inspired by history

mary jane dodd

Headdress, Ur, 2600-2500 BC

do you ever look back into the history of jewelry making

to see what inspired the ancients?

we gain the perspective of seeing what we share in common

with other makers of adornment through the millenia,

like the need to honor the beauty of the natural world

Irish Lunula, Ireland, 2000-1500 BC

or a fascination with how we can work with metal.

Korea, 5-7th c.

here we find the use of cold connections to create interest and movement in earrings.

Roman, 3rd c AD

viking knit, hooks for closures, flowers and granulation,

Egyptian, 1300 BC

the use of stones - and ancient combinations like carnelian, turquoise and lapis.

i encourage you to research the history of adornment - not just ancient, but through to our current time. not just Western, but from all over the world. there is more than you could ever imagine to inspire you.

i have just recently begun to integrate granulation into my work - it is something i was drawn to in college when i studied etruscan art. by looking back, you are given the opportunity to see how you fit into the long line of people who have given their skills and imagination to the adornment of the human body. 

mary jane dodd

mjd - 2014

so many wonderful things are happening here for the contributors of the blog - 

things they work hard for, 

take chances on,

dedicate their time to. 

a new talented member has joined in - welcome, carol!

it's not easy to keep a group blog 

(much less your own)

going. 

i thank them for their dedication and desire to inspire and educate 

you.

i've not been so present - 

life can be unpredictable - 

before a serious illness i was more productive,

attending to blogs,

teaching classes, 

writing for publications.

in short, doing what the goal of many of us becomes.

mjd - 2014 beach and forest finds

but what happens when you cannot do as you did before? 

after you have grieved 

after you have gotten frustrated?

because it is in making that you speak 

that you feel

that you make sense of things. 

mjd - 2014

as in dealing with many of life's challenges, 

you adapt

you accept

you learn to let go.

i know i am not alone - 

we have deaths in families,

illnesses

job losses

things that change our lives 

and can strip us of passion.

be gentle with yourself. 

find what works,

what makes you feel good

what allows you to speak. 

mjd - 2014 - everyday love pins

inspired by rumi

things work out. 

the necklace in the first photo evokes a cupped hand ever so gently holding a heart - 

a heart wrapped, but softly and openly - keeping it from turning hard.

no matter how bad it gets, remember that love is ever present. i challenge you to go outside and look around. how many plants have leaves shaped like hearts? stand before them, breathe deeply, smile and know. know you are loved. know that this life of yours offers an opportunity to touch others. 

then figure out how you want to do that. 

you're a maker, aren't you?

so make something for someone who has touched you. 

then set it free into the world.

guess what? you've created a ripple - maybe that gift will reach someone just when they needed it. and they will be able to do it for someone else. 

spread the love - 

and never stop believing in the power you hold to make the world a better place. 

capturing stillness

mary jane dodd

fragile strength talisman/be still - mjd 2014

at first

we seem to catch moments 

of stillness

the way we did 

fireflies

as children.

seeing their flashing light,

we would run carefully

up to them

trying to catch them 

ever so gently 

in cupped hands.

exciting and unique moments,

we feel like 

it must have been the place

or time

that brought it into being

for us.

and so we return 

to that place or time

to find it again. 

fragile strength talisman/be still - mjd 2014

awareness

trickles in 

as we contemplate

how to return to to this place

of tranquility.

we begin to notice 

that stillness 

is not about

external circumstances

or

perfect states of being,

nor 

are they required to be 

present first for 

stillness to exist.

as our moments accumulate,

they grow closer and closer

together.

in the gathering awareness,

we come to realize

that moments of quietude

are always within our grasp.

fragile strength talisman/be still - mjd 2014

we hold the key 

to make them manifest.

and with that knowledge, 

we walk in light.