more black

These are some other black pieces that I have. Rather than being mourning jewelry they seem to me to be Art Deco. A couple of pairs of earrings are obviously '80's. I get a lot of use out of my black jewelry and wear at least one black ring most of the time. Black has a contemporary feel right now even though today is the first day of spring! As soon as the weather catches up, it will be time to take out the pastels and flowers. But for today with the rain, I'll stick with black.

green vine

Here are two of those beaded chokers that are strung on a curving wire so that they clasp around your neck like a python giving you a neat (non-sagging) necklace. I added a sweet flowering vine that I got from my friend, Barb. That vine looks soooo good on; you can't believe it. The vine and the silver choker are from the '60's. But I made the green glass beaded one from some old beads from a broken necklace and a wire that had lost most of its original beads. I'm a little afraid to wear it since I'm not so certain how well my infrastructure will hold up. How awful to have a wardrobe failure and beads rolling everywhere at say the mall. Plus the beads are really nice, and I will probably reuse them in another way once an inspiration lands in the ol' knocker.

roses

These roses were really big in the late '70's. They had a tendency to chip which is why you don't see them much anymore. But I still like them and have managed to find this small collection over the years at various thrift shops. I used to have a dusty rose dress that I wore with all these pieces, but that was over the top and I felt just plain silly. So I gave the dress to a thrift store but kept the jewelry. Now I don't have anything to wear these with. I think I should have kept the dress. Someday, somewhere there must be an occasion for such a get up. The next time I'm at the Junkee  Exchange, a great vintage store in Reno, I'll try to find a dusty rose dress. But what about my shrink's order to get rid of all the stuff I don't use?

suns and moons

I love the way this picture turned out with the right hand side awash in sunshine. I've collected all the little moon faces at the humblest of thrift stores and the sun pendant my sister Anne made for me (not to be confused with sister Cary). Anne is a wiz with ceramics. She just holds clay in her hands and the most astonishing figures and faces emerge. She's too busy now running a family and working two jobs for ceramics, but someday, someday, she'll get back to it. I painted the large man-in-the-moon and gave him a red jeweled eye. Before that he was very plain. I love making little improvements on thrift store pieces. It's kind of a hobby of mine and a great source of Christmas presents.

some bracelets

Well the plain wooded bracelet is masquerading as an ivory bracelet, the textured red plastic bracelet is masquerading as a true wooden cinnabar bracelet and the plaid bracelet on top is masquerading as a Highland Scot when its just a good ol' work-a-day Scotch Irish. Only the Buddha (right) is truly what he seems (hardwood lacquered with cinnabar). Jewelry is a means of casting forth an image, one that you want people to admire. With a few key pieces of jewelry people can never really look down on you again. The big diamond ring, the heavy gold chain, or a good facsimile with the right attitude.

silly broaches

A large broach can make an outfit. The big owl above goes perfectly with a blouse I have when I use it in its pendant mode. When I worked everyday in an office I liked to wear the smiley face just because people could get so grouchy. The big bird is just fun at the neck of a button up. I generally find cool stuff like this right here in Quincy, CA. Some of my best finds have been right around where I live at yard sales (which I don't do anymore--too much stuff already) and local stores. I want to give a shout out to My Sister's Closet which is always filled with beautiful merchandise and friendly people.

green glass

I took apart somebody's idea of beaded art just to get this one square of green glass. I felt the rest of the necklace was distracting at best (Don't worry I used the other parts of the necklace for something else). I like the starkness of the square and wear it with the thick silver chain above. Glass is such beautiful stuff, I'm sorry we don't see it set more often in precious metals. This piece is set in sterling which is what helps to make it feel so desirable. As with ceramics, glass is flax spun into gold. I love its humble origins and its royal beauty.