Super moon

The moon last night was amazing!  So inspiring in fact, I tossed and turned as I mulled over how to recreate the feeling of this phenomenon in a new piece of jewelry.   I wanted to design a bracelet so you could be the one looking at it, kinda like seeing the moon.  A necklace, while beautiful, adorns you and other people enjoy seeing it on you but you can only see most of it in a mirror.  I specifically wanted to make a bracelet to remind people to look up, and to keep life in perspective.

The full moon of June 23, 2013 was the largest moon of the year - a so-called super moon.  Scientist called it a perigree moon or a time when the moon is at its closest point in its orbit to the earth.  They claim it was 14% bigger and 30% brighter than any other full moons of 2013.  Not sure how that gets measured  or validated but one thing I can attest to was its beauty.

At first , when we went outside to see what all the fuss was about, my friend Diane and I saw nothing but a few stars.  For accuracy sake,  we did see something!  Hundreds of fireflies had decided to give us quite a show!  But that's another story for another piece of jewelry which added to my night time musings!  Okay so, back to the moon,  We decided to go closer to the River walk that runs along the Connecticut River in Agawam, Massachusetts to try and get an unobstructed view.  As soon as we left our street the moon made its entrance.  It orangey glow was beginning to peak out between the trees.  As we got closer to the river's bank, it was quite a sight to behold.

In my minds eye I feel I captured the vision before us within this bracelets design.  The moons reflection shimmered upon the water like liquidy gun metal with a bright silver band running vertically from one bank to the other.  The moon itself was like a rich  peachy and glowing amber in color.  I chose the stones to represent these images and used seed beads to capture the luminescent qualities of the moon reflection of sunlight.  The piece felt like the perfect choice to "break out" my grammy's vintage glass seed beads.  The fantastic amber opalescent cut charlotte's from the early 20's made the perfect match for the color of that moon.

It is very humbling to realize that humans, for as long as humans existed,  have all gazed upon the same moon that we were enjoying last night.  Its a shared human experience. Super moon is my interpretation of that experience.
   
Available now on our Etsy store :  https://www.etsy.com/listing/154916698/pearl-and-blue-super-moon

I can see clearly!

Most of the time, my design inspiration comes from a feeling evoked by a place I have visited or photo I have taken.  Sometimes it's a serendipitous artistic flub that inspires me, while at other times a fantastic stone calls out to me.  The latter is the case with Clarity.  The stone pendant is known as a Mexican crazy lace agate.  Its fantastical beauty is the result of how the stone is sliced to reveal the swirling and striation of color.  While most stones of this type are fiery and bold in coloring, this stone struck me for its more subtle and harmonious effect.  Its soft colors reminded me of a great day on the lake and thus inspiration for a necklace was born.

What better semi-precious stone could echo the yellows in the pendant than citrine. I love citrine for its complete versatility in jewelry making.  From a deep rich golden coloring to its barely there yellow coloring, its beauty is often revealed in the manner in which it is cut.  In this set, I used two cuts of citrine - a fancy carved melon shape and a smooth polished round.  

With that decided,  I looked again at my pendant. I was once again transported to my "day at the lake" metaphor, realizing my necklace needed grounding literally. I looked to find elements that reminded me of soil and water.  Faceted and smooth tiger eye were exactly what I was looking for as well ass chunks of softly colored blue aventurine.  Something was missing though-I needed that sparkle.  I needed to find a way to emulate the sun's effect as it hits the water making it come alive with even the briefest hint of wind. What twinkles better than foil lined gold seed beads!  And then I had to tackle the pattern...

It just happens...I put everything out in a mish-mash in front of me and with very little premeditation, the design just happens.  To me the stones  dictate where I am going with the design. It isn't a design strategy that I would normally recommend, since the failure rates are generally pretty high. However, it can be magic when it works out!

I hope you like the results of this artist's rambling.    Behold - Clarity!  or "day at the lake," which ever works for you.

              

             

btw - I needed a dragonfly,  it just fit the theme.

This piece is currently for sale on our Etsy site. Check it out!
Clarity Necklace and Earrings Set on Etsy

Beads for Batteries: Charging up Awareness

Beginning on September 16, is MitoAwareness week, so I wanted to share a little of our story, our Mito story:

Years ago I heard these 3 simple words, Turn the Prism. A professor said them to our group when I was a student nurse. She was encouraging us to change the way we looked at the people we were caring for and the way we perceived situations in our own life. Those words have stuck with me all these years and really define the way I have dealt with the ups and downs of life. The saying, When life gives lemons; make lemonade, never rang true for our family. Lemonade implied something sweet and refreshing. Living with a life-threatening disease was not so easily turned into something invigorating. It was something that we have learned to manage, find meaning in and grow from but lemonade sounded too trite to give us comfort.
Turning the Prism on my own life was a whole lot tougher than helping my children or my family. In 2001 it became imperative to see my life from a new vantage point when I felt the first serious symptoms of mitochondrial disease within myself.  This disease had touched not only my two children, but my mother, my sister and her daughter as well. So I knew the possibility for me to "crash" was a very real threat. I was to busy to let it consume my thoughts and pushed forward running here, there and everywhere. Looking back I see that running all the time, never left me with enough time for "thinking". It was my coping strategy, and it failed miserably. That is when jewelry making came into my life.
A friend said, hey do you want to help me out and design some bracelets for my fledgling company, I'll pay you"? The idea of doing something with my hands, at home that could bring in some extra cash certainly peaked my interest. I agreed and soon found myself surrounded by thousands of glass beads in every possible array of color, shape and texture. It occurred to me one day that this combining and stringing of beads was rather meditative and therapeutic. Thoughts about my life, my children, mitochondrial disease and my larger family would float into my "therapy session" like a gentle tap on the shoulder, getting me to pay attention but in a much more gentle way. It helped me to "accept" this new path I found myself on.
I find it completely ironic, that our family creed, "Turn the Prism" has crossed the line from the figurative to the literal. I began to make a necklace or two for myself, that were happily purchased right off my neck! From that a rainbow of possibilities began to swirl in my head. I voraciously taught myself all I could about the world of jewelry making, took a class, bought out Barnes and Noble section of jewelry making and found multiple internet resources. I was beginning to see a life beyond being an ICU nurse; a life where my artistic creativity was rekindled, bringing with it an unexpected satisfaction. This is the place where Prajna Jewelry Design was born, within the light shined upon a new perspective on my life. Prajna means wisdom or knowledge gained from insight and deep meditation, so it seemed fitting to name our jewelry company.

Mitochondrial disease is a disease that affects children and adults of all ages, races, and gender. More common than cystic fibrosis, mitochondrial disease is characterized by a defect in the body's ability to make energy, and causes symptoms that range from moderate to severe. Like running the body on a "low battery", mitochondrial disease affects a person's entire body and can change moment to moment, day to day. There is no cure.

This is our Mito:  Symptoms range from severe mental retardation, autism, heart problems requiring full time pacemaker, unstable blood pressure, weakness, fatigue, migraines and strokes, just to name a few.

Giving back is also a huge part of our family's life, so in keeping with our tradition, 10% of the proceeds of each piece of jewelry sold from Prajna Jewelry Design will be donated to MitoAction, a vital organization, near and dear to our hearts.  www.mitoaction.org . Please help us spread the word about what Mitochondrial disease.  Mito Awareness week runs September 16 -22, 2012 please help spread the word

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