FireWire Talisman

At the end of January, SynchroniCity held the 10th Annual Xmas Tree Burn. Hundreds of Christmas trees were arranged into a structure, which was then burned to spectacular effect.



There was a long, burnt piece of wire stretching from the perimeter of the gathering to the burning structure. I tangled my feet in the piece a few times that evening. Before I left, I collected and balled the long wire with the intent of creating something which would capture the spirit of the evening and honor the hostess, with whom I am friends.

After a period of non-focused deliberation, then a day of work, this is the resulting piece -


I created a pod, utilizing part of wire collected, encapsulating objects with significant symbolic and metaphysical properties. The pod design was inspired by direction contained in Elegant Wire Jewelry by Kathy Frey. Over 10 feet of the FireWire is woven around a frame of 19 gauge steel to create the caged piece. The piece is about 5 inches long. I had to anneal the Firewire, as it had become work hardened and brittle, in order to weave it into shape.

Several pieces are contained in the pod:
A quartz crystal which enhances energy and thoughts, and purifies the spiritual, mental, and physical.
A crystalline Desert Rose piece which can be used to dissolve "programs" we have put upon our selves that are outdated or over-used.
A Crinoid fossil which is excellent for use as a dream-stone, bringing inspiration, creativity, dream recall and manifesting our desires into reality.
A piece of wood, a direct reference to the fuel utilized at the event.
A marble with a red design, referencing the fire, a classic symbol of change and purification.
A small rock containing a natural yoni shape, symbol of the divine feminine.
A piece of bone. While I do not have direct reference to it's symbolic or metaphysical properties, I intuitively chose this piece for its shape and how it felt as I was constructing the piece.

As I had hoped, the FireWire pod has some seriously great energy and the design of the talisman came together well.

Earring Stands

One of the major areas of consideration for an artist who is marketing their own work is how it is displayed. This is a challenging area as it requires creativity and (for me) cost consciousness. Purchasing ready made displays is expensive, and it certainly doesn't guarantee items that are consistent with the image of one's product.

I was inspired to create driftwood earring displays by the sand images of my business cards and signage. All in all, I want to display my jewelry in such a way that is complimentary to the organic nature of the materials and techniques that I utilize. To that end, I headed to Jean Klock Park to look for sand polished pieces of wood that would be small enough to hold earrings.

I admit that I did not envision the stone base when I first conceptualized the project. I thought that I was just going to have rectangular wood stands for bases. But when I had the individual prototype in my studio, I had my "aha!" moment when I was placing the stand in my display that had rocks in it and reflecting. So I selected the rocks from my considerable collection, drilled them, and mounted each of the driftwood/wire pieces that I had assembled, gluing each into place.



Each piece of driftwood has a pair of holes in it to accommodate post style earrings.



But I can also hang most ear wires on the stands as well.

I may try to do a multi-earring stand with this concept as well.

UPDATE: I have received inquiries about purchasing my earring stands. Yes, they are available for sale! Please send the studio an email via the form on the blog for pricing and shipping information - I welcome it.