[john675]

Such imagination, Sheri - I really love the spider and bat themed pieces. You have a real flare...

[Valeria101]

Hate spiders - love your three pearl drop!

[la_corsetiere]

O.K., so I've shown you my pearls with bats and spiders, and earrings with shark teeth, not to mention pearls that want to be hands (or maybe chicken feet?), but thought I really should add this to the thread...I made this almost 20 years ago, before the pearl bug (no pun intended, really...) hit, but I've clearly been besotted by pearls for a long, long time. This necklace features multicolored freshwater pearls, a faceted citrine, and a genuine beetle! I've always loved and been inspired by art nouveau. Anyway, wanted to share another odd pearl creation of mine...thanks for indulging me

Sheri

[pearllove]

Wow!! I love your beetle necklace!! It's unusual and very beautiful. I love art nouveau too. Your necklace reminds me of Alphonse Mucha's work.

[GemGeek]

First, let me say that it's terrific - a wild art nouveau fantasy. You did a very good job on it.

Now let me ruin all that by saying that I just saw the movie The Mummy a couple of nights ago, just long enough to see the scene where the fossilized beetle he's holding comes to life and dives under his skin... No real bugs for me - Ha ha!

[la_corsetiere]

Originally Posted by pearllove

Wow!! I love your beetle necklace!! It's unusual and very beautiful. I love art nouveau too. Your necklace reminds me of Alphonse Mucha's work.

Thanks - that's the ultimate compliment, as I love Mucha. One of these days, I must make a drippy elaborate headpiece...dripping with pearls, of course!

Sheri

[knotty panda]

Its gorgeous! Tell us about the beetle, please. Mumified? Enameled? Not that I'm going to do it, mind you, but I am curious!

Other puns:

"Low mileage, worn once to a Beatles concert,"

"Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse! Betel ...!"

[jerin]

Originally Posted by la_corsetiere

Thanks - that's the ultimate compliment, as I love Mucha. One of these days, I must make a drippy elaborate headpiece...dripping with pearls, of course!

Sheri

My compliments on this lovely necklace. I don´t really like the idea of a live-beetle but I love the goldwork (or whatever metal this is) and the shape of the whole necklace. Pearls do look lovely in every kind of jewellery but even the stones you chose are perfect for this necklace.

[la_corsetiere]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

Its gorgeous! Tell us about the beetle, please. Mumified? Enameled? Not that I'm going to do it, mind you, but I am curious!

Other puns:

"Low mileage, worn once to a Beatles concert,"

"Betelgeuse. Betelgeuse! Betel ...!"

Hmmm...I guess you would qualify the beetle as mummified...it's just dead, to put it bluntly, but I'm sure the innards are quite dessicated. These beetles have a hard exoskeleton that is very tough - like a shell. They actually used little beetles a lot in Victorian jewelery; I have a few period pieces that inspired me. I love the iridescence.

To protect the beetle from pests (sometimes little boring insects drill through the outer shells to get to the innards, not to gross anybody out...) I used the high-tech technique of coating both sides with clear nail polish.

The pendant is a combination of brass and copper.

Sheri

[pattye]

Well, I learn at least one new thing every day, today it is about beetles in jewelry!!! It's a beautiful design, and a true conversation piece. Thanks, Sheri!

Pattye
so many pearls, so little time