Namárië

I finished this calligraphy piece several months ago but forgot to blog it-- it's J.R.R. Tolkien's beautiful poem Namárië from The Lord of the Rings. It is written in Quenya (the High Elvish language). On the left, the poem is written in our alphabet, and on the write, it is written in the Tengwar (Elvish) script.

The poem is a beautiful piece which the Lady Galadriel sings to Frodo when the Fellowship leaves Lothlorien to destroy the Ring. 

I didn't have space to fit the entire poem on my little sheet of paper board, so I just used the first stanza and stuck the final two lines (about farewells and finding Valinor) on at the end. 

The border was done entirely freehand using india ink and watercolors. I am pretty proud of it-- this was my first time making an Art Nouveau border, and I'm getting better at making celtic knots with decorative tips.

The heraldic device at the top is the symbol for Feanor, as designed by Tolkien himself. I thought this device would be fitting because not only is Feanor Galadriel's anscestor (if I have my genealogy straight), but it was mostly because of his family that the Elves were banished from Valinor-- and this poem is all about Galadriel's longing for Valinor when she thought she could not return, but nonetheless wished that Frodo may make it there one day. (Valinor is sort of like an Elvish heaven-- sort of, not really, but it's the best description I can come up with off the top of my head).

Here's the English version of the poem:

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind,
long years numberless as the wings of trees!
The years have passed like swift draughts
of the sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the West,
beneath the blue vaults of Varda
wherein the stars tremble in the song of her voice, holy and queenly.

Who now shall refill the cup for me?

For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars,
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds,
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow;
and out of a grey country darkness lies on the foaming waves between us,
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.
Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar!
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar.
Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell!

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For those of you complete Tolkienites, the title of this blog post ("Farewell") is not about me saying farewell to blogging or anything. I have one more crazy busy week of school left, and after that I will be taking a couple of days to just do nothing and not feel guilty about it (in other words, I will curl up on the hammock for two days and do nothing but devour some novels and drink lots of iced tea and catch up on TV shows before bed). After that, however, I will be working on some of the hundreds of creative projects that have been clanking around in my brain. :) 

It's so incredibly strange to think that I am almost done with high school. It's been a beautiful four years and I've learned and grown so much! For all of you still in school, when does your summer vacation begin?

The Dragon's Treasure Chest

A red flower necklace-- perhaps brought to life by an Autumn Fairy? Handmade, of course, by moi. :)

Fair maidens dwell in fairytales. So do chivalrous knights, courageous children, evil monsters, magical creatures, and treasure chests. It's a world full of marvels, and once we've come out and returned to the real world, the stories remind us that every real thing is in itself a wonder and a marvel.

This post isn't supposed to be a rambling on the land of Faerie, however. I just wanted to let you know that I have made many new pieces of jewelry!

My last "big batch of jewelry" post was inspired by everything Elvish. This batch comes to you straight out of the dragon's treasure trove. Most were inspired by fairytales!

These jewels all have that touch of whimsy that will bring the sparkle and marvel of the Land of Faerie into the Land of Earth.

Click for bigger images!

Blog readers may be familiar with this design-- it was my first attempt at some extremely complicated wirewrapping techniques. Named the Flower Garden, it was inspired by the sorts of gardens that are so beautiful you expect a fairy or a magical portal to appear!

edit: pink ones sold! I'll be making more!

Pixie Dust earrings! You can't go wrong with swirls of color and sparkling beads. :)

Another wirewrapped necklace. I could just see a mermaid or naiad wearing this... :)

And earrings to match. :) Oh, btw, what do you think about the earrings stand I made?

A royal necklace. Man, am I proud of this. :) Made with copper wire from A Beaded Affair. LOVE the wire. And having too much fun learning how to make filigree style necklaces!

Just another shot of the same necklace. :)

A snowflake set. I was actually inspired to make this after re-watching Tilda Swinton play the White Witch in Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. But don't worry. This jewelry set will not turn you into stone!

Another new technique! This filigree beaded necklace is made with copper wire that I carefully twisted and twisted around on a jig. It's surprising how much wire and time it took-- but I think I need to do more like this. It was so much fun to make.

