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.......

The Irish Claddagh Symbol

This week I listed an OOAK Connemara marble pendant featuring a vintage, sterling silver Claddagh charm.

The Claddagh heart is a well-known and internationally popular Irish design.  The Claddagh ring was the original format, and has been about for 300 years or so, but charms, pins and engravings based on the design are also found. This particular charm that I used is a sold silver pendant from the 1980s.

This famous design features a crowned heart clasped by two hands, which are clothed in gauntlet gloves. The hands symbolise friendship, the heart, love and the crown stands for loyalty. There are many modern variations in the design, including those with two hearts instead of one.

There also exists a variation without a crown, called the Fenian Claddagh. Historically it was adopted by Irish rebels who refused to recognise British rule.

ORIGINS

 

This class of ring belongs to a wide group of rings called Fede rings, which involve clasped hands in the design. Fede, (or Faith) finger rings date back to the Romans. However, it is not known when exactly the first Claddagh ring incorporating a heart was made, though it is believed to be a 17th Century development. It wouldn't be Irish without a few stories and legends surrounding its origin...

Claddagh was a small village outside Galway city, but is now part of the city itself. The oldest surviving Claddagh rings date back to the 1600s. Some of those bear the signature of Galway artisan, Bartholemew Fallon. 

There is a popular belief however, that the artist who first made the ring was a contemporary of Fallon's, fellow Galway man, Richard Joyce. He was kidnapped by pirates and sold to a Moorish goldsmith as a slave. He meticulously learned his master's craft and gained the respect of the goldsmith. When he was eventually released, he returned to Ireland where he put his smithing skills to use and created the famous ring. His branding and initials are also believed to be on some of the oldest surviving of these rings. 

However, Irish stories nearly always involve things happening thrice, so not surprisingly, there is a third goldsmith from the era also accredited with designing the ring, Thomas Meade of Kinsale. 

Who is to say which, if any, of these three jewellers was actually the first to design this famous emblem?

Those who prefer a more mythical view will tell you that the first Claddagh ring was dropped by an eagle into the lap of one Margaret Joyce, widow to a Spanish merchant named Domingo De Rona. Allegedly the majestic bird gave it to her as a reward for her charitable works.

Connemara marble Claddagh pendant

Today the  Claddagh ring is popular, particularly with the Irish diaspora, as a wedding or engagement ring.

The pendant and other variations are more often given as a gift of friendship. Whatever shape or form it comes in, the Claddagh motif is a powerful symbol of pride in Irish heritage.  I thought it very fitting to team the Claddagh charm with a gorgeous slab of indigenous Connemara marble, another intrinsically Irish treasure.

More from this blog:
Celtic Influences in my Designs
A little about Connemara marble 

Treasury Time

My blog has been sadly neglected over the winter as I commenced a part time course in December. Ironically, it's a diploma in journalism.  This pretty treasury landed in my Etsy shop inbox last night and kick started me into blogging again.

Treasuries are showcase lists of Etsy goodies put together by fellow members. They are an art form in themselves. This week I am thankful to be included in a stunning list of handmade and vintage goods in joyful, Spring shades curated by Elena of Four Seasons Creations.

Thanks to Elena for including my Irish sea glass pendant in dark forest green in this beautiful collection titled 'Joy.' Here is the pendant up close:

Ocean Moon sea glass pendant

To learn a little more about varieties of green sea glass click HERE

Jewellery Inspired by Irish Bog Landscapes

Lough Tae (aka 'The Guinness Lake') Wicklow Own photo

Much of my jewellery is inspired by Irish landscapes.  Though we are famed for the lush green of our countryside, for such a small country, we do have a wide range of scenery to lift the soul. Much of the midlands and East of the island are covered in bog made of peaty soil. Peat is mostly rain water mixed with solid material: ancient bark and plants that decomposed over thousands of years. The result is a reddish, cocoa brown earth, often dotted with colourful plants including white bog cotton, purple ling heather and moor grass, green and brown mosses and a variety of hardy yellow flowers.

Here are a few typical examples of my jewellery together with the places that fueled the passion to make them.

Ticknock, Dublin. Own photo

Ticknock on the outskirts of Dublin was the inspiration for this scenic jasper and copper necklace:

'Dublin Hills' scenic jasper and copper necklace

The smooth jasper evokes the rich hues of the countryside. The stones display a stunning array of shades in cocoa bean, russet, coppery reds and chocolate. There is even a touch of sand and grass in the mix. 

bog water river, Bohernabreena, Dublin, own photo

'Nature' jasper gemstone necklace

'Nature' necklace was also inspired by the peaty soil of the Dublin and Wicklow hills where I go hiking, and especially by the chestnut brown water of the bog streams and lakes.

The sterling silver wire work represents the flow of a river. This was done freehand with a simple round-nosed pliers, not with a jig. Then I hammered the silver to make it rigid.

