All the snow and now torrential rain has put me in the mood to create four new watery talismans for the exhibit (reception March 20). The Talisman for Water was first pictured with the watercolor background in this post. The rainbow was added as a hopeful reminder that eventually precipitation does stop.
“Talisman for Water”, MM Collage by Kathleen O’Brien, 20 x 20″
“Talisman for Water”, MM Collage, detail, by Kathleen O’Brien, 20 x 20″
I love using mica to indicate reflective qualities. Drawing the shadows with graphite makes the mica pieces stand out.
“Talisman for Water”, MM Collage, detail, by Kathleen O’Brien, 20 x 20″
The talisman was constructed from a piece of driftwood with a hole in it. That’s mica inlaid in the hole and surrounded with beads. Little chunks of turquoise fill the crack. The horse hair wrapping is quite subtle.
“Talisman for Oceans”, bead necklace, 38″, by Kathleen O’Brien
This Talisman for Oceans is one of several new necklaces that are 38″ long and can be a single long one or a double strand worn closer around the neck. I has various types of coral, pearls, antique Venetian and Peking beads.
“Talisman for the Deep Blue Sea”, bead necklace, 38″, by Kathleen O’Brien
Here is the finished Talisman for the Deep Blue Sea. I described the fabulous antique Russian blues and process in this post.
“Talisman for Beaches”, bead necklace, 38″, by Kathleen O’Brien
Sometimes a necklace begins with wanting to incorporate a treasure like the small beach stone that looks like a bird on Talisman for Beaches. Having a hole qualifies it to be a bead! Other pieces like the ocean sculpted shell require a tight leather wrap to hold it. I had been saving the carved mother of pearl charm. There are only 3 more of those 300 year old Dutch donut glass beads but I had to use it to dangle the shells from, the color is so perfect – ocean sea green-blue.
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