Another Fairy Garden necklace-- only this one is made entirely out of copper and green glass beads.

Some leafy earrings that remind me of Mirkwood from LotR.

A seashell swirl pendant! I think it must have washed up on a beach... perhaps a little peasant boy found it and it started a whole new adventure. (Can you tell that I like making up stories as I work on designing jewelry?)

So this one isn't exactly fairytale-ish. But it's chainmaille and its black and its cool. :)

You can't get more fairytale-ish than a royal circlet... but this headpiece can also be worn as a sparkling headband and would totally not look out of place with a modern outfit.

These silver-plated chainmaille earrings would go equally well with jeans and a t-shirt or a noble gown.

More long and slender Elvish earrings! I've made several of these in all sorts of colors. :) This one is hand-formed silver-plate wire and two deep purple leaf beads. The swirls could pass as music notes, too!

My workbench is full of many more things that still need the final tweaks before I get them uploaded. There should be a new batch coming soon!

In the meantime, check out all the Elven jewelry I made earlier.

Rivendell's Twilight

All of this jewelry is available in my Shoppe as well as being fairytale eye-candy for you today. I hope these designs made you smile!

(And perfect timing, too. Right now it's Christmas in July! The entire store is on a 10% off sale until the last day of July 2011!)

The Evenstar Set.

Elven Inspirations

*fangurl squeal*

Have you seen the new behind-the-scenes video for The Hobbit? You can watch it right here if you haven't:

Here is the Hobbit Movie News website. It sounds like they are changing things up from the books a bit... adding in more of the stories happening at Middle Earth during the time of the Hobbit (not just telling the Hobbit story). They started filming a couple months ago. I can't wait can't wait can't wait for this movie!

This brings back so many memories... makes me want to re-watch The Lord of the Rings ...makes me marvel at how much detail is in the set and how little you actually get to see in the movies (just look at that Rivendell!) ...and got me into a full-blown inspirational swing.

I'm now re-addicted to Elvish designs.

Last month was good for sales, so I had a bit of extra money to spend on the Shoppe. I splurged on new (albeit a wee bit more expensive) colors and styles of my favorite Czech glass leaf beads.

I'll take you through a picture tour of some of my new designs! (I say some because these are just the items that I have actually taken the time to photograph and upload to the Shoppe... and I still have plenty of beads left!)

Please have a peek at these new designs! Click each image to see more and larger pictures of the jewelry!

My Evenstar design has always been very popular. I rarely make the same exact Evenstar more than once (unless it is a custom order)... This one is reversible. One side is a shiny gold-green, and the other a pale sage. It features little swirls, genuine Swavroski pearls, and a 3-strand-half-braided ribbons in matching colors.

I've figured out a much prettier and sturdier way to make my second most popular design-- Enchanted Forest Earrings. 

So... I made Evenstar/Forest Earring sets! This one is reversible-- one side iridescent blues, and the other deep midnight tones. Also, check out the star beads on the Evenstar... aren't they exquisite? I was so happy to find them on sale!

Another Evenstar/Forest Earrings set... in Pixie Pink. With pink wire, oh yeah!

And now for some Evenstar variations! Arwen's Evenstar has more of a "droplet" look than my twist on the Evenstar. The above is my attempt to replicate the shape in the original Evenstar.

btw, just for fun, here is a picture of the Evenstar necklace from the movies:

I took the techniques that I use to make Evenstars and combined them with some brand-new and pretty difficult wirewrapping techniques that I just figured out. 

Click for bigger pictures-- I learned how to weave wire, attach beads ontop of leaf beads, and create a "zig zag" wire filler.

When I got the new leaf beads and had so many pretty colors and new techniques to work with, I just had to experiment! The above is a pretty, freeform pink and purple necklace.

Another freeform Elven/fairy necklace... It's all swirly. :)

FYI, several of these new experimental designs are OOAK (one of a kind, meaning I will never make them again)-- especially these freeform necklace. They were fairly difficult to make, using special beads, and there is no way I can replicate them exactly.

So, if you do get one of these, you'll be assured that you'll be the only one with that style necklace! And if one of these designs sells but you want a copy... I can't do it. I can do something inspired by the original design, perhaps similar, but won't be able to replicate it.

