I can't finish American Dreams............

Sometimes I feel like making simpler pieces like this one.    The brass stamping is so pretty all by itself, I just added a couple of holes for crystals and and curved the flat piece and woot!  Pretty pretty bracelet.


Sometimes my jewelry is more about how I feel, and sometimes it's about how it makes me feel to make it.  Something like this just feels good to make... and I know the gal that bought it loved it.  I love when someone buys a piece and has to wear it out of the booth they are so excited!

And the times when it's about how I feel, that I need to express what's inside me.. they of course take longer.  I've been struggling with just such a piece.  I'm calling it "American Dreams" .

 This First picture shows the first layout I had.  The round bit is a vintage MOP buckle, the drop crystal and the earring are both vintage.  The flag pin is vintage as well.  Do you remember when veteran groups would hand out those little tin flag badges at parades? that's what the flag is.  (do they still do that? I don't remember getting these anytime recently.. only as a kid )  The coke tag is actually from a 90's coke tin, made to look like a turn of a century coke tin.

 This picture you can see it's getting more complicated.  the round bit in the square is the top of a pocket watch ( proper term is crown)   The damaged type writer key says " back space" which sort of expresses my American dreams right now... I kind of wish we had a back space button to go back to Nov. 7th.  But I'll save that discussion for my therapist.

This is the current rough layout, but I'm still not happy with it.   I've added in the back a vintage Gage plate,  to express all the pressure we are under, watch parts because it feels like time is running out, a key for hope, the liberty bell ( broken bit from a key chain)  as another symbol of America, the compass because we are trying to find our way, a cross for spiritualism, a part of a ruler ( from a typewriter) because we are not measuring up right now... a spoon and the arrow for personal reasons.  The "r" on the top is a beer bottle lid.  I've since removed that.


 I want to try to express both the current crap we are all in, but yet express hope from the future.  In some stories of Pandora, hope is a butterfly... maybe it needs that.  I just don't have the right mix yet to say what I'm trying to say.... that America will survive this and someday will actually be better.  I guess I'm having a hard time believing it myself, so that makes it hard for me to hold on to the optimism I want to have.

It's gonna be a long long long 4 years...........  I think I'll go play with chainmail now.