Folklore Friday - Amethyst

(Hello all - I am reprising a series of folklore posts I started a few years back for the Beads of Clay blog. I was researching gemstones/birthstones, their folklore, symbolism, and any famous - or infamous - specimens. While I am off a month as to the birthstones calendar - let me start here with Amethyst, February's Birthstone. Enjoy!)

Folklore Friday - Amethyst.

Species: Quartz

Color: Purple, violet, pale red-violet

Chemical composition: SiO, silicon dioxide

Crystal system: (Trigonal), hexagonal prisms

Hardness: 7 (Mohs scale)

Amethyst location and depositsThe most important deposits are in Brazil, namely the "Palmeira" amethysts of Rio Grande do Sul and the "Maraba" amethysts of Para. Other deposits are found in Bolivia, Canada, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Russia, Sri Lanka, United States (Arizona), Uruguay and Zambia.

Amethyst is a variety of quartz which occurs in transparent light to dark purple. The darker more intense colors are more valuable than the lighter smoky or lavender color. Dark rich, royal colors of amethyst have been treasured by kings and queens for centuries and can be traced back to the Minoan period in Greece (c. 2500 B.C.). During the 15th century the French fleur-de-lis brooch could only be worn by the Royal family on ceremonial occasions. (Logical as purple has long been a color associated with royalty - due to the nature of the rare dyes used to create the color.)

My amethyst palette: silks from Marsha Neal Studio, ceramic pendants by ... me.

My amethyst palette: silks from Marsha Neal Studio, ceramic pendants by ... me. 

• The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- ("not") and μέθυστος methustos ("intoxicated"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. The ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. 

•  Medieval Bishop's wore amethyst rings - in an effort to keep these powerful men sober and in control of their faculties!
• Amethyst beads have been unearthed in Anglo Saxon graves in England. 

• In the Egyptian book of the dead, instructions are given for placing heart shaped amethysts on the body of the deceased.

• By far my favorite treasure I have discovered about amethyst? This myth from Ancient Greece - by way of a romantic French troubadour of the 16th century : 
  
  Dionysus, the god of intoxication, of wine, and grapes was pursuing a maiden named Amethystos, who refused his affections. Amethystos prayed to the gods to remain chaste, a prayer which the goddess Artemis answered, transforming her into a white stone. Humbled by Amethystos's desire to remain chaste, Dionysus poured wine over the stone as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple.
  Variations of the story include that Dionysus had been insulted by a mortal and swore to slay the next mortal who crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wrath. The mortal turned out to be a beautiful young woman, Amethystos, who was on her way to pay tribute to Artemis. Her life was spared by Artemis, who transformed the maiden into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears then stained the quartz purple.

Portrait of Roman Emperor Caracalla;  Amethyst intaglio, ca. 212 CE. 

From the treasury of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Attributes of Amethyst: 

• thought to be helpful in overcoming addiction. 
•  used for hearing disorders, insomnia, headaches and other pain. 
• Worn to make the wearer gentle and amiable.
• Amethyst powers include: dreams, healing, peace, love, spiritual upliftment, courage,  protection against thieves, and happiness.

The largest Amethyst geode in the world,

The Empress of Uruguay,

resides in The Crystal Caves in Australia. (zivajewels.com)

Thanks to Wikipedia, Bernardine.com and gemselect.com. 

Stay tuned for more folklore - coming soon!
What's YOUR favorite gemstone? 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Cross pollination

cross-pol·li·na·tion (krôspl-nshn, krs-)n.1. The transfer of pollen from an anther of the flower of one plant to a stigma of the flower of another plant.
2. Influence or inspiration between or among diverse elements:

There are many different threads here on the blog about the new year, and we are all addressing it in our unique ways: Jen's musings on goals, direction, journals; Sue's new experimentations in polymer; Linda pondering the freedom to play...  I spend a good bit of quality time in January with coffee and my sketchbook. And of late - my iPad. Its the quietest month for me as to teaching and shows; I like to pull inward and hibernate a bit. This also provides me with a time to refuel, research, and be inspired. 

