In
preparation for the upcoming festivities of the 4th of July, I am
creating a small patriotic collection called, '4th of July at Elfin
Cove.' This is the third piece in a series of 4 or 5 planned designs -
all a bit different and all a bit similar, sharing the same story & muse. Here it is:
On
a magnificent adventure to Glacier Bay, Alaska aboard a small
expedition yacht, my children & I had the joyous fortune to spend
4th of July in a small, colorful fishing village in Southeast Alaska
called, Elfin Cove. A tiny settlement built mostly on wooden stilts
off of the sea and clinging to rock and land, it is an intimate,
intense setting for those lucky enough to live there year-round. All
the locals know each other well; the watering holes sell tshirts
extolling the virtue of Jack Daniels and salmon fishing. Sea planes
come in and out bringing fisherman from the lower 48 who bliss out in
the Pacific, fishing their hearts away, until their suitcases sag with
salmon, enough to last a whole year. There is the local 'crazy,' a
colorful guy, who captures my attention and tells me a true bear story;
one of those up-close and personal, near-death stories, where his
spirit talked to the bear and encouraged the bear to walk away, on a
cold, rainy evening when no one else was around. It is true that these
islands are loaded with bears and the outer islands are even more
loaded. Seems like the safest place is to be aboard a boat, such as
ours, in the middle of the sea and cruising the inlets, quietly moving
up coast in the company of a humpback or two. But on this one day, July
4th, we spent the day on land celebrating the 4th of July in the
drizzling rain. The whole town was dolled up in a way I might imagine
a tourist town such as Telluride in Colorado or a dustbowl of an oil
town in Texas. Railings were hung with fancy banners and streamers and
balloons and the vivid red, white and blue never looked so beautiful
against the forest green of the trees and the misty grey of the rainy
day. The whole town joined in a parade down the wooden walkway, with a
wee curly haired redhead on the shoulders of her daddy, leading the
way. My kids were welcomed like one of their own and my young son even
joined in bobbing for salmon heads on the small beach (there were $100
dollar bills in some of the fishheads). We were welcomed at the local
potluck supper that evening after watching men walk on a greased pole,
out over the water, off of the pier, only to fall, one-by-one, in the
icy drink. It was the best 4th of July I have ever celebrated and this
bracelet is created in memory of that day in a small Alaskan fishing
town in the drizzling rain, when we stayed out all day and felt like
such a part of a very special community.
So..the
bracelet. I have used the beads of two lampwork artists. First, the
stunning 'slices' or discs which are white polka dots on an encased
blue core~ so dreamy and magical, like peering down into still water.
These are done by the very talented Heather of her studio, Bead
Intrigue. I work with Heather's beads a lot and she is so imaginative
and precise in her glass work. I have also used a few of her small
etched white polka dot beads in the design.
The perfect companion also encased polka dot beads; in this case
perfect 'rounds' done by wonderful Burt Gumerson of the Pacific
Northwest. I have worked with her beads for many years and when I am
in the mood for polka dots, I know just where to go. She is the polka
dot artist and there are none better. Everyone needs a few polka dots
to cheer things up from time to time. You will find her white core and
red core, encased white polka dot rounds in this design.
The following beads, crystal and silver complete my design:
* Elegant cane glass beads shades of blue by the esteemed furnace glass artist, Penrose
* Swarovski red butterfly crystals and Swarovski light blue stars
* Swarovski red and clear faceted crystal cubes
* A variety of shapes, sizes and colors of Swarovski crystals in keeping with the theme
* Creamy Swarovski pearls capped in Daisy petal beadcaps
* Blue Swarovski faceted rounds capped in handsome Hilltribe sterling beadcaps
* Bright daisy spacers and bright silver tube beads
* A sterling silver star charm
'4th
of July in Elfin Cove, III' includes three fabulous themed charms ~ a
stunning, solid liberty bell, the burning flame of our lady, The Statue
of Liberty and a handsome bald eagle in flight. These are all sterling
silver. Finally, '4th of July' is completed with a sturdy, sterling
Bali silver toggle and measures in at 8 inches in length. I am able to
adjust the length at no additional charge.
Like
the others of our collection, this is *the* piece for the 4th of July
and holiday celebrations of the day..as well as Veteran's Day, Memorial
Day and any patriotic event on your summer schedule. Although each
piece I currently design are all one-of-a-kind designs, I do have plans
to base 3 or 4 more July 4th bracelets on this design. None of them
will be exact replicas of each other, however, since so many of the
beads I use are also one-of-a-kind beads, made by artists. This is the third piece of this small collection. The first piece sold almost
immediately. Although all the bracelets are unique in design, they
share an overall 'look' as well as the lampwork beads from some of the same artists, as I
had the beads made especially for this small collection, in advance.
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