Past Designs Gallery 2

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This GALLERY continues to showcase sold and gifted AbyA  globally inspired handcrafted jewelry. If unfamiliar with AbyA, or  simply curious, you may appreciate viewing these pieces.  Selling prices are included. 

Six Maine tourmaline polished stones are the stars of this set.  Originally, the stones had been strung on a double silver chain spaced 1 1/2 inches apart with a knot on either side.  A friend, who had inherited this family heirloom, asked that the artist re-string the nuggets in a different design that would feature them more to her taste.  The Ghanaian hand-made, mint green round and disc-shaped glass beads from Cedi's Beads in Krobo, Ghana were selected from the artist's supply to be incorporated in a design that would highlight the beautiful tourmaline and form matching earrings.  Four small round light green wooden beads from a Hawaiian necklace previously gifted to the artist finish the necklace on each end.  The silver chain and lobster claw hook are recycled from a necklace of her mother-in-law.   The end result -- a stunning piece of handcrafted jewelry!  (Materials collected 2004 - 2015)

 A remake for a friend

Wishing to create something special to wear to her daughter's upcoming movie premiere in Atlanta was the artist's inspiration for this exotic handcrafted jewelry set.  Having already dismantled a nephrite jade necklace from Myanmar given to her by a Bangladeshi friend, she began the designing process.  Along with the jade, she added small garnet nuggets from a strand acquired in Nepal while trekking. To add some dazzle to the ensemble, she included clear Italian crystal faceted beads from a bracelet she had acquired in Venice while traveling with a friend after college graduation.  Once designed, the jewelry maker crafted a necklace with two different but complementary strands, as well as earrings and a bracelet. "Asian Goddess" is as distinctive as it is beautiful! (Materials collected during various travels 1964 - 1993)

My eldest daughter gave her sister a lovely necklace purchased from a jewelry maker at the Eastern Market in Washington, D.C.  The beautiful blue glass segments encased in silver did not lay flat around the neck, so I dismantled the necklace and transformed each segment into a separate pendant to be strung alongside beads of various blue shades that complemented the hue of the pendants.  For the strand, I used deep blue glass discs made in Ghana at Cedi's Beads, north of Accra, along with smaller blue bone spacer beads from a South Asian Indian necklace gifted to me while living in Bangladesh.   Also included in the strand are light blue glass beads from one of my mother-in-law's necklaces.  After completing the necklace, two of the pendants remained  unused.  So, I made earrings to match the necklace and bracelet (which did not require alteration.)  I was thrilled with the transformed jewelry set!  (Materials collected 1991 - 2006)

A remake for my daughter

When a close friend's sister  was diagnosed with cancer a second time, the artist wanted to create a special "healing necklace" for her, to hopefully cheer and support her through her treatment regime.  She decided to incorporate the color purple and crystals into the jewelry, as they are known for their healing elements. Deep purple amethyst beads, originally from Nazca , Peru, but purchased at a beach front gem shop in Paracas, grace the center section of the necklace, while the small Italian crystal faceted beads from Venice, purchased during a post-college trip, add sparkle.   Small opaque light bluish/purplish beads, also Peruvian, were gifted to the artist by her daughter as the original necklace they were on had broken.  The fluted silver beads included in the necklace and earrings are from jewelry that had belonged to  the artist's mother-in-law.  Small seed beads from Kathmandu, Nepal are included in the earrings.  The set is reminescent of the strength of character and inner and outer beauty of the lovely woman receiving it as a gift.  Thus, the name - "Strength and Beauty". (Materials collected during various travels and from family 1964 - 2014)  

Gifted to a friend's sister

Freshwater  pearls from Bangladesh and polished garnet nuggets from Nepal, all collected by the artist in the 1990's during her five and a half years of residing and working in South Asia, coalesce perfectly in this handcrafted jewelry set.  The 'slightly pink-tinted, flattened' pearls, a 'signature Bangladeshi 'jewel' , were initially strung as an all-pearl necklace purchased in Dhaka for her younger daughter.  Now, three decades later, that original necklace has been updated and recycled to include the garnet nuggets, found by the artist  in the famous Durbar Square street market while visiting Kathmandu from her home in Dhaka in 1990. Twenty-five years later, she found the smaller, round garnets in a well-regarded jewelry store in Jaipur, India.  With a mother's love and artist's touch, the three bead forms have been combined and knotted to produce this exquisite handcrafted  jewelry replacement creation. (Materials collected during various travels 1990-2015) 

