Finding Inspiration in the Natural World

by Marion Delgiudice.
(Long Island, New York USA)

Inspiration comes from many places, but we have to keep our eyes and minds open! I am lucky enough to live along our beautiful East coast a stone’s throw from the beach.

Elephant

Since the shore has played such an important role in my life, I wanted to pay tribute to it in my jewelry. While walking along the shoreline this summer I found a branch of driftwood that captured my imagination.

I spent the day thinking and sketching. I researched how to cleanse and preserve the wood before I used it in my jewelry making.

Tree of life

It was a long three day process of multiple bleach and water baths, rinsing, and sun drying. This was followed by cutting small slices with a hand saw, sanding with my dremel and preserving with a matte polyurethane.

Additional sanding was needed to get the right look and feel. Once I had the basic “canvass” I played with vintage watch parts until an image emerged. I used the watch parts and a micromarker to create the designs.

All of this work was done under magnification since the images were so small. I used seed beads to create the bail and frame. I finished the pieces with dangles made from Swarovski crystals and fresh water pearls.

The end results were exactly what I had hoped. When I brought them into work, I sold three pieces in under five minutes!

Phoenix with shell

Of course I underpriced them as I am apt to do. However, it was just the start for me and I will price the next pieces more fairly considering the amount of work each one requires.

I am most delighted about spending the chilly winters in my studio working with driftwood I collected over the summer.

Marion Delgiudice
Pax Design Jewelry at Etsy
Pax Design Jewelry on Facebook