Today was all about cross pollination. I may not have had my hands on many projects/materials/tools but I had my brain in overdrive. ideas crossing over from one medium to the next, making connections, inspiring new collaborations... so you see cross pollination at its finest. 

While I have you thinking of bees, while ideas are buzzing...  I have some mixed media pieces, just finished that were inspired by a novel, and a crazy Victorian obsession. 

I knew of the  Victorian "Language of Flowers" - also called floriography, is a means of coded communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Flowers have been ascribed meanings in cultures across the globe for centuries. You will find it in work by Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters...  The Victorian era was rather straight laced ( literally and figuratively) so flirting and illicit rendezvous were hard to accomplish. Enter flowers. A red rose - love. A white rose - innocent love.  A yellow rose - jealousy. But dill - lust? and purple columbine - 'resolved to win'? Wow. there was a bit of drama in the florists trade! Who needs reality tv? 

Over the holidays I read "The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. I loved the book, it was heartbreaking and wonderful, with surprises and fantastic characters. The Language of flowers is the thread woven through that motivates, unites, and redeems the people, and in many ways it heals what is broken. 

Flowers were on my mind after finishing the book, and I was making the polymer parts for the January Component of the Month. I was playing around with a few shapes I intended to paint, gild, and stain then use as bezels. There was a set of 9 that didn't make the cut for CoM...  <light bulb moment> 

Vintage images meets antique book text in these Victorian inspired floral vocals. ( polymer, paint, paper, resin...)

Its all because of this stack of vintage (Geez - they were from my childhood and they are just approaching vintage... harumph) illustrated children's encyclopedias. They have the best illustrations, in limited colors, and so small... Some were mine, others have been given to me by friends who saw their potential. I may never finish mining these for fantastic little images. And I AM cutting the books up directly, no scans, no color copies. These are truly one-of-a-kind!

Flamingo, anyone?

So in the language of flowers - to you readers - I would make up a posie of Canterbury bells ( gratitude), Chrysanthemum ( abundance & health), Ivy ( friendship), Geranium ( true friendship). 

Have a great New Year! 
And may your creative ideas buzz about like bees to a flower! 

Jenny
www.jdaviesreazor.com

Resources: 

Language of Flowers Wiki

A great alphabetical list 

Victorian Floriography

Folklore Friday: Ancient Egyptian amulets

Collection of amulets, Senckenberg, Naturmuseum, Frankfurt, Germany.

Amulets... 

From Merriam-Webster: : a charm (as an ornament) often inscribed with a magic incantation or symbol to aid the wearer or protect against evil (as disease or witchcraft)

And while that definition may sound a bit Medieval - I think the definition infers that a piece have meaning and believed power/symbolism to be seen as an amulet. And when I think amulets - I think Egypt. Since I decided to do this series of posts, I have been reading and researching - and having great fun... I look forward to sharing it with you. 

Warning: I have been fascinated with Ancient Egypt my whole life. Well, specifically since I was 8. When the monumental exhibit of Tutankhamen's tomb goods was in DC at the National Gallery. ( No, my parents did not take me, and yes, I begged. Scarred for life? maybe a little...) A secondary degree in Art History and supplemental study on my own... clearly this interest wasn't a passing fancy. So let me start with the more iconic symbols... 

In Ancient Egypt, amulets were worn by the living... and the dead. Worn as necklaces, placed in a mummy's wrappings, they were a unifying element across the levels of society - from the common folk to the nobles, to the divine royalty. Certain symbols were used by both living and dead; others had specific funerary purposes. Their recorded use dates back to app 3100 BCE, 1000 years prior to the first Egyptian Dynasty. Most frequently worn for protection, some were fertility amulets, others invoked certain deities and their attributes. ( More on that later)

Materials - 

 Clay, faience, shell, gemstone, gold, glass, bone, ivory to name a few. Cost was a factor in materials - of course - but so was symbolism. Colors help great symbolic meaning to the Ancient Egyptians. For example, lapis imported from Afghanistan was very precious, and expensive. The deep blue represented both the heavens ( the gods, life, rebirth) and also the primordial Nile flood (life, fertility, rebirth). Gold, plentiful in Egypt was seen as the sun;  un-tarnishing, unaffected by time it represented the immortal, the divine. 

