Tag Archives: earrings

April 2, 2015

Jewelry, , ,

As I’m still officially recuperating from my illness, I am trying to take it easy, even though it means having quiet, uneventful days at home, and I can’t help feeling that I am not accomplishing anything. I have to remember that the “accomplishing” right now is rebuilding my strength and health and that’s very important. So, this morning, after I had dragged myself out of bed and eaten breakfast, I joined my son Theo who was sitting playing/working on his computer at the dining table and decided that my goal for today would be to rework an old pair of earrings that I didn’t wear into a new pair of earrings that I could give to my friend Susanna, who I knew was going to visit later in the day. I don’t usually have enough time to make jewelry, but since today was officially a sick day, I allowed myself this luxury. I brought out my jewelry making tools and began tinkering, and after half an hour of dissecting the earrings, reorganizing the various elements and adding new details, I had four new pairs of earrings, one for myself, another I thought would be perfect for Susanna, and two extra pairs, which I can give to other friends. Having set my accomplishment bar pretty low today, I was thrilled at the artistic heights I’d attained!

20150402_203856_resized My necklace from Susanna

Much later in the day, Susanna stopped by for tea bearing a vase of fragrant flowers and a bowl of lovingly chopped fruit. I made us some tea and we sat outside in the garden talking, leaving Theo at his computer (his computer skills have, not surprisingly, escalated dramatically this last week or so!). I met Susanna through Theo as he and her son, Cash, had been good friends in second grade. Although they are no longer close, Susanna and I decided to keep our friendship going anyway and we meet up occasionally for coffee, a walk or grab a quick chat at school. Her intelligence and sense of humor has made her an entertaining companion and her generous spirit and caring soul has made her a loyal and trustworthy friend. Even though she, like other friends of mine, has her hands full juggling her work (recently her eBay business), co-parenting with her ex, and dealing with intermittent health issues, she’s been there for me in my times of crisis. Right after our house fire, she showed up at our rental house with bags of clothes and blankets for us, as she knew it would take a while for me to get my cleaned clothes back. For a few days I was wearing just her hand-me-downs, and for months her orange blanket has been keeping us warm. Later, for my birthday, she gave me a lovely gold necklace with a V-shaped element that I’d admired on her, saying she really wanted me to have it. I loved that she gave me something of hers – since to me, these can be the most intimate of gifts. She had been out of town when I became sick, but now that she’s back, even though she now has her mother staying with her, she carved our the time to come and see me today. The earrings I made for her with squared carnelian beads were meant to evoke the same angular design as the necklace she gave to me. Like her gift to me, they were part mine. They were also part something brand new created just for her, for a caring friend who enjoys sharing her beloved belongings and her precious time with her people.

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March 18, 2015

Jewelry, , , ,

I have been making jewelry on and off for over 30 years, mostly earrings, necklaces and bracelets and usually using beads – increasingly nice ones as I got older. I never became particularly sophisticated at it, but have put together some pretty little creations every now and again. Last year, I crafted some earrings with turquoise and pale carnelian beads and was pleased with how they worked out, but whenever I thought of wearing them I couldn’t quite make them work. The stones are not really my colors and don’t really match what I wear either. The earrings need to be worn by someone brighter, sunnier-looking than me. A few weeks ago, I was gazing at one of my mom friends at the coffee shop one morning and realized that they would look great on her. Torrie, is the epitome of sunny, with a full head of long, strawberry blond hair and a dazzling smile that she offers generously as she shares a story about her daughter’s cheeky exploits or the latest on her wedding plans. Torrie always brings to the table positive energy, the kind that has undoubtedly fueled her impressive career as a cinematographer, writer, director and producer, mostly of documentaries. Now working primarily as a part-time lecturer at USC Film School, she is undoubtedly sharing this great energy with her students, the next generation of our filmmakers.

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I have no doubt that it was the same positive energy that spurred her forward in her decision just over ten years ago to have a child, even though at that moment in her life, there were no strong candidates for a father for this child. After a year or so hard thinking, she chose to make the journey into parenthood solo, with a donation from a sperm bank. The result is Zoe, now ten years old, one of the most spirited and entertaining girls in 4th grade at my son’s elementary school. Torrie is a radiant mother and clearly enjoys life with her beautiful daughter. Now her life also includes John, who she met a few years back and is planning to marry sometime soon. Today, when I gave Torrie the earrings, everyone agreed that they worked on her. It may just be the colors, but later when I looked up the meaning of the stones, I discovered that turquoise is believed to protect against negative energy, and carnelian is a stone of creativity, individuality and courage. No wonder they’re such a perfect fit.