On Wings Of Music

Last night, after watching American Idol and putting my two boys to bed, I decided that I just had to work on some jewelry. I was just in the mood to do it and so I did - until midnight. Mind you, there are many nights when I am in bed by 9pm because I get up around 5:45am to spend some quality paper-reading, coffee-sipping time with my husband. Even getting up that early often only buys me a short window of time. Usually within 5-30 minutes of sitting cozily in my recliner I have both the dog, Gabby, and my 6-year-old, Noah, in my lap - at the same time. I'll have you know that I have become quite adept at reading the paper and drinking my coffee with only my left hand. My right arm is always tucked around Noah, always. He makes sure of it. Anyway, all this to say that I must really have been in need of a creative fix to stay up late at my kitchen table making jewelry. (I think the coffee ice cream I had for dessert had something to do with it!) I decided I wanted to make a necklace from the pendant I made at Art & Soul Asilomar. I loved making the pendant while I was on retreat. I rolled out some Precious Metal Clay onto an oiled stamp so that the back of my pendant would have a pattern. That way it is as beautiful from the back as it is from the front. The shape of the pendant is very organic and free-form. I liked that about it. Next, I created a curvy bezel by using PMC in a syringe to dispense a fine line. I dried the clay, cleaned it up and fired it. When I was ready to work on the center image, I cut out tiny pictures and words and glued them in place. I dropped in some tiny little beads and then applied resin for a smooth, glassy finish. I love resin. It is my new favorite thing. The hard part was letting it cure for 24 hours. When it was safe to handle it I packed it up and brought it home, knowing I would make something fabulous (at least to me) with it. So last night was the night to finally finish my necklace. I added beautiful gemstones to it and put it on a simple sterling silver chain. I laid it on my dresser at midnight and picked out a top I could wear to work today that would properly showcase my necklace. It makes me happy!

Today is a special day. It is May 7th, my Dad's birthday. This is the second birthday we are celebrating without him. He passed away seventeen months ago. I miss him. Happy Birthday, Dad!