Midden

Midden

Ah, the satisfaction of finishing a piece! Especially when it's been in progress as long as this one has. I started this over a year ago, sporadically whipping out a rib or tibia now and then whenever I had a free afternoon.

It's about 28" long, carved from the spalted boxwood I salvaged out of a neighbor's yard (same as I used for last year's Messenger). The assorted anatomical-ish bones are joined by tiny sterling links and anchored at each end by skull and pelvis. It could be a necklace or a sculptural piece, but as usual I find it most satisfying as a thing to play with.

Prufrock

I had a great friend in college who was a fellow fan of TS Eliot. We used to quote "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" to each other, especially the heartbreaking bit:

Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think that they will sing to me.

This torque is my meditation on the longing and timidity expressed in that passage. The loop is solid oak, the hands are boxwood.

Choros

This necklace-in-progress (currently held together with dental floss) is based on images I took last year of damaged classical statues at the Louvre. It's far and away one of the most challenging pieces of jewelry I've ever attempted, and I'm still not sure how it will work out. The wood is holly; some sections of the block were dead white, others have a blueish tinge.