Red Hot and Righteous Blues

Ode to metamorphosis, and transformation, in the dawning of a new age, as life springs eternal. 

   

    Somewhere on the south side of Chicago, in a smoky blues club, you will find her. Pulled up to the bar, at the end of a long hard work day, with her icy cold beer. Just one, to take the edge off.
    She's no Prom queen. She appears to be a simple woman. The girl next door, but all grown up.
    At first glance you don't see it. She dons casual attire. Good old fashioned Levi's and a loose button down. She doesn't care for the fuss and the muss of  hair styles and makeup. Her long dark curls, fall gently around her, framing her face, au naturel .
    She energizes the room, with her smile, and her eyes twinkle, with wisdom of the ages. Every laugh line, tells tales, of a life, well lived. She's taken life's licks, and weathered them, with grace.
    Then,suddenly, you see it. A flash. Like a bolt of lighting. When she laughs, she is transformed, as if by magic. A light in the darkness. Oh, she is so much more than she appears to be ........................ Intrigued?

This all started with a gift exchange I signed up for at the holidays. A traditional Christmas for both myself and my partner Norma Turvey.  http://moonlitfantaseas.blogspot.com/  She also participated in the recent Bead Soup Blog Party. Norma's a seed beader. 

    One of the gifts she sent me was an amazing beaded bottle necklace with beaded tassels and even a beautiful lacy beaded chain, all in shocking iridescent pink. Also a box of decadent dark chocolate truffles that I quite thoroughly enjoyed. 

    The Coup de grace, the thing I went absolutely nuts over, was the most fantastic skein of mixed shredded sari silk ribbon yarn with luxuriously long eyelash fringe. Sorry I didn't get pictures. I immediately unraveled it. I couldn't help myself. I'm kind of a textureholic. I needed to get a better look at all the amazing colors and textures.

     All these worn and faded shreds of fabric, they still have magic left in them.

First up, the "Red Hot and Righteous Blues" sari silk cuff bracelet. I love the way the frayed section in the center almost looks like wire. I just happened to get these square Raku beads in the mail at the same time. It was a match made in heaven and I went nuts. The silk looks extremely delicate, but this fabric has quite a bit of life left in it.

     I threaded 16 gauge copper wire through the silk to form the main body of the bracelet. The fabric flashes brilliant electric blue in the light. Embellished with lots of Raku beads, Labradorite briolettes, and Garnet gem stones. 

    Light plays beautifully across all these iridescent surfaces. The cuff is slightly pliable to adjust for perfect fit. 

    Next up, Red Hot and Righteous Blues series - "Rise & Shine" cuff necklace. The corrugated copper back plate, form folded by me, with spiral bail on a simple copper neck cuff. Heat patinaed to a rich iridescent finish. Embellished with spinets of worn sari silk. The frayed edges show off the beautiful iridescent quality of the fabric. 

    Two beautiful square Raku beads steal center stage with their metallic finish. The top bead a glorious  sunrise , the other a person open armed greeting the new day. All wire wrapped together with flashy Labradorite and Garnet gemstones. 

    At first glance it seems very subtle and tame, but this baby flashes from every surface and color shifts as light does. You know the expression, "don't  judge a book by it's cover". Are you the kinda girl that takes people by surprise? Maybe this was made for you. 

Red Hot and Righteous Blues series - "Eye Spy" Lapel Pin. The beautiful iridescent Raku bead portrays an eye brightly lit and wide open. Awakening to the miracle of life, weeps tears of joy. This is the dawning of a new age!

     Form folded copper eye with hole punched border embellished with recycled sari silk snippet and Raku eye bead. Wire wrapped with garnet and dangling Labradorite tears. Hand made pin backing. Just over 1 x 2 inches with 1/2 inch gemstone drops.

    And last, but certainly not least, Red Hot and Righteous Blues series - "Bright Spot" earrings. Two square Raku beads, a flower blossom on one, the other loaded with glorious sunshine, hang from hand made ear wires, and dangle with sparkly Labradorite and Garnet gemstones with fibery silk bows for texture. They hang  just over 2 inches.         

So what have you recycled lately? 

Thanks for looking. All items have just been listed in my shop. 

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