I'm so into cards. I wish I could spend a Saturday using all the supplies I have in my "office" (pfff…) and make a batch of cards. Unfortunately, this seems to be last on my list of really important things to do with my "spare" time.
Therefore… I try really hard, but end up sending cards either a month too late - but handmade - or buying cards, that I hope reflect my hatred of hallmark.
This wonderful wonderful woman made ceramic tiles for our office as a sort of gift before I got her… I get to look at them on everyone's desk, because I didn't get one.
I hope they ask her again.
She makes great cards. Any card that states, "I love you more than eggs benedict", demonstrates that its maker just plain gets people.
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Since when did wearing jewelry become a necessity? Since when did women and men decide that jewelry is a must, and therefore convenient, matching, and easy jewelry is a staple?
A woman commented the other day how "easy" her matching earring and necklace set was. She looked in her collection, picked out the matching, and off she went!
I was heart broken! I understand, that like every other article of clothing, jewelry can take different forms, and for someone who is busy, and has not much time for "the finer things", easy jewelry makes sense…
In the past jewelry has been used to honour the dead, celebrate occasions such as weddings, and demonstrate social class or family heritage. An incredible artifact, to see Mayan jewelry so ornate, understanding the amount of time and thought spent to create it. Worn only once by it's owner, or sometimes never worn at all.
In the 13th century in Europe, townspeople were not allowed to wear silver and gold, as it indicated nobility, and status. We see the use of jewelry in ancient Egypt, 3,000-5,000 years ago, in which colours and stones in jewelry were used to encourage crop growth, fertility, and to symbolize such things are honour, and justice. Jewelry is referred to in many religious texts - such as in Greek history and mythology, and Judaism - as a manner by which to ward off evil spirits, and protect the living. It was only around the 18th century and the growing of the middle class that jewelry's aesthetic was beginning to change - to a more public influenced, and wearable form. The disposable income made things accessible to people, and though more accessible, there was still an appreciation of what jewelry stood for, and what it meant to wear it.
Jewelry fashion represents so many things, and though class often is a function of those things, it makes me sad to think that we could be losing such a historically significant memento.
Instead of valuing pearls which require much effort and work to extract, we look to fake pearls to simulate the characteristics of a pearl that we prefer not to purchase. Instead of turquoise from Mexico, or China, we seek turquoise coloured glass as a cheap alternative. Is this a positive, as it makes jewelry more accessible, or a negative, as it loses it's substance and meaning?
Perhaps though, this will indicate to future generations exactly what our decade looked like - a decade who did not appreciate beauty, or art the way it has been appreciated in the past. A decade who valued quantity over quality - a decade who liked things "easy". This is obvious from our use of ready-made dinners, and quick easy clothing, but only now have I realized that the shift in fashioned jewelry is obvious as well.
*sigh.
I steer clear from "easy" jewelry. I want things that clash and tarnish, and have history and meaning. I want sticks on a chain, and a tarnished silver bracelet. Throw an antique wedding ring on my finger, and a brass 50's broach on my sweater. You had me at "used".
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Speaking of (or ranting about) jewelry...
Amazing input from chickadvisor on the beading store I work at regarding Sunday's events!