Whiskey and Pearls by Firelight

Long ago, when I was first married, I bought my husband a burgundy velvet smoking jacket at a thrift store. It was so elegant (I thought then; I wonder what I'd think now?), and I had visions of us in front of a fire in a cozy, book-filled library, crystal glasses full of whiskey in hand and some beautiful music in the background. The jacket is long gone (I wonder what happened to it?), we have a cozy book-filled room, but it is a dining room rather than a library, and there is no fireplace there. Plus, I never developed a taste for whiskey.

Yet, the other day when I went to my second favorite bead store, I saw some gorgeous facetted whiskey quartz nuggets. They were big, they were beautiful, they were very expensive. I fell in love. As luck had it (or fate?), I had to go to the mall where this bead store is located again this weekend, to provide fashion advice for my husband as he bought some shoes and pants he needed for a trip to Latin America. Well, the pants needed to be hemmed, the shoes were expensive....so I had time on my hands and a husband feeling guilty for spending so much money on shoes. I said I wanted to go to the bead store while we waited for the tailor to finish and, lo and behold, that strand of whiskey quartz stones was still there, beckoning. Did you buy it, you ask? Of course I did! I know that two wrongs don't make a balanced household budget, but he felt guilty: I knew he would be relieved that he wasn't the only one spending too much money. The way I see it is that, by buying that glorious strand, I alleviated his feelings of guilt. Now, isn't that a perfect wifely thing to do?

So, they are now mine! All mine! I carefully examined them, found the most perfect of all these perfect stones, and set to work. The whiskey quartz is so gorgeous that I decided to pull out all the stops: nothing less than crystal and pearls. I found some beautiful, facetted potato pearls whose lustre encompasses the gorgeous warm, tawny color of the whiskey quartz. I had a stash of Swarovski bicones of a perfect, neutral, light topaz color that provided just the right sparkle, like firelight reflecting off a cut-crystal glass. I finished it off with a handmade clasp with a spiral shape that echoed the spiral lines on some additional pearls I added, and a chain that makes this necklace adjustable from 16-20 inches (42-52 cm). In this necklace, I recreated that long ago vision of an elegant evening with crystal and whiskey and pearls in front of a fire. Now, how perfect is that?

Fascinating, facetted onyx

Even the name is exotic: onyx. It is a stone that has been mentioned since biblical times, and has long fascinated me. As with other onyx, black color is often enhanced through heating. Unlike other onyx, one can also deepen the color by combining sugar and an acid. Who figured that out and how? Were they examining it one day over a glass of sweetened tamarind water and it fell in, the bands magically disappearing as the color deepened?

The beautiful many-facetted onyx ovals that I bought the other day on my Afghan adventure have been whispering to me, enticing me to highlight their beauty in a piece of jewelry. I love their deep black mystery, and really wanted to make something special. Today, I sat down with them at my ever-messy work table and, as I always do, just started to play, putting them with this bead or that bead. They immediately showed an affinity with my other facetted onyx beads: the different shapes and sizes and types of facets added a nice contrast. To really make the facetted onyx stand out, I added in some lovely simple sterling silver beads I bought in Peru several years ago. I have had a hard time parting with the last of those Peruvian beads, but the smooth silver surface is such a perfect foil for the complex facets and deep black of the onyx.

I feared the necklace would be too heavy if I continued with the larger beads, so I started adding in smooth round onyx beads and smaller black horn drums. Finally, to finish it off, I used the beautiful, textured hilltribe silver beads I bought from the Afghan merchant. An adjustable sterling silver chain, a handmade sterling silver clasp, and a tiny sparkling Swarovski crystal bicone complete the look.

Dramatic in its contrasts, I think my design does justice to these lovely beads. And I love that its components came together from all over the world in this necklace.

Earth and Sky Necklace

A friend sent me the other day a link to a video that features faces of women painted throughout the ages, each face morphing into the next (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUDIoN-_Hxs). It is beautifully and lovingly done, each face almost caressing the one that replaces it. It made me think back on my studies of art history at Wellesley, where I saw those same faces parade through my books and on the screens of darkened auditoriums. But it also brought to my mind something that made me laugh, and that is how, with the best of intentions, what one sets out to make sometimes morphs into something completely different.

The necklace I made today was a perfect example of how that happens. I have these beautifully facetted little smoky quartz briolettes (even the name is lovely!) that I have been wanting for a long time to use in a necklace. I decided I would put them together with some lovely golden brown potato pearls. I added in a large smoky quartz nugget as a centerpiece. Hmmmm.... Needs something..... I know: I'll add in some turquoise nuggets which echoed the shape of the smoky quartz briolettes. I also brought in some facetted smoky quartz rondelles and some turquoise drums which echoed their shape. Oh, those drums looked lovely with the pearls and crystal and glass beads in between! But, hmmmm....I don't really think the smoky quartz briolettes belong in this necklace anymore. So, what started me on this designing adventure ended up back in the box, to await their debut another time.

I love how the necklace turned out. I love all the different textures and colors and shapes. I love how the facetted beads twinkle and draw the eye. The color of the earth and the color of the sky, joined together in a myriad of materials. What fun this is to work on a necklace which ends up dictating its own outcome! To see more photos, check out my etsy shop or my flickr.

Rock Crystal Columns

Several years ago when I was living in Peru, I happened upon a cache of beautiful, transparent rock crystal columns. Each one was enticingly different. Until now, only I wore these crystal beads in a couple of necklaces I made for myself. I have been very reluctant to part with the few I had left as I know I won't be able to find them again easily. But they are so much fun to work with, and I wanted to experiment with a necklace that both emphasized and contrasted their smooth shape and transparent essence.

I took some sterling wire and handformed some links that echoed the shapes of the crystal. I made some small jumprings to connect these links, and realized how much I liked the contrast of circular and columnar, so I made some larger circular links as well. I found some sterling silver pumpkin beads in two different sizes, and then started playing with it all. I decided the crystal beads needed something to emphasize them more, as their transparency gives them a tendency to dissolve from view. I happened to have some simple bead caps and, for some real contrast in texture, I added some granulated sterling silver spacer beads, which incorporate the columnar shape of the rock crystal, as well as the round links and beads. All that was left was to weave it all together in the most visually pleasing way possible.