When Is a Watch Not a Clock?

Here's a succulent that grows in front of one of the other studios. When I've moved into my studio, I'd like to get more plants to go around the door. Succulents won't work though because my little corner is shady almost all year round. In the winter, the sun is down low enough in the southern sky that the building creates shade. When the sun moves higher in the sky, the tree begins to regain it's leaves the way it is now and provides a great deal of shade to that corner. If I have any succulents, they'll have to be out by my outside work table. However, I will have some plants like ferns back in my corner. I'm fond of succulents and there are a great many of them around the Village, but I'm just as happy with shade plants.

I worked in one of the other studios today, keeping it open for the artist who had another committment. I got there early, before 9:00 a.m. and managed to finish the hessonite garnet necklace. I also created one from Chinese turquoise and coral. The turquoise beads have very large holes in them and the coral was necessary to prevent the knotted silk from disappearing into the interior of the bead. The turquoise itself is a soft olive green as opposed to the Tibetan turquoise which is "turquoise" in color. Both varieties have dark veining, and the Chinese tends toward yellow in places. It's really very pretty. Unfortunately the flat round "spacer" beads that I used to keep the knots from slipping are not exactly the color I had in mind. Originally I chose some blue-red coral beads which were a wonderful color. But unfortunately they were round rather than flat and I didn't like the way they looked. So I found the flat spacers, but they are a more orange-red. The contrast isn't as nice. But other wise the necklace will make a nice addition to someone's collection.

I find it's tricky sometimes to get exactly the right look when I make a piece of jewelry. I may want a particular color bead but it may not be cut in the shape that I want. I have enough inventory built up that lots of times I can find something among my strands that works, but sometimes I need to make a special trip to one of the bead stores to get something. And since bead colors and shapes go in and out of fashion like anything else, sometimes I can't always continue to get something that I've been use to using.

Several weeks ago, I ordered some watch parts to attach to the "clock" bracelet I'm making, adding to the pieces I already have. I made the sterling silver link bracelet and started to add letters and charms. The watch parts hadn't arrived, or so I thought. This afternoon, however, with the help of one of the other artists, I located the watch parts. I had to laugh when I saw them. They're wonderful, but they're so tiny that I can hardly see some of them. That's one of the downfalls of ordering from the internet or a catalogue. Regardless of how they were advertised on the internet, they are watch parts, not clock parts.

My clock bracelet is on hold, and it is anyway because it's buried in my studio, but I'll have to re-think it. The tiny little parts would make a tiny little mobile or something. I definitely would like to do something with them. Besides using them as charms on a bracelet, I had thought I could use them to make a pin, brooch, or pendant. Some of them might work on a pin, maybe dangling down, but they're too frail for a bracelet. They could work for a necklace.