I is for Iolite, Iron Ore, Irish Materials etc ABC of Jewellery

I've reached the letter I in my ABC of jewellery. This  is a rough guide to jewellery materials and techniques I use as well as designs and inspirations. I is for Iolite, Iron ore, Inspiration and Irish materials.

 

Iolite gemstone is a form of cordierite. It is a transparent, most often indigo or deep sapphire blue stone that can be confused with amethyst. However, if you hold it to the light you can see it is a cold blue and sometimes a bluish violet, unlike the warmer purples of amethyst. The name derives from the Greek 'ios' meaning 'violet.' Specimens in the deeper shades of blue can look like tanzanite. Some rare varieties are a yellowish gray or brown. On occasion, like these stones here, a blue version can have a hidden, golden-grey flash that appears unexpectedly like a rainbow in a puddle.

Iolite teardrop earrings, Indigo Sky

Iolite is not very common and though it was popular in the 18th century, it can be hard to find contemporary iolite jewellery. These beautiful little teardrops make a pretty pair of earrings. Typically, they will change colour with the light and as the wearer moves about, from deep indigo to paler blue to a very transparent golden-gray.

Metaphysically, iolite is the stone for vision and creativity. Healers believe it treats ailments of the eye as well as insomnia and failing memory. It is sometimes used in meditation and hypnosis to help travel back to one's roots and find that inner self.

 

I is also for Inspiration. Craft artists garner much inspiration from what we see around us. Like many fellow artisans, I find nature, in particularly the sea, generates creativity and ideas. You will find evidence of this in previous posts under the tag 'Inspiration'.  Or why not pop into the blog section 'Inspiring Walks'  if you are in Ireland (especially Dublin) or planning a trip and want to get inspired by our lush countryside too.

 

Though I buy some stones and findings from the UK and beyond, Irish materials feature prominently in my jewellery. The most well known is Connemara marble but our other rare marbles, such as Cork Red and the fossilised Kilkenny black are just as ancient and special. 

I also use sea glass and sea pottery plucked from local shores. Though these may sometimes have originated as imported bottles, vases, crockery, tile etc, generally speaking, sea glass and pottery usually would have fallen into the sea locally or within a short radius. Rarely do these pieces travel across the ocean from distant shores. 

 

As well as Irish glass and pottery we do find a lot of English china and European terracotta quite simply because these would have been commonly found in households of a busy port like Dublin. The English specimen on the left was found on the same Dublin beach as the Irish, Arklow Pottery shard on the right. As they have been buffed for decades by the Irish sea and were found right here, in my heart they are both local materials.

Iron ore, also known as hematite

Iron ore is also known as Hematite. This mineral was already covered under the letter H.

If you'd like to read more in this series, please see the links below

Previous posts in this series

A  B  C  (plus C for Crimping ) D E F  (plus F for Findings) G1 and G2, H

All of this series: ABC

Inspirations January 2014

Like many artists, I garner inspiration from nature and what I see around me as well as things that stir my soul, such as the refreshing sea, culture and Irish heritage. Though I very much do my own thing, I am almost obliged to be inspired by current trends. Not least of these are the season's hues influenced by Pantone Colour Report.

Spring 2014 is sweeping in with a refreshing display of gentle pastels teamed with bold bursts of dazzling blue, freesia yellow, celosia orange and radiant orchid purple. I'm particularly loving the combination of deep blue with intense yellow in geometric and floral patterns already hitting the shops.

Many of these uplifting colours are making it into my Etsy store, Handmade by Amo'r.  It usually takes a combination of factors to move me to create something beautiful. Here are some of the influences behind my latest jewellery.

            

Irish sea pottery pendant on dazzling blue cotton chain

I found this naturally weathered shard of sea pottery on a Dublin beach last summer and wire wrapped it in silver plate. I wasn't quite happy with the ribbon necklace I originally made for it. I was looking for something that evoked the sea itself in some way. Then I spied the gorgeous cotton crochet chain in dazzling blue by HuggleKnits and knew It was a match made in heaven. The bright marine blue instantly lifted the white and blue porcelain for a look that is on the mark for Spring and Summer 2014.

 

  

I posted earlier this month that I'd been overdosing on old episodes of Downton Abbey. I'm currently obsessed with early 20th century styles and trends from the Edwardian era through to the 20s.  Though the mourning jewellery of the first series of the British drama steered me to the colour black, Lady Edith's fiery necklace above is on the mark for this season's Pantone celosia orange. It may not be, but it looks suspiciously like carnelian to me.

I'm pretty sure I have some amethyst teardrops in the radient orchid lurking in my purple stash box....