Maaaan, I am feeling stoked. And buzzed from the giant mug of chai I drank to power me through finishing a rosary this evening. It's after midnight, but I can go to bed knowing that I don't have to worry about this order! It's for a friend's son's confirmation, and he likes red and black. So, I made him a rosary out of dyed red agate, smoky quartz and black wood. It's pretty sweet. And he's a teenage boy so I didn't go overboard on the bling either.
I thought I'd post some pictures of my very first rosaries that I ever did! I thought they were the greatest things in the whole world, not because they were particularly unique or even well made, but I taught myself how to do it and that was a big accomplishment for my awkward fingers!
Check this out:
I'd lay all the finished pieces out just like this and stare at the pretty colours and sparkly beads. And even though these beginning rosaries were made out of the most basic of materials, with no caps or crystals or anything, each one would take me nearly a DAY to complete. And the findings/crucifixes were just the cheapest of base metals- the supplier I work with makes their crosses and centres available in several different grades of material. I now use pewter or sterling, but back then I could only afford the tin and nickel. The white rosary on the far left is the very first one I ever made, and it took me 2 days and is truly pitiful. It's the only one that I have left from those days, and it hangs proudly in my bedroom in all its gnarled glory.
My dad was always my biggest fan, and he'd insist that I email him pictures of any new rosary I'd completed. I'd even pack them all up with me when I went to visit him, and we'd look through them and think of ways to improve them. It's stuff like that that is hard- I've made so many pieces that I know my dad would LOVE, and sometimes I make rosaries using his favourite colours or stones just because they remind me of him. I so miss his excitement and support and interest in my life.
This is a rosary I made a few months after my first examples above:
Carnelian and brass filigree. I still love this rosary, and I still love carnelian and gold together. This rosary went to a good friend of mine. I was really proud of this piece, it was the first time I took a few risks with the design and it looked so opulent. This rosary was the very first true 'Ava' rosary (re: blingy)
It's interesting watching the progression of my passion. When I started making these a few years ago I had no idea how much fun I'd have, how fulfilled I'd feel and how many eyepins I'd spear my feet on.
To many more beads, eyepins and sparkly things!
A
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