A Walk in the Woods

Vermont is finally in spring mode and it's my favorite season for taking walks. Our 34 acres are a mix of field and woodland, with gurgling brooks running along two sides. We are lucky to have our very own view which no developer can ever destroy!




Although I make and use polymer clay beads in my finished jewelry, the stories that found objects lend to pieces have compelled me to use more and more of these lately as a complement to my own beads. Even in early spring I come across much during my rambles to influence choices of color and texture in my clay work—the palette is subtle but potent. I wanted to craft a necklace that would honor the spirit of the wild which inspired it.



I ended up with an eclectic mix of old and new, of metal and stone and polymer clay-- colors of leaf, colors of fern, of bark, of wildflowers, of granite, of moss, of water, of sun. Lots of memories here too-- the ferny green glass beads were from bags and bags of recycled goodies my sister gave me one birthday, the brown Tibetan silver bead came from a large tin of beads my husband gave me last Christmas, I bought the black Oxacan bird beads and the opaque amber chips in Berkeley when I lived there in the 80s, the teardrop bronze bead is part of an old brooch, and I made the stag element from an antique button and a stone donut, after making a good impression of the button with silicon rubber mold putty so I can duplicate it at some future time with BronzClay.

Tomorrow I hope to have some recent adventures in faux ivory and bone to show you. I also had a nice piece of faux jade but it's gone missing and I've been searching for it for days now without success! Well, maybe it will turn up during my spring cleaning.