This month over at the Art Jewelry Elements blog we got to play with one of Jenny's delightful amulet vessel beads! How cool are these?!?
I asked Jenny to surprise me...and ended up with the one in the middle with the green and burgundy. When I finally got around to thinking about design ideas, I decided to run with the "amulet" theme - an amulet is an item thought to give protection against evil or bad luck. But when I started scrounging for beads, I ended up with a selection of small art beads from many friends and the piece took on a more "totemic" feel - a totem is an item embued with magical powers. I think of this necklace as the Diviner - a totem to wear when I need support from all of my creative friends, something to assist with creative block or motivation.
My favorite thick leather lace runs along each side in a continuous strap - easy to throw over your head when you need it. Above Jenny's amulet is a forked cedar bead that I made a few years ago with my friend Steve, and between the forks is an iridescent horn bead. I made a cork stopper for the amulet, decorated with a carnelian frog my mom gave me over 20 years ago. To hold the frog on the cork, I drilled a hole through the center and threaded some wire through it. There is a small loop on the bottom as a stop, then the cork, then the frog with a small stack of seed beads on his back - a nod to Native American animal fetishes. Animals are often depicted with a stack of stones tied to their back - offerings to the animal spirit.
The fringe contains a fun selection of coordinating beads - seed beads, Chinese porcelain, a piece of abalone, a lampwork flower headpin (cannot recall the artist) and small art beads from
Caroline Dewison (acorn), Dana Swisher (skull),
Susan Kennedy (small purple and swirly lampwork beads),
Jenny (swirly ceramic charms).
I'm wearing this necklace today to keep me moving - it's so easy to get distracted on the weekends and not take care of my creative needs. Having this constant reminder of how creative my friends are and how they inspire me will surely be helpful.
I hope you will hop along and see what everyone else did with Jenny's gorgeous amulets! I'm headed that way now!
Guests:
AJE Team:
