Gypsy Bride

Enter the Vision Chapel

You smooth your wedding dress with your unsteady hands and draw three cards from the deck for your past, present and future. Candle wax drips on lace, and plumes of incense swirl above your head. The answer is clear. The men play violins around the fire outside of the wagon and clap rhythmically as your cousin shows off his mastery of bear-taming. The wild beast obliges today. Your heart feels full and reassured by these cards. They are a good omen for a long and happy marriage. You place a photograph of your grandmother inside of one shoe and a love letter in the other as lucky talismans. You're ready to draw the blood and soak the bread. Tomorrow you'll be on to the next town. 

These earrings are made of re-purposed chandelier pieces and silver wire with copper core, and they measure three inches long. The organically wrapped wire lends stability to the heavy glass prisms. These jewels refract light like there is no tomorrow. They would look great to wear on your own gypsy wedding day, but they could be worn on other days that you feel are special as well. Every day you wear these earrings has the potential to be decadent.   

Honoring the Dead

Travelling is one of my true loves! I feel most inspired, creative and in my element when my world is opened up by new experiences and different ways of grappling with every day life. This is a piece I wrote about the unique way of honoring the dead in Tana Toraja, a region of Sulawesi. This was originally posted on Sparkjam, my adventure-loving cousin Ian Thomas' blog that he publishes with his business partner and friend, Yussef Milburn. Visit the link below and take a virtual vacation to the jungles of Indonesia. You may need to pour yourself some palm wine for this one!

 http://danielherlihy.wordpress.com/category/sparkjam/

Valentine for my Sweetie

Quick little free-handed needlepoint. Imperfect, yes, but done with love. 

Dead Sea Mermaid

I am absolutely loving this necklace these days. The warm cinnamon and honey browns of the hessonite faceted stones paired with swirly ocean blue agate with glacial-like druzy adds texture and depth beautifully. This necklace is strung on silk, so it drapes fluidly across the collar bones. 

The pattern in this stone reminds me of oxygen bubbles churning and dancing underwater in a sulfurous hot spring. 

This necklace measures 21 inches and has a sterling silver clasp

The Seer

Embarking on a vision quest? Need a little help opening up you third eye and tapping into your clairvoyant abilities? You'll feel strong with these five amethyst slab protectors guarding your heart. This is the necklace to put on if you've got some deep internal work to do and you need a bit of spiritual companionship when you sit down for your evening meditation. It's helpful in facing your fears head on and stepping eyes wide open into the darkness. Don't worry. Your eyes will adjust after a few minutes, and you'll still feel the comforting presence of the stones across your chest. 

Amethyst slabs, 8 mm amethyst puff coins, 8 mm fluorite rounds and two blue agate beads strung on nylon thread. This powerful necklace measures 28.5 inches. It's held together by a sterling silver clasp. 

The Light

They say that those that have a telepathic spark are marked from birth. They are the special ones with the light inside of them, gifted with the ability to truly SEE...past the artificial masks, past the various roles that we step into, past even our own perceptions of ourselves because our perceptions are part of our learned consciousness. Those with the spark can directly gaze into the soul and kiss the very essence of that living being. They can know that person's unborn future and what moments and pieces of themselves they've already sacrificed as offerings to the dead eye machine. What lies on your path? What have you offered up to be consumed by memory? Are they one and the same? Do they both exist in parallel planes?

The depth of these stones is stunning. It's a bit of a chameleon, taking on the mood of the day. On a sunny day, the sparkle that comes off of the quartz is eye-catching to others passing you on the street. On those days when the clouds or fog rolls in, it looks like a brewing storm and makes you feel introspective and creative. 

It's February here in the Bay Area, but the plum and cherry blossoms are blooming all over town. 

This necklace is made of smoky quartz stones. It measures 21.5 inches, strung on nylon thread with a sterling silver clasp.

Lava Rock and Quartz Crystal

This necklace is a little more sinister than the rest. This is a necklace for the dark days and the endless nights. For the days of blood in the mouth and the smell of burnt hair. For the nights standing on the black sand staring out at the ocean in the middle of the night asking for forgiveness for something you shouldn't have done. The smokey quartz are like shark teeth ready to devour your next victim. The lava rock invokes the immortal power of the center of the earth in all it's fiery grandeur.  

The 18 mm lava rock rounds and smoky quartz are strung on nylon thread with a sterling silver clasp.