Sea Bottom earrings with rainbow moonstones and pearls

I love making Sea Bottom pendants. I do have lots of pretty earrings with the sea creatures too. Finally I got an idea of making big earrings for this line!

I have been fascinated with an idea of making matching, though slightly different earrings as a pair. So, this is what I've successfully achieved! I am very happy with the result. I love the shape and the length.

Though I do not wear them, I will miss them when they are sold... and will have to try and make something similar. I will probably fail :) Not sure if it is a downside or an advantage of being an artist and not a production person.... :)

The beautiful stones in the earrings are rainbow moonstones (feminine energy and good fortune) with subtle blue flush in them. They are a good match for the fresh water pearls!

The earrings are going to be available in my Etsy online store.

Sea bottom pendant with tourmaline

Tourmaline is the only stone that comes in all colours of rainbow. There is no a tint of a colour in tourmaline that would not be pretty. 

However, one of my favourite colours in this gem is dark pink. It is a perfect stone to represent a treasure you could find at the bottom of the sea.

The backing for the faceted cabochon stone is polished silver, so the transparent stone will always shine, no matter what the background for the necklace is (dark or light).

I have wrote of the qualities of Tourmaline before here if anybody is interested...

The pendant is for sale in my etsy online shop 

A picture for my wish list. James Christensen

I am looking for inspiration everywhere. Fine artists are a great source of inspiration! My husband introduced James Christensen's art to me last year. What a great artist! We have a couple of his prints, but might get more. I am absolutely in love with this fish especially. It looks like a ready to wear piece of jewellery made of copper. I hope one day I will have it on a wall... it is on my screen for now :) 

http://www.jameschristensen.com/

Deer necklace

This is one of my favourite ornaments for jewellery.

The picture of the deers themselves were found in a 50 y.o. Russian book for housekeeping in woodworking section (as a pattern for a scroll sawed jewellery box). Trying to bring together my love for the Russian ornaments and the nature of beautiful British Columbia, I designed the ornament around the deers. If you look carefully, you will see tiny maple leaves there!

The original ornamental plate was hand-made in metal (by me, of course). I do cast them now. However, all the necklaces are very different. For example, this one was a custom order from a friend of mine. Another one was inspired by the Art Nouveau style. Do not let me forget this bracelet!

There is one more... It was hand-made (again) in silver for a contest.

Modern organic shape of this necklace is enhanced by the copper background piece. It gives the colour to it without involving any gemstones, that I consider an advantage, as the piece becomes suitable for wearing with any outfit. No need for waiting for a special occasion. Leather cords with just a few sterling silver beads on them only help the same purpose. The clasp is sterling silver also.

The necklace is going to be available at my Etsy store.

Sea bottom pendant with chrysoprase

This is another gem stone that I can call "one of my favourite". Bright green chrysoprase is a gemstone variety of chalcedony that contains small quantity of nickel (this is how it gets its green colour). Most chrysoprase comes from Australia now. This is the origin of my gemstone too. It is cut by a local lapidary artist Bruce McClellan.

This high quality stone deserved a rich frame. So the pendant basically designed itself with all those sea creatures and silver swirls... Emeralds (emerald imitation stones) enhanced the beauty of this gem as well as the fresh water pearls.

If you are interested in metaphysical qualities of chrysoprase, it is said that it encourages hope and joy, helps clarifying problems and protects on sea voyages. It is also said that it is used to speed the healing of any wounds and as a shield or protector from negative energy.

The pendant is available in my Etsy online store.

Sea bottom pendant with sugilite

Sugilite is one of my favourite stones. However, the colours can be so different (depending on a stone) that I won't like sugilite just because it is Sugilite. I like it when it is light purple or purple with a little bit of blue, or even with some white sections. The stone in this pendant I like a lot!

Every pendant from this collection is a "game". I do not make sketches, but decide on the shape of each stone, which of my sea creatures I would like to use; and how the wires should be arranged. I felt that light-purple sugilite needed bright sapphires beside it (they are sapphire imitation stones, really). I am happy with my choice of this colour combination. Love it! White fresh water pearl is another lucky choice for this pendant!

Sugilite is not your common gem stone, so if you've never heard of it before I got some information here...

