(Lampwork by Manuela Wutschke and That Bead Girl, Vintage beads and buttons)
Those of us that love to create tend to be collectors, scavengers, magpies, and some even hoarders, of interesting objects. For me I feel that as long as I am pretty organized and can find what I'm looking for I haven't dipped into the hoarder category. My stuff has its storage spot even if sometimes it escapes and joins other loose objects on one of my work tables for awhile. I think of it as giving them a chance to be seen and breathe. If they hang out too long they go back into their cubby until they are the perfect shiny object for that new piece I'm working on.
For my jewelry creations I collect small objects that are new, antique, found, and nature made.
This art necklace was inspired by the wonderful art glass bead by Manuela Wutschke - a master lampwork artist that lives in Germany. Although there's some evidence that magpies, a member of the crow family, do not collect shiny objects it is the name that most of us associate with someone that does. Ravens have been known to collect shiny objects as pieces of metal, pebbles, and even golf balls have been found in their nests.
It was so much fun to create this piece and, as happens with some of most favorite pieces, it was almost effortless. The exact right beads, buttons and chain seemed to come together quickly once my muse told me what was to be.
"Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector's passion borders on the chaos of memories." ~Walter Benjamin