Lavender and Silver Horn Ring

Lavender and Silver Horn Ring

[For sale here on Etsy!]

Once I tried making head-wear horns out of polymer clay, but I quickly realized it's been done before. So I invented a way to mount them into rings and other flat woven bracelets.

Introducing, Horn Rings!

This light, curled horn is the perfect accent for any kind of faerie, nymph, or satyr costume.

The claw is made of polymer clay with a light metallic finish, which makes it MUCH lighter than a metal claw. It also won't tarnish. The ring itself is woven by hand out of purple and clear seed beads. Ring size 9.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

New Auction for BARCC!

This week I have a piece up in a Blogathon Auction for BARCC!

Some very awesome people put together a combo auction & blogathon every year. This summer they've asked for pieces themed around violence against women. At the same time I finished reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, and was inspired by similar themes in her wonderful novel. Introducing,

The Death of Enefa
[for auction here!]

And then I heard a voice, except it wasn't a voice, and he asked, "Do you love me?"
And I said, "Come and I will show you," and opened my arms. He came to me and pulled me hard against him, and I did not see the knife in his hand. No, no, there was no knife; we had no need of such things. No, there was a knife, later, and the taste of blood was bright and strange in my mouth as I looked up to see his terrible, terrible gaze...
But what did it mean that he made love to me first?

-The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin.

Snowflake obsidian, frosted quartz, white agate, labradorite, garnet, sterling silver knife charm. Metal bending all done by hand, and the bead chain necklace is 20 inches long.

It's been up for a day and a half by now and there have been no bids at all. So sad! Hopefully it picks up soon.


From the auction website's intro page:

The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) is the second oldest rape crisis center in the country, and one of the biggest, with a staff of 20 and a volunteer corps of 120+ who put in hours equivalent to 19 additional staff members. We have a 24-hour hotline and medical advocacy program (medical advocates go to the hospital with survivors for evidence collection), a community awareness/public education/outreach program (which is really unique and ever-expanding), legal advocacy, legislative advocacy (we helped change the law on restraining orders recently so you can get one if you're not in an intimate relationship with your stalker, go us!), case management, and counseling (up to twelve sessions). BARCC provides all of this and more completely free of charge, and we are able to do so partly because of you.

Every penny of this auction goes directly to BARCC so they can continue to provide these services for survivors and their families and communities throughout the Boston area. Buy wonderfu things for a good cause!

Queen of the Cat People, Class with a cult following.

Mabon Magick

Mabon Magick

[For sale here on Etsy!]

The pentacle is a common symbol in pagan circles, relating to the five elements, mastery of the four elements, etc. But it also relates to the orbit of the planet Venus, the five terminating points of the human body, and the five wounds of Christ. This symbol can be found in many different cultures around the world. Like Crowley said, in one of his more lucid moments, "Every man and every woman is a star in the sky."

This rustic copper pentagram is set on a necklace of genuine malachite, brightly contrasted with more copper beads, copper tinted glass beads, silver-toned metal, and a sterling toggle clasp. The necklace is 18.5 inches long. Colors evoke thoughts of both summer and autumn, as the leaves turn from green to red gold, Midsummer through Samhain ;-) For the earthy pagan girl, or guy, in your life.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Ravens in the Library!

Last week my friend's new album Mischief came out! Yay! It is wonderful and magically delicious!!!! S.J. Tucker is super awesome at everything she does :-D

And most especially, it includes a recording of her song "Ravens in the Library" which is one of my favorites. I've been waiting for it to be available in MP3 format for at least a year. Squee!

And why is their music on a jewelry blog? Well, first it's Friday. Second, I'm in a library. Third, I made a shiny tribute to this song a few months ago ;-)

Ravens Studying Jewels
[For sale here on Etsy!!]

Song inspired, artist approved! :-D

Part of the "Summer Reading Sale!" Marked down from the original price for a 15% discount.

Black agate, reconstituted onyx, frosted quartz, sterling silver, and OODLES of Swarovski crystals! 17 inches long.

Hours of study flying by,
Words soaked up by beady eyes,
Long debates into the night,
Pages flying everywhere.
Seek the language word by word,
Like the black and clever bird,
never let it bring you down,
All the things we haven't figured out.

My friend bids me come and see
The ravens in the library,
setting quiet pages free!

