Jewelry inspired by purple & green, Irish landscapes

Lough Dan, County Wicklow

It is no secret that the rich and varied landscapes of Ireland are an endless source of inspiration for artists, poets and artisans. The pull to create much of my own jewelry comes from my stomps in the countryside. Having walked extensively across the bogs and around stately gardens of the midland counties and explored hills, parks and clifftops in Dublin and Wicklow this summer, this season's collection evokes the peaty browns, ever-present rich greens and the purple heathers and wildflowers of these counties. Here are my purple offerings. All photos here are my own.

 

                                    Blessington, County Wicklow,                        Upper cliff, Howth, Nth Dublin             

Connemara marble and amethyst earrings

 artichoke and wild flowers seen at the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin city

'Wild Flower' amethyst earrings

     

                       Magical violet sunset in County Offaly,                   Sculpture, Belvedere House, Meath.

 

 Irish fairy necklace (amethyst)

Click here for More blogposts about inspiration from nature

Irish Jewellery Inspired by Nature

I've been busy getting out and about this summer to make up for a very indoorsy winter when I worked by day and studied by night. That doesn't mean I haven't been busily crafting away at some key jewellery pieces for the coming season. In fact, I've found plenty to inspire me outdoors as always.

          Emo Court, County Laois 

           Connemara marble earrings, Emerald Raindrops

Sunset, County Offaly

Sunshine-inspired citrine earrings, Golden Glow

                         

Blessington, County Wicklow

Irish, Connemara marble pendant, Mountain Source

A Snippet About Kilkenny Marble

Kilkenny marble heart pendant, Dubh Linn

Irish, Kilkenny marble is a black, carboniferous limestone laced with ancient fossils. Indigenous to Ireland, this stone has been mined in the midlands for centuries. Most commonly, it is used as a building material, but also for carving statues, mantle pieces, rosary beads, candlesticks etc, and today, a limited amount is used in Irish jewellery. It takes a high polish but is equally lovely left in a matte state.

 

Historically, there were several marble quarries in the Kilkenny region including Gallows Hill, Archers Grove, Black Quarry Hill and Butlers Grove outside Gowran. The latter is the only working quarry in the area that is mining Kilkenny black marble. A pure black version of the stone is found further West around Galway.

Kilkenny is known as The Marble City as many of the pavements (sidewalks), curbs and public buildings of the town feature this locally sourced, dark stone.  When it rains, the black footpaths glisten and reflect the street lights beautifully.

Daniel O'Connell's Monument

 In Dublin, it is famously incorporated into the burial site at Glasnevin cemetery of Daniel O'Connell, champion for Catholic rights,

Kilkenny marble earrings

I'm proud to include this Irish marble in my jewellery whenever I can get my hands on the rare beads. 

 

To read about Connemara marble Click HERE 
To read a snippet on Cork Red marble Click HERE

Irish fairy and angel jewelry

Look what fluttered in!

Irish Connemara marble angel or fairy pendant

This little lady is made from rare, Irish Connemara marble. You can read about this ancient stone in my previous post A snippet about Connemara marble.

Irish sea glass fairy or Christmas angel

Sea glass is recycling at it's best as it is a material recycled and improved by nature! It takes decades for the ocean to naturally tumble a piece of glass, buffing and frosting it until it is fit for use in jewelry and other decorative items. This beautiful sea glass fairy or angel works as a sun catcher or a Christmas ornament. 

blue fairy pendant

The blue fairy makes a pretty pendant. As her skirt is semi transparent she too would look fantastic surrounded by fairy lights or hung in the window where she can catch the sunlight. 

Sea glass jewelry sneak peak

Let's take a sneaky look at the sea glass jewelry I've been wire wrapping this week. Focusing on the details in the design, here is a wee glimpse of things to come...

That's all I can show you for now until the pendants are listed! In the meantime, if you like what you see you can click here to view Irish sea glass jewelry already available in my Etsy shop.

