We had our first frost on Sept. 23, almost a month early, but my little patch of wildflowers just outside the "studio" (the dining room, re-purposed) survived and even seemed to intensify in color. Last week, the first snowfall (4 inches) and the two-day hard freeze that followed finally did them in. Here's my tribute of sorts, in multicolored tourmaline -- all natural, by the way; tourmaline comes in a rainbow of colors, some quite rare -- and another of the lovely Hill Tribes sterling silver pendants I brought home from Tucson at the end of last winter. This pendant measures just over 3/4 inch (18 mm), and the necklace is a choker-length 17 inches with a handmade (by me!) sterling hook-and-eye clasp. The cultured pearls really are just separators for the sections of pink and green, the most common tourmaline colors. Green tourmaline (Elbaite) is the most common; pink tourmaline, also called rubellite, is colored by manganese traces in the aluminum borosilicate base.
I made two more necklaces yesterday and have two on the workbench that I'd like to finish today. It's such a thrill to get that creative energy back, and just in time for holiday sales. It's also great timing since I would like to offer two or three "handmade for the holidays" jewelry-making classes at New Moon Gallery in the next six weeks or so. Stay tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment