Here is what I am excited about this week. Big, big chunks of natural red coral, combined with six strands of peacock pearls. I put them together with a very secure clasp, to create a mermaid bracelet. It's big, bold, and really comfortable.

Can't you just see it on her wrist?

Spring Training

Today I watched the 2005 New York Yankees as they played their first exhibition game in Spring Training. I love watching the Yankees. They play to win and they do it with class. Isn't that what we all should be doing?
Here is the necklace I wore today. I made it last Spring in time for Opening Day. It always draws stares on the subway!

Hearts and Chains and Locks - Valentine Jewelry Making

On the weekend before Valentines day, I can always count on at least a few hopeless souls, wandering into the shop at the end of the day, a desperate look in his eyes. Searching for a gift for his Valentine.

I wanted to bring some special things in to the shop this weekend, especially for a gift.

Well, I ended up only making half, or less than half, of what I planned. But it was fun. First, I started with a stash of old cast-iron lockplates I have. They are the perfect size for a pendant. Since they are a keyhole, they seemed to be half of a toggle clasp. Just need a key for the other half, right? Well, they didn't work quite right as a clasp, but I do enjoy the look, but I created a bracelet anyway.




Then I needed some earrings to go with it.



I made a few other things with the keys.




I really wanted that keyhole as a pendant, at the base of the throat. I played with some beads and found two glass hearts to hold it on either side. I used French silver wire to cover the stringing wire that would have been exposed there. I found a combination of mostly black onyx and glass beads, with a few fun red and white. The back half of the necklace is two strands of matte seed beads. I LOVE this. I might just have to wear it on Valentine's Day, if I don't sell it before that.

My pictures don't ever do justice to the sunlight on glass or gemstones.

While I was searching for beads for the above necklace, I designed another necklace. That's always happens. I loved these little red glass hearts. They are almost spooky, they are so blood like - red with an orange tinge. And the sun shines beautiful in them. I came across these blue large hole beads that match them in hue. Since they all fit on a black rubber cord, All I had to do was add another key in the center.


There are several other themes I had hoped to cover this week. But I've run out of a week! I did manage to get one more bracelet created, that I have thought about for almost a year! I bought this carved coral carp in February of last year, from my good friend who sells in a gallery next to mine. I can't wait to show her, I found a home for it, amongst some natural jade beads that I had also bought from her, and big fake pearls.


Hope everyone has a special Valentine's day.

Here's a PhotoPulse show, using images of old Japanese postcards that I have had, with music by Smoove. Just click on it to launch the show. You can pause it by placing the cursor on the lower left corner.



You can create a PhotoPulse show with your own images and music by visiting www.PhotoPulse.com.

Sometimes it's just fun to wear jewelry. No statements needed. I had lots of fun a few weeks ago, sorting art glass beads by color and matching with round semi-precious stones. Here, orange carnelians mix with bumpy beads. I love walking around the city and seeing the bright fashion colors. Spring is coming, someday soon. The storefronts say it is.

Red Carnelian, Peridot and Amethyst Cross



Here's one of the crosses I made the other night. I like this one. It feels very powerful. An artist friend told me how everything has to start with a powerful symbol or story. That's what gives meaning to objects, when the meaning is already within us. So, I like to wear a cross. It causes reactions. And for me, it is healing.

Bubble Gum and Candy Glass Necklace Set 14k Gold filled from Amethyst Lobster

I sold my Dubble Bubble necklace set this week. It is so much fun for me to know that another person in this world thinks it's a fun thing to wear. She's lucky that these aren't really my colors, or else I don't think I could have parted with it.

To Everything There is a Season

It's a new begining. I am dreaming. Last night I dreamed of green computer circuit boards shredded and mixed with peacock feathers, freshwater pearls and abalone beads. It was balanced by black industrial rubber from within a keyboard. Blacks stars made of hemitate and crystal shone from the jagged cuts in it.

A nightmare or a necklace? Haha..we'll see. I'm inspired!

More jewelry is coming soon. Today I worked on 3 cross pendant necklaces and a bracelet. I will go and finish them now.

Journals, Blank Books, Sketch Books

My sister claims that I'm the only adult in the world that uses Marble composition books. I've always used them, since about 13, when I first started writing. At the time, they were the only "blank books". I have dozens of them, filled with my changing handwriting and stars in the margins. I would also experiment with the other blank book available then, the black hardcover sketch books, found in art supplies stores.

Now there are so many different types of blank books and sketch books. I'm always on the lookout for the perfect one. Somehow, it matters, the quality of the paper, the size, the placement of the margins, etc. When I find a good one, it's as if the pen or pencil sinks into the paper without effort. Writing or sketching becomes so much easier, is even inspired.

Lobster Lu's Art & Antiques
My mission is to rescue objects from the past, especially the neglected, and matchmake them to the perfect new owner, who appreciates and cares for them.
I do that on my LobsterLu website, and in person at shows. But here is where I blog my observations. Join me!

Memories
Memories. They are so powerful. More powerful, sometimes, than the present state. Why do we need these memories? To remember the lessons that we've learned? To remember the love that we've been given. To make us stronger - to hope. To not forget.

I know that many of my buyers are buying memories, not really little bits of broken toys or books or an old eraser wheel with a brush. These objects are just triggers to their own wonderful memory. They are like portals or black holes. You pick one up and you are transported.

The older I get, the more I value the memories. It's not that I want to go back. It's more like I feel the responsibility, to not forget.

There are some objects that are triggers for a personal memory. That's their main attraction. Then there are other objects that "have a history"
that is so strong, they are the memory itself, though no one is left to tell you the original story. These objects attract us - they are powerful.
They sit there and challenge you to take care of them - to remember for them.

The smallest little things can get to me. I buy lots of boxes of "stuff". Like the contents of a desk drawer or old toy box. There are lots of
things you won't find in an antique shop or on Ebay - but they are things that shouldn't be forgotten. For example, boxes of old "stuff" often
contain pencil stubs. These are pencils that are used all the way to the eraser. Used until you cannot sharpen them anymore. When was the
last time you did that? When did you last use a pencil? When did you sharpen one? When did you use one everyday until it was just a stub
that could no longer be sharpened?

There is a lesson in those pencil stubs. Waste not, want not. They were made with quality (I don't think many of the new pencils could
stand up to that much use.) They were treasured and appreciated. There are other lessons, I'm sure, in the old desk drawer. There are other
memories. Can you find them?

Where are We?
This is a place where I explore the reasons that I am drawn to buying and selling antiques and other old objects. It's so much more than just a retail job. It's as though I am a rescuer first, then a caretaker, then a matchmaker. I deal with memories and mysteries. I find that people are drawn to them. They NEED them. Why? Why do we need these mysteries and memories?

I'm thinking about it. I'll let you know.