The symbol carried by Mercury is the Caduceus: a winged staff entwined by a serpent. Because this tiny planet can only be seen at early morning and evening twilight, the ancients thought Mercury was split. Caduceus alludes to this split: there is a duality to the symbol. A conflicting pull between strength of purpose and action…. and a more dreamy, introspective nature. Mary was to feel this internal conflict throughout her life.

Mary’s Caduceus is created from pieces found in far off corners. A sterling, serpent earring wraps around a small glass bottle, connecting to an antique, silver-plated salt-shaker lid. Tiny steel feet from a vintage box have become wings. These wings connect us with the angel Raphael, an ancient symbol of Mercury. Inside the bottle is a a tiny shred of old, white cotton fabric containing a quote by Mary Shelley...my dreams were all my own

The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,

And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run

From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead:

That is the grasshopper’s -- he takes the lead

In summer luxury, he has never done

With his delights, for when tired out with fun,

He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.

The poetry of earth is ceasing never:

On a lone winter evening, when the frost

Has wrought a silence, from the stove there shrills

The Cricket's song, in warmth increasing ever,

And seems to one in drowsiness half lost,

The Grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.

Keats often expressed his love of nature, plants and animals. For example... Crickets.  He believed the beauty of nature is infinite. He was in awe of its diversity and beauty. This has been called his ‘nature consciousness’. He had a strong sense of the ethics of ecology; how nature could enrich our lives and, perhaps, make us better and more compassionate people.

His poetry is infused with insights and questions into life and existence. He often links the seasons of nature and man. Spring/birth, winter/death. He can be forgiven for being preoccupied with the impermanence of life. His short life was one tragedy after another. Keats died in Rome at the age of 26, parted from all that he loved.  He was buried in a bare, scrubby field.  Today it is alive with natural beauty; umbrella pines, myrtle, roses and carpets of wild violets.

Decorative pewter potpourri lid made into 'Cricket charm', vintage mirrored bead hand-engraved with continents. Antique English buckle. Vintage, crystal beads (tears in sunlight). Favorite steel chain from a dusty warehouse.

Percy Shelley was born into privilege and gave it up to live the life of a wild poet…unbound. He was a free spirit, rebellious and idealistic. A bad boy with a good heart. He was captivated by young Mary Shelley and they ran away together. Fell from grace, their personal lives becoming shrouded in scandal, genteel poverty and tragedy. Still... he managed to write some of the most beautiful poetry in English literature. And Mary...she wrote Frankenstein.

(Nothing escapes the erosion of time, he whispered)

Percy and Mary moved to a white house in the bay at Lerici, on the west coast of Italy. He loved it there. It was quiet and he could write. He renamed his beloved boat Ariel. The couple spent long days and evenings out in the beautiful bay. There is a little sketch of Mary writing in the boat, a large parasol propped up. They tried to put their past behind them….forget how difficult things had been…and slowly they were succeeding. But in the late summer, everything changed.

On a routine trip to Pisa, Percy and two friends drowned while sailing home in a stormy sea. Some said he left it too late…that he had been reckless. There were stories of local pirates. Mary was devastated. He washed up not far from the house...in his pocket was a new book of poetry by Keats...page creased back as he had hurriedly put it away. His friends gathered to burn his body in a funeral pyre on the beach. In a romantic gesture, his heart was pulled from the raging fire and later given to Mary. She wrapped it in a silk handkerchief…. collected the few battered and torn relics washed up after the wreck of the Ariel….and placed them all in a shrine. She tended this shrine and his memory until she died.

The passage of time and nature works its own magic on materials, giving them the haunting beauty of decay and captured memory. The worn, sea tossed relics in Percy's final collection have acquired mysterious meaning now. There is one more relic to add …from the Ariel.

Salt and pepper shakers, Victorian Marcasite (iron pyrite) button, Vintage steel chains, found crystal beads

His father worked on the wings in secret.  Four fastidious constructions of wood, wax and feathers...laid out in the cool shadows of the dark studio like fallen angels. Always telling Icarus they would fly out together.   All Icarus could think of was escaping the  island before it was too late.  He was eighteen.  Freedom filled the boy’s heart, along with unformed thoughts of a large world, great creation and applauding ambition.  He carried the insignificance of safety with him...later his father recalled the signs.  Apart from the minotaur there had been no experience of mortality.   Just the two of them trapped in the labyrinth forever.

The day of the test it all happened very quickly.  The sun was already too hot.  Icarus dragged the wings out early, pulling them on roughly without listening to his father.  Jumping up into the wind,  already dazed by the light.  Moving too fast.  All warnings died quickly.  Father followed boy...watching the boy's lurching journey up...black silhouetted on blue.  Sensing his freedom, calling to him.  But even now he could smell the hot wax and burning feathers. And then...the silent fall.

Now he is in the stars.

