I have to confess to being pretty ignorant on the subject of Labyrinths but fortunately Jenny gave us some insight in her original post which you can find here. Found in many cultures she explained how historically they were seen as a symbolic path to God and often served as a substitute to a religious pilgrimage. Labyrinths have only one clear path from the edge to the centre and out again and today they have become popular as a walking meditation that can help to inspire and help to centre oneself. Jenny felt that this was an appropriate symbol with New Year's being a time where we all feel resolved to start afresh and I couldn't agree more.
Edinburgh Labyrinth - United Kingdom |
This is the pendant I received from Jenny - a lovely weathered copper colour.
I'm very much into layered or tiered pendants at the moment and as I was given a set of letter punches for Christmas I thought this would be a good opportunity to try them out - this is the finished design I came up with...
I chose copper to work with the verdigris glaze and cut a little bar which I stamped with the legend 'follow your own path' because I sometimes need reminding to aim for the things I want rather than those others want for me. I hammered and oxidised the bar to give it some depth and age and then attached it to the pendant.
I found a bronze charm in my stash that featured a motif that almost looked like an old decaying labyrinth so I used a little verdigris and copper patina to pull the ensemble together and added it to the bottom of the pendant.
At this point I wanted to keep the design simple and uncluttered to capture the contemplative element of the labyrinth so I decided to hang the pendant from a simple copper chain. I made a spiral wire clasp to echo the motif and added a simple ceramic bead to give balance and that was it - job done.
I'm off to see how my AJE team mates and our guests where inspired by Jenny's components and you can join me using the links below. Happy New Year and good fortune for 2013!
This months guests of honour:
And participating AJE team members:
Enjoy!
Lesley