Serendipity for my Sister

Two years ago, my sister gave me three cabochons for Christmas.  She told me that my mother loved one of them, and she loved another.  I made my mother's favorite into a necklace for her 87th birthday.

Last summer, my sister told me that what she most wanted for her December birthday and Christmas gift was "her" cabochon, transformed into a piece of jewelry.  I got it out and was not particularly inspired, but decided I would make a start and see what happened as I went along.

It's a Payne's gray and creamy white stone, maybe something like Dalmation Jasper but the domed surface was pitted and I was having a hard time with that.  I tightened the bezel on the front side and flipped it over to work the back.  EUREKA!  The back of the cabochon is a nearly perfect image of the mountain that my sister and I grew up on in Helena, Montana.  Had she seen this?  I had certainly not. It's the view from my parent's house front yard, on the North slope of Mount Helena.

 It has the right shape and proportions, the tree line is nearly visible in the markings, and the color placement makes it look just like the real mountain does about this time of year, with a beautiful frosting of snow.

Flat side of the cabochon, the Mt. Helena image!

I decided that the piece could be reversible, in case it was the front of the cab Cara was loving, and so designed a woven bail that would allow for "reversability."  Then I decided to add some branch fringe, again, in a reversible way, so that it might look as though you were viewing the mountain through frost or snow covered trees and shrubs.

As I worked the fringe, I have another EUREKA moment.  The fringe looked like the branches I was hoping for, and it also resembled ROOTS.  MY roots.  My SISTER'S roots.  Simply amazing to me how a duty can become beauty, and touch your heart with a little effort, confidence, and faith.

The "right" side of the cabochon, with the pendant on the twisted 8- strand neck strap.

I first strung an 8-strand necklace for the pendant to live on.  Well, no.  FIRST I tried to make a bead crocheted rope.  For a couple of days, and many online tutorials, and many different sized and colored beads, and with tremendous frustration, I tried to make a bead crochet rope.  Apparently, being able to crochet has little to do with bead crocheted rope.  This is the first thing I have tried to do with beads at which I have achieved a complete and total FAIL.  I will not allow this to remain something I cannot do, but with a deadline looming, I strung an 8-strand necklace for the pendant to live on.

Because of the breadth of the bail, the strands had to be twisted to look nice and I didn't love that.  SO, I looked up Heather Collin's brilliant and easily comprehensible tutorial for cubic right angle weave, and made a second strap, which I liked much better!

On the CRAW rope, Mt. Helena side visible..

I'll send both necklaces, since either could be worn by itself, or with the pendant.

I know Cara does not read my blog, so I think it's safe to publish this post at this point, but please don't spoil the surprise.  Don't share this post with Cara until December 24th!

Merry Christmas to you and your family.

The Thumper Principle

...which states, "Iffn you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all!"  It's a principle I believe in and apply as often as possible.  I am far from perfect, but I do make conscious effort.

But I am not sure how to apply this idea to my own work.  My husband was a metalsmith and maker of art jewelry when I met him in 1977.  He had a friend who was a potter, and they traveled to art fairs all over the US together.  The potter was a very good ceramist, and a better salesman.  All day, each day at the fair, he repeatedly sold his "best pot!"  It was like watching performance art.  I wonder if that is the best policy when it comes to art work, especially work you make to sell?

Not every creative effort results in the same success.  I just scanned an article on Beading Daily about "What it Takes to be a Designer of the Year."  Jean Campbell, editor of Beadwork magazine, talked about meeting deadlines and not achieving perfection each time, but ending up with many good pieces.  I think that is reality.  I have a big box of UFO's (Un Finished Objects) and usually, I have the good sense and taste to put things in the box that I find less than perfect.  But not this time.

Not that there is anything badly wrong with my new piece.  And I guess that is why I went ahead and posted it.  But it's not meeting some of my usual criteria.

I looked at LOADS of images for the "Sizzling Sunshine and Soothing Water" challenge.  And I kept loving the sunrises and sunsets on water.  The colors were vibrant, and the images breathtaking.  And the idea of creating a reflected image was pretty exciting.  I decided to be literal with the imagery, and remembered a PBS program featuring a painter, Bob Ross, who painted a beautiful landscape as you watched, while talking about "happy little trees."   It was so soothing!  So I decided I would bead a "happy little sunrise."

I found the nearly perfect image in a book of photography by Chuck Haney and John Reddy, (who was my back door neighbor growing up in Helena, Montana) called "Montana, Wild and Beautiful II." 

