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Earrings inspired by the simple circle.     Eternal Circles - These are the shapes I care most about. There are no points, no hardness. There is only softness, acceptance, wisdom, ancient intuition. The Halo, the Moon, the Spiral, the 12 divisions in a rosette and the Swirl are included in this form. Circle
Softness. Acceptance. Wisdom. Ancient intuition. Moon. Spiral. Swirl. Circle.
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Making custom wedding rings, I am often struck how lovers see themselves in their own world and their love as the center of their own special universe. Inspiration Spiral Galaxy Spirals are found throughout nature. A seashell's curve, a hawk following it's prey, even weather patterns and beach formations occur in spirals. NASA's site has some wonderful images of Spiral Galaxies. They inspired me to think of how I can recreate the spiral symbol in my jewelry to reflect that special center of the universe love.
Sometimes, when I'm making orders I work on something just for fun during the minutes while I'm waiting for a piece to cool, or soak or ..well..whatever. So, this is the latest "fun" piece I just finished yesterday.   The two strips of blue enamel hold a secret inside. Look in this picture and you will see the top two strips are etched with the words DISCOVER and JOURNEY. I love those two words. Life is a journey and every journey is the opportunity to discover. Wear these earrings and you'll be ready for the journey, ready to discover your one of a kind life.  I covered the words with several layers of Prussian Blue enamel. It's so rich and deep, like a night sky or the Atlantic waters. The natural shells have a mystical swirl pattern. They dangle from sterling silver posts that I made by hammering for texture. I couldn't resist engraving a little star to top it off.  These are long statement earrings. They measure 3 inches long!
I think they would be a perfect birthday or graduation gift. I put them on the Etsy store this morning. I'm not sure if I'll make anymore. What do you think? Should I add them to the Metal Sky Collection? Or maybe they fit into Pirate Tides? I'd love to know what you think. I've been going into the city to browse museums since I was a teenager in high school. No matter what my passion of the moment was, there has always been something to inform and inspire me, in the city's great museums. On Friday, I went in to the city for some shopping.  Monet's Waterlilies Afterwards, I took advantage of MOMA's free Friday night admissions (a saving of $20). There's nothing like seeing great works of art in person. You can fall in love with a work through photographs, in a book or on the internet. But I really don't think you can fully appreciate what makes it a recognized masterpiece, until you see it up close. For example, can you really get a sense of how large some of Monet's work is, unless you walk in a room full of Waterlilies? Or the size and thickness of Calder's jewelry? Or the beauty of Jackson Pollack's work? Or can you focus on one small section of a canvas, unless you see it up close?  The moon in Starry Night is my inspiration for the The Metal Sky Collection  Warhol's soup cans & Jasper John's flag It's also a place where you get to understand what quality means. Once you see quality, you can recognize it. When I dealt with antiques, I needed to be able to recognize quality when I saw it. No antique price guide is ever going to have every possible antique you will find, even if you were able to look them all up, before deciding on a purchase. What I had to rely on, was knowing how a piece would stand up sitting in a gallery with the best from that era. And I couldn't do that, unless I saw enough of the best.
I didn't see any jewelry at the MOMA on Friday. But I saw quality, I saw passion, I saw boldness and thinking outside the box. Those are all the factors I'd like to show in my own art jewelry creations. So, I am inspired for the new week. I hope you are too! Today the sun feels great. Spring is coming and the birds are singing. I made a pendant to celebrate this special feeling - when all good things seem possible.  I hope you have a great day and enjoy the promise of the sunrise.
I realize that everyone is not into the Pirate theme. So, let me take a break from that today and share with you some new rings I've made for the Metal Sky Collection. Actually, I first made these rings in July. The 4th of July celebrations made me think of the stars that I've been drawing in the margins of my notebooks for many years. As a teenager, they were filled with hope and expectations. Today, although much older, I still think of them as my personal symbols of hope and dreams. Most importantly, they symbolize Freedom for me.    I've created the rings out of both copper and sterling silver. You can find them for sale in both my Etsy shop and on my own website. These were originally made as part of my participation in Ring a Day 2010. You can see all the rings I made in 2010 by clicking here. Do you have an icon that you consider your personal symbol? If so, please let me know what it is. I'm sure it would be a perfect inspiration for a piece of jewelry.
In my quest to understand the reasons we wear jewelry, I am drawn to the most ancient pieces that are used in adornment. The symbol of a crescent moon seems to speak to the soul. It's just our nature to wear it, I believe. Likewise, there is something universally appealing for the form of those hopeful stars in the sky. Finally, there is the Sun - the source of our life and light.  Over the years I find I never tire of wearing these symbols of the sky and I never tire of making jewelry to celebrate them. So, I've decided to offer them together in one place for you as the Metal Sky Jewelry Collection. I will start with what is ready and add to it, little by little.  The plan is to offer most designs in sterling silver, antiqued sterling silver, antiqued copper and ancient copper finish. Eventually I will also offer brass, probably with a bronze patina. If you don't see a piece in the metal or finish you need, just let me know. I'm starting with just a few earrings. All of these earrings are hand-crafted in the studio, starting with a sheet of pure copper or 925 Sterling silver. The design is hand drawn and cut. It is then hammered for an interesting texture. Depending on your choice, it is either polished or put through an aging process for a patina finish.   The Metal Sky Jewelry Collection is available for purchase on my website. Only two earring styles available right now, but as mentioned, I'll add much more, a little at a time. I figure that's more fun than waiting for the whole collection at once. Besides, this is the type of collection that will be with me for many years. The Moon, the Sun and the Stars never go out of style.
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 Mary Lu Wason
is a studio jeweler. Here she shares the inspirations, discoveries and process of creating her art jewelry collections. @PirateTides on Instagram Subscribe
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