Booooo!

The beads for the teacher's gifts came by Fed Ex tonight. The girls gave the teachers their necklaces on chains today. They both reported that they put them on straight away. But, I am still bummed that I didn't get to use the onyx for a bearded necklace. I am lamenting that they didn't made it on time. So, in trying to turn a - into a + I have pulled out my black cabochon box and am dreaming up a way to use those onyx beads after all! A couple of the stones in the black stone box are perhaps stones that only a mother could love. And that got me thinking about Don Norris and his thoughts on design. Don Norris, you'll remember, is my teacher from the one and only fabrication class I took. According to Don, when you have an ugly stone, you do elaborate silver work around it so the ugly stone is less noticeable. A pretty stone, you don't need all the extra mumbo jumbo. And I remember looking at him and thinking, "well, now why would you work with an ugly stone to begin with?" Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. It might be time to let the ugly ducklings fly!