Featured Artist – Sharpwear

 

My Mother kept her jewelry in the top drawer of a high dresser. I’m not sure if she did this out of convenience or to to keep her valuables away from little scroungers like me but regardless, her efforts were in vain. I still remember the many times I dragged her vanity stool over to climb up and pull open her wondrous stash of treasure. I would spend hours gazing at her pieces, even the broken ones, especially the broken ones. I remember feeling a kind of sadness for the stray pearls, clasps and out-of-fashion goodies that Mom refused to throw away. Somewhere along the line she allowed me to keep many of those magic bits and baubles. Thus began my life-long habit of never being without a box of beads and findings.

When I was a teen, I begged my Uncle for his scrap leather so I could cut it into circles, squares and triangles, draw on them with India ink and pierce them with ear wires. In my twenties, I developed a fascination for disposable plastic. I melted lighting gels and gaily colored bar straws into 80’s punk adornment. When I became a mother, I tucked the bead box away, only breaking it out for fashioning Christmas gifts and the occasional bout of meditative therapy. Last Christmas, I ordered a few spools of wrapping wire to stretch my jewelry-making supplies from the previous Christmas. While I had intended to use the wire in a functional manner, form took over. Every member of my extended family received a handmade, wire-wrapped gift. Keychains, necklaces, earrings and wire puzzles for the kids.

Not long after that the economy took a downturn. Eventually that downturn caught up with me and I lost half the income from my day job. While I’m still not sure how I got there, a Google image search turned up a photo of a Cilice. I thought it was beautiful, dangerous but beautiful. From the moment I saw it, I knew I had to make one. After forming the basic barbed links I decided that this ancient  form of corporal mortification-wear deserved a place on the stage of 21st century culture. No more plain links with thong ties. No more hiding under clothes. No more shame. I would take Cilices, bejewel them and sell them to the adventurous masses. I realize that Cilices aren’t for everyone but I am positive they are for very special someones.

Initially, I made Cilice necklaces but after trial and error I realized that the best form for my new venture was in Cilice bracelets. I call them CILICELETS. Let me be perfectly clear. My Ciliclets do not hurt. The barbs are filed down and frankly, the pieces are so airy one can barely feel the slight tug of each link. At the moment, I am making my Cilicelets from oxidized, 20 gauge steel. I’m waiting on a fresh supply of silver, gold and other colored wires to come in the mail. I plan to work my way up to true silver and filled-gold wire, buying from my profits as I make sales. I built an online store for the necklaces but have opened an Etsy store for the Cilicelets. I use both Twitter and Blogger to help market my wares.

One of the first places I found when looking for online communities is the Handmade Artists Forum. Despite my offbeat designs, I’ve found the HAF members to be friendly, generous and sincerely interested in furthering the livelihoods of the everyone. I truly appreciate this chance to tell my story and will always be grateful to the wonderful people of the Handmade Artists Forum.

Love,
~sharpwear~

Check out my creations at Sharp-wear.com
Also find my work on Etsy.
Follow me on Twitter.

                             

 

Tags: beads, cilice, Cilicelet, handcrafted, Handmade, pearls, wire, wirewrapped

Posted in Handmade Harbor