A Comprehensive Update

Hi everyone,

I arrived in North Carolina eight years ago today. Wow. So much has happened in those eight years. I completed my PhD in English this May, so now I have more time to devote to creating (before I begin teaching at an area university for at least one year).

I've completed a number of custom pieces and I've sold a few pieces since my last post. I'll share a few photos here below. In general, I've wanted this blog to serve as a digital portfolio for my jewelry work. Many of my designs are one-of-a-kind or have limited runs due to available materials. However, if you find something you love that I've sold, or you'd like me to create a custom piece for you, please do let me know. In some cases I can create something similar to what I've sold, and I've made pieces tailored to customer's desires. You can contact me by sending me a conversation on Etsy or by emailing me at bohemianearthetsy@gmail.com.

I also have one new listing I've posted today--a necklace I've named Coraline with its materials (pink coral) and a dear old friend, Cora Kammer, in mind. I think she would have loved this piece.
 

In love and beauty,
Jameela

Coraline

Agate, Coral, Wood, Brass, Quartz, Czech & Indonesian Glass, Vulcanite, Copper

 

1974

"1974" - A custom birthday present for a customer's friend of over 41 years - Sold

Green Empress II

Green Empress II - Aventurine, Sesame Jasper, Amazonite, and Solid Copper - Sold

Detail of Green Empress II - Aventurine, Sesame Jasper, and Solid Copper

 

Viola Verde I

Turquoise, Amethyst, Baltic Amber, Jasper, Shell, Solid Copper - Sold

      

Azure

Custom Clip-on Hubei Turquoise Earrings - Sold

New earrings I'll be posting in the coming weeks...

The Fortune Collection

What follows is a long overdue post about one of the most fun, challenging, and meaningful collections I've made sine the inception of Bohemian Earth...
 
 

The Fortune Collection

In mid-October this year, ten days after I became ABD, I completed the Fortune Collection. I created four pieces for four very special women: Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Joanne Gabbin, and Nikki Giovanni. The occasion, Sheer Good Fortune, was for Toni Morrison, but was a celebration for what these women and others like them have done, are doing, and will continue to do, that is, create more beauty in the world through creation, cultivation, and circulation of the creative written word. 

Necklace with freshwater pearls, amazonite, sterling silver& garnet with garnet & copper coated pyrite drop

I give special thanks to L. Lamar Wilson, author of the forthcoming poetry collection, Sacrilegion. Without Lamar, this jewelry series would not have existed. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to help shape his vision into material form.

With gratitude, I share my vision in the statement that follows...

* * *

The Collection in Morning Light

My Statement:

I have designed these four pieces especially for Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Joanne Gabbin, and Nikki Giovanni by the loving request of Lamar Wilson. Lamar envisioned four pieces that would unite four women who share a passion for written and spoken word, be it poetry, fiction, or nonfiction and then left me to my creative whim. I’ve named each piece Fortune followed by the initials of the woman for whom it is designed in recognition of the Sheer Good Fortune event in honor of Toni Morrison and to capture the spirit of such an auspicious gathering of so many people who love and appreciate the art of carefully crafted language.

Detail of necklace in warm light

 Amazonite, freshwater pearls, garnet, and copper coated pyrite are present in each piece of jewelry. Sterling silver, copper, and rainbow-torched copper unite the colors of the gemstones and reveals my love for mixing materials. Early on, Lamar and I decided sterling silver would be a good metal to tie the pieces together. The copper came later; its presence reflects my love for the warmth and richness of the metal, and for the way it patinas with age but can easily be made like new again. In the beginning, I knew that garnet would be a chief stone in each piece because of its many beneficial properties. Garnet aids a number of physical ailments, protects bones and joints, imparts a sense of clam while providing adrenal support, inspirits courage and creativity, and aids passion and intuition. After a few preliminary sketches for these pieces, I had a vivid dream in which amazonite and pyrite were prominently featured, so I knew that these two stones would be included in the design. Amazonite calms, encourages happiness and good health, and, perhaps, most important, it is a stone associated with writing and communication. Pyrite is an all-around protective stone that helps with dream work and dream recall; it is also known for inspiring creativity and imparting good fortune. Associated with spirituality, feminine energy, the heart, and protection during travels, the four freshwater pearls in each piece also represent the unity of and the love shared between the four women. Each pearl is differently hued and shaped, lovely and iridescent. Copper is another material that aids communication and circulation, soothes joints, enables channeling, and imparts a bit of luck; silver adds more protection and increases the properties of the gemstones. 

Bracelet with freshwater pearls, amazonite, sterling silver, & garnet

Finally, I created each piece with positive intention, love, and joy. I am humbled and honored to have the opportunity to share my vision with you all, just as the body of crafted language you all have birthed, nurtured, and empowered has helped shaped the vision and purpose of my own life.