Hair combs! I looooove hair combs and was so glad to be able to make them!

Another new technique-- I've figured out how to form the Czech leaf beads into a flower!!! This necklace features details all the way up the string, and it is reversible. That means that it was alot harder to make... but I'm so happy to have figured it out! ...it "only" required breaking two of my beads...

This sweet little pendant combines my new wire weaving techniques and the leaf-beads-into-pretty-flowers-thing.

Ohmygoodness. I was so tempted to keep these earrings for myself (I wound up making myself some in a different color).

I figured out a very pretty way to wirewrap leaf beads (leftover ones that I don't have enough of that color of to make other Elven designs).

The ear wires are Elf-style earwires handmade by me. (Yes, I figured out how to make ear wires, harden them, and file the ends!!!).

The earrings look long, but that is just because they are so slender and elegant. They are actually shorter than my Enchanted Forest Earrings-- they are under 2 inches long total.

 I only had a little bit of pink wire left and decided to see if I could make even spirals, coils, and bead cages. Result-- pretty whimsical little things.

 I LOVE THE PARASOL! Is it bad to be so excited about something I made? 

I used all of my new techniques and it's so pretty. Pinks and golds... It looks like a parasol or seashell. And it's on one of of my 4-strand ribbons and hangs fairly long and I was so tempted to keep it for myself...

 A fairy bracelet cuff...

 Wirewrapped bracelet... My little sister called it a Princess Bracelet.

This bracelet features handmade wire beads! It's inspired by Steampunk, but I think it's also very fantasy looking, what'dya thunk?

Easy Celtic Knotwork

I know, you're thinking, "Does such a thing exist?"

Today is St. Patrick's Day! Time to wear some green, get pinched if you don't, and watch some parades. 

Oh, yeah, and it's also a day to celebrate and remember the holy life of this missionary saint. Have you read his beautiful prayer yet? 

I saw this video a few days ago (in a roundabout way it is thanks to a blog commenter). Some very fancy mathematical thingamabob called graph theory makes simple Celtic knotwork extremely easy. I just had to share! And what better day than the Feast of St. Patrick? :)

Those of you who have said, "Wow, Celtic knotwork looks cool, but way to hard for me" (which would be everyone who said anything)-- you now have no excuse. :)

You, like me, are about to be captivated by the beautiful art of drawing Celtic knotwork... without the tangles of headaches.

This video is by Vi Hart, a "recreational mathemusician." You might have to watch the video a few times, because shetalksasfastasIdowhenIgetexcited (translates to: she talks as fast as I do when I get excited.)

Basically, all you have to do is draw a random squiggle-- but make sure each loop is obvious and that the ends are either connected or very obviously seperate.

Next, use that squiggle as a guideline to make the "over-under" pattern.

One very neat thing-- when using this method, any direction that you go and any amount of branchings that you take always make a perfect "over-under" pattern, assuming you are starting off of one point.

I'm sure that there is a mathematical reason for that, but I just think it's neat.

Now, finish drawing your knot and "decorate it."

TaDa! Super easy, what did I tell you?

You can use Sharpies, markers, pencils...

And if you have a very thick marker, it's even easier to draw the knot. Just make your squiggle-rope with one swish of the marker, and then trace the over-under pattern.

Now, there are some obvious limitations to this technique. The main problem is that freehand drawings of such geometric patterns always turn out somehwhat lopsided. As long as it takes, grids and compasses are useful.

Also, using a scribble like this makes it neigh impossible to draw more complicated knots. You can only use one strand (or a couple if you are talented), and if you want a structured look with no spaghetti, you have to be able to visualize it beforehand. For complicated patterns or spaces, the grid method is better-- as much as I detest grids!

If you are really getting into knotwork, please check out the post where I share my favorite (beginner) tutorials.

But why am I going on about the limitations? The "scribble method" is so easy! I highly doubt you Fairy People are as insane as I am. You probably don't care much about complicated knotwork. You probably aren't writing your next English paper on the history of Celtic knotwork.

Don't ask. The left page is true spagetti knotwork, and the right is what I do when I am bored...

___________

I love Vi Hart's videos. I wish all math could be taught this way. I would learn so much more! This reminds me of non-Eucledian geometry... I liked it because M.C. Escher did a really neat drawing with it that got me interested.

