Pretty Palettes: Wabi-sabi

Hi all,
Today I'm playing along with the Pretty Palettes inspiration on the Halcraft blog.  Our inspiration this month is wabi-sabi.  Here's the explanation from the blog post:

“Pared down to its barest essence, wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay, and death. It’s simple, slow, and uncluttered – and it reveres authenticity above all.” NobleHabor.com


Here are the beads that Erin Prais-Hintz chose for this challenge this month:




I love the colors and the mix of shapes and textures.  I already had the agates and the mixed rings.  And, I had some gears in my collections.  I also had a large heart pendant that I made in a class I took recently from Jen Cushman at an Art is You retreat.

Here the heart pendant:

I thought it fit perfectly into the theme with both the colors and the gears.  I had a lot of fun creating it and getting to play with materials such as Ice Resin that I don't usually use in my jewelry.

Here's my mixed media wabi-sabi necklace:

Wabi-sabi Heart Necklace

I had so much fun playing with this combination of beads and gears.  I probably could have kept adding to it for hours!
Here are some of the extras:  I added some ceramic beads, made a copper hook clasp and cut strips of old denim jeans to add to the necklace.  I pulled the threads on the edges of the denim and stamped them a bit for a little color.  

I think I changed the order of the components five or six times, but it's easy to do when they're linked with jump rings.  Right above the heart, I stacked and glued gears and beads.  The resin on my heart was a little sticky on one side, so I sprinkled some embossing powder on it and melted it.  I wasn't sure it would work, but it did!  Now, I want to try embossing powder everywhere! 

So, this piece is very experimental and sure to have its imperfections!  I chose the denim from a pair of old jeans to represent the authenticity of old-fashioned hard work and the wear and tear of everyday life.

For more fascinating designs around this theme, head to the Halcraft Pretty Palettes Reveals - one and two!