Hip Handmade Memory Jewelry
MILESTONES
Be sure you check out the decoupage bracelet; who thought of creating a way to remember wallpaper or paint. Yes, the mini memory book pendant was a bit too trite for me, but other scrapbookers might love the concept.
HOBBIES
I also like the pop culture project; I may have to use this to create a design for my best friend, who is dedicated movie buff. I could use movie posters and create a unique bracelet and earrings, with a slightly large set for a necklace. Cathy has a neat plan to co-op those into pendants.
VACATIONS
I enjoyed the photobook/memory book charm or bookmark project; there would be endless variations on just this project alone!
REMEMBRANCES
Cathy has different projects with photos, and a piece of cloth from your baby blanket or christening dress.
Handmade Memory Jewelry
Handmade Jewelry Replenishes
Handmade Jewelry Replenishes, Expresses the Creative Impulse
Impossible to quantify, inevitable in even the most mundane of tasks, the creative spirit feeds most human efforts. A recent development in expressing the creative impulse, handmade enamel jewelry, actually has its origins in some of mankind's earliest civilizations. Handmade jewelry dates back dozens of centuries, and examples can be found among the surviving relics of the Ancient Roman and Egyptian empires.
The Creative Impulse and The Workings of Narrative
In creating jewelry that highlights both iconic and mythological symbols, the handmade enamel jewelry maker is able to incorporate narrative symbols that help the viewer's mind recognize and interpret narratives on its own. The unpredictability in this case comes from the surprise at the jewelry piece's detail, or in finding how the symbol represented on the jewelry evokes and celebrates its own particular narrative.
Enamel jewelry craftsman John Madsen says the finished product both rewards his own creative impulse but also incorporates his work into a larger story. "In making handmade enamel jewelry, you become part of the spread of the story the jewelry represents," Madsen explains.
Crafting Jewelry With A Creative Impulse In Mind
Like its close cousin, fused glass ornaments, handmade enamel jewelry is often used to fire the creative impulse. Like the tree of life pendant, a popular fused glass work of ornamental jewelry, many jewelry pieces are meant not to just to reflect the imagination of the artist but also to fire the creative and cognitive impulses within the viewer. The jewelry work itself becomes almost totemic, meant not just to adorn but also to recall their symbols' tremendous spiritual potency.