Seriously... I don't like numbers-- I prefer shapes and finding the little patterns in things (but only after I know the big picture-- I'm all right brained like that, and the rest of my family doesn't understand me). This is why I loved geometry (except for the proofs) and detest Alegbra II with vehemence.

Here are a few more of her Math Doodle videos:

This is seriously cool. I love these ideas... math can be neat. (I did not just say that.)

Hehe. Check out this video that's a bit of a spinoff of Vi Hart's. Very funny for the camel/needle joke. Bit more math than I can follow at bullet speed, though.

Does this remind anyone of M.C. Escher? Here he combined tessellations and the hyperbolic plane.

image source

Random fact: Did you know that the hyperbolic plane can be make out of crochet? It's the only medium that works...

Wow-- art, math, and Greek mythology? This girl isn't a mathemusican but a mathemagician. (Yes, I think I'm punny).

This is as of two weeks ago: "Let's say you're in math class. You're supposed to be learning about exponential functions, but you're having trouble caring about exponential functions."

I still don't care about exponential functions-- at least when logarithms and other bizzare things are concerned-- but do you know what? This visual description of exponential growth is both fun and makes much more sense than a graph with an asymptote.

Now go check out Vi Hart's website. She does many random artsy-mathsy things.

Since I'm on the topic of artsy-things, I thought I'd share this link with you. A very nice set of articles. A friend of mine (curse you, Perry the Platypus! *cough* I mean "Sir Humnus") made me spend an entire week pondering dimensions and tesseracts and whatnot. Seriously, he gave me one link and managed to take over my mind. I had a strange dream concerning a box that is a nail suddenly appearing in the middle of my room... Oh, and read the book Flatland. I got it free on my iPod. It's like... extreme awesomeness.

I wish math classes could be taught like this!!!

...okay. This post went on a LONG tangent. :)

(edit: I did a video about drawing celtic knots here!)

Car Part Anvil and Celtic Knotwork

*best hillbilly voice* Ma daddy's reaaaal awesome. 'E got mea anvil!

That's right-- I now have an anvil for hammering wire jewelry. You'll never guess what the anvil actually is!

Honestly, I'm not even sure what this thing is. All I know is that it is a car part. Dad used to work in the automotive industry, and this is a casting of a thingamabobbers he worked on.


This random car part works wonderfully as that anvil I had on my wish list. I scrubbed it clean (even though it doesn't look it!) and have driven my family crazy with the bang, bang, bang of the hammer.

My brother is now officially jealous of me. His dream is to become a blacksmith someday, and he's been asking for a real anvil for ages. This is the first time he's actually bothered to help me make some jewelry!

I've been having too much fun with this whole idea of hammering wire. Below you can see all of the trinkets I have made so far:

I'm really impressed with how well this works! The hammering really strengthens the aluminum wire and is so pretty and sturdy!

And... I can do CELTIC KNOTWORK in jewelry!!!

I've listed some beautiful new hammered-wire jewelry on my artfire Shoppe! And on quite the sale, I tell you. :)

Since this is a new technique, I've got all the new designs on a first-batch sale for under five dollars-- some as low as one or two bucks! Seriously, that's like the price of the chain the designs come on. I would love it if some of you Faerie People could try out some of these designs and tell me what you think!


I've already made myself a pretty knotwork bracelet, which I shall wear on St. Patrick's day.




Now all I need is a wire jig... I'm having fun free-forming all of this, but whenever I try a repeating pattern (such as my bracelet, which you can see in the middle of the picture), I can't get it even.

That and sterling silver. Because if I were using silver wire, not aluminum, I'd be able to tell these same designs for $30! Seriously-- I was browsing Etsy and Artfire for inspiration. Apparently no one makes these desings in aluminum... but they do plenty in silver. You can have the same designs for 1/6 the cost. Although, I wish I could afford to work in sterling silver wire. (I'll do it if I have a custom order! Hint, hint!)


By the way, I was inspired to ask about an anvil after looking at my friend Leia's post on her hammered wire earrings. I fell in love with those... You can see that I used the same design on a necklace-- except I hammered much more.