One of my favorite activities is combing the beach for treasure. I could spend hours looking for worn pieces of sea glass, interesting shells, and intriguing bits of flotsam and jetsam. (I even found a human jaw bone and vertebrae once, but that’s another story.)
When I think about mermaids, I imagine them to be the magpies of the seas, collecting all kinds of trinkets and baubles. This necklace is an ode to beachcombers who find beauty in small things. The focal of this piece is a tumbled, clear quartz rock crystal point. It is silky smooth and reminds me sea glass with its matte finish. The quartz focal pendant is flanked by droplets of organic-looking silver. Molten silver is dribbled into quenching water and the bubbly pebbles are then drilled to make beads. Next come tiny sterling silver cornerless cube spaces that have tumbled glass rings that move up and down over the columns of silver beads. It adds a nice kinetic element. The rest of the necklace is made up of an eclectic assortment of freshwater pearls, opalescent trade beads, snakeskin agate nuggets, and moonstone. The color palette is a dreamy one, inspired by pocketfuls of beach glass and iridescent shells.
Here’s a close-up of the necklace. I’m quite smitten with it. I love all the matte finishes and organic shapes. It gives the piece a gravity of story. These things have places and have tales to tell. This necklace is just another chapter in the very long life of these beads.
Sometimes I daydream of what comes next. Who will give them a home and add their own chapter? What will happen when we’re all gone. What incredible journeys are ahead? Already they’ve been around the world and survived centuries of time. The stones were born of fire and wrestling land masses. Pieces and parts have been brought together and here they are. Will someone a hundred years from now look at this piece and somehow know that I dreamed of mermaids and underwater kingdoms when I made this necklace?
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