Mark's aunt Judy has breast cancer. Thankfully, it's treatable. However, the treatment is difficult and long as it's compounded by her other health problems. Through it all she maintains her typical Judy positive attitude.
Judy is also a crafter. Like me, she's tried just about every craft out there. Unlike me, she excels at painting. In fact, her crafting skills compliment mine well as we're good at different things.
Since Judy truly appreciates crafters/artists, I decided to make her a gift in metal. This was truly a labor of love as it was my first time to set a stone, first pendant, first pin, and first of so many other things. However, I think it turned out quite well. It's also symbolic.
See if you can guess the meaning -
The ribbon is made of 18 gauge Sterling Silver that I cut into the shape. I hand drew the shape from memory. I used my ball ping hammer to forge a texture into the ribbon. It's polished to a high shine, which makes it very hard to take a good picture. The ends of the ribbon are also curved up to give the ribbon more life.
The cross is of highly polished copper (it's not enameled like the picture looks). I also hand drew and cut it. The pink stone is a 4mm round cut Pink Tourmaline and is set in a Sterling Silver tube. I drilled a hole in the back of the piece to allow more light to come through the stone to enhance shine.
Here's the back -
The bail is made of the same tubing the stone is set in. The pin back, however, is hand made (and hand sharpened) from 16 gauge Sterling Silver wire.
Judy can wear this as either a pin or a pendant. I figured she'd appreciate the versatility. The finished piece is about an inch wide by 2.5 inches long. The wavy edges of the ribbon were created when I forged the texture into it.
I aimed towards making a classier version of the typical breast cancer ribbon and including a cross. I think I succeeded. I plan to give it to her today and hope she likes it!
As for the meaning, you probably guessed it. It's simple. Hope plus Faith gets you through the fight. Of course you need medicine too, but the patient can only fight with hope and faith. Doctors provide the medicine.
This gift is also a temporary one. It's meant to be passed along as a sort of good luck charm. When she's cured, she can pass it to a friend or family member that needs it. Hopefully, she'll be cured and never need to pass it. However, breast cancer is currently prevalent enough that she will have to pass it to someone she knows. Or maybe this will be the decade that we find the cure. Through hope and faith, science just might...
This is so beautiful Karen and SO like you to do something so sweet!! :-) Anne
Posted by: Anne Brown | Monday, August 09, 2010 at 06:34 PM