Dreams and Dragonflies

I'd like to share some details of a client's custom project I finished for the holidays. My client Paul wanted a custom sterling silver Maria necklace. The front of the necklace would have a black and white photograph of a dear loved one, and for the tiny square image on the back of the necklace he wanted a dragonfly.

Let me show you how I  took the dragonfly from sketch to finished piece:

{the wing structure of a dragonfly amazed me}

I ordered mossy green beads of faceted emeralds for the finished necklace, and sketched a dragonfly with colored pencils. It did not have to be very detailed, because wait until you see how tiny the sketch will become!

{I carefully position the tiny photograph with precision tweezers}

 I photographed my dragonfly sketch and reworked the image in Photoshop. A local Pro Lab printed the miniature original photograph on archival paper for me.

{the back of the necklace as I was working on it}

I was thrilled with this beautiful custom piece when done, and the necklace was a wonderfully received Christmas gift for Paul's wife Tami. Paul chose the dragonfly because of the powerful message of transformation a dragonfly represents. Read the insightful quote by Walter Dudley Cavert here.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, and I'm especially struck by power of transformation. The future is in the the generations that follow us. Take the time to remind the children in your life of the power of hope.

Loretta