New Irish jewelry in Irish marble and sea pottery

Busy with work and part-time study, it's a rare pleasure for me these days to make some new pieces for my Etsy shop, Handmade by Amo'r.  Last night I gave in to the creative call and made a few pairs of earrings and some pendants to refill the virtual shelves with modern Irish jewelry.

Connemara marble and silver Celtic heart earrings

Made with Connemara marble and Celtic heart beads, 'Forever' earrings are unmistakeably Irish. This green marble is found only in the West of Ireland and comes in a wide variety of greens. These specimens are a rare shade of gooseberry with lime highlights. 

Read more about this indigenous Irish stone HERE.

This rustic, Connemara marble pendant with Celtic spirals has yet to be named and listed. Equally neat on both sides, with different types of spirals, it is fully reversible. The slab of stone is truly unique and gorgeous. 

You may keep one eye on the Connemara marble jewelry section of my store to find out when it becomes available.

sea pottery pendant from Dublin

Also waiting to be named and listed is this sea pottery pendant. I found this cute piece on a Dublin beach. It has been well buffed and leached by the ocean so it must have been rolling in the waves for decades. There is something nautical about it: the hint of blue looks like the sea in the distance with the sandy beach at the fore. The wire wrapping is secure and neat. I had the sails of a yacht in mind, but it somehow turned out like the letter A. Perhaps I secretly want to claim it for myself!  

You can learn a little about sea pottery HERE.

Cork red marble pendant (heart)

Here is a sneak preview of a Cork red marble heart I made yesterday. This stone is even rarer to find in jewelry pieces than Connemara marble is. You are more likely to see it in churches and cathedrals. This particular specimen is of the paler pink variety and is the last of this type of pendant I am likely to stock in 2015.

You can read a little about Cork red marble HERE. 

Flora & Fauna from Irish Bogs - Caught My Eye 35

Caught My Eye  is a series of blog posts showing scenes I found interesting, odd, curious or beautiful. Some curiosities that I capture inspire the Jewellery that I make. I am artistic and therefore an observer but I am not a photographer by any description. So if you expect top quality photography I'm afraid you will be disappointed.  Please simply enjoy a snap-shot glimpse of the world through my eyes. 

bog cotton, Clara bog boardwalk

I was back in Offaly again last week and got a chance to go walking both at Clara bog nature reserve and the wetlands of Finnamore Lakes , Boora. The area is abundant in plant and wildlife. All these photos are my own.

I fess up I'm neither botanist nor bird watcher but I love getting out walking in the wilds and always take my camera with me. Something always catches my eye,often the smaller things like the heads of bog cotton  (common cottongrass) poking up through the boardwalk at Clara nature reserve. 

section of boardwalk at Clara Bog nature reserve

The boardwalk circuit is very short, so we went round twice before the clouds opened. If you are looking for a decent walk, go to Finnamore lakes or Lough Boora.

Finnamore Lakes reserve

Geese at Finnamore Lakes reserve

On the day we went, we didn't spot much wildlife other than a few swans and one rabbit hopping away from us. Let's not forget the little midges that nibbled at our faces when we passed through a small wooded copse! At the second lake we happened upon a family of geese. I took the shot quickly and got out of there fast as they can be vicious. In the midlands they say they are more effective than any guard dog, I will take their word for it.

bog daisy, Finnamore Lakes

 This bog daisy, which is bigger than your average garden daisy, is about the only thing that inspired me in terms of jewellery making. While the daisy shape is one of my favourites, the petals themselves are a familiar shape in gemstone bead cuts.

 

Irish seaglass pendant and Connemara marble ornament with flower motifs

WATCH THIS SPACE....

pink chalcedony petal beads (large)

kyanite beads (medium)

*****

Click here for Connemara marble earrings inspired by Irish bog heather 

Click here for Bog oak at Boora - Caught my Eye

Click here for Inspirations from Irish boglands in Autumn

Connemara marble earrings inspired by Irish bog heather

It's no secret that the colourful and varied landscapes of Ireland have long inspired painters, poets and artisans. Even Irish jewellery artists like me garner ideas from what we see, smell and hear. 

