back sides ...

Kim from Numinosity Beads, who makes fabulous glass beads, headpins and other artifacts for jewelry makers -    (www.etsy.com/shop/NuminosityBeads)

requested a look at the back of a wire wrapped element in the previous post, so here are a few examples.  I'm no expert at doing this, but I'm willing to make dumb mistakes and redo a piece until I get it to my satisfaction.  That means basically that I want it to look interesting and fairly neat and I want everyone to think that I meant it to come out exactly that way.  Fortunately, I do get better the more experience I get.   Using precious silver wire, I never would have attempted this kind of thing, but with cheap steel wire - I am utterly fearless.

And here's an "Air" piece I just finished as a counterpoint to the "Earth" necklace I posted last time:

A Prayer for the East - Air amulet necklace

In my hurry to get something posted last night, I left off the newest necklace. This one has Peruvian opal, Prehnite, green garnet, abalone, and mother-of-pearl.  There are two amulets attached:  a vintage one from Tibet that I think may be a bodhi seed and the little green dangle at the bottom that was carved by an Afghani refugee living in Turkey and looks like a bird or a bug to me.  Oh yes - and a copper Tibetan skull (I love these), a West African coin, and a triangular bronze bezel filled with a sequined sari fragment and topped with Ice Resin.

Time flies...

shaman's charm bracelet

Here on Long Island we waited three months for a winter that never came.  I actually like a little bit of snow to make everything look clean and pretty for a while, but  I'm not complaining.  We were far more fortunate than other places in the world.  But time has gone by really fast and I haven't managed to keep the resolution I made to post on a regular basis. (I also haven't exercised regularly, if you want to know the whole truth.)  To compound my usual procrastination, a short trip to North Carolina turned into a two week visit with my jewelry making supplies left at home.  In order to keep me from completely filling up her fridge and freezer with homemade soup and driving her insane, my daughter turned me on to Pinterest and I was an instant addict.
The thing is, every time I hit that PIN-IT button, I had the illusion that I was being creative, which was almost as satisfying as actually creating something.  I was becoming a virtual artist.  I told myself that I was doing "inspirational research" and that my Pinterest boards would look cool linked to my blog (which I just can't figure out how to do).  Fortunately my short attention span issues kicked in and some sweet little copper melon beads started crying out for a patina and before you could say "Liver of Sulfur", I was back at my work table.

http://pinterest.com/maggiezee/

Shells, I Ching coin, Tibetan copper skull, Egyptian rock crystal

I Ching coin, garden quartz, waterbuffalo tooth, Saharan bead, vintage MOP button

Amulet necklace with shed deer antler tip, ammonite, Saharan quartz bead, resin-filled bronze bezel

Close-up of bezel:  vintage brass button, sequins, artemisia vulgaris root

Close-up of dangles