Author: yesterdaygetsbetter

Trellis Necklace with Pink Suede Roses

This unique art piece is from my “Trellis Necklace” series. I developed this beadwork pattern to resemble a latticed garden trellis that has vines trained over it. Flexible yet firm, the framework serves as a support for five roses sculpted from vintage 1980s fine garment-quality lambskin suede.

The dress from which it was salvaged was *hideous* but very high-end, and the suede from its bodice is “like butter.” The suede had faded irregularly from having been displayed in a sunlit boutique window. I took SuedeRoseTrellisNecklace004advantage of that in cutting the petals and in their placement, in order to give the roses that much more dimension and realistic appearance. Each of the suede roses is set in its own beaded calyx, which serves to secure the roses to the trellis, and to preserve their shape.

Other materials in this necklace are vintage brass findings from the Rhode Island jewelry industry (late 18th century-1970): ornamental stampings made from the same molds used since Victorian times; chain; and signed clasp (marked Trifari), all of which I had antique-bronze plated to protect the raw metal.

You can see another necklace from my Trellis series, here on this blog. If you would like to purchase the suede roses necklace, it is listed on Etsy here.SuedeRoseTrellisNecklace003croppedYGB

Picture Jaspers! Why Paint?

CherryCreekFramedGreenKyaniteNecklace024This is a naturally-occurring scenic stone only recently discovered, c 2005. Known by various trade names — Cherry Creek Jasper; Red Creek or Red River Jasper; Multi Colored Picasso Jasper — it actually is not a true Jasper at all; it is both softer and less tough. But the top-grade material (like this one) is close-grained enough to take a high-shine polish. What makes it extraordinary is its range of color, unprecedented among the world’s scenic stones.

Lore has it that it was stumbled upon by workers mining turquoise nearby. It is likely that Cherry Creek shares some of the same agents which give turquoise its color — prominently, copper and limonite (an iron ore). Veins of gleaming hematite (earth’s other principle iron ore) can be seen in some specimens of Cherry Creek.

What drew me to design a necklace around this one is its scene: like woodland poppies growing amidst brambles at the edge of a glade.

 

 

The Rare, Naturally-Occurring “Chalcedony Rose”

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Its surface covered by tiny sparkling quartz crystals, this is an especially fine example of a rare, naturally-occurring formation from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, known as a “Chalcedony Rose.” No two alike, these cup-shaped specimens form when silica dissolved by water fills open cavities in volcanic rock, slowly depositing layer upon layer. Highly resistant to chemical and physical weathering, the roses are released when the enclosing host rock is weathered away at the surface of the earth.

The blue tones are caused by Rayleigh scattering of light on tiny particles, the mechanism that is also mostly responsible for the blue color of the sky 🙂
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Vintage Glass Opal Earrings

 

Long out of production, highly collectible Glass Opals in mint, uncirculated condition. They were imported back in the 1950s and stored in their original wraps ever since. (Warehouses still exist in my area that are filled to the high rafters with raw materials for the once-famous jewelry industry around Providence RI — which pretty much makes it heaven for a vintage inspired designer like me.)

Every Glass Opal, like a gemstone, is unique. I have no idea why they aren’t made anymore. Everyone who has ever seen them in pieces I make has exclaimed over how amazing they are. It must have been a cost issue: these do have precious metal foils inside them, and were created one-by-one by hand in some labor-intensive way.

I set them in bezels woven with teensy glass seed beads. They are backed by intricately-detailed brass filigrees, which I had antique-plated locally — for this evocative roman bronze color yes, but mostly to protect and preserve the raw brass.

In the late Victorian period, the use of ‘en tremblant’ accents on earrings was wildly popular. For these earrings, I added trios of Swarovski crystals which are perfect accents for the Glass Opals. They are Swarovski’s ‘Pacific Opal’ with that famous Aurora Borealis coating — which you get just a hint of in my photos — very sparkly! And the movement! The crystal drops keep up a near-constant tremble and dance (so eye catching)

Unique, handcrafted, guaranteed to garner compliments!

From the Trellis Necklace Series: Crazy Lace Agate

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This necklace (you can see it on Etsy here) was designed around the superb focal heart-shaped stone of Crazy Lace Agate.

Crazy Lace Agate is among the most well-known of the world’s agates. The material comes from a mining site in northern Mexico and has been featured in lapidary arts since the 1950s.  The name “Crazy Lace” refers to the fractal geometric patterns that result from agate encrusting and later replacing the pointy calcite crystals lining fissures in limestone.

Most of the world’s agates developed in ancient volcanic lava: when gasses trapped in the lava escaped as the rock cooled, hardened, then cracked, hollow cavities were left inside the host rock. Agate develops layer by layer as its microcrystals self-organize to form concentric bands, “eyes”, plumes, or other patterns — the colors and arrangement of these microcrystals influenced by changes in pressure, temperature, and mineral content that occurred during the formation process. This is why agates from a certain area are identifiable as a group; there are thousands of named agates found in nearly all countries of the world. Yet each individual piece of agate is unique — even slabs cut from the same specimen will vary in color and design.

 

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