Of Peacocks and Princesses

Good day readers, and thanks for joining me once again. This has been a crazy, busy week. It started with being on call at the day job all weekend, and it didn't stop all week. Consequently I wasn't able to play with clay or make anything that would take time and effort, I just managed little short bursts of jewellery making activity.

This is a video currently making the rounds on Facebook. Given my love of peacocks, I thought I'd share it with you here.  

Kalika

I've written about Kali or Kalika before but here is yet another version. Kalika, the dark skinned goddess with her tongue hanging out dripping blood, and skulls hanging around her neck (she was the original head hunter) was an incarnation of Parvati or Mrs Shiva.
There once was a demon who was making a real nuisance of himself, and he had the power to clone himself a thousand times stronger with each drop of blood that touched the ground (no one ever let him loose in the kitchen with a paring knife)! The gods knocked on Shiva's door to sort the demon out, but he was busy meditating and tended to get very irritable when he was disturbed. So, Mrs Shiva, who was in the middle of her ironing and a bit annoyed with hubby herself, took the form of Kalika, strode out, beat up and decapitated the demon, and stuck her tongue out and hoovered up every drop of blood before it touched the ground - Bish Bash Bosh - no more Mr Demon! 
Unfortunately, the demon ran on 100 proof alcohol, and Kalika got so drunk she ran amok, like people spilling out of a nightclub in Sunderland on a Saturday night at 2am. She ran around shrieking and screeching, knocking people down, and draping their heads and limbs around her neck. Shiva had to be roused from his meditation to control the missus and when he tried, she trampled on him too - well, serves him right, he ought to have taken the call instead of sending his wife out to do his dirty work, I say!
The blue-black titanium coated quartz nuggets reminded me of the  Dark Goddess, and she is also associated with the peacock feather. The sheen from the titanium coating is fabulous, and shimmers in the light, my photography may not do them justice.

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Énergie Solaire (3&4)

Two beautiful slices of stalactite, or solar quartz arrived in the post and they joined the first two pendants I created a couple of weeks ago. 

Énergie Solaire 1&2

Énergie Solaire 3 & 4

The Hmong Princess

The Hmong (pronounced her-mong) people were immigrants from Tibet, Siberia and Mongolia, before migrating to China where they settled down in areas around the Yellow River. They are now found in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand as well as China. To make a necklace, workers have to solder over a hundred small threads together, some as small as a pin hole.
These craftsmen  work long hours and are skilled in molding, weaving, twisting, and soldering. 
Both men and women wear the most beautiful jewellery and I first saw this when I went to a pageant in Xian - the jewellery was so excessive and fit for a princess with elaborate head dresses and waist belts. 
At this juncture, I would like to introduce you to the legend of Nia Ngao Zhua Pa, 'a Paragon of Hmong Femininity'. This entertaining blog is written by an ex effects animator, and deals with "Rejected Princesses - Women too Awesome, Awful, or Offbeat for Kids' Movies" and is a very interesting and humorous read.

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I took one look at the picture of the Hmong princess above, and thought the pendant needed something more intricate than black agate beads to set it off - after all it is used to embellishment on a grand scale! The crystalline beaded wire beads add a bit of interest and sparkle to the necklace.
That's it for this week, folks - have a lovely weekend, and I'll catch you next week, same time, same place
​xx