the bear and autumn and dreams and wishes

i have not only finally had the opportunity to be out in the shop for good, long periods of time without interruption, but i have also been feeling really inspired lately, which is a good combination.

this weekend i made these pieces.

the bear piece was inspired by the bear tracks i have repeatedly seen up at the boggy draw trail lately when i am riding my bike.  

i hate this photo, because it is clearly taken of a dead bear's foot, but when i really looked at the tracks, i was so surprised to see how human-like they really are.  so i tried to find a photo of an actual 

bear foot. when i first saw the tracks i wondered what someone was doing on the trail barefoot.  then i thought maybe they were wearing those five-finger shoes.  then i realized what they really were.

the intuition necklace,

with turkish dendritic opal and faceted labradorite

there is so much folklore, myth, and power surrounding the bear in many different cultures.  most commonly, bears are said to represent, motherhood, protection, freedom, solitude, and intuition.  because of where i am in my life, i chose to let my encounter point me towards the intuition aspect.

and so i put  quote from  delphine de girardin on the back.

"intuition is the nose of the mind."

i am tempted to say that this will be the first in a series of such pieces, but if i say that i will jinx myself and never make another one like it.  so i won't.

the second spring necklace,

with artisan glass, hessonite garnet, faceted smoky quartz, and brass

this is such a dainty and sweet piece, a reminder of the fleeting beauty of fall.

the hold fast to dreams bracelet,

with a stunning labradorite and kyanite

this is a new design, a "wrap cuff" bracelet, inspired by a mistake i recently made when making some custom wedding jewelry.  it is a cuff design, but continues to wrap around your wrist.  it has some give so that you can tweak it to properly fit your own wrist once it is yours.

the inside has the fabulous langston hughes quote "hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.  (i loved a sweet boy named langston when i was in college...)

two small faceted labradorites adorn the ends.

the blues are fantastic.

and i a made a new three wishes ring,

with ruby, mexican opal and artisan glass

(which i have fallen in love with)

you know the story. the great, big, all powerful, genie appears to you after you rub the lamp, offering you three wishes, anything you want. so what would yours be? what would be the three things you would wish for in all the world? this ring is to represent those wishes, whatever they may be. it is to remind you of the three things you want most in the world, even if they are things you already have. and i guess the really important question is, what will you do about those three wishes if the genie doesn't show up?

here you can see the flash of the opal.  magical.

with aladdin's little lamp there at the bottom

(though junebug said it was a teapot)

did i mention that i love this one?

these are all in the etsy shop now, my friends!