Storyville
01.08.12
I spent most of my making-time at the end of the week and this weekend on this necklace. The challenge for me here was in using a handcrafted focal bead (the lavish bird heart) that is so lovely and gorgeous in its own right. It would be easy to string something so pretty on a simple chain. And believe me, I gave that a bit of thought for the first month this object lived on the studio workbench! Knowing full well that was not what made me acquire it in the first place.
The focal instantly reminded me of time spent in New Orleans, and I knew that I wanted to surround it with a bit of sweetly dark elements in keeping with that voodoo ghostly theme. But honestly, I did not have a clue where to start. Or finish.
In art, there are often pieces that I hate tremendously during the making. The shabby-chic tendencies here were a little frustrating and twee. But that only served to push me to figure this out.
There is SO MUCH going on with this piece, I won’t bother trying to detail all the goodies involved. A few are: ancient German bisque doll arm/hand, very rusty key, India sari fiber, tribal glass beads, handcrafted toggle, a weird tusk shell in the most amazing shade and the above-pictured shell teeth that I am currently in love with.
Finally, I think it achieved the right vibe and I’m loving this necklace. Shabby and sweet, but a little dark and scary too. Which is what, in the end, I always seem to go for. Like a parade in the French Quarter, non?
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