Hounds of Love

I have recently discovered the awesomeness that is Kate Bush. I just never really listened to her until a few months ago. I made two necklaces while listening to her album, "The Hounds of Love" beginning to end. They were both pieces that required a lot of focus, as they were pretty meticulously constructed. Something about listening to her put me in this, this ZONE where i was completely absorbed in what I was doing...then i looked at the clock and it was 4:30am...damn.

This piece is made out of three old shoe clips (the blue ones are a pair), and a bunch of chains.

I hand-knotted those chains through the little spaces in the clip, and re-enforced those knots with a bit of super glue, so they won't come undone. The clips are missing some of their rhinestones, but I really feel that adds to their charm. It makes them look badass, as opposed to tacky. These rhinestones have been through HELL and back.

LOVE that blue...

This is one of the most incredible pieces, I feel, I have ever made. It was really intense to make, and its such a statement piece.

To hell with "statement piece"...this necklace is NOT for lightweights. This is a fearless piece of jewelry. I made it out of an old rhinestone bracelet that was totally messed up. the clasp was, lie, ripped, so you couldnt close it. Some rhinestones were missing, and it was kind of torn. It had these two loops on it, and right away I thought, "this just NEEDS to be a necklace"

I used all these different chains...I have no idea where they came from, they're completely random. I'm happy I managed to get silver, gold, gunmetal, and copper colors all in the same piece.

Check out how it like, cowls, or drapes...its almost like, a scarf or something...

This is an Italian horn pendant. They're called, "Cornicello". They are thought to protect against the evil eye. The Neopolitans would make these out of silver or coral, and they have some pagan roots, as most protective amulets do. I think they're rad.

Dripping with Chains

I really love working with chains. I take them all from old pieces...ALL OF THEM. I like to mix metals and textures, and I like how they drape like cloth on you when you wear them. These are some pieces that are "chain-heavy"

Fishing

I have this obsession with Cloisonné fish. For those of you who don't know, cloisonné is a type of enamel technique, which involves metal wires and enamel and glaze to create patterns. It's mostly associated with Asian, or rather, Chinese decorative arts. The fish are traditionally these awesome jointed things, with beautiful color and metal detailing. Something about them is very elegant, but also very disco...at least once I'm done with them.
I've had the fish in this necklace for about 12 years. The chains are all taken from various different belts. I love how the chains drape around this massive fish.

This guy has amazing details in his scales. I like also how he's oriented side to side. His eyes are amazing.These are actually very small. I put them on this delicate little gold-filled chain, and in between them are these gorgeous smoky topaz pendants, originally a pair of earrings.

Let's do this thing...

I make jewelry...out of old jewelry. I believe the term most often used is "re-worked" jewelry. I like to think of it more as intense wearable collage. I have no idea ahead of time what will come forth - rather, I construct these pieces as I see them, in the moment.

The name comes from a Joni Mitchell album. She is, in a lot of ways, a huge source of inspiration for me. Not only do I listen to her a lot while I work, I often imagine her wearing whatever it is I'm working on. Most of my pieces are made to whole albums. I've made entire necklaces, beginning to end, while listening to Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", Kate Bush's "The Hounds of Love", Gilberto Gil's "Acoustic", and, of course, Joni Mitchell's "Hejira". I studied music in school - jazz, so music is a huge part of what I do. Making jewelry inspired by music and musicians helps me marry my visual and aural thoughts into one gorgeous object.



I have always loved jewelry. Ever since I was a little kid, I would go through my mother's and grandmother's jewelry boxes, just looking at everything, and fidgeting with it all. Even now, I try to make all my pieces fun to, well, "play" with in your hands. Like Greek worry beads, or the rosary...something to clutch in your fingers while you "suss it out." I use old rosary beads a lot, along with other Catholic paraphenalia. I use raw stones, animal teeth and bones, vintage and antique chains and findings, modern costume pieces, Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Asian, African (really, you name it, I got it) charms/pendants, and vintage textiles. Every piece has a story and a lot of the stuff I make these things out of I have owned for a large part of my life; now willing to relinquish ownership to make something new.

You can check out my pieces for sale on Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/royalcuriosity

Royal Curiosity is the vintage clothing company I have with my friend Ryan Watt. Our Blog is
http://www.royalcuriosity.blogspot.com

The Reckless Daughter Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reckless-Daughter/273898752457