A Statement Necklace

My Garden in the Fall Statement Necklace by Wink Artisans

As many of you now, I like large, bulky jewelry.  Not to mention, rich and saturated colors too.  So over the years, my jewelry has grown... physically grown.  I am producing larger and bolder pieces and this one is no exception. I call it "My Garden in the Fall Statement Necklace."  

The inspiration for this necklace came from an quilt project by Andrea Zuil that I found on the internet at the beginning of the year.  A printout of the image sat on my desk for months.  I would sketch and sketch again, until I found a balance for what I wanted.  The next step was to find the best application to approach this project. At first I wanted to chemically etched copper and silver.  For the color, I considered the hand-coloring technique that I have been using already or glass enameling. I spent the whole spring trying to figure it out. After some setbacks in my glass enameling technique, I decided to wait.  This project needed more time to come to life. 

Bird and Flowers Quilt by Andrea Zuill

Then, during the summer, I got introduced to resin coloring. OMG!  I knew exactly how I was to do this necklace.  I spent the hot summer days playing with this new medium, mixing colors, and epoxy.  After conquering smaller resin projects,  I decide it was time to retake this project.  A pierced linear method and resin painting would be it.  I carefully handcut the metals (copper and nickel), then painstakingly, applied one color at the time and waited for it to cure (it can take between one to three days to fully cure).  Once it was done it was gorgeous!  

The last step was the necklace. I thought it would be easy,  I could not have been more wrong! I tried different chain types and beads.  Oh boy, it was not easy to balance it.  Whatever I was using, it kept competing with the large pendant.  Finally, I found green, faceted cat's eye beads that complemented the focal piece.  I am so happy with this necklace.  It is the largest pendant I've made so far. It measures 6 1/4" wide by 4 1/4 " long and it is a regal one.  Now, it just needs a chest that would wear it proudly.