April 2023 – Glass & Lead

Pride

health pendants

2″ x 1/2″, glass

It’s almost June. And even if it weren’t, both pride and rainbows should be welcome any time of year. It’s been a week of rainbows. I’ve seen hats, scarves, shoes, and even a mosaic rainbow. It made me think about how happy I am that rainbows were claimed by a cause as important as LGBTQ+ rights, how glad I am that I can wear rainbows if I choose to, and how nice it would be if we had equivalent symbols of pride for other things. Maybe green and blue for pride in academic achievement. Maybe purple and blue for pride in an ethnic culture that’s not European White. So many possibilities! I know there are awareness symbols, like the puzzle piece for autism awareness, but awareness feels very different than pride. (It made me chuckle that when I edited the photo of this pendant, the first option it offered was “straighten”. )

Golden teat

health pendants

1” diameter, found objects

yes, you read that right. It’s spring, and we’re in the Berkshires, preparing for a behind-the-scenes tour of baby animals at a local farm! I expect to see them suckling, and to hear how much they’ve grown in the last weeks eating only their mothers’ milk. So this pendant is an ode to that magical, milk-giving nipple that all of us mammals share.

Flying North

announcements

1″ diameter, found objects

In the fall I’m always very aware of the birds flying south. The trees go quiet, and sometimes I can look up and see the birds flying away to somewhere warmer, while I watch jealously from chilly New England. But in the spring the birds seem to creep back and just magically appear. Do they fly north all at once? Do they hide in their nests until the weather is just too beautiful to stay hidden any longer? This pendant might be hard to read, but if you look carefully, you’ll see a bird’s head facing north and its wings spreading back on either side.

Rough Spring

announcements

1″ x 1″, glass and slate

I took a mini-mosaics mini-class online with Rachel Davies (who you should all check out), and while other people’s minis were 2″x2″, I worked on a 1″ square pendant. She’s a master with slate, and I remembered why I love it, for its rough edges, its brittleness, and its complexity. And while today is gray and dreary, there are signs of spring everywhere. I pulled out my shiny green glass to add to this pendant, to echo the bright green sprouts among the rocks and leaves, the greens fighting their way through the cracks, and the shine of the sun that will, eventually, shine.