July 11, 2014
Sea Anemone shell
Canyon Echoes lampwork
Sonoran Beads Boro droplets
Argentium sterling silver frame
Sterling Silver, Resin
Starfish
My latest one of a kind necklace brings up images of mermaids and weddings by the sea.
I was inspired to create this necklace by both the sea anemone shell in its perfect symmetry and the lampwork bead by Canyon Echoes.
Creating it required fire and fumes though and I've been waiting for my garage studio to be completed before pulling those tools out of boxes. However, I just couldn't wait any longer.
This necklace took a small village to come to fruition though. The village of helpful teachers out on the web that is. I thought I'd share their generosity of knowledge with you, too!
A month or so ago I posed a question on Facebook about how to reinforce the sea anemone shell. I knew I wanted to fill the space in the back a bit, but safe materials were just not coming to mind. Diane Hyde came to the rescue. She suggested paper clay and in my mind it was like "Of course!" That was something I actually already had! I added a layer of resin over the dried paper clay and shell to really give it a protective shell, so to speak.
For more great ideas from Diane for using found objects and such check out her latest book Break the Rules.
The idea is that no plane should go unfinished in a piece of jewelry. The brooch is special, because its back will only be seen by the wearer so it becomes a place to add a surprise or secret message for the wearer. 
I thought this anemone shell was the perfect place to hide a surprise for the wearer, too. I've talked about the Starfish Wasting Disease that's decimating the population of sea stars along the west coast before. I decided to place a tiny preserved starfish in a tidepool filled with resin sea water inside the pretty frame on the reverse as another reminder of how delicate our ecosystems are becoming.
Finally, to create the setting for the shell I remembered watching a free video, posted on Beaducation, by Joe Silvera, one of my favorite silver teachers in the Bay Area, where he used these types of pronged frames to set found objects or stones that are best shown off outside a bezel. By simply following the steps I was successful!