As we close the curtains on one hell of a year, I'm reminded on how very important it is to be humble. When everything is going right in your life and you can do no wrong, well, that's an amazing feeling and a great place to be. But it's also an easy place to be. It's the trying times, the dark times, the times when you're weighed down by a 2-ton pile of boulders---those are the times that shape us and show us who we are. And motivate us to work harder on who we would like to be in the future.
Staying humble---remembering that we are all human, finite, imperfect...that we all have feet of clay---is an essential component to emotional and mental health, and ultimately, happiness.
Today's earrings seem to have resonated with quite a few people, so I'd like to share them with you, dear readers. You know how much I love to discover old, obscure bits of anthropology. One of my latest finds are pumtek beads. Dating
back as far as 400BC, the Chin people in Burma created pumtek beads from
opalized wood indigenous to the area. They were worn as protective amulets, prized as heirlooms,
and are signature for their striped and zig
zag "lightening" patterns. Incredible.
I have used two of these precious pumtek beads to create little bud earrings using graduated stacks
of rusty bead caps topped with dots of blackened silver
solder. Time-worn, humble, and of-the-earth.
Thank you to each and every one of you for reading this year. Your support, uplifting words, and kinship are rays of sunshine to each of us on this blog. May your 2017 be full of light!
Happy Wednesday,
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy
I'm sure we all heard this at least once during our childhood: "don't forget to wash your hands". As a tomboy and serial creek-hopper, I probably heard that at least once a day. My grubby little paws were always busy and exploring---catching crawdads for the boys who were afraid of getting pinched (come on, guys!), playing on the swingset, picking bouquets of flowers for mom, netting butterflies in the garden, romping through the woods behind our house.
We assume that dirt and the accumulation of "stuff" is a bad thing. Now, to be fair, in many cases, it is. Germs are not fun. Smelly stuff is not fun. Grody stuff is not fun. However, when it comes to dirty beads with a history, I'm all for it.
When I'm at a show or am trolling Etsy for new components and I see
a strand of beads that have grime, I usually pounce. And
once I get them on my bench, the thought of WASHING the
beads to remove that beautiful patina of time...well, it never even enters my mind. Some people prefer their
beads and jewelry to be new, pristine, shiny, and spotless. That's fine, no problem with that. But there's also something very sterile about it to me.
Take, for example, the collections of old antique beads found in my earrings for today. Just look at the macro shot on those babies! Pitted, caked with decades and centuries of grime---people rolling the beads around in their hands, wearing them, treasuring them, trading them for goods. Different cultures, different continents, different purposes. In other words, these beads have LIVED. They've outlived generations of humans. And they live on today in their current incarnation as earrings. If that doesn't get your juices flowing as an artist, then I don't know what will.
These earrings feature lime green ancient glass beads, clear "dogon" glass beads, and pale robin's egg blue amazonite stone beads---all from Africa. I added in small vintage wood beads and little bead caps to complete each quintet. The wirework is all hand-wrapped steel, because you know how much I love organic gnarled vining forms. Hooped, lightweight, and fluid.
Happy Wednesday...and have fun getting dirty!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy
Can we talk about crust for a second? Now I know what you're thinking - crust is the stuff of early mornings and dirty dishes. It shouldn't be glorified, should be swept under the rug, and should never be mentioned. I'm going to whiplash your opinions on this topic - behold a wee pair of earrings I recently made using lampwork glass beads from Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.
She describes the style of these beads as crubbly - a combination of crusty and bubbly. To me they look like the beginnings of a swirling cosmic universe.
I pulled out the caramelly ambery tones of her beads by using some Baltic amber resin chips and then added some textural play using two small "urchin" style African brass baule beads. Small little myrrh resin nubs at the bottom add a faint exotic fragrance.
These earrings make a statement without being too heavy or too over the top - they're tribal, futuristic, organic, and primitive...all at the same time.
So the next time your wrinkle your nose at the mention of crust, think twice...
Happy mid-week <3
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy
As we close the curtains on one hell of a year, I'm reminded on how very important it is to be humble. When everything is going right in your life and you can do no wrong, well, that's an amazing feeling and a great place to be. But it's also an easy place to be. It's the trying times, the dark times, the times when you're weighed down by a 2-ton pile of boulders---those are the times that shape us and show us who we are. And motivate us to work harder on who we would like to be in the future. 
Thank you to each and every one of you for reading this year. Your support, uplifting words, and kinship are rays of sunshine to each of us on this blog. May your 2017 be full of light!
