The Ancient Tlingit People

Hello. I hope this day finds you healthy and well. 

I have always been and still am interested in all things ancient, indigenous American peoples, and other cultures around the world. And I love making jewelry that connects in any way to an expression of any of those things.

A shop I recently discovered, and love, makes, among other things, white and yellow bronze elements that depict images inspired by ancient Egypt, Africa, the Mimbres, and the Tlingit. The pieces are cast in the U.S. from their original masters and molds. The shop's name is that of its owner, RobertWGilmore. And once again, I am hooked! ☻

My earrings today are made with Robert's "Tlingit Whales." The Tlingit are indigenous people living, past and present, in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and U.S., including Alaska. Their art is unique, as are Robert's elements. They are extremely detailed, beautifully made, thin and lightweight.

earrings available here

I had a specific color in mind I wanted to use with these and thinking through my beads, paddling through some of them, there wasn't a single pair that fit what my mind was stuck on. 
So I pulled out the old polymer clay and made a handful of beads. 

Squares, rectangles, rounds, some textured, some not, and in the end the plain old round beads worked best for me. I used several colors of acrylic paints to get the color I wanted, a vibrant, vivid, turquoise blue. That was to be the only high-contrast in the earrings. As an aside, if the beads appear to be too large for the design, they don't look that way in person; it must be the way they are angled in the photos???? I used Mykonos patina spacers and square brass-plated spacers on both sides of the polymer bead, something I don't often do, the same thing on either side of the bead, but it was the right look. 

earrings available here

The dangles below are 3mm Czech glass beads, and the intent with those was to elongate the design, and not to create a high-contrast to the whales. They are so perfect in and of themselves that I really did not want to take away from them at all. However, the beads behind the whale are a bit more colorful to create interest when viewed from the side when the full face of the whale is not visible.

The next two photos are of earrings I made previously with Robert's elements. Both of those have sold so they're not available, but I wanted to show them to you. Robert's bronze pieces were inspired by the Mimbres. Mimbres first referred to beautiful and distinctive pottery found in southwestern New Mexico, and eventually became the name used to describe the people who had created the pottery.

 















That concludes our history lesson for today. 
Class Dismissed! ☻

As always, I sincerely appreciate the time you take to view our posts. I hope your day continues, unfolds, and ends with peace of mind, no matter what occurs. ☮
Norbel Marolla
SheFliesAgain
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