pendant - The Wheel

Circle Within Spiral Wheel - Swarovski wirework focal Pendant

"The Wheel" for YOJ5-38 (CC77)

This was created for Beading Forum's weekly challenge: YOJ5-38 (Year of Jewellery, Year 5, 38th week).

Theme: The Wheel

I found quite a number of points of inspiration for this week's theme. I probably said this before but I do have to say again: one of the very best things about playing with these comps is the what ideas that a bit of research will reveal.

Personally I think it must keep the brain active. People worry about stealing ideas. But what seems to happen is when you see something and a spark gets triggered off in your brain which says something like .. "I wonder if I can do it this way ..." or "that might look really good in this technique ...", then those all important synapes in the brain gets fired off. And that is important to keeping one's brain alive, alert, and young!

I also found quite a number of texts and phrases that were very provocative:

* Wheels within wheels (a series of involved or interrelated circumstances, motives, etc. reacting upon one another)
* wheel of fortune (the wheel which the goddess of fortune was believed to rotate to bring about the alternations or reverses in human affairs)
* high wheel bicycles
* roulette wheels
* little wheel pasta
* chariot wheels
* ferris wheel
* steering wheel
* Buddhist prayer wheel
* spinning wheel
* (Tibetan) wheel of life
* water wheel
* pottery wheel
* wheel of time

The inspiration source that I finally chose for the pendant came from the lyrics of "The Windmills of Your Mind" by Sting and Police, specifically the following words:

Construction Notes

The pendant is fairly large and is made to be a eye-catching, stunning focal. The center rivoli, anchored to a grey mother of pearl ring is designed to have some swivel movement, thereby moving as you do and catching optimal light for maximum light refraction. In other words: BLING!!

It is made almost entirely from Swarovski Crystallized Elements. Only the sterling silver wire used, the 2 mother of pearl rings are not Swarovski.

The pendant features the following Swarovski articles:

• Cream Swarovski pearls - 6mm, 4mm, 3mm
• 5328 XILION bicone crystals - 2.5mm & 4mm in CAB (Crystal Aurore Borealis)
• 3015 Rivoli button in CAB (14mm)

Showing front and back:

The Swarovski rivoli button is wire-strung to both mother of pearl nesting rings, leaving a loop at both holes as it (the wire) exits. Then using very thin silver plated brass wires, the spiral made from Swarovski pearls and bicones are worked around and around to create the spiral. Then the bail is made last.