Sugilite is a fairly recent discovery (1944). It is found in Japan, Canada, India and Africa. The most important occurrence was found in 1975 in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. This is where most sugilites come from. The hardness in Mohs scale is of 5.5 to 6.5, that makes it suitable for jewellery, though preferably for the pendants and earrings. A ring is ok too, but only if you are naturally careful with your rings.

For those who are spiritual, it is said that sugilite can have a positive effect in protecting one from harm, anger and other negative energies.

It is also said that sugilite strengthens the heart, aids physical healing and reduces stress. It is a balancer of mind, body and spirit; encourages peace of mind, a general feeling of well being and spiritual love.

The pendant is available in my Etsy online store.

Happy Marriage bracelet (art-project)

There is a Marriage Old Wife Tale that a loss of a wedding ring is an omen of the end of a marriage. My husband lost and found his wedding ring and that gave me an idea for an art project on how to prevent a loss of a wedding ring. A wedding ring needs to be locked to a chain attached to a bracelet. This does not mean that a person is locked into his or her marriage as there is a key attached to the bracelet. 

There are also other charms symbolizing love and happiness attached to the bracelet. The ring and the charms have a rough surface to remind that you cannot rely on the lucky charms for your marriage to be happy. Marriage is a hard work with its ups and downs.

Silver Peacock Feather necklace with tourmaline

When I got my tourmalines, I did that just because they were pretty :) When my peacock feather jewellery obsession started, I checked all my stones to see what would fit it. A few tourmalines did! Though I like copper for these designs, precious tourmaline should be used with precious metals. Silver allows to create a relatively big design without costing a fortune... So, silver it is!

The backing for the stone is polished silver, so the transparent stone will always shine, no matter what the background for the necklace is (dark or light).

Tourmaline hardness in Mohs scale is 7 - 7,5, that makes it suitable for any kind of jewellery. It is very durable, transparent and beautiful. It comes in a rainbow of colours (according to an old Egyptian legend, tourmaline passed over a rainbow on its journey from the centre of the Earth). Blue colour is probably the most rear and desirable, though pink and green together in one stone is quite sought after too (then it is called "watermelon" tourmaline).

Metaphysical qualities of pink tourmaline. It is said that it brings emotional and spiritual love, joy, peace and understanding; transforms negative behaviour into positive; heals emotional loss, emotional pain and fear.

Sea Bottom pendant with gem chrysocolla and fresh water pearl

After I've finished this custom order, I felt a desire to complete my own pendant with a similar stone (gem silica or gem chrysocolla). It is such an unbelievable colour... pure bright blue... and it is natural!

Technically, all jewellery that I make is "mine"... until I sell it :) So, the pendant is going to be available in my Etsy online store. Until then... it is mine... sitting in a pretty jewellery box :)

What is gem chrysocolla anyway? It is chalcedony that has been stained blue from copper oxides. Unlike standard Chrysocolla that has a Mohs hardness of 2.5 to 3.5, gem silica has the same hardness as chalcedony at 7 on the Mohs hardness scale. This makes gem silica appropriate for all jewelry uses. Gem silica chrysocolla is rare and is usually found in the oxidation zones of copper mining deposits.

As any stone on Earth it has its own metaphysical qualities too... I am no expert, so, let's check what information Internet can offer...

* It is known as a healing stone among Native American Indian cultures where it was used for strengthening the body's resistance and bringing calm feelings where there is upset.

*Chrysocolla is a stone of peace and tranquility.

I totally can see that! This colour is such a pleasure to look at!

The pendant is available in my Etsy online store.

Peackock Feather copper necklace with dichroic glass cabochon

My peacock feather jewellery obsession continues :) It started accidentally here, when I bought that interestingly shaped labradorite from a local lapidary artist. Then I found one more stone... and one more... Now, when I am getting any stone at all, I estimate if it is going to fit a peacock feather design... This bright dichroic glass cabochon is definitely a good choice!

I loved my first design... but it got sold... As an artist I think that a sale is the best compliment for a designer... but I missed that necklace and tried to replicate it. I always wonder how it happens... I cannot make the same design exactly, no matter how much I try (unless all the parts are exactly the same, and that rarely happens).

So, the stone was different and it "designed" the necklace around itself! My husband just loves it, but the necklace is going to be for sale. I would like to continue experimenting with other stones and other peacock feather designs. I do not need to keep all of them :)