And Then She Flew - 1

"And Then She Flew," a necklace inspired by "Black Feather" written by K. Tempest Bradford. This piece was made for the Interstitial Arts Foundation and their May 2008 auction.

This necklace is composed of a wooden feather pendant, wooden beads, jasper, jet glass, and sterling silver.

And Then She Flew - 2

In "Black Feather," by K. Tempest Bradford, there was a hill and up the hill there was a cave. In our main character, there was a past like a deep well, stretching back to graves and a Wood. And, above all, there were feathers.

This necklace is composed of a wooden feather pendant, wooden beads, jasper, jet glass, and sterling silver.

For the IAF's May 2008 auction.

And Then She Flew - 3

A close-up on the wooden feather, as well as the jasper beads, jet glass, and one of the wooden beads.

This necklace is composed of a wooden feather pendant, wooden beads, jasper, jet glass, and sterling silver.

For the IAF's May 2008 auction.

And Then She Flew - 4

I know this photograph is a little dark, but it's one of the best pictures I could get in natural daylight. I just wanted to show how the necklace hangs when worn.

This necklace is composed of a wooden feather pendant, wooden beads, jasper, jet glass, and sterling silver.

For the IAF's May 2008 auction.

(Please ignore my fading sunburn!)

And Then She Flew - 5

And here I am, modeling my necklace, "And Then She Flew." Please ignore the fading sunburn and crazy hair. And the typical taking-a-picture-of-yourself angle of the photograph.

The Heart Only Knows One Song - 1

A close-up on the focal point of this necklace. This onyx pendant was found at Highstrung Beads Shoppe: a shop I just discovered a couple of days ago a few minutes up my street.

This piece was made using an onyx teardrop set in sterling silver, Czech glass beads (reds, slightly smoky clears), Czech glass seed beads (reds, hematite), jet glass, and sterling silver.

The Heart Only Knows One Song - 2

Behold, the full length of "The Heart Only Knows One Song"! I made this necklace for my good friend Teresa's wedding. It was my first commission!

This piece was made using an onyx teardrop set in sterling silver, Czech glass beads (reds, slightly smoky clears), Czech glass seed beads (reds, hematite), jet glass, and sterling silver.

The Heart Only Knows One Song - 3

I put a toggle clasp on this necklace as they tend to be my favored clasps. I usually fumble too much with lobster clasps and dare say quite a few people I know struggle with them as well!

This piece was made using an onyx teardrop set in sterling silver, Czech glass beads (reds, slightly smoky clears), Czech glass seed beads (reds, hematite), jet glass, and sterling silver.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple - 1

As Oscar Wilde so pithily said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." Reflections on light and dark are what occupied me while creating this necklace: on the left, you can just make out a red jasper bead that is mottled with white. Across from it, on the right, you can see its opposite, a red jasper bead mottled mostly in black. Yet the beads all around them reflect both light and dark, leading one back to the thought at the start of this paragraph.

This piece was made using fancy jasper, red jasper, Accuflex stringing wire, and sterling silver findings. It closes with a toggle clasp.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple - 2

A close-up on the mottled appearance of the red jasper beads and the lovely swirled surfaces of the fancy jasper.

This piece was made using fancy jasper, red jasper, Accuflex stringing wire, and sterling silver findings. It closes with a toggle clasp.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple - 3

A wide shot of the whole necklace.

This piece was made using fancy jasper, red jasper, Accuflex stringing wire, and sterling silver findings. It closes with a toggle clasp.

Rarely Pure and Never Simple - 4

A shot of the necklace including the sterling silver toggle clasp.

This piece was made using fancy jasper, red jasper, Accuflex stringing wire, and sterling silver findings. It closes with a toggle clasp.

The Little Mermaid: Upon Sharp Knives

A necklace inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen tale, "The Little Mermaid." Still in progress! Here you see it upon my not-so-glorious work table.

Materials: sterling silver, shell, marble, bone, pearl, and bead wire.

"Her tender feet felt as if cut with sharp knives, but she cared not for it; a sharper pang had pierced through her heart. She knew this was the last evening she should ever see the prince, for whom she had forsaken her kindred and her home; she had given up her beautiful voice, and suffered unheard-of pain daily for him, while he knew nothing of it. This was the last evening that she would breathe the same air with him, or gaze on the starry sky and the deep sea; an eternal night, without a thought or a dream, awaited her: she had no soul and now she could never win one." -"The Little Mermaid", HCA