heart work - strut your stuff monday

i chose these beautiful examples of personal work this week - 

both designers made jewelry for people they care about (which ups the ante incredibly, i think)... both took great care with the texturing of the pieces and the finer details that make the pieces so meaningful...

kalaya steede - 

The shape was inspired by a Buddha that I have that belonged to my grandfather. It is a shape that is painted around the Buddha which I decided to use here. Hidden behind the onyx is a gift from my sister and myself so that my mother would have a piece of us with her always.

The texture was made with tools that were hand made by myself.

janet - honey from the bee

Commission by a friend who tends to like more traditional jewelry, not art or funky jewelry. I took a long time to start working on piece, as I wanted her to be happy with it, but I also wanted it to be something from me.
She selected the cab and showed me a SW belt buckle she has that she loves. She loves to garden and has a large flower garden. She and I are a little shy so our friendship has developed slowly. She's one of the strongest and sweetest people I know.

So... the cab was large so I didn't want to create something she'd never wear due to the end size. I used metal clay to easily put a pattern on the back. I feel the end result is representative of our growing friendship.

so

are you ready to strut your stuff?

to share your work with peers and allow us to show you off?

to be in the running for our randomly selected monthly giveaway?

(or would you like to donate to our monthly giveaways?)

if so, take a look here

or follow the link on the sidebar -

and thank you to kalaya and janet for sharing your work, for spreading your talent and love!