My very own Shikon no Tama...

This month I have decided to celebrate Inuyasha's last anime series and last manga books. Yes, it will be over. I will miss it a lot, for I am a big fan of Rumiko Takahashi's work, and especially Inuyasha that I have followed for some years already. This week I will order the last DVD box (series VII). As for the books, I am not sure where it stands so far, and how many more volumes are expected.

Since it's celebration time, and the last shards are to be found soon, I have decided to make my own Shikon jewel. Thus, the name of the piece is simply Shikon no Tama (Jewel of the Four Souls), a globe of light composed by these 4 principles (=souls):

- Courage,
- Wisdom,
- Friendship,
- Love.

I will not go into the plot details though, since it would take a long time. At any rate, if you found this post today, it's probably because you already know Inuyasha anyway! My version of the jewel is a bit elaborate perhaps, in comparison with the original artwork by Takahashi-san. It pretty much complies with my own style of jewellery-making: a bit "baroque" perhaps, mixing several materials and trying to convey a meaning, rather than the object "per se". Thus, if you find that it's not at all like the original Shikon (and most certainly it isn't), please bear in mind that it is simply the result of my own personal interpretation.

Here is my Shikon then:

The following materials have been used:

- One round hand blown Murano glass sphere with gold foil;
- Two faceted Czech crystals surrounding it, with Aurora Borealis coating;
- Several Swarovski bicones and two small pendants in different shades of topaz;
- Several tourmaline chips in shades of forest green, aqua, yellow and pink;
- Several vintage Swarovski molted champagne pearls;
- Small glass pearls in deep green that I brought from Prague last month;
- Small round Czech fire golden beads;
- Toggle gold-plated Bali clasp, all threaded on a metallic champagne wire.

To have a better look at the pictures next, please don't forget to click on the thumbnails to magnify:


Two close-ups of the Bali toggle clasp. The small Czech fire beads and dark green pearls can also be seen.


Two pictures showing close-ups of the Murano focal bead and the faceted Czech crystals, along with other various elements...


The above photos show detailed views of the Swarovski regular and top-drilled bicones, and also the small pearls, Czech fire golden beads and vintage Swarovski pearls. These are quite old, but still have an amazing shine and smooth texture.


These pictures display a nice view of the faceted Czech crystals, as well as some of the bicones and pearls. I have decided to include them because I really like the golden reflections and iridescence generated by the AB coating and facets. A nice play of light.


These three shots focus on the Swarovski vintage pearls. They measure 10mm each. I have included tourmaline chips between them, which made the threading process a bit harder and longer since the holes are too small, as are the chips of course (the smaller they are, the harder it gets to even hold them). Tourmalines are quite expensive when compared to other minerals, but do have a wonderful translucence. The colours (in this case yellow/amber, pink, dark and aqua green) go really well together - to my surprise, I must say!


More detailed shots of the tourmaline chips... and, below, two more views of the piece:

Sadness

I have been thinking a lot about the missing plane AF447. It is like a bad dream. We are on that flight a lot when coming back from Rio. I am very sad, and cannot even sleep very well thinking about it. At the same time, I am following the Brazilian newspapers for any news on the searches. I don't even know what to say...

Tsukimi necklace

I made this necklace this week, by Sunday or Monday. I called it "Tsukimi", which, in Japanese, means "viewing the Moon". It uses bluish-gray colours and seems a bit different from my previous work, since I use no focal beads or pendants. Still symmetrical though, but a continuous line of several Swarovski elements, gemstones and glass beads (that I brought from Prague).

It is a "lunar" piece, due to the choice of cool hues that reminded me of the surface of the Moon, thus, its name "Tsukimi".


For this piece I have used:

- Tibetan silver hook clasp;
- Several kyanite round gemstones;
- Several chalcedony round beads;
- Swarovski elements in different shades of blue: cubes and bicones of different sizes;
- Several Czech glass glazed beads in bluish-gray;
- Two small fluorite beads near the clasp.

Some details of the above components to follow...


The 1st picture shows a detail of the silver clasp, the two small fluorites I used close to it, the lovely light blue milky chalcedony stones, along with some Swarovski bicones and a Czech glass bead. Second shot shows the Czech beads in detail, as well as two sizes of Swarovski cubes interspersed with some small bicones. Finally, the 3rd picture shows the string of beads: kyanites, chalcedonies, Czech glass beads and Swarovski elements, quite a simple structure. The necklace itself, since it is composed of mostly minerals, is quite heavy and I had to use a sturdier and thicker Beadalon wire, which, due to its gauge, is not quite easy to work with (the beads seem to "slip" though them a bit too easily, and crimping is very hard since the surface is so smooth and slippery). I much prefer the lighter, thinner wires due to their flexibility and slightly rougher texture.


