Soon it will be too hot for soup-making, but never too hot for playing with beads and charms and stuff.
Shaman Amulet Necklace with ceramic spike by Petra Carpreau via TitleFx
Soon it will be too hot for soup-making, but never too hot for playing with beads and charms and stuff. ...
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I've been busy. So busy. Taking old things apart and making them into new things. Sometimes the creative flow just takes over and it is glorious. If you heat copper wire on the gas burner on the stove until it's glowing red, it makes it nice and soft and malleable. Why did it take me so long to try this? This one started when I reworked an older piece that I was tired of wearing. By the time I was done, there wasn't one single element of the original necklace that I had kept. Things take on a life of their own. Garnets and some great brass rings and beads. My little kiln is having temperature issues so I haven't been making any components. Also, it's been too hot to test fire it. Labradorite eye with copper beads and charms. Lapis lazuli. Carnelian. A chunk of citrine was the inspiration for this one. Faceted horn beads, Beautiful handmade vintage African brass beads, borosilcate, jade, ammonite, ancient quartz, Tibetan mala beads. I really love this one. Hence the number of photos. Tuareg earrings with no mates are reincarnated. A request for a copper wire evil eye amulet inspired all kinds of variations. This one with Chinese jade cicadas and citrine nuggets. This one with amethyst and bronze clay charms. A bunch of evil eyes with different gemstones - this one green jade. Red jasper for strength and courage. Little body positive pink ceramic goddesses. Serene Buddhas. Buddha hands and Tibetan copper skulls to invoke the wisdom of the ancestors. Leather bracelet with Czech glass beads, bronze clay discs, copper and brass. Jasper and petrified wood. Chinese symbols for longevity. Artisan lampwork bead. Gorgeous colors. I may need to keep this one. Years ago when I had some leftover Ice Resin from a pour, I coated a few Lunaria pods. They have tiny bits of Chinese herbal burn medicine instructions collaged onto them and little faceted citrines. I've had the African hand cast spirals for ages but hadn't known what to do with them. More simple evil eyes. Labradorite on this one. It's called "The Shaman's Stone" or the stone that "Heals the Healer". I was not attracted to Labradorite when my daughter was first working with it. I took me awhile to appreciate the subtle flashes of blue and purple, but it has become one of my favorite stones. I think it works well with bronze, silver and copper. Carnelian and horn. Green Tibetan turquoise. Time to take a breather and see what to try next. If you haven't visited my Etsy shop, Maggiezees, please check out all the new listings. Shipping is FREE right now to US customers. I'm sorry that I can't extend that offer to Canadian and EU buyers.
Maggie Zee via TitleFx
With the first really hard frost here on Long Island comes the necessity of dealing with all the half-ripe and green tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and a ton of windfall apples from a friend's trees. I enjoy food prep and cooking, especially now that the weather is so cool, but it takes me away from my workbench more than I would like. Just got this amulet listed on Etsy. I love the bronze hand clasp and the diamond shaped Thai amulet. I have come to the conclusion that my reluctance to part with a piece is an indication of how much of my heart I've put into it. I hope no one buys this one.
urban amulets
OK. I am obsessed. It's amazing to be able to imagine something and hold it in your hand a day or so later. And three layering necklaces that have nothing whatsoever to do with metal clay. The silver hamsa was purchased at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul by a traveling friend and has been waiting to be used. It was too new looking, so I gave it a patina and bashed it up a little with my trusty hammer.
If you travel and you’re female, you may pick up some jewels along the roads you travel. Maybe they’re talismans and amulets with purposes to protect. Maybe they’re pendants made from colorful semi-precious stones with meanings, like turquoise and carnelian. Maybe they’re one-of-a-kind pieces made by artists for the sheer pleasure of creating, no purpose … Continue reading "A Nomad’s Jewelry"
A few of the pieces didn't work out. They crumbled to a brown dust. I was very disappointed, to say the least. The rest were also rough and brown, but when I tried polishing them, the results were much closer to what I had hoped for. Not sure what I did wrong, but I ordered a couple of different types of bronze clay and I'll try them out and see what gives the best results. I'm reminding myself that I've had the same disappointments with pottery and fabric dyes, so I just have to learn from it and move forward. Sometimes I can be such a grown-up! A few new Etsy listings:
"Every year at this time, I slap myself in the head and think, "Doh! Why didn't I pot those bulbs that I wanted to have blooming in the dark cold winter?" The reason of course is that I am the Queen of Procrastination and one basically Very Lazy Person. And in spite of that handicap, I've managed to identify and begin to overcome some of my fears. In 2014, I want to deal with my fear of fire issues and learn how to use a torch (for soldering) and a kiln (for metal clay charms and beads)." This was the post that I started to write a few days after Christmas. I never finished it because I was feeling a bit under the weather and despite dosing myself with vitamin C and various herbal concoctions, I managed to develop a serious case of pneumonia. Breath is so fundamental to being alive that I really freak out when it's a struggle to get oxygen. All creative endeavors were left to fend for themselves during the last four weeks, but I'm starting to feel almost human again and this afternoon took photos of an ambitious piece I finished just before the holidays. The amulet pouch is made of a vintage piece of Hmong applique. I sewed it into a pocket with a little piece of velcro to close it and hung it on a beaded necklace. I started with one strand, but it looked too unbalanced, so I added strands until it felt right. Labor intensive. I spent a lot of time with my maternal grandmother when I was growing up. She truly believed that "idle hands are the devil's workshop", so from the time I could hold a large, blunt-tipped needle, I was given handiwork to keep me out of trouble. My favorite things to make were "pockets" out of sewing scraps with the pick of my grandmother's button box as closures and embellished with my own crude embroidered flowers. I was thinking of those days when I was making this piece. May the New Year bring us all good health and peace ...
urban amulets
If you travel and you’re female, you may pick up some jewels along the roads you travel. Maybe they’re talismans and amulets with purposes to protect. Maybe they’re pendants made from colorful semi-precious stones with meanings, like turquoise and carnelian. Maybe they’re one-of-a-kind pieces made by artists for the sheer pleasure of creating, no purpose … Continue reading "A Nomad’s Jewelry"
I picked up a few goodies a couple of weeks ago at a local gem and mineral society show. I remembered to bring my reading glasses - the pre...
