That's right... As you can probably tell by the title of this post, I have switched it from the "Jenny Monthly Challenge" to the "Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge."
And just why have I done that?
Well, I've been toying with the idea for some time now. What really made up my mind, however, was when someone asked if they could participate in this month's challenge. "Jenny Monthly Challenge" was all well and good when it was just me doing it... But, if I'm going to incorporate other people, I should give it a more official sounding name! And so, I gave my challenge an upgrade.
And what better month to do it! This month's Maya-inspired challenge was quite inspiring, and this reveal is going to be a doozy!
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| Temple at Chichen Itza Not my photo! From the Wikimedia Commons. |
...So much so, I am actually going to split it up into a couple of different posts. I made quite a few things (read: four sets and a bracelet), and I want to give them all adequate screen time. And just think, I still didn't make everything I wanted to... Hah!
As a quick reminder, my inspiration for this month's challenge was the jewelry of the ancient Maya. I gave all sorts of information about this subject in my Introductory Post... If you're interested, feel free to check it out!
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| The Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque Not my photo! From the Wikimedia Commons. |
My main focus in creating jewelry for this challenge was to mimic the shades of jade so commonly used. Style-wise, I took some artistic liberties--because these are pieces inspired by the Maya, not exact replicas of what they wore.
And so, without further ado... It's time to look at what I made!
Set #1
This first set was inspired by the shape of the earflares worn so often by the ancient Maya. (Like I wrote in the introductory post, these earflares are similar to today's earplugs... except carved in jade and accompanied by some elaborate soul-portal imagery.)
Here are some examples of these earflares...
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| Not my picture! From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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| Not my picture! From the Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
...And here is what I made!
When I saw the ceramic rounds, I immediately knew that I wanted to use them for this challenge. After all, while not the coveted apple-green that the Maya preferred for their jade, the beads were still in the blue-green spectrum that was sometimes used.
I made the earrings first (seemed logical, since the inspiration was also a form of ear jewelry), and then the necklace followed suit.
The necklace itself is made using a combination of ceramic components, leather, findings, and silver plated wire. I wire-wrapped the rounds, attached them together using jumprings, and then added the leather.
Now, why did I choose that pendant to go along with the earflare rounds?
Because it stylistically reminded me of faded Mayan writing--writing that can be seen in these pages from the Dresden Codex:
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| Pages 6-8 of the Dresden Codex. Not my photo! From the Wikimedia Commons. |
Also! That same stylized writing can also be seen on the silver charms I used for the earrings.
Oh, and another fun fact: I was in such a hurry to make this necklace, I mis-measured the leather. One side is an inch longer than the other.
Oops.
I need to fix that--probably next month.
Still, at least it doesn't take away from the overall look of the piece!
So! There you go... that is set #1. It is actually the last set that I made for this challenge--and one of my favorites. A good way to start the reveals.
Come back in a bit to see the other sets! :)
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UPDATE
For those interested, here are the links to all of the entries!
Part 1 (you are here!)
Your necklace is stunning! I love the way that you combined the elements with the wire and the leather.
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