September Component Of The Month Reveal

Today is the September Component Of The Month Reveal! Each of the participants received one of these pendants. 

 I can hardly wait to see what everyone created  So let's not waste another moment!  Here are the links to everyone's blogs.

Guests
Carolyn Lawson
Alice Peterson
Diana Ptaszynski

AJE Team
Susan Kennedy
Niky Sayers
Caroline Dewison
Jenny Davies-Reazor 
Linda Landig
Lindsay Starr
Kristen Stevens

~Linda
Linda Landig Jewelry

September Component Of The Month Giveaway

Ready to move into designing jewelry for autumn?  September's Component Of The Month ceramic pendants are a good place to start (or perhaps you're way ahead of me and are working on winter designs already!).

I love fall colors and had a lot of fun combining them into different palettes.  I hope you find these inspiring for your designs.

Want to play along? Here are the rules…

• I will giveaway 1 stoneware leaf pendant (chosen at random) to each of the 2 winners selected randomly from those who leave a comment below this post. Your comment MUST include your EMAIL AND BLOG address so we can contact you should you win.
• Please — only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it on the reveal date.
• The names of the 2 winners will be announced on Saturday, September 5, 2015.
• This giveaway is open to US and international countries, but please be aware that these will be posted from the US and international addresses will have longer postage times… sometimes up to 3 weeks.
• The blog reveal will take place on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.

Good luck!

 Linda Landig Jewelry

Crow

As we advance into Fall, I begin to reflect inward. My creative output tends toward ever more meditative themes. Crow makes an appearance, both in my work and in my musings...

A necklace from Fall of last year, with one of my Crow beads...

Crow as symbolic meaning in many cultures. According to the authors at "Spirit Animals and Totems"...

"The crow is a spirit animal associated with life mysteries and magic. The power of this bird as totem and spirit guide is provide insight and means of supporting intentions. Sign of luck, it is also associated with the archetype of the trickster; be aware of deceiving appearances. If the crow has chosen you as your spirit or totem animal, it supports you in developing the power of sight, transformation, and connection with life’s magic."

However, while in a teaching circle with a Hopi woman a few years ago, I learned of another interpretation that resonates most strongly with me. I previously had had a dream in which I saw (quite vividly) a hammered copper star surrounded by a circle of crows. When I related this dream to Jeremie (my teacher), she brought out a "dreaming blanket" that she had made, onto which she had stitched the representation of a copper star surrounded by a flight of 12 black crows. This was strikingly like what I had seen in my dream. She told me that crows were both the bringer of, and the guardian (or guide) of dreams. I would really like to draw this image and hope to do so soon.

In another context, crow appears in the form of "Crow Mother ", one of the Hopi kachinas. The story is that Crow Mother makes her appearance with a basket of sprouts symbolizing the miracle of seed germination in the midst of winter. This is sometimes depicted as a basket of corn or an ear of corn. I am fascinated by this figure, and want to represent it somehow in clay. I tucked this idea away in the back of my brain, and will wait to see what comes out of it. 

In the meantime, during the past few days, I created some crow images in drawings and clay...

Finally, here's a performance set by Robbie Robertson and the Red Crow Ensemble. In the first song, "Ghost Dance", Crow as Messenger is mentioned ... after this song is a wonderful performance of "Mahk Jchi" so be sure to listen all the way through. :)

Autumn Girl

I

I am an autumn girl through and through. My birthday is even on the first day of autumn! I love autumn colors best of all, and my hair, eye and skin coloring are such that autumn colors are most flattering on me. What could be better? Designing jewelry with autumn colors, of course!  

 Cinnamon Spice Collection

Clockwise: Classic Bead, Classic Elements, Humble Beads

If you are in the throes of autumn designing, I have some inspiration boards for you. I gathered up some of of my favorite autumn focals and paired them with beads, chains, textiles and leather. Links to the shops are provided in the caption area beneath each picture. 

Branch With A Squirrel Collection

Clockwise:  Suburban Girl Studio, Green Girl Studios, Classic Elements, Glass Addictions

Flaming Leaf Collection

Clockwise: Thea Elements, Shipwreck Beads, Marsha Neal Studio, Shipwreck Beads

  Oak Leaf  Collection

Clockwise:  Humble Beads, Suburban Girl Studio, White Clover Kiln, Kristi Bowman Design

Leaf Impression Collection

Clockwise: Slate Studios, Starry Road Studio, Shipwreck Beads, Stinky Dog Beads

Just putting these collections together has really motivated me to spend some quality time with my autumn beads! I hope they have the same effect on you!  

  
-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry 

Every Leaf Is A Flower

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
George Eliot

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower.
Albert Camus

 Autumn is my favorite season.  I was born on the first day of autumn.  I look my best in autumn colors and not surprisingly I love to design autumn colored jewelry.

Here are a couple of earrings I've designed with leaf head pins from Havana Beads.   Kristi Bowman was the first to tell me about Havana Beads and at the time, Havana Beads only sold lampwork glass. She has now added a great line of ceramic beads, too.

Havana Beads headpins, smoky quartz, carnelian, & antiqued brass.

I was able to feature both Havana Beads and Sue Beads in this pair of earrings.  Sue has now introduced a line of enamel jewelry components, in addition to her lampwork beads.

.

Leaf headpins by Havana Beads. Green beads with silver highlights by Sue Beads. Small sterling silver beads.

So, now that I've shared a few ways that autumn leaves have inspired my designs, I'll leave you with a little eye candy from the artists I mentioned above.  I hope these selections will help inspire your own autumn designs.

Havana Beads:

 

Sue Beads: 

 

Kristi Bowman Design:

 

AJE Eye Candy

Here's your Eye Candy for this week,

A Touch of Autumn.

'Art Jewelry Elements Eye Candy' by KristiBowmanDesign

A treasury of handmade Art Jewelry Elements

 and finished jewelry hinting of Autumn.

Seed bead spirals pipnmolly $38.00	Golden GINKGO LEAVES - Handf... sandrawebsterj... $30.00	Ivy leaf charm, Bronze leaf ... THEAtoo $4.25	Tribal Teardrops ScorchedEartho... $1.65
BRACELET or EARRING CONNECTO... DonnaMillard $25.00	Huichol Influenced Mandala B... pachamamanativ... $43.00	Keep Centered..... enameled ... artisanbeadspl... $17.00	Earrings Olive Green and Car... tekaandzoe $42.00
Pendant- Tree and Sunlight G... gabriel $18.00	10 Clay Bead Set handmade je... greybirdstudio $20.00	Rustic Boho Wire Wrapped Sar... MiShelDesigns $32.00	Handmade Ceramic Connectors ... maryhardingjew... $15.00
Flowers Handmade Copper Clay... jeanawells $39.50	Flock- handmade ceramic bird... SlateStudiosSu... $22.50	Black leather cuff bracelet,... MoonsafariBead... $97.00	Rustic Copper and faux Pictu... MichelesArtJew... $68.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Kristi