JewelrybyJacoby - a sister's new found passion

  

          "Going Native"                     

        Ivory colored shell teeth and melon bone beads accented with

                                                Crazy Lace Jasper                                                                                                  

       Below "Sixties Flashback"
    Retro hippie style choker with huge
nuggets of amethyst and blue lapis chips.

        

                               Sealife Charm Bracelet                                                                                                                         

                                  
                                              

                    Citrine Bracelet - one of my personal favorites!
                           Translucent citrine and mixed gem chips

                                                                                                                                                                        

Yellow Turquoise Bracelet

                                         " Tranquil Waters" Necklace

I was delighted when my sister sent me an email with several pieces of her handmade jewelry in an attachment. She wanted my advice on her recently discovered means of artistic expression. I was astounded at how extraordinary her work was. Yes she was a novice but she was also a natural! She had absorbed the basic intricacies of jewelry making so quickly and easily, and it was obvious to me she had found her passion and was finding joy in her work. It is always exciting for me to see new found self expression emerge from individuals and the delight on their faces to have created something! It has been doubly exciting watching my sister emerge as an artist. She has spent much of her adult life in Florida and loves to travel to the tropical locales in the Caribbean. Her work is very much influenced by her surroundings and the colors of the sea. You can visit her shop at http://JewelrybyJacoby.etsy.com

Happy Halloween to all my little prettys!

The neighborhood coven decided to hold a last minute meeting to discuss the nights agenda.

Melange Team ETSY latest youtube video

CottonBirdDesigns, another ETSY find

These sweet little birds have been on my list of favorites for a while now and I never get tired of admiring  them. Cottonbirddesigns is a designer from the UK who uses a mix of new, vintage, and recycled materials to create these simply adorable hand stitched textile sculptures. Enjoy them and more at http://cottonbirddesigns.etsy.com

Another sweet face to take your breath away - feel free to take her home and use her image in your artwork!

Gathering Leaves Sunday Afternoon

A Letter from Home by Mary Oliver

She sends me news of blue jays, frost,
Of stars and now the harvest moon
That rides above the stricken hills.
Lightly, she speaks of cold, of pain,
And lists what is already lost.
Here where my life seems hard and slow,
I read of glowing melons piled
Beside the door, and baskets filled
With fennel, rosemary, and dill,
While all she could not gather in
Or hid in leaves, grow black and falls.
Here where my life seems hard and strange,
I read her wild excitement when
Stars climb, frost comes, and blue jays sing.
The broken year will make no change
Upon her wise and whirling heart; -
She knows how people always plan
To live their lives, and never do.
She will not tell me if she cries.

I touch the crosses by her name;
I fold the pages as I rise,
And tip the envelope, from which
Drift scraps of borage, woodbine, rue.

The mixed media artists of the Melange Team on ETSY.com from youtube

A Fellow Etsian, LoopyBoopy

I plan to introduce you periodically to some of my ETSY finds or fellow Etsians. I love that word, Etsian, it sounds like we should always follow it with "Beam me up Scottie!" When you consider there are over 300,000 Etsians, artists, vintage collectors and suppliers, I could present you with a new one everyday for years and not duplicate anyone. Today I am showcasing LoopyBoopy because I love her work and it suits the season. Her little creatures are hauntingly unique! See her shop at http://loopyboopy.etsy.com

The mixed media artists of the Melange Team on ETSY.com from youtube

Notes from the War on Women

I want to take a serious moment to bring attention to domestic violence in this country. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month so I want to present everyone with some alarming statistics. According to the FBI, Supplementary Homicides Report for 1976-2005, for the year 2005 as to homicides in the United States the total number of men murdered was 13,122 of which 329 were killed by their intimate partner, or 2.5%. In that same year there were a total of 3,545 women murdered in the U.S. of which a whopping 1,181 or 33.3% were killed by their intimate partner. The year 2005 was not a significant year in the number of homicides but rather the norm. And from the American Pregnancy Association, every year in the U.S. 240,000 pregnant women are subject to domestic violence of which 40% of the assaults begin during the first pregnancy. The study states pregnant women are at twice the risk of battery than non-pregnant women. Many studies attest that homicide is the number one cause of maternal death during   pregnancy and the period right after childbirth. So many movies and television shows have plots dealing with the rape and murder of women. Why is it that this country considers that entertainment and why do we never see a truce in this country's War on Women?

October is Domestic Abuse Awareness Month

STOP THE ABUSE!

Halloween, A Brief History

Halloween has it's roots in the beliefs of the Druid priests of ancient Gaul and Britain. They believed that witches, demons and spirits of the dead roamed the streets and countryside on the evening before November 1. Bonfires were lit to drive the bad spirits away, delectable things to eat were laid out to ward off any of the spirits mean tricks or mischief, and the druids would disguise themselves to fool the spirits into thinking that they were numbers of their own company so as not to be harmed. So today we celebrate Halloween by playing trick or treat, dressing in costumes and wearing masks on the evening of October 31, or Halloween.

Later the Catholic Church set aside November 1 to honor all the saints calling it All Saints Day or Hallows Day. The night before was called All Hallows Eve. Eventually the two festivals became one and All Hallows Eve was shortened to Halloween.

In Victorian times entertainment such as fortune telling and games to predict who you would marry and the like became a big part of the Halloween festivities celebrated at fall parties. It was believed the veil between the past and the future was lifted on All Hallows Eve. Among the many superstitious games and beliefs at the time, a young Victorian woman believed that if she looked into a mirror at midnight on that evening, she would see her future husband. The holiday was also celebrated by sending popular Halloween postcards to family and friends.

The first city wide observance of Halloween did not happen until 1921 in Anoka, Minnesota, followed by New York in 1923 and Los Angeles in 1925. Halloween has always been about community, who we are and what we believe in, and imagination and generosity.