Another detail of the gemstones, Czech beads and lovely Swarovski elements with an AB coating. Chalcedony is the stone with the light blue tint and milky texture. Kyanite is the dark blue one, a sapphire-like shade of blue almost, very vitreous and speckled with silver/metallic streaks.


Kyanites and chalcedonies in detail once again, and a nice close-up of one kyanite bead, a small fluorite with its pale green and purple streaks, and one of the small Swarovski cubes.


I love the AB effect on the aquamarine coloured cubes (larger ones). The kyanites are also splendid, but unfortunately I have ran out of them!

Some more views of Tsukimi:

Lovely Prague - Part 1...

We arrived from Prague last week. We went there for 5 days, since Mark ran the Prague Marathon for the 1st time.

It easily became one of my favourite cities. I love its cleanliness, the way everything works, and how calm the traffic is. People seem relaxed there. The shops (at least in the old town) stay open until late, and you can get some really nice ice cream and lovely drinks and food.

Also, that mix of Baroque, Gothic and Art Nouveau is absolutely enchanting, and very very unique.

My favourite walks must be the ones we took in the Josefov, the Jewish quarter area. Absolutely magical.

But tonight, I just want to post some curious pictures we took in several different places... Please click on the thumbnails to magnify them.

Puppet shop near the Castle! It is indeed a magic town...

Mark and friend, before going for a stroll in the Castle...

I call it the "Fawlty Towers", although it is a wonderful building with amazing design...

Virgin Mary in a cage...

Not even statues seem to be free of cellulitis these days...

Kafka in Josefov...

Golem's attic in the Altneu synagogue...

Retro Pepsi ad!

Sausages!

A saint in cage. This time in Charles Bridge. Funniest thing was some parents with a little child who insisted in pushing the kid into those bars. Kid was scared to death (even I was), but the oh-so-sensitive parents did not rest until they got a picture of him, crying his lungs out...

Toys, toys and more toys! This is a very cute video! Toy shop in Celetna...

The Murasaki necklace...

Another Japan-inspired piece. Murasaki is the name of the colour "purple" in Japanese. There are several types of Murasaki shades and tints, based on different pigments and flowers. But the generic term for purple is simply "murasaki":

But Murasaki is also a woman, a writer, Lady Murasaki Shikibu. Her name, or rather pseudonym, refers to the character she has created for her book "Genji Monogatari" ("Tales of Genji"), written some time in the Xth Century Heian period and probably before she joined the imperial court as a maid of honour. She is also contemporary of Lady Shonagon, who was the inspiration for my Hana Kotoba necklace. Two formidable ladies and, indeed, very inspiring.

For this necklace I have used:

- One light brass oval bead as the focal point;
- Several dark purple cloisonnée beads with gold wire;
- Several purple round jade beads;
- Czech fire polished small "heavy metal" beads;
- Antique gold plated Tibetan spacers,
- Stardust small round spacers;
- Several Swarovski bicones in shades of purple and gold, and in different sizes;
- Antique gold plated Tibetan hook clasp.

Details next...


A close-up of the Tibetan antiqued gold clasp and stardust beads. On the second picture, we can see the Czech fire faceted beads in those lovely "heavy metal" shades, along with the Chinese deep purple cloisonée beads and some Swarovski elements. The 3rd picture is pretty much the same, under a dimmed light.


More details of the cloisonnée beads on the 1st picture, and also the jade beads, some Swarovski bicones and Tibetan lantern spacers. I decided to show the other picture because I love the light reflections forming little stars on the faceted Czech fire beads!


Close-up of the jade beads and another shot of the cloisonnées. The Swarovski bicones are shown in full force, very shiny and with a lovely AB2X coating. Please don't forget to click on the images to see it magnified though!


Now, on the 1st picture another close-up of the purple jade beads, but also the Swarovski Golden Aurum bicones in detail. This effect is nowadays a bit hard to find, but I managed to procure some for my beading needs! The second picture is just a funny one. If you click on it, you will clearly see my camera reflected in the bicone, and you can even read the word "LENS" on it, like the bicone has been "printed"! I liked that!