Images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Ankh  - life, immortality, rebirth, reincarnation

The Egyptians believed fundamentally in an Afterlife. Hence the tombs containing all the items needed to live on in the way to which you were accustomed. The ankh appears everywhere in Egyptian art. Worn as an amulet it would also confer health and strength to the wearer. 

The shape can be said to reference a sandal strap - top oval around your ankle, long tail down between your toes... It is also seen as a reference to the Nile. The top representing the Delta, the length being the Nile itself, and the 2 side arms representing the annual flooding of the river. This flood deposited rich silt, creating arable land on either side of the banks. This truly represented the life of the ancient people in that desert climate. 

Images from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Scarab  - sun, resurrection, transformation, protection

The dung beetle, common in the region and highly symbolic. The beetle lays its eggs in a ball of clay or dung and then rolls it off, burying it. This was a direct metaphor of the sun, rolled across the sky, to disappear, and magically reappear the following day. As the sun god Ra was chief among the Ancient Egyptian deities - the scarab was an important symbol. 

Worn as an amulet it brought health, strength. and virility. A scarab amulet was placed at the heart of a mummy; the heart being the seat of all thought, emotion, intellect... 

Photo credits: 1 & 4 - British Museum, 2 - Bader Ancient Art 3 - Williams College 

The wedjat or Eye of Horus - protection from evil, healing, restoration, protection, sacrifice

The wedjat eye is perhaps the best known of all Egyptian protective amulets. The drop and spiral below the eye imitate the markings on a lanner falcon, the bird associated with the god Horus. The name wedjat means 'the sound one', referring to the lunar left eye of Horus that was plucked out by his rival Seth during their conflict over the throne. The restoration of the eye is variously attributed to Thoth, Hathor or Isis. The injury to the eye and its subsequent healing were believed to be reflected in the waxing and waning of the moon.

The first use of the wedjat eye as an amulet was whenHorus offered it to Osiris. It was so powerful that it restored him to life. The regenerative and protective powers of the amulet meant that it was placed among the wrappings of mummies in great numbers. It could even replace food offerings in rituals. It first appeared in the late Old Kingdom and was used until mummification was no longer practised, in the Roman Period (30 BC - AD 395)

Amulets were made from many different materials, but blue or green faience was the most common, as these colours symbolized regeneration to the ancient Egyptian. The wedjat eye was also worn by the living. Faience factories have been found at Tell el-Amarna, where rings with wedjat eye bezels were very popular among the inhabitants.

(Who am I to paraphrase the British Museum?!  I normally write my own entries, but that was too succinct to pass up. The Isis and Osiris myth is a powerful one. Love, treachery, deceit, a quest, magic - and a great insight into Egyptian beliefs on life, resurrection, rebirth. Read it here if you are interested. 

Thank you for staying with me until the end! I hope there was something interesting there for you - I would love to hear your thoughts! 

Stay tuned in 2 weeks - a few more obscure symbols and how they translate into pieces I am making - making and making... as the Beadfest clock counts down! 

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Folklore Friday: under lock and key

In this new series, I want to investigate symbols that we often incorporate into our jewelry. I make pieces frequently that have a meaning, a story, an intention, personal symbolism... as do many others. There are iconic images that speak to us regardless of cultural heritage or time, and they are often worn as jewelry, giving them a talismanic function. But not to be too heavy - I promise pictures and inspiration ( I hope) as well!

Keys. The meanings here are very clear - freedom, release, keys to knowledge & inspiration. The reverse: containment, entrapment... But keys also can mean secrecy, trust, rebirth, renewal...

Janus was the  Roman god of the god of beginnings and transitions, thence also of gates, doors, doorways, endings and time. His two faces represent his ability to  look to the future and the past. The month of January was named in honor of him, and he is usually shown holding a key...







Hecate is an ancient goddess, most often shown holding two torches or a key.  She is variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, fire, light, the Moon, magic, witchcraft, and knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants. She was associated with earth, sea and sky. Hecate was one of the main gods worshiped in Athenian households as a protective goddess and one who bestowed prosperity and daily blessings on the family.

