Challenge of Travel: North Carolina

 

Let me start by saying I am not a Carolina Girl.

I was born in a slightly more southern state and did not find myself in North Carolina until just seven years ago.

Nonetheless, she has swept me off my feet and I truly feel like the place where I live is my home.

This past year has really been wonderful for me as I've had the opportunity to see more of my state and really make myself familiar with some of the things it has to offer.

 

For our honeymoon, John and I went to Asheville. I had never been and it was exactly as I expected, a haven for the arts and crafts and a central location for exploring the North Carolina mountains.

We toured the Biltmore and took a zip-line tour with Navitat and spent the rest of the time browsing art galleries and indoor art markets.

The mountains were captivating and I can't wait to go back.

 

 The Appalachian Mountains

 

A little closer to home for me is the coastal region. I live close to Wilmington and a couple of months ago while we had family visiting for the baby, we took a couple of days to play tourist in my own town and I so enjoyed learning more about the history (Wilmington has been around since before the signing of the Declaration of Independence) and the current draw for the area (We have the largest sound stage outside of Hollywood!).

 

My view of the Atlantic

 

There is so much more to say about my state and not to sound like I'm being paid by them (because I'm definitely not!), North Carolina has a wonderful website for tourism where you can find all the information you'd ever want about visiting and even living here!

I know the real reason that you all came, and that's for the jewelry.

Here's my piece and let me tell you a little about my inspiration.

 

I wanted the capture the idea of living somewhere between the mountains and the ocean and I started by creating the shape of the pendant. I wanted the curve at the bottom to represent the ocean, the low lying swamps that dot the area around where I live. 

 

On either side, the copper juts back up into the air like the mountains, tall and firm and the sides pull in ever so slightly to mimic the peaks of the mountains.

 

I chose the dark green bead with it's various colors to represent the mountains, the green of the pines and the hints of orange that mark the beginning of fall.

The blue bead is, of course, the ocean and I love the fact that (although the camera doesn't capture it), there's a slight shimmer in the clay that reminds me of the sun glinting off the ocean surface.

 

Finally, I added a quote:

"My heart lies east between mountain and sea."

 



 

Technically, I'm proud of the way this pendant turned out, the copper was so much fun to work and the beads (by Rebekah Payne of Tree Wing Studio) are perfect representations of land and sea.

Artistically, this pendant represents exactly what I wanted it to, it is North Carolina for me.

I love my home and I'm glad that my little girl will grow up a Carolina girl.

 

I hope you'll visit Erin's blog to see the other creations and get inspired by the hometowns of other artists. You can find all of that here.

Thank you, Erin!