These earrings I made for my friend Lyn took a long road from inception to completion. Starting as a discussion before my Ireland trip in 2010, Lyn suggested collecting water from Brigit’s Well and provided me with various-sized vials with cork tops. She sketched an idea of using one as a pendant made from crochet. But the crochet idea kept throwing me off since I don’t know how to “free form” in yarn.
When I’d see jewelry ideas in magazines or books, I’d get ideas for different ways of encasing the cork bottle. I filled several pages in my art notebooks with ideas and possibilities. I experimented with copper wire and spirals but had a clunky design. Something clicked, however, when I saw mini-bottles in JoAnn’s jewelry section having screw eyes in the cork.
Then, I brought my materials and ideas to someone I know who does wonderful jewelry work—my sister, Maria! I showed her my last design and she helped me craft the earrings which I filled with Irish sand from the beach at Enniscrone, County Sligo, instead of well water. Lyn loved them—success! Sometimes it takes a long time for an idea to reach fruition. But don’t give up; you’ll finally reach a solution. It might be radically different from your initial idea but that’s what art is all about—thinking, sketching, trying, discarding, adding, starting anew, and finally reaching conclusion. Have fun!
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