Finger necklaceThis is a favourite piece I made back in 2003 – a necklace and ear-rings set of finger-shaped pieces (mostly Marsden) mounted on a sterling silver choker wire, with tumbled spacers (of mixed origin) in between. The main pieces, many made from the slightly weathered rind of a piece of stone, reflect the ear pendant of Maori culture, but with the twist of the different mounting. It is just waiting for the right lady to come along!
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(Fake) lion's teeth necklace
Whilst living in Maputo, Mozambique in 2004 I found a small piece of creamy marble in our garden. It was not local and I have no idea how it got there. It was tooth-coloured and I immediately knew what I wanted to carve from it - lion's teeth. The carving was easy and maybe the only difficulty was working out what lion's incisor roots look like - I made a guess (it was pre-Wikipedia) and made 3.3/4 teeth out of the piece. The mounting is a leather thong, and a few local seeds act as spacers and decoration. I know this might be seen as encroaching on cultural sensitivities, but rather stone lion's teeth than real ones I would say. Maybe I can spark the development of a lion-friendly industry? They certainly need a break.
The mother of a Zimbabwean friend saw it and commented, "I expect it has all the powers of a real one." I was so honoured. |