 A 'rosary' style chain constructed from brass,vintage, black plastic beads and steel chain.  The central pendant is a black plastic skull (Calaveras) found on the roadside...pitted and worn...restored by me. The back bowl of the calaveras skull is a silver-plated spoon, soldered in place. Hanging below Calaveras is a trio of Victorian black-glass florets & beads...the type used during mourning.  These exquisite beads were found in a demolished house.   The stand-in for Icarus is a tiny vintage cracker-jack angel, attached to a long chain.  He has been in my collection for a long time - British?  He dangles from the earth in mid-flight...not yet fallen.  I have hand-engraved the  vintage, mirrored bead  with a map of the ancient Greek world...his world.   Down the back of the neck hangs a short chain holding an old silver fish diving into watery droplets....signifying the Icarian sea into which the boy fell.  Flesh-coloured vintage plastic flowers (c.1940's?) cascade here and there signifying renewed life and growth....after the fall.  These beads also restored by me.  

     until the bird was lost at sea

     found a small island

                  Haiku by Matsuo Basho, b.1644

Master poet Matsuo Basho wrote this Haiku almost 400‭ ‬years ago‭. ‬He writes of watching a bird at sea‭, ‬and the appearance of an‭ ‬island‭. ‬

Midway‭ ‬is a meditation necklace for the birds of Midway Island‭. ‬Just a tiny island in the Pacific‭...‬halfway between Japan and Canada’s West Coast‭. ‬Midway is one of the most remote locations on the planet‭. ‬On this small island a symbolic environmental tragedy is occurring‭. ‬Tens of thousands of birds are dying because they mistake the tons of colourful plastic washing ashore as food‭. ‬The sheer quantities of plastic washing up on Midway has become a travesty‭. ‬Chris Jordan photographer for the Midway project has‭ ‬said‭ ‬‘the life and death of these birds has become a metaphor for our times’‭. ‬

This particular necklace is dedicated to the very short life of one baby bird‭. ‬This little albatross was found on Midway with over 200‭ ‬pieces of plastic lodged in its small skeleton‭. ‬On the black‭, ‬beaded strand there are exactly 200‭ ‬old‭, ‬black‭, ‬plastic beads‭...‬one for each piece of plastic found inside the skeleton of that baby bird‭. ‬I offer these beads not for mourning‭, ‬but for‭ ‬meditation‭, ‬solution and action‭. ‬At midway point is an old red plastic button‭, ‬worn smooth with use‭. ‬Consider it a meditation on‭ ‬a halfway place‭. ‬The second necklace holds a silver‭ ‬medal‭ ‬on a steel chain‭. ‬The medal contains an image honouring our baby bird‭. ‬

These black beads were scavenged from an ornate piece of costume jewelry‭. ‬Discarded and scattered‭, ‬these beads might eventually‭ ‬have made their way to the enormous Pacific garbage patch and then on to Midway‭. ‬Now with your help‭, ‬they might bring a solution‭...‬one bead at a time‭. ‬

Vintage silver spoon‭, ‬silver bird earring‭, ‬steel chain‭, ‬plastic button‭, ‬cotton thread‭, ‬steel key‭.

The making process is different in each case. Some Tribes are made from sliced vintage knife handle. I slice knife handles up to make charms. Old knives were often weighted with plaster slag with metal flake. This plaster is exposed when I cut the handle. It's quite beautiful...a pinky-grey shade with glittering bits of exposed metal flake. It's quite durable.

Other Tribes are made from vintage forks. I remove the tines and solder a ring on the end of each. Then I string them on a chain with other Tribal charms. Sometimes I'll combine the tine charm with a white domestic button (usually a Victorian button if I have them available).

The Victorian Glass Lantern Slide Tribes are quite special. I inset broken fragments of Victorian glass lantern-slide into a charm made from a sliced-knife-handle.  First I slice the knife handle, then grind down the interior plaster. I carefully grind a fragment of lantern slide so it fits into this depression in the knife handle...inset it...then solder a silver wire around the edge to hold the glass fragment in place. The glass is very thin so it's a delicate process. I choose the glass fragments for their pictorial or colour interest. Sometimes I find a piece with a little number, or even a recognizable image. Other times I focus on the beautiful hand-painted colours. Each one is unique. I make new ones from time to time (it's fairly labour intensive!). I'll make new ones to order.

Prices range from $65 - $120 depending on the amount of work and scarcity of material. Browse through the individual tribal charm necklaces under 'Collections - Tribes' to see what's still available...or design your own!

Photo (on black) shows tribes necklaces worn together. See 'Tribes' for Full Description and more images.

Additional photo shows this necklace and similar tribes necklaces worn together. See 'Tribes' for Full Description and more images.

Photos on black show various tribes necklaces worn together. See 'Tribes' for a Full Description of Victorian Glass charms and more images.

Photo on black shows various tribes necklaces worn together. Look under 'Collections - Tribes' for a Full Description and more images of what's available.

To watch the sun sink behind a flower clad hill. To wander on in a huge forest without thought of return. To stand upon the shore and gaze after a boat that disappears behind distant islands. To contemplate the flight of wild geese seen and lost among the clouds. And, subtle shadows of bamboo on bamboo.  

Zeami Motokiyo 

A gold disk hangs from a golden blossom. It is dotted with turquoise, one of the oldest symbols of loving friendship. Inset is a Victorian button with flowers; the memory of a garden under a setting sun. From this moment of beauty... a wisp of black hair trails. A tangible cord that connects us to a beloved animal... connecting us with all beloved animals. Yugen reminds us that contained in our love for our animals is a love for all life.

The swathe of hair is given freely by a much loved donkey named Siog. She is a small black donkey who lives on a quiet little island. She lives there still. Her eyes are dark and sweet; she moves with calm and steady purpose. Her tiny body is filled with a profound grace and subtlety.  She is a good teacher. Siog left tail hairs in her paddock.  They were carefully collected by her devoted human companion. Now they have made their way here, to you... from Siog.  A token of love’s beauty: a compassionate reminder.

Reclaimed vintage gold earring, Victorian dyed picture button, vintage brass flowers, turquoise, vintage brass leaves, gold-filled chain + 10K gold chain, Donkey tail hair (naturally shed), vintage brass ‘S’ hook, found brooch back.

Fashion Shoot:  Photographer:   Art Zaratsyan, Stylist: Grace Chumfong