Dear Penelope,

LENT
here is the first series of necklaces i made for the holy days. the stones are Picture Jasper- which awesomely is made when mud pours into gas pockets of molten lava! and petrifies. its also a favorite gem of antiquity- (hebrews, assyrians, greek...) the color of lent is typically dark purple but LL was convinced she likes to observe with the color brown. i felt this worked bcs the only stones in purple are amythest and with this you get the dirt and blood and darkness of the cross.

below is Joanna's necklace and it is lost between here and new york... i felt the circles were like luminescent tears.... appropriate for the grief of our missing necklace. the 3 stones symbolize both the trinity and the stations of the cross. this is her replacement necklace for the moment and she can chose which she prefers or can keep both. the only difference with this one is the strand of copper wires is broken and all the rest are made with a complete band. but i couldn't figure out how to keep it this way in this design which i made while watching s5 of the wire. and i love the simplicity of the design. below is my necklace and it took about 4 attempts to hit this design. i think ultimately i should've bought extra in the first place so that i didn't feel limited by the # of stones i had. i know you care! keep reading. so THEN this is danicas- an ordered grief. and tears. also my 1st expermint with the soldering gun.... yah. uh,huh. and i really love the symmetry and movement of this one.

and last but not least is Lauralee's. this was the first i made and felt immediate love for it. i have no idea but 7 seemed a holy number and then 3 on the right is for the trinity... i'm glad i had some motheaten velvet to photo these with and i used the fancy camera. but hers is the most organic and closest to me. here they are on!... ooo!

this one is no longer in existence. i'm a bit sad about that fact now that i see it because i like it. but it didn't seem to hit a stride and then the next form it took i thought was ok but then no, and then the next, no, not for me... so there you go. there it all is. look forward to easter next!

⁸"But you, son of man, hear what I say to you, Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you." ⁹And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. ¹⁰And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. ¹And he saidto me, "Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel." ²So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. ³And he said to me, "Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it."Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.

--- this is from ezekial- i think it fits with lent. having gone thru suffering and grief with the sweet redemption of christ on the other end kind of feeling. plus its our lot and heritage and all. and i dig prophetic imagery.

m.