It's just a circle, right?

by Barbara Bechtel

Today I thought I would reflect a little on our current Art Jewelry Boot Camp theme, Hoops! After all, a hoop is just a circle, right? The circle being one of the most basic shapes can often be over looked in its simplicity but has held meaning for humans for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

We're all familiar with the symbol of the circle as it pertains to marriage and weddings. The wedding ring represents a symbol of unending love and fidelity. The long tradition of a simple round band has long been a tradition.

We're all familiar with the circle as it pertains to the circle of life. The unending circle of birth, life, and death. In Native American culture, this circle is often represented as a medicine wheel and in Japanese symbology by the Enso. In popular music, it is often referenced by the "wheel", the "wagon wheel", or the "wheel in the sky".

In this post, I wrote about my mobius links as another variation of the hoop and circle.

In what ways have you found the circle symbolized in your work?

Drawing Meaning......

Finding and connecting with personal symbols in your jewelry and components is a wonderful way to make lasting connections between the work you make and the person wearing it.

As I prepare new bead and jewelry designs, I thought I would give you a glimpse into the process that goes on behind the designing of many of my beads.....

Most mornings, I spend some time at my desk, reading for 10-15 minutes and doing a bit of sketching for another small time. Taking a bit of inspiration from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way habit of morning pages, this helps me organize my thoughts for the day and prepare me for the direction of my day.

I began these elephants after I sketched a similar Indian inspired elephant in my sketchbook. For me, elephants have recently become a personal symbol I am identifying with as I learn to listen more (large ears), speak less (the small mouth of the elephant), and be strong in the face of adversity (their imposing size).

Rainbows have long been a symbol in many different religions and cultures. After doing some chakra research, I am making sets of these carved nuggets to be used in some new jewelry designs as well as a bead offering as I prepare for BeadFest.

Are symbols important in your work? Do you seek to find beads and components that will draw meaning between the wearer and the jewelry?

Yourself as Audience

by Barbara Bechtel

Admittedly, I tend to be sort of boring in my selection of jewelry that I wear everyday. I would not describe as a fashionista, preferring instead to find those several comfortable outfits that I think complement my figure enough and require little thought. I stick to comfy shoes over high style designs and I wear things until they are in tatters and I'm forced to get new things.

More often than not, when people discover I make jewelry, their eyes shift immediately to my ears, my neck, or my wrists, and they exclaim, "OH! Did you make that???" More often than not, I sheepishly look down and say, "No, I didn't....but it is handmade." I then launch into a story about how I chose the particular piece that they are admiring, which craft show or handmade boutique, or artist I purchased it from.

It's not that I don't wear the jewelry I make, I think it's more that the pieces I tend to wear, I choose very specifically because they suit my comfortable style. I like the pieces I wear to be almost like talismans. I can tell you what point in my life, I purchased each piece, what I was feeling at that time, or what milestone I was passing through or celebration it marked.

 One of my first handmade jewelry purchases was this hand stamped ring by Kathryn Riechert in 2004 at ShopSCAD. It has the phrase "paint masterpieces" stamping onto it. I had recently began selling my work shortly after graduating from college and I purchased this ring as a present for myself with my first check from selling my work. Shortly after I purchased the above ring, I purchased another ring with the verb, Espoir (meaning, To Hope, in French). I wore them stacked on my middle finger, and when I lost, Espoir, after some weight loss and they were too loose. I began wearing this on my right thumb, which is oddly misshapen from a childhood little league injury.

These are my go to necklace wares. The tiny hope necklace was a replacement for the ring I lost above, and has a hand stamped tiny feather and the word hope, also by Kathryn Riechert. The house charm is a Thai amulet with a small hamsa in it that was gifted to me by Shannon LeVart. I wear it tied with a simple red thread around my neck.

I purchased this ring after my first large successful craft show from a fellow vendor. It is a 1908 silver quarter. It symbolizes some ideological things for me as well as the manifestation of preparing for and surviving through the grueling show prep! It is by Old Money Corp.

This simple ring is very uncharacteristic for me. It was purchased at Campbell Pottery on a day trip with my siblings while home in PA on a visit. The tiny silver and gold beads move and slide and was called a "worry ring". It's delicate nature represents what I was feeling at that time.

These are my favorite bracelets. The braided silver bangle was pilfered from my mom's jewelry box when I was a teenager. When she saw me wearing it, she told me that she has pilfered it out of a box in my great-grandfather's workshop. He used to keep rental homes and she thought he had likely found it when he was cleaning out an apartment. It is beautiful, rustic, and handmade, likely from the 30's or 40's. The wooden bangle was made by my stepfather, a talented woodworker. As he cuts and stacks firewood for their home, he often keeps and sets aside beautiful and unusual hardwoods he comes across. One year he made a bunch of bangle bracelets with the wood. This one fits perfectly and I wear it often.

What type of jewelry do you wear and find meaningful?