Sunday, October 23, 2011

Tribal Bells....


I have an entire huge strand of bells from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria.  I'm using them to make necklaces just in time fo the holidays.... Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!!



This started out as a drawer pull.  I picked up the master in Tucson.  This one is made from bronze and hammered for a dappled texture.



The writing on this pendant is from a tablet in the Louvre.  I hand drew the tablet from a photo that I took and etched a copper sheet that I use for texture in the bronze clay.  I started cutting windows out....I have no idea why...but it reminds me of the windows in a high rise building.  It has both an ancient and modern look.


This bad boy is an Aja Vaz bead....so cool .  I have 2 more....I think I need to make one of these for me!!!


Close-up of the necklace.  It has bronze pieces, turquoise (which is actually the brown bead), Roman glass, Dogon glass donuts from Mali, some teeny-tiny ceramic beads and a wood bead inlaid with silver and copper spirals.
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3 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow, I love the new pieces; especially the bells. Will you be adding them to your Etsy account soon?

Barbara Briggs said...

Great pieces, Gail! I like the grey background of your photographs...what do you use?

silver charm jewelry said...

I really like the etched piece. It looks almost like a key. Very creative.