So here goes then...

Welcome to my first post...
...and thank you for stopping by.

Now, if you're wondering what all this gossiping goddess business is all about, please let me reassure you that it is not the inane ramblings of a self obsessed egotist with delusions of grandeur - well at least I hope it's not!

I've always adored jewellery with a bit of character and individuality and just over a year ago I started making it myself. I never dreamt that it would become such a huge part of my life, but the more I discovered about it the more addicted I became. Beads stopped being mundane everyday things and turned into gorgeous tiny little works of art as different as the people who made them. Metal became something to bend and mould into fantastic shapes with beautiful finishes. And then there was metal clay...

So that was it, I was a lost cause with a serious habit. So much so in fact that I've recently given up a full time career in Marketing to spend more time feeding my addiction and I'm having a great time! It never occurred to me when I started that I would be able to sell my work but I have, and now I've just uploaded my first items to my Etsy shop.

Coming up with a name for the shop caused me many sleepless nights trying to think of something that would fulfil all those must haves: short, snappy, memorable, available, encapsulates your product and brand - it just wasn't going to happen.

The name THEA kept coming into my head and I've no idea why other than I like the word, but I hit the laptop for a look around anyway. THEA it seems, was the Greek goddess of sight and the lights of the sky as personified by her children Helios, Selene and Eos - goddesses of the sun, moon and dawn. She also had dominion over gems and precious metals and their inherent light. well that seemed to me like a good enough reason to adopt her as a muse for my jewellery business, not to mention that a beautiful piece of jewellery should make anyone feel like a goddess!

So the shop was named and when it came to my blog well, I found a dictionary definition for gossip as 'light, easy communication' so it just seemed obvious...The Gossiping Goddess was born.


Let's get primitive...

If it wasn't enough to launch my Etsy shop and start blogging for the first time, I also submitted my first entry to the 'Art Bead Scene' (ABS) monthly challenge this week. For those who may not know, ABS is a group of art bead enthusiasts that host a monthly challenge to design a piece of jewellery using a work of art as inspiration. I've been watching the wonderful creations that come out of this for the last few months and finally decided to bite the bullet and have a go myself.

This months work is a painting by Paul Gauguin called 'Nave, Nave Moe' (Sacred Spring).

I love the vibrancy of this painting and wanted to keep my piece fairly simple in keeping with the primitive style of Gauguin's work. My necklace uses strong colour with simple materials (like dyed lava stone, leather and Greek ceramic), shapes and construction and gives a nod to the tropics with the shell charm. I had a lot of fun with this and was quite pleased with my first attempt at the challenge.

I think this style might be quite popular in today's beach/surf culture. I might have to try hawking my wares at the  local seafront come summer - what do you think?

                                        

I hope you've enjoyed my first post and please feel free to leave me any feedback as there's plenty of room for improvement. Any useful tips for an Etsy newbie will also be accepted with thanks.

March ABS Challenge blog tour here:

http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2011/03/march-monthly-challenge-blog-tour.html