If you're not buying anything from my shop today, please go to her website and purchase some of her amazing music!
http://www.skinnywhitechick.com


Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Garden Rainbow

Garden Rainbow

[For sale here on Etsy!]

Delicately carved flourite flowers blend subtly into the thorny rose quartz chips of this necklace. The findings are all sterling, including a toggle clasp.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Copper Infused Glass

Copper Infused Glass

[For sale here on Etsy!]

Occasionally, after the completed construction of yet another annihilation device, an inventor or engineer will run into a slightly more vexing dilemma. What to wear when raining destruction down upon the nearby city center? What could possibly match both the crisp efficiency of both her bright white labcoat, and the metal monstrosity that dearly calls her "Mother"?

In a word, this necklace.

So when next you come into my town on a wave of terror, if you could conveniently miss my house, I would be very grateful.

18 inches of spiraling glass seedbeads, with Czech crystals in a variety of metallic shades and finishes.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Rose Mint

Rose Mint

[For sale here on Etsy!]

Another candy colored piece!

This polymer clay pendant is a swirl of light candy colors, blue, green, yellow and white stamped with an elegant rose. The green swirls and stripes glow in the dark and under blacklight. The clay is finished with a light pearly glaze. Includes an art glass bead set with swirly pink roses on black.

The waxed cord is 18 inches long, and the pendant is 2 inches long.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

The Lady and the Tiger

The Lady and the Tiger

[For sale here on Etsy!]

This stunning piece of tigereye, onyx, and sterling adds glamour and refinement to any low-necked outfit or costume. The necklace is 20.5 inches long. You'll feel like the belle of the ball... with just a hint of a wild side ;-)

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Ribbon Candy!

Ribbon Candy and Crystals

[For sale here on Etsy!]

Another candy inspired piece ;-)

This ribbon candy shaped pendant is made out of carefully blended polymer clay in white, green, blue, and yellow, and finished with a light pearly glaze. The green stripes are a UV sensitive material that glows in the dark and under blacklight. Includes a drop of matching Czech crystals.

The waxed cord is 18 inches long, and the pendant is 2 inches long.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.

Authors Seeking Artists

I hang out with a wide variety of people in NYC. One social scene in particular is full of genre/SF writers who are all very awesome.

Star of the Evening, inspired by Jaqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart.

A few months ago I went to the launch party for a friend's new SF novel, and she signed my copy "You owe me a necklace ;-D!"

Later she apologized for being so forward, and clarified that I didn't owe her a necklace, but that she really REALLY wanted to see some jewelry based on her book posted up around the interwebs. Because I do that for a lot of literature that I read, and I guess I've accidentally made a reputation for myself ;-).

Miss Spink, inspired by Neil Gaiman's Coraline.

And from what I've seen, writers love it when a world they've built from words inspires others to create more art based on that world. Folk art indicates that they've truly created a myth cycle that is tying a whole community of artists together.

Rosie, inspired by Ellen Kushner's Privilege of the Sword.

I'm not inspired to make jewelry for every book I read, but if you are a writer that wants in on this happy little branch of fandom here are some suggestions:

• Include jewels and jewelry in your stories.
  

If there's jewelry in text, that's the most automatic thing for a jewelry artist to hone in on.

• Write strong characters with vibrant physical descriptions.

I know I think very visually, so the stronger an image is in my mind's eye while reading a story, the more likely I am to be inspired.

• Trade books to artists for their artwork.

I've been at some conventions where I didn't mind trading finished jewelry for new books. That doesn't work for everybody (mine is more hobby than business so I have more financial flexibility), but it is a way to ingratiate yourself to artists ahead of time.

• If you see art inspired by your written work, properly credited to you of course, flaunt it on your blog.

Like everybody else artists like to feel appreciated, and big online displays of appreciation usually make artists pretty happy. It will also encourage other artists to read the works of an art-friendly writer and post their own pieces to the public.


Now go forth and write new worlds! Inspire the rest of the universe ;-)

Lavender Swan

Lavender Swan

[For sale here on Etsy!]

A black cinnabar swan pendant hangs from a chain of black and silvery light lavender. Matte onyx contrasts with Czech crystal beads and silver colored findings.

Lariat length, the chain is 25.5 inches long with no clasp, and the pendant hangs down 2 inches.

I had to make a copy of this for myself, it is so awesome :-) Matte onyx always looks so nice with pink or lavender.

Queen of the Cat People, class with a cult following.