I know it’s been a long time since I’ve written but I’ve been very busy making necklaces. After Thanksgiving I’ll be posting designs for Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and many pieces on my Etsy shop are on sale for the holidays.

But I wanted to tell you about this one necklace in particular because it really does have a lovely story to tell.

Those of you who regularly read the blog may remember a recent post about Arlene and Tilly’s antique glass beads? See http://high-road-artist.com/16953/an-artful-life/magic/

These beads were collected over the lifetimes of generations of one Taos Pueblo beading family. The last member of that family, Arlene, willed her remaining collection to my friend and “bead fairy,” Tilly Nichols. And Tilly has been letting me buy some of her remaining jewels from time to time, for which I am forever grateful. What beginning beader has ever been so blessed?

That bead above, the big, central, glowing red one, was the oldest bead in the family’s collection. Even Arlene didn’t know its age, just that it was handed down from her grandmother and cherished as the most ancient of the collection.

It is a very, very old trade bead and I’ve been waiting for just the right piece in which to use it. I felt a Kwanzaa necklace was appropriate.

When I think about our times and this throw-away culture we find ourselves in, I am even more touched by the story of this bead that has lasted through the ages. It has been cherished and saved. We all could learn something from that.

But there’s another message the necklace has to share. Notice the sterling charms on its ends? A turkey (the Indian’s “giving eagle”) and a peace sign. I want to wish you all the peace you desire during this busy holiday season and lots and lots of that giving eagle, in more ways than one.

Love to you all,

Jeane