Once Upon A Not-So Long Time Ago...

...Girl met Boy and immediately wanted to punch him in the nose for being completely obnoxious. Not a very promising beginning, but faerie tales don't always start promisingly either. Real Life, taking a page out of a faerie tale, decided to go that route because Girl discovered a short time later that she and Boy had a lot more in common than both of them had ever thought possible. They agreed to disagree on the things they couldn't agree upon. They argued, and agreed to argue fairly, and learned to call timeouts when things got a bit too personal or fiery. They laughed at Calvin and Hobbes, Cthulhu cats, and other matters of complete mystification to most of their friends - but it was their own 'language' which they understood and were comfortable with. Parallel thoughts, divergent paths.

Boy's birthday came, and Girl wanted to make him a present. After a lot of thought, she decided that something lasting, symbolic, and aesthetically pleasing would probably work best. She settled on a chainmaille pattern, thought about it, sat down, and made a bracelet. She named it Parallel Divergent, because of the parallel chain focal segment, and to celebrate the differences that made things beautiful.


Parallel Divergent: 0.5cm and 0.7cm rhodium-plated copper and steel rings, 19ga Argentium silver hand-made clasp.

And yes, Boy did like his present.

==
Shakti: from the Sanskrit shak, 'to be able', meaning 'sacred force or empowerment'...
--http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti

"I'd like you to make her something," he said, and she agreed, albeit reluctantly. Little by little in the doing, her creative winter began to thaw, and by the end of her project, spring was well on the way. She named the bracelet Shakti; somehow it seemed fitting and appropriate.


Shakti: 18ga and 22ga Argentium silver, garnets, amethysts, Siam AB Swarovski crystal and Miyuki seed beads.

A commission for a friend. It turned out almost exactly like the charted design and I learned a lot along the way - the callouses are still on my fingertips from about a month ago! She finally received it, so I can post the pictures up safely now.