Lough Dan in Co Wicklow, own photo

peat-stained water of Lough Dan

The water in many of our lakes is as brown as a pint of good ale, or even as dark as a Guinness. The water is clean, just stained by the peat in the soil.

'Chocolate drop' earrings were also made with the bog in mind. The rich cocoa of the mahogany obsidian stone is very peaty. When I was making them I remembered the big bags of peat moss my dad used to buy as a soil conditioner for his vegetable patch. 

Let's not forget though, that Ireland is the Emerald Isle and you will usually find a lot of green, Connemara marble in my collection too.

Powercourt waterfall

'Landscape' Connemara marble and silver pendant

The green wilderness co Wicklow, just south of Dublin, inspired 'Landscape' pendant in a soft sage specimen of Connemara marble. The wire work emulates the flow of  the waterfalls found in this 'Garden of Ireland' county.

Read more about nature-inspired pieces by clicking HERE

E.T. Stone Home? Caught My Eye #29

Caught My Eye  is a series of blog posts showing scenes I found interesting, odd, curious or beautiful. 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.  But please do enjoy a snap shot glimpse of the world through my eyes.

I use Celtic spirals a lot in my jewellery. I spotted this lovely carving on the seafront in Greystones, Co Wicklow. Without meaning any disrespect, this caught my eye for another reason too. Is it just me or does any one else see ET here?

In the meantime, here are a few of my own spirals, definitely of a terrestrial kind....

Connemara marble                        Sea pottery                 Agate slice 

Sea glass                            Honey agate                        Tigers Eye

                               

***

CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE A WIRE SPIRAL

Fresh Greens. Connemara Marble and Irish Sea Glass

Handmade by Amo'r Etsy store recently got a fresh injection of green as it was running low on Connemara marble  and other lush verdes.

rare, Connemara marble pendant

Found only in the West of Ireland, Connemara marble is unique to our island. This ancient stone is over 600,000,000 years old and comes in a wide range of greens from the palest whitewash, through the limes, grasses and sages to the darkest forest green. Often, you will  find several shades in the marbling, even on the smallest specimen. To read a fuller article I previously wrote on this native, Irish stone click HERE

  

This is a rare piece of Connemara marble cut into a coin shape. It reminded me of my photo, taken in Lough Dan, Wicklow. So when looking for a matching round bead, I carefully selected one with brown veining to gently represent the distant mountains. Naturally, I had to name the finished pendant  'Wicklow'. 

kelly green, Irish  sea glass pendant

Bringing in a more intense, kelly green, I also recently listed the above sea glass pendant wrapped in silver wire. Sea glass usually changes in colour intensity according the light source so it can be a bit chameleon-like.

 'Ocean Jewel' is made from genuine sea glass found on a Dublin shore. It is fully frosted so must have been tumbling in the water for a few decades at least. It is part of  a bottle neck. I wonder was it beer or wine?  If it came from a beer bottle, then it is quite possibly, close to 100 years old. 

(Borrowing from my own previous post about sea glass bottle necks) 'Around 1930 it was discovered that brown glass did a better job of preserving beer and so green glass was discontinued for this purpose. Yes, we use green bottles again today as we have better refrigeration and nowadays beer rarely needs to be stored for a terribly long time at that. However, if this were a modern piece of sea glass it would be smoother, with very little of the tell-tale, crystalline frosting that occurs only after decades in the sea.'

The genuine 'crusty' frosting appears only after a long period of time exposed to the ocean water. It leeches the soda and lime creating the more opaque appearance. While smooth frosting can be faked in a tumbler, the 'C' shaped pitting in the surface cannot. Whether this rim was from a beer or wine bottle it has been in the sea for an extended period. 

  

I'm  slowly replenishing my stock of Connemara marble earrings. I try to have a few different styles in my Etsy shop at any given time. 

And coming soon, something a little bit different....

Connemara marble star earrings

Inspirations from Nature, Wicklow

My walks through the Irish countryside, up hills, and over cliffs have inspired much of my jewellery. 

Modern Connemara marble pendant, 'Landscape'

The beauty of Wicklow was the inspiration behind recently listed 'Landscape' pendant. I wrapped this gorgeous slab of Connemara marble in silver wire keeping in mind the waterfalls and hills of the county known as the Garden of Ireland. 

Lough Dan, Co Wicklow. Own photo

Though it's been several months since my last hike South of Dublin, I've been following the Irish-Canadian produced TV show, Vikings, which was shot partly in Norway but mostly deep in the wilderness of Wicklow. The scenery is breathtaking. The show's not too shabby either if you like history and adventure (or just ruggedly handsome men!)

Powerscourt Waterfall, Wicklow. Own photo

The Sugar Loaf in the distance, own photo

Similar pendants:

  

Connemara marble with copper and Connemara marble with Claddagh charm. And Coming soon:

rustic Connemara marble pendant or ornament