Ancient Elegance

Just showing off a piece I've been working on forever, and finally completed. I've used a weighty and gorgeously patinated ancient Roman glass fragment as the focal and added a handformed precious metal clay faux bois charm, and a AA grade red spinel briolette. There are black lava stone rounds, faceted prehnite cubes, and garnet red baroque pearls. Everything is linked with sterling silver, and there is a fine bit of sterling chain which picks up where the beads leave off. This is a masterpiece in my eyes.

Fantasy Exchange!

Some of the artists in the Etsy team I belong to, Fantasy Artists of Etsy (FAEteam), have some fun with gift exchanging in the winter months. This year I received some mystical bounty from my friend Carapace, who knows me oh-so-well.

Here is a beautiful canvas with wolves circling the moon, a la Elfquest (one of my favorite old comics).

And this Oracle Card box resplendent with Persephone imagery. Magnificent.

and the other side of the box...

The gorgeous cards themselves, for to give pause and ponder upon the goings-on in your life:

As you can see, m'lady Carapace is a skilled magical vixen, and her Etsy shop is full of wonderful creations.

Remembering Ancient Rome

I have an ongoing and growing obsession with ancient Roman glass. Organic gems, these ancient fragments are found all over the ancient Roman world, and today the most plentiful sources seem to be Israel and Afghanistan. The glass has been buried for many centuries- some of it even more than 2,000 years. They've been drilled and shaped recently, but retain the gorgeous iridescence that has developed through centuries of chemical reaction to the environment. The climate in the Middle East combines hot temperatures and flash flooding; the centuries of this exposure caused chemical changes in the glass in conjunction with the minerals present in the soil. The iridescence produced is simply stunning, and these shards absolutely become jewels the way they refract the light and change colors.

Here are my latest creations...

The Streets of Rome; ancient Roman glass, hemimorphite, prehnite, citrine, labradorite at the clasp.

Vesuvius; ancient Roman glass, volcanic stone.

Antiquity; rare cobalt ancient Roman glass, pyrope garnets.

Ode To Pompeii;  ancient Roman glass, volcanic stone, pyrite.

Colors of My Heart

Black looks good on roses. It's not a singularly Gothic look, it's got a strangeling beauty to it. Deep romance. I love you darkly.
Red roses are all fairy tale. Blood stories and twining brambles. A blade, a heart, red dreams.

Rose Black

A Rose For You

Rose Red

Roses Are Black, Like My Heart

Hearts-A-Bustin'

I'm fashioning a bevy of Valentine inspired pieces to show to our hometown eco-boutique. Atomic Garden is the most gorgeous shop and I am so proud they have been carrying my work with lovely success!

Here are some new items I'm offering them next week: