A guy I work with asked me to make a necklace for his wife for her birthday. I know his wife a little, but I needed some serious help to figure out what to make. She's not particularly religious, but loves religious symbolism. Perfect! I'm not Catholic, but I have a thing for Catholic imagery, and as a result have a number of photographs of churches, prayer candles, and the Madonna in my stash. I started with this photograph, taken in a tiny church in Venice:
Venice, Italy
Then I started agonizing over what the backside of the necklace should look like. I finally decided to use a blue silk fabric that related to the blue of the Virgin Mary's robe, with a little bit of lace and a butterfly cut-out. According to my Dictionary of Symbols (picked up who-knows-where, but it sure comes in handy), butterflies are "an emblem of the soul and of unconscious attraction towards the light."
Lace
Sides
Hoping to not find out that she hates the color blue (this necklace is fairly blue-tastic), I boxed it up and took it to work.
Front
Back
Thankfully, she loved it and put it on right away. That's what I love about creating a custom jewelry piece for someone.
Check out my other necklaces at thepigandpepper.etsy.com!
