Personal Totem Jewelry

February 04, 2020

Boho necklace

Heart Key Talisman Necklace

(Key by Gary Wilson)

 

I feel I create my most magical jewelry when in an extreme mood whether that is feeling joyful or troubled.  It's because I allow myself to be drawn in and focused on a story or idea.  The past few years have had a few more such moments than some others.

These three personal totem necklaces or what I like to call talismans were created in a couple of weeks this past summer when for my sanity I needed to spend more time in my studio and much less time online.

 

Boho necklace

Save the Light Talisman necklace

(Ceramic by Lisa Peters Russ)

 

For me they're self-explanatory, but since they are personal totems I think it's best for one to bring their own personal story to each piece.

 

Evil Eye Boho necklace

Hold Me Talisman necklace

(Lampwork beads by Angelika Schott;  Lampwork drop by Lori Lochner)

 

A personal totem is an object, in this case an artisan necklace, that is imbued by its owner with meaning and significance beyond its usefulness or visual appeal.

For me, and many women I've talked with, jewelry has a unique way of having way more personal meaning than its visual.  I have pieces of jewelry I inherited which had a whole different story and meaning to its original owner, but are given new life with the love and meaning I see in them.

I'm not sure I could select one piece in my collection I love above all others, but I have a heart necklace I received when I was a little girl from a neighbor that is extra special.  They were Norwegian and I remember feeling so special that they remembered me on a trip they took back to their mother country.  I would be heartbroken if I ever lost it.  Maybe it's how long I've managed to hang on to it through a bunch of interstate moves!

Do you have some special pieces that you find meaning in? 

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"All art that is not mere storytelling, or mere portraiture, is symbolic,

and has the purpose of those symbolic talismans

which medieval magicians made with complex colours and forms,

and bade their patients ponder over daily, and guard with holy secrecy;

for it entangles, in complex colours and forms,

a part of the Divine Essence."  William Butler Yeats