Soutache (Or Why It Pays to Persist)

I saw a piece of handmade jewelry on the internet three weeks ago.  It was a graceful swirl of beads and something that looked like very, very, very thin ribbon. I oohed and aahhhhd and drooled. I spent long minutes staring at it and wondering "How'd she do that?".

A couple of clicks on the mouse and I was Googling "soutache".  Heck, I didn't even know how to pronounce the word so it's a good thing Google can't hear.  And for the next week each time I got home, I would scour the world wide web looking for clues as to how I could learn how to make this.  The blog posts I found were mostly dead-ends -- many of them contained photos but no instructions I could sink my teeth into.  So I went to my next go to source of tutorials -- YouTube. LOL.

Two nights later, after typing in variations of the search query "soutache jewelry" (among others: soutache, soutache braid, soutache jewelry tutorial, how to make soutache jewelry, what the heck is soutache jewelry anyway) I finally found something. I waited for the video to play, my hands clasped on my lap like a little girl waiting for Christmas.  The lady who had uploaded the tutorial began to speak -- in ITALIAN. Groan.

But I figured I'd watch it and since I learn better visually, I turned off the speakers and watched. And watched it again. And again. And again. And again. And after a while even the lady's glitter nails stopped bothering me so much.

To add to the challenge I even turned up the speakers one time and tried to decipher what she was saying. LOL.  (I couldn't but it was fun.)

Two weeks and three days later, I finished my first soutache piece:

I challenged myself to make something a little more symmetrical, more controlled, less free form.  This is what happened

After all that metallic soutache I wanted to go back to more earthy tones and this is what I came up with

Persistence does pay off. 

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish to Let Go Of?

She lived in that pretty little house, a long time ago when she was young and had the whole world sitting in a glass jar she held on her lap.  One day, she was startled by some noise and the glass jar slipped and fell, breaking into a million pieces of jagged snowflakes.  Her world, contained as it was in the glass jar, fell too, and all those who populated her royal kingdom lay either dead or dying in the deadly carpet of glass.

She watched the tiny, tiny driblets of red as they slowly spread on the carpet of glass shards.  She listened intently for any sound that meant some of those from her kingdom still lived.  Hearing none, she carefully sifted through the sharp glass with the point of her shoe, gingerly at first, then with more urgency when it slowly became clear that no one in the world she held so tightly in her lap had lived. 

She screamed.  Long and loud and with such a keening noise that her voice travelled to the depths of the ocean and bounced back up to the far reaches of sky and space.  Her screaming began at noon and stopped only when it was time for dinner -- of the following day.

I wish to let go of the world that no longer makes me happy. I had thought for a time it was all I needed but now, as I go farther on my journey, I realize there is more to life than hanging onto a broken glass bowl and keening over shattered dreams.

New lives can be created, dead dreams nourishment for new ones. 

(The little story above is something I wrote a few months ago during an afternoon when nothing much was happening. I wrote this rather spontaneously, and the words came almost instantly leaping from mind to pen to paper.  I had always wondered what it was about and why i wrote it -- until today.)

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish to Make Time For?

My paints lie idle on the shelf where I keep them.  My brushes, all clean and spiffy, have not been touched for weeks.  My painting partner, my two-year old niece, has stopped asking me to paint with her – she knows what I will say: “Tata is busy today baby.”

There are two unfinished journal pages waiting for me and each night when I come home I look their way longingly, calculating how much time I would need to add something to at least one and then walking away when I figure out that it will take too much time from what I need to do.

Need to do? Did I just say that – NEED TO DO.

Yup, I guess I did. As in:

I need to do this because it puts food on the table.

I need to do this because the deadline’s coming up.

I need to do this because if I don’t, no one else will and we’ll all be screwed.

I wish that soon I will make the time to do what I DON’T need to do.

As in:

I don’t need to draw but it helps me see things better, deeper.

I don’t need to experiment with mixing colors and layering them but it’s fun to see what the results of these experiments are.

I don’t need to make that necklace but wearing it when it’s finished will make my step lighter.

I don’t need to read this book but sitting down and digesting each and every word will satisfy a gnawing hunger inside.

I don’t need to stick out my neck but doing so will mean I would have one less “what if” to worry about.

I don't need to sit down and write out what I wish, but they have all come true so far and it won't hurt to try.