I just got back home after being away for the last four weeks and as usual, am having a challenge getting back into the groove and the rhythm of making, photographing, editing, blogging, listing. I may be rambling just a teeny bit, so please be patient. I'll get there eventually. Or not. I know I've written about the ancestors before. About how shamans live with one foot in ordinary reality and one foot in the world of spirit and energy. We usually access that unseen world through trance/drug/drumbeat induced journeys. In some instances when we have been doing a lot of journeying, we flip back and forth - sometimes unexpectedly for some of us less experienced travelers. It can lead one to doubt her sanity. The great benefit is that it enlarges our personal definition of "reality". Quantum physics bears out the shamanic experience again and again. But I'm seriously digressing here. I just wanted to explain my use of the skull as a symbol of the protection of the ancestors. I use it as an invocation of the spirits and guides who I believe have our backs as we make our way through our lives. Some traditions say that they are not allowed to help us unless we specifically ask them for it. I use the skull beads as a reminder that there is more than can be seen with the naked eye - that we do not walk alone. The bead I used in this necklace is made of pyrite. See: Properties of pyrite for more information on this powerful stone. I've also used a couple of vintage coins, one from West Africa with a six-pointed star on the back (the union of the Divine masculine and the Divine Feminine) and one from Nepal with an image of Mt. Kailash, sacred to both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Coins are my shorthand for invoking abundance and wealth in all things. There is a Hamsa for protection; a Thai Buddhist amulet, blessed by monks, again for protection, good luck and wealth; a Chinese jade cicada bead, to remind you that you can always reinvent yourself like the cicada sheds her old skin; a little bronze heart - for love, of course! An Ethiopian cattle amulet, a quartz crystal point to amplify all the good mojo; some Labradorite beads (supposed to help facilitate self discovery and is a powerful protective stone). I love the ancient feel that the soft grey/greens give this piece. It has a powerful presence.
Yesterday, after resolving some technical difficulties, I finished the piece below in time to wear to an event on the North Shore at a little harbor that flows into the Sound. It was a water blessing and healing ceremony commemorating the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Asian goddess of mercy, Kwan Yin, seemed appropriate to invoke. We each put little origami cranes into the water to bear our prayers for peace out to sea and as the last one swirled away out to the harbor, a single white egret rose from the adjoining marsh and flew off over our heads. For a brief moment, the world felt in perfect balance. Blessings offered, acknowledged, and returned. The circle complete. The lovely Kwan Yin pendant on this necklace hangs right over the heart. The mussel shell pieces are collaged with gold foil candy wrapper and instructions for burn ointment in Chinese characters. On the linked chain are two vintage carnelian accent beads that are undeniably loaded with feminine energy. And the rondelle beads are the last of my stash of Peruvian opal. (At least they were sold to me as Peruvian opal - I honestly don't know what they are but I like them alot.) I don't always test drive the pieces I make, but I've got to say that this one feels incredible on.
via PhotoToaster
To become a shaman, one must see things that the rational mind says should not be there, hear voices no one else hears, suspend disbelief.
Shell, collaged mother-of-pearl beads, charms and amulets
Amethyst, White jade, Labradorite, fluorite, vintage glass, copper beads and silver charms
I've been sitting on some packages of Fimo for a while. Literally sitting on them because I bought them some time ago and they're a little dried out and tough to work with. I can soften them up while I'm doing something else. Multitasking at its finest. I layered translucent and cream to make a faux ivory kind of pattern and then I made them into facsimiles of some of the antler and bone pieces I love to use. Grunged them up with a little burnt sienna paint and then polished the hell out of them. The solid pieces survived, but the larger amulets with the indents - well - let's just say they lacked structural integrity. Which is too bad because I really liked them. The shields that survived my loving touch got made into earrings. Lightweight and completely vegan. Except for the bone beads. I decided that I didn't really like working with plastic. It felt like it had no soul, compared with the old, natural materials. So for now anyway, the Fimo goes back into the storage bin. I usually don't get so creatively stagnant until halfway into the month of August, but my Summer Doldrums came along early this year. I gathered together beads with a red theme, thinking of Women's Mysteries - in particular, Croning. The dictionary definition of "crone" is "an old hag" or "dried up old woman", but fortunately it's one of those words which has been reclaimed by the Goddess revival in the last couple of decades. Now a woman who has gone through menopause is celebrated as a Wise Woman. Two women I admired greatly as embodiments of the Crone, Maya Angelou and Margot Adler, passed on recently, and so the two necklaces that were born from this little flicker of creative activity are dedicated to them. The reds are really more rusty in person. They look kinda cherry red on my monitor. This piece could be worn everyday. To the office. Or the supermarket. And everyone would know just by looking at you, what a juicy woman you are. "Dried up", my ass! The other one I picture being worn at a Croning Ritual. With all black clothing. Or all white. Or best of all - sky-clad! How magnificent that would be!
deer antler tip, quartz crystal point, African cattle amulet, Ice Resin bezel, vintage Tibetan mala beads
Explore Maggie Zee's 452 photos on Flickr!
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urban amulets