I spend a lot of time in the southwest and love to visit ancient ruins. I imagine the types of treasures that may have been found by the first visitors, and these inspire my creations. There is a distinct, rustic floral pattern on this pendant.
This handmade clay pendant is created with Egyptian paste, which is created, dried very slowly, and fired once. In the drying process, salts form on the bead, which later melt and become the glaze. Because of this drying process, only the front and sides of the bead have color and sheen. Additionally, Egyptian paste often crackles - and this bead is no exception. A crackle is not a crack - it does not go fully through the bead, but only sits on the surface. You can see this crackle in the close up images of this pendant. It's very subtle, but it's there.
The bead itself is turquoise, with deep red and blue sari silk tied to the pearlized ivory leather cord. In the images, you can see the back of the bead, as well. The color and sheen wrap slightly around the back of the bead, but there is a clear back/front of this bead. The necklace is adjustable up to 26" and the pendant is just under 1.5" high. The necklace weighs 8 grams including the cord and pendant. As a reference, a quarter weighs 5 grams.
This beautiful clay pendant was handmade in my studio, slowly dried and fired in the kiln a to just over 1800 degrees.
As with all art jewelry, it should only be worn on occasion, never during activities that may cause damage.