The Papal Seal/ Coat of Arms showing the keys to Heaven:  "The insignia of the papacy includes the image of two Crossed Keys, one gold and one silver, bound with a red cord. This represents the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" ( Matthew 16:19 ).  Jesus's statement to Simon Peter, "whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven".  The silver key symbolises the power to bind and loose on Earth, and the gold key the power to bind and loose in Heaven. " ( Wiki)

My next investigation was to find key, and lock ( or escutcheon) components. With in the team here at AJE there were quite a few; I didn't even venture out into World Wide Web! Jen has created a lamp work bead ON a key, Kristi's escutcheons have gorgeous patina... I could go on.

Clockwise from top left: Kristi Bowman, Jen Cameron, Sue Kennedy, Lesley Watt, me, Diana Ptaszynski, Lesley Watt, Kristi Bowman. 

And in the midst of all this I decided to make a 2 part key mold, in an attempt to have fully 3-dimensional keys to work with in stoneware or porcelain. I made the mold using RTV or two part silicone  putty. I tested the mold...

Making the mold, testing the mold, the first attempts. 

... and it was an epic fail. The keys in earthenware were too fragile. I tried to carve away the excess at the mold seams, and broke them all. I think next I will try the mold with polymer, and perhaps embed a wire inside for strength. And I will try with a sturdy stoneware - the key to success is to keep moving forwards. ( Pun intended. Had to do it...)

Until next time...
Jenny
www.jdaviesreazor.com

December Component of the month and a giveaway!

You might be reading this with a delicious turkey sandwich made from leftovers (my favorite part) but I hope the holiday found you well. I have many things to be thankful for and one of them is my online community of fellow artists, beaders, and like minded friends.

Without further ado - the December Component of the Month: 

Ceramic labyrinth pendants by Jenny Davies-Reazor

When I decided on this symbol as the piece for December - I was thinking ahead to the reveal date. The end of December - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The labyrinth differs from a maze in that a labyrinth has one path in to the center. Mazes are designed to confound with dead ends and the like. Labyrinths are found in many cultures around the world, and in many styles. Found in cathedrals, Medieval labyrinths were seen as a symbolic path to God. They often served as a substitute to a religious pilgrimage. Native American labyrinths can represent a path to an ancestor, in a  search for wisdom, or even the ancestor himself. A famous mythic labyrinth was that on the isle of Crete, where dwelt the Minotaur. Half bull and half man, he was slated by the hero Theseus with the help of Ariadne. 

Counter Clockwise: Chartres Cathedral, Cretan style, turf labyrinth, Tintagel rock carving,  Chartres style. 

In recent years there has been a resurgence of interest in the labyrinth. Walking a labyrinth can aid in attaining a contemplative state- as the body is occupied the mind can at times find clarity. They are used as a walking meditation and often located at churches and retreat centers. As they are a path to the center, your center, your self...they can provide insight and at times inspiration. With New Year's being a time where we all feel resolved to start fresh- I found this an appropriate symbol for the Component of the Month! 

Where will your path take you in 2013? There may be twists and turns, you may lose sight of the destination at times, but if you have faith and stay on your path, all will be well. 

How this challenge and blog hop will work (please read all the information carefully!)

• I will give away 1 component to each of 5 winners selected randomly from those who leave comments below this post. The color sent will be a surprise for the winners.
• Please include your EMAIL address in your comment so that I can contact you ASAP should you win.
• Please - only leave a comment if you can commit to creating a finished piece and blogging about it within the time given.
• The names of the 5 winners will be announced on November 30th 2012.
• This giveaway is open to US, Canadian, UK and European countries.
• The blog reveal will be on December 31, 2012. 

Should you want to participate and your name is not drawn from the proverbial hat - I will be listing more on my Etsy site on Monday November 26th when I return from Thanksgiving!

Thanks for participating, everyone!

Jenny

www.jdaviesreazor.com

Resources: 

www.Labyrinthos.net

Labyrinth locator

Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool by L. Artress