jewelry inspired by nature
and crafted by hand

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Lellow Nhiroceros

December 22, 2018

These are the last two words my two-year-old son couldn’t pronounce correctly. Every time it came up, I patiently taught him the correct way to say it. We practiced, separated the syllables and said them one by one. My husband would look for excuses to make him say these words, then giggle when he got it wrong. I worried he’d never get it right. Then, just before he did learn to say them correctly, I realized I was in a moment. What feels like forever will be over so quickly. In time for Christmas, I made this lellow nhiroceros ornament for our tree. It’s a time stamp on a memory. It’s a tangible reminder of a fascinating stage of development in a person for whom I care very much. What’s more–it served as a gift (and giving in) to my husband from his son, and it served as a gift to me. Creating this piece allowed me the time to be creative with the tools I already have and gave me the excitement to work in the studio on a project I really enjoyed. (If I were to do more of these, I think I need to invest in a kiln.)

Piercing the 18 gauge copper (still from a time lapse video)
First attempt at torch firing the enamel. I wrecked this screen. Such mass was not intended to be fired this way.
Post firing

In addition to my personal project, I’ve been playing more with enamels and have created pieces of different styles than my normal works in enameled copper, sometimes called “color drops.”