"A Moment In Time"

Pompeii, the Roman town buried under the fiery ashes from a volcano eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD is a story that will forever shock and fascinate us.  The terrified residents ran for their lives, but couldn't out-race the sudden and fatal combination of heat, smoke, ash, and burning debris raining down on them.  A few grabbed their most precious jewelry at the last moment.  It would be years later before some of these ancient pieces were unearthed and miraculously preserved.  The amazing fact is that due to certain atmospheric conditions occuring that day, much of Pompeii was captured for us to later recreate and see for ourselves . .   "A Moment In Time."

In my books on Pompeii, the colors from the ruins are my personal favorites : gold, amber, turquoise, red-orange, and copper.  These colors decorated the walls and homes of many citizens of Pompeii, mostly in painted frescoes or in colorful tiles.

Above: Photo from Pompeii wall that survived the volcano's eruption.

Click on any photo for a larger view

"A Moment In Time" is an off-loom beaded bracelet that I made using copper-colored glass Luster cube beads for the majority of the bracelet. These are sewn together using only thread - it is the peyote or gourd stitch that holds them together.  These beads have a very slight pink-orange tone to them and are highly reflective.  Working with them under any source of light was a bit of a challenge - as they almost blinded me, they were so shiny.  It was my first time to work with cube beads, as I generally use round beads. The cube beads lock together in a very satisfying way. 

The central focal part of the bracelet consists of a rectangular Red Creek Jasper pendant, a turquoise Magnesite oval cabochon, and a red-orange Carnelian faceted cabochon.  These three stones were embroidered by hand onto Nicole's BeadBacking in the Hawk Wing color.  After sewing down these cabs and bezeling them with cut-crystal bicones and tiny seed beads, I added amber-colored matte size 15 Delica seed beads around each stone to highlight them.

Although it's difficult to see clearly, I've attached a tiny copper bumble bee that was a gift from my daughter-in-law in the lower right corner of the Jasper gemstone - it is attached with a loop of seed beads so that it can move, as it is anatomically correct both on the front and back of the bee.

The very edge of the bracelet is finished off in a picot edge that features turquoise Hematite cube beads given to me by my dear friend, Linda.  The central picot beads are a Luster magatama or tear- drop bead.  Underneath the middle part of the bracelet, I have sewn a soft, burnt sienna-colored square of UltraSuede.

Although you cannot see it in the photo, the Luster beads that make up the majority of the bracelet are very flexible and drape almost the way fabric does - the movement of this bracelet is fluid as it encircles the wrist.  The closure is comprised of three decorated beaded toggles with three loops on the opposite side which blend in with the rest of the bracelet.