Sunday, January 12, 2014

Práctica



I'm calling this tiny pendant, a Práctica piece.
The word in Spanish means practice, the repetitive action of doing something over and over until your mind or hands or heart finds it easy and it becomes second nature.
There's no design or fancy cuts or special layers to this pendant, it's just what you see, solid sterling and lace agate suspended from slim sterling chain.
 

It's not fancy, it's Práctica.
Sometimes you need to just work on basics, a soldered bezel, a smooth edge, hand-polished patina...


The tiniest pieces take on new meaning when they spring from your hands and heart.
 
 Something I've found myself truly inspired by lately (it may have to do with a new found love of turquoise) is the traditional Native American adornment and the colors of the Southwest.
 
This piece started out as the sketch below.

 
(Sorry about the bad photo, it was taken with my phone)
I had this idea to create a pendant with movement and texture and incorporate turquoise, copper, bone, and wood, natural textures and color reminiscent of the Southwest.
 
 
The piece is tribal and chunky with long, hollow bone beads, stabilized turquoise, and chalky red rounds knotted onto bone-colored waxed linen. The pendant is handcrafted, carefully sawed from copper sheet, hammered and folded with a bit of turquoise at the top of the pendant.


The piece hangs low with lots of movement from the fringe and the two-part pendant.
 
 
I'm in love with these colors and themes and have a few more Southwest-inspired pieces in my sketchbook.
 
For now, I've listed this one here.

3 comments:

  1. I knew it would be amazing but you still surprised me! Keep it up!

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  2. Love both pendants.

    What is the stone in the first pendant?

    Carolyn

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  3. I was also wondering about the stone in the first piece! It's gorgeous! Only to be complimented by your beautiful work!

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