Thursday, April 30, 2009

Yes, Virginia, Even Chainmaille Can Get ADD

Once upon a time, a sedate length of parallel chain decided it had had enough of being boring, and went on a journey of discovery. Along the way, it met an exquisite European 4-in-1 whose silvery shimmy up and down the chorus line could send shivers down any red-blooded male spine, and oh, the nights they had together. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end and the 4-in-1 shimmied onto more exciting conquests. The parallel chain resumed its not-so-sedate existence but never quite forgot what it was like to dance, twirl, and get a severe case of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) while falling in love.


Parallel ADD: 0.5cm rhodium-plated copper and 0.7cm rhodium-plated steel, silver-plated copper handmade clasp.



I'm not even sure what weave that centre bit is any more; it started out as a 4-in-1 but I kept adding smaller jump rings so it's technically a 6-in-1 joined by only 2 rings instead of 3. Or something like that. Hence the name Parallel ADD.

==
The night of the great Venetian Ball, she could hardly sit still for anticipation and fretting about what to wear with her moonlight-silver gown. Pearls, said her sister. No, moonstones or diamonds, argued her mother. Her grandmother, however, said not a word but went to her jewellery box and drew out a pair of ornate silver-and-crystal earrings. The perfect complement, and everyone, from mother to sister, agreed.


Byzantine Baroque: 0.5cm rhodium-plated copper, Siam AB Swarovski crystals.

Inspired by the gorgeous Byzantine pendants in the gallery section over at Blue Buddha Boutique.

==
She needed a necklace desperately, a red one, and what she had at hand were glass beads the colour of autumn leaves and scarlet fire. What took shape made her remember the colours of the Kentucky hills in autumn, the beautiful red-and-gold-and-orange tints of falling leaves and bright scarlet berries heralding approaching winter.


Autumn Fire: Red China glass beads, gold lucite leaves, antique gold seed beads, pressed Czech glass beads, acrylic teardrop, Siam AB Swarovski crystal, rhodium-plated chain, silver-plated toggle clasp.



This piece is special because I finally got to use some beautiful lucite and acrylic beads that I got in Jakarta during the Asian Choir Games. Memories and beads, a lovely combination!

Inspired by April's lovely designs at Vanity Vault.

==
"...this is supposed to be a set of Byzantine earrings, yes, but couldn't it possibly be combined with a Japanese weave just for variety...err, oops, no that doesn't work, wait, let's make it 4-in-1 instead..."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why these have been dubbed the Byzoops earrings.


Byzoops: 0.5cm rhodium-plated copper, 0.7cm rhodium-plated steel.

4 comments:

Snickering Corpses said...

I like the necklace especially. That's gorgeous. It reflects its theme very well.

Jenny Pong said...

Hi there! I note from your comment on Mei's blog that you are looking for brass wires and was surprised that you are from ACTS Church. I attend the same church! =P Anyways, drop me a mail (jpbeads@gmail.com) if you are interested to know where to get brass wires. I use quality copper and brass wires from Japan. =) Glad to find another wire artist like yourself.

Corra said...

Hi Shuku,
Nice pieces, you do so well in chainmaille!!

Anyway I just awarded you the Creative Malaysian Blogger award, that was created by team Etsy Malaysia to promote, and hopefully, build a network of creative Malaysian bloggers around the world.

Here's the award for you:
http://decorshandmades.blogspot.com/2009/05/creative-malaysian-blogger-award.html

Cheers,
Corra

Swati said...

All the pieces are gorgeous, but the necklace is my favorite! :-))