Trends...

The cool thing about getting older is that you begin to understand yourself better and better.  You see a pattern developing.  I noticed my thoughts on trends about a year ago.  Take the owl for instance.

My daughter is owl crazy.  She really loves them.  And sometimes I wonder.  Is this a natural inclination of hers?  Or is it because owls for a time were everywhere?  In jewelry,  art,  paintings, postcards, ceramics, clothing, accessories, stationary, home decor.  Did the fact that owls were trending so hard influence her love of the owl?  I don't know.  I'm sure it had a hand in it.

Me personally, I recognize the fact that these things are trends, and I avoid them as long as possible.  Until they beat me down and I have to admit that I kinda like such and such.  Not kinda like, really like.
That's how I felt about feathers.  There are some amazing artists out there doing their thing with feathers.  There are feathers everywhere.  My girls have shirts with feathers on them, they wear feather earrings.  My friends started showing up with feather earrings.  It's like I ignored the feather on purpose just because the world made me feel like it was stuffing them down my throat.

I notice that feathers are on the decline.  We were at Justice today and no more feathers on the clothes, although they did still have a few pairs of earrings.  I'm not surprised really, I've noticed that this is a pattern of mine.  I watch a trend closely, and then just as it is on it's way out the door, I decide to give it a go.

Roller printed with a feather.  The texture is very fine and beautiful.  This was my first feather.

 This one is roller printed as well.



I had a yearning to pair a feather with the oval conchos, and when I went to finish these feathers after they were sawed out, I couldn't find my bag of feathers to roller print with.

So I despaired for a bit then decided I needed to find another way to make my feathers....

 With a hammer and a chisel I laid down each barb one line at a time.  I held my breath through much of it not knowing how it would turn out!

I really love them.  A lot.  I added the pop of Turquoise at the last second.

It's impossible not to feel the American West in my very bones when working with such Native elements.

And they would be a fabulous companion piece to my Fiesta Del Sol bracelet!

Fiesta Del Sol

The earrings are listed in my Etsy shop.