What a wonderful thing it is to have kindred spirits in this world. One of them for me is a very dear bestie who I have been friends with since first grade.
This year, I felt she needed to soar among the clouds – so when I came across this cleverly constructed agate and turquoise doublet cabochon, it was just the thing!
I hadn’t made a brooch before, so this is a prototype really – I’m hopeful that it will withstand the test of time!
In 2008, we travelled to China. It was an interesting an amazing journey, and as I looked back at my photos recently, I realised that many of the things I saw have provided me with artistic inspiration.
At the time, I was silversmithing but had not yet started The Silver Forge. I spent a lot of my spare time painting Warhammer miniatures for my elder son, and he asked for his Chaos Ogre Army to be Chinese themed – which it was, as you can see from this banner!
I just loved this round window we found at the top of a khast hill climb in Yangshou, after a boatride upriver from Guilin. The exposed brick at the bottom and the grafitti all around that gorgeous window looking out onto nature are typical of the China we saw – beauty surrounded by wear and tear.
I had not thought of these beautiful old pottery pieces we found in a museum exhibit for years, but their influence is apparent when you look at my Elementals collection!
As I was discussing recently on my Facebook page, I have a fascination with manhole covers – it’s not hard to see why when you find such beauties as this one!
Travel to anywhere can provide inspiration, even just a trip down the street – and I’m glad to have seen a tiny part of China, and carried away some lovely memories, too. Xièxiè, Zhōngguó!