*Also known as ‘That Stark Necklace’**, or ‘I Need To Make Something Red This Week’.
**This has absolutely nothing to do with that TSTL family in Game of Thrones.
When I was about five, I had a clear red plastic pendant that may have come from a quarter vending machine. The pendant was roughly an inch-and-a-half long, tear-drop shaped, faceted, and it was the most amazing thing to see flashing in sunlight. I have no idea what eventually happened to it. To this day, ruby-red gems hold a place of honor with me – as does anything richly, gloriously red. More points if it’s iridescent or sparkly.
Back in 2012 I returned to right-angle bead weaving after a hiatus of nearly a decade. My first piece was this. I liked it, but the CZ pendant was just slightly off-drilled, so it always hung a little awry.
I muddled around with more right-angle weaving over the next year or so. Then I recently found some old Aurora Borealis-finished red glass seed beads in my collection, their surfaces frosted then fired with a subtle iridescence that made them glow. They are the same type in the main bail of the necklace above, just smaller.
My fingers started itching to make something from those glowing red beads. The blue flash from the iridescent coating reminded me of two pieces of rainbow blue dichroic glass I’d had for years. I’d incorporated one into a rather unconvincing necklace back in 1999ish. The other was a little cabochon so translucent it seemed lost by itself.
Red glass seed beads. Bronze glass beads. Red glass rounded navette pendants, top-drilled. Bronze Nymo beading thread and half a dozen teeny beading needles: all check. Tear apart old, unconvincing necklace and liberate chunky dichroic glass pendant: check. Back pale cabochon with opalescent dark blue foil: yeah, baby, now it glows like a blue star. Wrap cabochon in a beaded bezel, then make two long cords of red and bronze seed beads. Look again at old red necklace from 2012: it looks lonely, let’s give it some friends and a new dress.
Here’s the end result. I am very, very happy* with this piece. It’s just quiet enough that I can wear it in the daytime, without having to be a little embarrassed by the size of many other so-called ‘statement’ necklaces. (Sherri Serafini, I adore your work, but I don’t go to many of the parties where I could wear things like it.)
*Author’s Note added 10-15-2015): Of course, a day after posting this, I started seeing all the flaws in the necklace. I realized that if I wanted a ‘quiet’ red necklace, this piece wasn’t going to be it. So I rebuilt the thing. Again.)
I can get a small private smile over the mix of colors.
The design follows my fond memories of the over-the-top Neogothic costume jewelry I saw in the early seventies. There was a Sprouse-Reitz variety store in a nearly defunct mall in my home city; if I was very lucky I got to drool over the gorgeous glass and gold-or-silver-toned base metal costume pieces from Kenneth Lane and other designers.
I may sell this eventually, if I can find anyone willing to pay a few hundred bucks for it. But for now, I’m wearing it.