Mr. Ross (the PBS painter) frequently made his paintings in pretty shapes, so I chose a half circle, like a rising sun, and he also took liberties with his paintings, seeming to follow his heart as he chose what things to include in this paintings.  So although I wanted to represent this particular photo, I had looked at MANY reflected dawn photos, and complied ideas from several of them as I worked.

I am not a frequent bead embroiderer, but I ended with a reasonable sunrise, and then fringed in the lake, using a scan of my embroidery, flipped and scaled, as a guide.

I struggled with the fringe.  My original intent was to end up with a circle, half embroidery and half fringe, but the fringe didn't want to lay happily in the half circle.  I used small glass drops as "fringe weights" but at the bottom, the drops crowded each other, and after posting the piece as it was, I de-activated it and re-created the fringe, trying to attenuate the bottom of the circle, as though the image perspective was warped in the expanse of lake stretchng toward me, to give the fringe a chance to hang straight. 

The best things about this piece are the intense color and the mobility of the fringe.  I really like the fact that the fringe behaves like water, rippling and disturbing the reflected image with movement.

But I don't know that I personally could ever wear the work.  It's substantial, and I am a small person with a small face and small features.  In terms of wearability, this piece is for a larger person than me.  And the color is so vibrant and striking that it has a playful quality, which was not my original goal.

Not a loss, by any means, but not what I meant either.   So, should I keep my yap shut, or tell the truth?  At my son's elementary school, students are asked not to say anything that is not true, kind, and necessary.  Well, it's certainly true.  This piece is not a success on all fronts.  And kind?  Well, I don't mind the truth, so I am not hurt by it.  IF someone chose to buy it, and found out how I felt, would that be unkind?  Maybe.  But if I reveal my thoughts before-hand, does that remove any unkindness?  And necessary?  Well, I am an honest person, and it might just be necessary for me to come clean.

So there you are.  My best reflected sunrise effort, and a disclaimer of truth.  Do you ever make things you are not fully happy with? 

Serendipity For My Sister

Two years ago, my sister Cara gave me three cabochons for Christmas.  She told me that my mother loved one of them, and she loved another.  I made up the one my mom had indicated she liked, as a gift for her 87th birthday.  It's always good to know what might be wanted when trying to create a gift, even for someone you know well.

Last summer, my sister told me that what she most wanted for her December birthday and Christmas combined was the cabochon she had given me, transfomed into jewelry.  I got it out and thought to myself,  "OK, so you don't find instant inspiration here.  Just make a start, and something will occur to you."

It was dark Payne's gray and creamy white, maybe a little like dalmatian jasper, but the domed surface was pitted and I was having a hard time getting past that.  I tightened the bezel at the front and flipped it over to close the back, and EUREKA!!!  On the back side was a nearly perfect image of Mount Helena, as seen from the front yard of the house my sister and I grew up in, located in Helena, Montana.  I looked for a picture of this mountain to show you, but all the ones I found online are of the East slope, and our house is on the North slope.  Sigh.

Mount Helena - The  Flat Side of the Cabochon

The shape is just right, the tree line is almost visible, and the mountain looks like it usually looks about this time of year, with a dusting of snow.  Had my sister seen this?  I had not.  Wow.  I quietly proceeded to finish the bezel and then decided to apply some snowy branch fringe to the bottom, as though you might be viewing the mountain in winter through frost or snow covered trees and shrubs.

The domed side of the cabochon, with its pits, that I didn't love,
with the twisted 8-strand rope.

Then I had another EUREKA moment, as the fringe looked both a little like the branches I was aiming for, AND roots!  MY roots.  MY SISTER's roots.  We grew up on that mountain.  Amazing how things take on meaning and beauty.  How a duty can become a delight, if you give it a chance.

Mount Helena side up , on the cubic right angle weave  rope

I made a woven bail and strung a delicate 8 strand necklace I thought would be pretty with the pendant.  This was after a lengthy struggle with the bead crochet rope I thought I would try for the first time.  Turns out, knowing how to crochet is far from all that is required for this technique. FAIL!  I liked the 8 strand, but the scale of the bail meant that it had to be twisted to hang nicely and I was still wishing for that bead crochet rope I could not do.  So I looked at Heather Collin's brilliant and clear tutorial for cubic RAW  (Thank you 'Mam! What a fun and fast technique!) and made a second, interchangeable neck strap for the piece that I like even better than the 8 strand.  But I'll send her both, since either could be worn by itself as well.

The 8 strand rope and the CRAW rope, without the cabochon pendant.

My sister does not read my blog, so even though this is a Christmas gift, I think I am safe publishing premature pictures of it here. Don't spoil the surprise for her.  Shhhhhh, do not share with Cara until Christmas!