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Earthen Soul Beads sells pendants and beads lovingly handcrafted from earthen clay and fired in a kiln.
"I am a self-taught artist with a background in natural resources and ecosystem assessment, and you can see the environmental influence in my work. I also love to explore beauty in imperfection, and I like to exploit the juxtaposition of tattered and torn edges with the refined and often fickle nature of fashion and personal adornment."
Lavender from my garden was used to create this green ceramic pendant. I added lots of square green gemstone beads, Czech glass beads, and Bali sterling silver to create a monochromatic look. I finished of the necklace with a high-quality Saki sterling silver clasp, and the necklace has been professionally finished with wire guardians and sterling crimp beads. The necklace measures about 20" long and will come to you gift-boxed for holiday giving.
Brown and black are wonderful color cousins, to me, and I really like them in this necklace. The centerpiece is one of my leaf-impressed porcelain pendants, to which I've attached a sterling silver bail. The necklace portion is comprised of matte Czech glass beads, LIMESTONE "coral" (which, unlike real coral, does not decimate living reefs), horn leaf beads (recycled from natural-mortality animals), and Bali sterling silver. The effect is one that any tree- or Earth-lover would enjoy wearing. The necklace has been finished off with a Celtic pewter clasp made by Tierracast in California. Altogether, the necklace measures about 23" long.
A year or so ago, I decided that it was high time I stop denying my age, so I stopped dyeing my hair. Some days I still feel like there's a stranger staring at me from the mirror!
I began making these "cracked egg" pendants as a way to explore "beauty in imperfection" and to grapple with my own discomfort at growing older. I envisioned the cracks in the clay as the ever-deepening wrinkles around my eyes and wanted to somehow reveal an inner beauty in the clay as a way to pacify myself that I was still beautiful, if not young, and if only on the inside.
This particular Cracked Egg necklace is called "At Peace" to commemorate the realization that I am finally at peace myself in my skin, knowing that I have family and friends who love me and that age is just a number. I still like making these pendants and find the cracks and fissures in the clay to be nearly as important to the characteristics of the clay as they are to my face.
The necklace has no clasp. It is professionally finished in the back with gold-filled crimps and crimp covers and features a small Tierracast pewter "Peace" charm. It also contains "Happy Beads" which benefit Smile Train. Smile Train's doctors provide cleft palate surgeries to children around the world at no charge; those are the large speckled ceramic beads. Green turquoise, fancy agate, Bulgarian ceramic, and Czech glass fill out the rest of the necklace. Altogether, "At Peace" measures approximately 25".
"I work in low- and high-fired clay. Porcelain, terracotta, stoneware, and raku clay all find a place in my repertoire."
Greetings from The Smile Train!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your incredible (and creative) fundraising efforts through your "Earthen Soul Beads" website.
The average cost of surgery for these children is as little as $250. Every dollar you raise will go to help poor children. We can say this because 100% of all administrative costs are paid for by our board of directors, 0% of your donation will go to overhead expenses.
Please feel free to contact me at dslookkin@smiletrain.org or 877-KIDSMILE if you have any questions or need any promotional materials.
We deeply appreciate your support of The Smile Train.
Working together, we can make a difference in the future of children who need a second chance at life. Working together, we can empower communities and change the world...one smile at a time.
Warm regards,
Dawn Stewart-Lookkin
Donor Relations Associate
TheSmileTrain
877-KIDSMILE
dslookkin@smiletrain.org