As soon as I saw this statue, I knew that I needed to use brass or bronze for the metal.
I had to hit up my local hometown hardware store for some other items when I took a detour down the copper and brass fittings aisle. I love the myriad of tiny little drawers with diagrams of the metal bits within. In this particular aisle, the drawer wall was so very tall that a rolling ladder stood at the ready nearby. I climbed up gingerly when a sketch caught my eye for a compression nut. I liked the wide opening at the bottom and the smaller hole at the top along with the hexagon shape reminiscent of the dais on which the Buddha was standing.
The wavy lines of the Buddha's robes captivated me. I had an idea that I wanted to do something with a tassel shape and the compression nut would make a great cap. But instead of soft threads or fibers, I used a brass wire in 16 gauge. How to make a hard material appear soft? After filing the edges I used a pliers to make gentle waves in the wire. Flattened, then used a texture hammer provided some lines. They give a gentle wiggle when the earrings are moved.
To bring the teal bloom of the time-worn patina, I used some Vintaj metal patina paint in Onyx, Aged Bronze, Moss and Verdigris. Wiped off and sanded, this gives the perfect appearance of age.
At the top are some polymer clay disk beads from
Humblebeads in teal with tiny blooms reminiscent of the flowers carved on the hand of the Buddha. The face of Buddha is so tranquil, serene. So these are called Tranquil Waves.
But I can never stop at just one pair. ;-)
I made a second pair inspired by the flame rising from the top of the Buddha's head and the swirl bindi on this forehead. I remembered that I had some vintage NOS (new old stock) hammered brass disk post earrings. These paired with the inverted flame-shaped dangles and some perfectly swirled silver plated beads. To make the different metals and shapes compatible, I used the same Vintaj patinas. The flame on the top of Buddha's head is referred to as The Flame of Enlightenment. Simple name for simple earrings.
Your turn! I look forward to seeing how you translated this ancient artifact into your earring designs. Share your version of the inspiration in the links below.
Get the InLinkz code for your blog.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm rough around the edges. I like things that may be considered ugly or junky or taboo. I like being a black sheep. I like my jewelry to have some bite.
Along these lines, one of the things I love playing with are vintage industrial metal bits. They're old, they're beaten up, they're rusty, they may be broken and unusable in any other application. I like the challenge of looking at an object and then figuring out how to bring it back to life in unexpected ways. 
Like this pair of earrings that I made for myself that feature some old industrial metal rings. What they were used for at one time, I have no idea. But they're pitted and corroded and covered with a layer of dark green verdigris patina...and I love them. I kept it simple by hanging them with two unusual lightweight vintage German wood beads. Each bead sports a little filigree bead cap to add some verve, plus my own headpins, ear wires, and soldering. Blackened metal because YES, please. 
Let's talk about thimbles. 
During one order (read: binge) I came across these vintage brass thimbles and the first thing that came to my mind was BEAD CAP! The edges are ragged and they have a dark green verdigris patina on them, and a lot of people may look at them and think "junk, gross, why would you want to wear that?" 
To turn these thimbles into wearable art, I carefully punched holes in the top and hung them with natural spotted jasper stones in complementary hues of sand, terracotta, army green, and vermillion. I then gave the stones blackened silver soldered caps and hung everything from my extra long ear wires. They dangle freely beneath the thimble, making for really unique nostalgic statement pieces.
I may jinx us all by saying this, but I think Spring is here. Yes, we may have more freezing nights, maybe even a stray dusting of snow, but for the most part, I think the "great thaw" and the sunshine are here to stay for the next 7-8 months. 
There are some designs and motifs in jewelry making (and art, in general) that keep coming around time and time again. We may be tempted to roll our eyes and groan if we see YET ANOTHER person doing YET ANOTHER version of XYZ. 
Sometimes in life you just need someone to tell you:
