flats of pretty pansies in a riot of colors have arrived at the local garden centers.

Pansies are one of my favorite flowers, their cheerful little faces greeting spring. So delicate looking but hardy enough to survive cool weather that other flowers cannot. A lovely source of inspiration so I'm welcoming spring with this petite pansy necklace.

Versatility

Aquamarine and Sterling Silver hand wrapped 72 inch chain

with a hand forged Sterling Silver leaf toggle. $215

I have really been into making these chains lately. Gemstones linked together by hand wrapped silver loops. Long enough to wear doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled. The addition of a pendant that functions as a toggle clasp not only adds to the design but increases its versatility by allowing the piece to also be worn as a lariat too.

Versatility is something that I always like to take into consideration. My favorites are those pieces that look fresh but classic at the same time. When working in natural material and precious metal timeless should be the goal. The trendy looks that last for only a season of two are the realm of costume jewelry.

This chain is my interpretation of an updated classic. The pale green of the aquamarine is one of the 'it" colors for this year but the variations in these particular aquamarine beads include a palette of neutral colors. Shades of honey, taupe, cream and charcoal allow it to be worn with almost everything. It can be worn long, short, lariat...whatever the look of the day is. A piece that I think will still be wearable a decade from now.

And aquamarine just happens to be the birthstone for March. Perfect.

Now don't even ask me how long it took to hand wrap a 72 inch chain...

Mellow Yellow

Textured Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet with a bezel set Owyhee Sunset Jasper cabochon. $182

I love when I come across interesting gem stones and this one was a real find. The first thing that drew me to it was the unusual coloring...honey beige but with some definite buttery and lemony yellow streaks. There are whispers of steel blue and green throughout as well. I also like how the lapidary cut it- with it's simple lines, this rectangle is the perfect shape to highlight the movement in the stone. When I find something this striking it is best to just do a simple design that let's the beauty of the stone shine.

It was labeled as Owyhee Jasper but it looks nothing like other stones I had ever seen in that material. After a little research, I learned that it is a special variation called Owyhee Sunset Jasper. First discovered in the 1960's, it is a domestic stone mined in the Owyhee Mountains which run along the border of Idaho and Oregon. The word Owyhee is an early spelling of Hawaii and the area was named so to honor two Hawaiian natives who were killed there during a fur trapping expedition in 1819. Legend says that jasper can drive away evil spirits and protect against snake bites.

True yellow is a color that I have rarely seen in opaque stones. I love the look of it's warmth against the cool crisp color of the silver. Yellow and gray just seems so modern and fresh to me.

This stone is 100% natural and absolutely untreated. Mother Nature is definitely the most talented artist...

It's Been Too Long

hand forged sterling silver "Magnolia" necklace on a double strand of

pink keishi pearls and glass seed beads $189

This piece felt like a huge accomplishment. It is not something new or different or even technically challenging for me. It is merely a more petite version of the Magnolia pendant that I have made and sold many times before. However, it is the first piece I have made in almost four months.

2011 was a very difficult year to say the least. It began with my mother being diagnosed with multiple myeloma (bone marrow cancer) and it ended with a week of hospice and her passing in December. In addition to a whole bunch of chaos, the time between was filled with months of crises, ups and downs, multiple ICU stays, arduous treatments, surgeries and about 150 days at the hospital. She was only 65 years old so her illness came as a surprise and her decline was shockingly swift. She was also the caregiver for my father who has dementia, an unfortunate side effect of his own cancer battle many years before.

As ugly as the months leading up to it were, my mother's death was actually quite beautiful. In fact, life affirming. She spent her final days in a local inpatient hospice that was homelike. So much so that all of us...me, my sister, our husbands, all our kids and even the dogs basically moved in. As difficult as that week was, we were witness to many miraculous things and I believe that we all left there comforted by the knowledge that there is indeed something wonderful after life in this world. In many ways the experience was a gift.

After everything was settled...the funeral, moving Dad to a wonderful assisted living facility... all I could think of is getting back to the flow of my former life and working at my bench. It proved to be much harder than I ever imagined. Apparently stress dries up creative juices. Just looking at my boxes of stones and pearls annoyed me. I used sit for hours in the hospital making wire wrapped pearl chains and beading strand necklaces for my pendants. For months there was a complete lack of motivation, attention and focus. So I stepped back from a lot of things, directed all of my attention toward my family and took the time to process everything.

Last week, things started to change. New designs popped into my head and a notepad and pencil are back on my nightstand, at the ready when I wake up with a head full of new ideas. So...a corner has been turned and life goes on.

Yesterday, I happily spent the day in my basement studio and enjoyed every minute of it. The result was this hand forged magnolia pendant on a double strand necklace of keishi pearls and glass seed beads. The photo doesn't show the true beauty of these quirky little pearls. They are the most spectacular golden pink color and their size/shape remind me of Fruity Pebbles!

Everything we experience shapes us, changes us, shifts our perspective. I'm curious to see what impact this will have on my creative process. I'm hoping that this is the first of many new pieces to come in the next few weeks... just in time for spring.