Connemara marble drop earrings, 'Irish  Heather'

The idea for these Connemara marble and purple and black glass earrings came from my trips to the bog lands in Co, Offaly, near where my mother was reared.

Offaly Way. Own photo

Much of the midlands bog areas of Offaly and Laois and the green mountains throughout Ireland are covered in a riot of purple heather.

Ridge of Cappard, Slieve Bloom Mts, Laois, own photo

Irish bog oak, Lough Boora. Own photo

The black seed beads used in the earrings design are there as a nod to Irish bog oak. This is ancient oak that has been preserved and naturally blackened in the peaty earth of the bogs. In the 1800s bog oak was used to make black mourning jewellery. I have yet to find a piece of usable bog oak myself, but if I ever do it will be fashioned into a very special piece. In the meantime, you will just have to make do with this increasingly rare and very beautiful Irish marble.......

Inspired by Irish legend: Children of Lir

Although my Irish jewellery is contemporary in design, much of the inspiration comes from the ancient Celts or traditional folklore.

Lir pendant, Connemara marble with sterling silver swan charm, Handmade by Amo'r

An idea was tucked away at the back of my mind to make a pendant inspired by the Irish legend , 'Clann Lir' or 'The Children of Lir' as it is called in English. I knew it had to involve indigenous, Connemara marble and sterling silver. 

The Children of Lir, Silk batik art by ArtonSilkbyLouise (Etsy)

LEGEND OF THE CHILDREN OF LIR 

True of many an Irish tale passed from generation to generation, there are several variations of this ancient story.

As one version goes, Nobleman Lir and his wife Aobh had 4 beautiful children, a girl named Fionnuala and 3 boys. Aodh, Fiachra and Conn. Tragically, Aobh passed on too soon and the young children were left without a mother. Aobh's father, King Bodb, wanted to keep Lir content so he sent his other daughter, Aoife, to take her sister's place. 

Aoife soon grew jealous of the bond shared by her step children and her new husband. She contrived to have the siblings killed but her servant refused to carry out the ugly task. So instead, Aoife magically turned them into swans, bound together by chains of silver and doomed to swim the lakes and seas of Ireland for 9 centuries. She gave them one gift, singing voices more beautiful and enchanting than that of the lark. The spell would only be broken if the silver chains broke at the toll of a sacred bell

Eons passed and the child swans survived many adventures, battling the waves of the ocean and beating the cold of the deep lakes. They became famed for their charming singing. Eventually the four found solace at a peaceful monastery. However Deoch, wife of the King of Leinster, wanted to take possession of these beautiful swans so they could sing to her and her alone. She demanded her husband capture them.

During the melee to grab the birds, the monastery bell tolled. At that very moment, the sharp blade of a sword accidentally severed the silver chain that bound them. In an instant, the spell was broken but the children were shocked to discover they had lost their youth and were almost 1000 years old and very withered. No time passed before they moved on to the next world. There however, they were happily reunited with their beloved parents.

hand formed silver spiral

Swan Spiral Charm

Recently I stole a quiet half hour to form a few Celtic spirals from solid sterling silver wire. It occurred to me that the shape can turnout swan-like, if the loose end is left long and graceful. To remain true to a Celtic spiral shape, the charm does need to remain fairly rounded, however.

hammered silver, spiral swan charm

A few strategic taps with a chasing hammer on an anvil perfected the shape while hardening the metal. I then used the round end of the hammer head to add bevelled texture, which catches more light.

A swan is born! I wire wrapped the charm onto this gorgeous, one of a kind, slab of Connemara marble, cut by a Galway mason. Occasionally I hang my pendants on velvet or crochet chains. In keeping with the legend, Lir pendant could only be hung upon a silver chain.

***

Click here to read the story of the Irish Claddagh symbol

 Click here to learn how to make a Celtic spiral charm