With love,

Jameela F. Dallis 

Detail of bracelet clasp: hand formed & hammered rainbow copper; garnet & copper coated pyrite drop

Aquamarine drop on necklace for Maya Angelou (Aries Birthstone)

Turquoise drop on necklace for Toni Morrison (Aquarius Birthstone)

I look forward to creating more commissioned pieces and collections in the future!

One last piece for the year and...

Hi everyone,

Here's one last piece for the year, Intention II, and a few pictures of a piece, Malkia, that sold before I could update the blog entry here. I'm posting about Malkia because I'd like to make a few similar necklaces over the next year. So, even through Malkia is one-of-a-kind, there are a few similar designs in the works...

 Intention II - MADE-TO-ORDER

featuring black agate, black obsidian, raw unpolished and polished amber, turquoise, brass

I created Intention II for the New Year's Eve party I'm attending tonight. I'm wearing a lacy black  dress and was in need of an elegant black necklace to wear with it; thus, Intention II was born! I'll post more about the stones, etc on Etsy, or perhaps here on this blog this week.

 

Amber....

 Turquoise...

 * * * 

Malkia (Queen) - SOLD

featuring howlite, pyrite, espresso wood, copper

From the original Etsy listing:

Malkia is the Swahili word for "queen," and there is something definitely queenly about this one-of-a-kind piece. I'm in love with the bright richly veined howlite next to the deep espresso brown wood.  The faceted pyrite rondelles nestled between the six howlite slabs adds a touch or glamour to the composition.

Malkia is 14 1/2" -16" long.  It can be worn as a choker or looser since there is a 2" extender chain, which I've fashioned from heavy gauge solid copper wire. I hand-formed, hammered, and polished the solid copper organically shaped clasp. The largest howlite slab i about 1 1/2" by 1 1/4"; the wood beads are 3/4" tall.

Howlite is known for aiding dream retention, self-awareness, creativity, and calming an overactive mind. It helps dispel anger and insomnia, and is a good influence on those who procrastinate.  Pyrite is grounding, encourages positivity and the release of old emotional baggage. It is also a protective and enhances one's creativity, intelligence, memory, and psychic development. It is associated with the crown, third eye, and solar plexus chakras and the astrological signs Gemini and Virgo.


I'll have two more posts today!
Cheers!
Jameela

Five New One-of-a-Kind Pieces...

I've made five new pieces over the last two weeks... enjoy!

I've posted five new pieces on Etsy today.  Four of them are inspired by water (despite the bright happy greens!). In these latest pieces, I've tried to find harmony between the extravagant and the minimal while some pieces are definitely more simple than their chunky counterparts. Yet, each piece makes a statement, and each pieces is absolutely one-of-a-kind.  Perhaps you'll see something you like...

ADRIANNA

SUMMER RAINS I AND II

PETITE MER

MALKIA

Frida in Socorro: One of a kind!

Frida in Socorro: 

First in a Series of Frida Kahlo Inspired Necklaces

Perfect with a range of colors!

Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists and I've been planning this series for over a year.  It took me about that long to collect the materials necessary to bring life to my dreams.  Expect a few more Frida Kahlo inspired pieces as summer 2012 progresses.  There may also be a pair of earrings or bracelet in the works as well.

Featuring Coral, Turquoise, Jasper and More...

On a life-size bust.

Find out more on Etsy.

New this evening!

Introducing Kathmandu Dreams IV and the Aegean Bracelet (SOLD)...

The Aegean bracelet is inspired by the colors of the Mediterranean Sea.

  Kathmandu Dreams IV is a reinvention of Kathmandu Dreams I.  I'm in love with this new version!

Find out all the details on Etsy.

Five New Items on Etsy

Enter from the East Earrings (SOLD)

Chriso-Roz

Fiercely Pink

Southwestern Sunrise Bracelet

East/West Necklace

BohemianEarth.Etsy.Com

Coming this week...

Here's a small preview of what I've been working on...

"Enter from the East" Earrings featuring cloisonne beads, lapis, orange jade, and 22kg plated accents

"East/West" Necklace featuring turquoise, carnelian, agate, copper & jade

Two new necklaces!  One features 24kg coated Mykonos beads, African trade beads, frosted pink glass, & pink quartz, and the second necklace. hanging lower, features rhodonite & moonstone

"Southwestern Sunrise" Bracelet featuring carnelian, agate, Baltic amber, and tie-dyed turquoise

 These five new pieces will be available on Etsy 

by the end of this week!

~~~~~~

I also take custom orders.  

Here are two two special order earrings I made for a friend...