A remake for my daughter

At the heart of this stunning jewelry ensemble, intended as gift for the artist's eldest daughter, are two types of jade.  First, there are greenish-brown South Asian jadeite beads from a necklace that was a wedding present from a Bangladeshi friend to the artist, and second there are smaller dark jade beads from a necklace she purchased for her Mother in 1964 at a shop on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.  The silver fluted oblong beads in the set are from earrings worn by the artist's mother-in-law. Peruvian serpentine cylinders, acquired from the museum shop at the Lady of Cao Museum near Trujillo, Peru,. Celestine discs, off-white with a greenish tinge and found in a beachfront gem shop in Paracas, Peru, provide a lovely contrast to the prevailing green hue of the jewelry.  At either end of the necklace and at the bottom of the earrings are small green wooden discs from a Hawaiian necklace gifted to the artist by her husband. Two generations of mothers and daughters are represented in the this globally inspired collection, and gifting it to the artist's daughter brings in another generation.  Hopefully it will bring joy to future generations as well!  (Materials collected during various travels 1964- 2014)

A gift to my daughter

The inspiration for "Remembering Mom" and "Remembering Mom Too" was a copper necklace my Mom used to wear in the 1950's.  I wanted to use the copper pieces that comprised her necklace to create two necklaces - one for my sister and one for me - so we each could have a remembrance.  I disassembled the necklace into separate pieces that could become pendants in both new necklaces.  Having procured a stash of Ghanaian glass beads while living and working in Accra for three years, I found I had many great color choices to utilize with the copper pendants to create two double-strand necklaces and matching earrings.  My final selection included a variety of apricot-colored round and tubular beads along with dark brown round and disc-shaped 

(Continued in "Remembering Mom Too")

(Continued from "Remembering Mom")

beads, all handmade and fired in outdoor kilns at Cedi's Beads, near Accra.  Each necklace also includes round wooden spacers, which were part of a lanyard from a Ghanaian street market.  Copper-colored glass seed beads acquired in Cape Town, South Africa fill the large holes in some of the larger Ghanaian beads.  Each necklace has a different design, but a very similar look.  I was thrilled to present my sister with the handcrafted jewelry I had created for her - "Remembering Mom" - and treasure what I created for myself - "Remembering Mom Too." (Materials collected from Mom and during various travels 2003 - 2006)

Gifted to my sister and me

Love you, Mom

Contrasting colors and textures transpose this necklace of simple design into a standout  in any personal jewelry collection.  Bright orange-red round stones, obtained from a trusted source of the artist in Thailand, are enhanced by surrounding black lava stone orbs, obtained at the picturesque local market in Quito, Ecuador. These lava stones have a pleasing, subtle luster.  Placed between the lava beads are smaller, faceted stones of black spinel, which add a flash of light as the necklace moves.  The spinel, probably originating in northeastern Afghanistan, was purchased at a gem shop in Jaipur, India, where the artist was able to observe gemstones being cut and polished.  The South Asian and South American darker stones contrast beautifully with the brighter stones from Southeast Asia in this sophisticated, yet uncomliated globally inspired jewelry ensemble. (Materials collected during various travels 2015-2018)

A thank-you gift to a  friend 

While living in Kathmandu, Nepal, the artist  was given a necklace of small lapis lazuli orbs by a good friend from India named Shony.  The beads from that necklace are the spacers in the "My Friend Shony" two-strand necklace and earring ensemble.  They connect, bring together and complete the palette of colors and textures in the set.  The dominant beads are the Ghanaian blue glass painted beads that wow with bright  yellow, red and orange designs. These are from Cedi's Beads near Accra. The orange stone cylindrical beads (from a broken two-strand necklace of the jewelry maker's daughter) complement the brightness of the Ghanaian artwork.  In the shorter strand, the royal blue camel bone discs from India contribute yet another color that  contrasts with the lapis lazuli and enhances the overall beauty of the color scheme.  Thank you Shony for your contribution to this lovely, eye catching   handcrafted jewelry set. (Materials collected from family and during various travels 1993 - 2013)

A gift to my daughter

Auntie Marie was the Grande Dame of my former husband's family.  I did not know her well, but I admired her.  During a family visit at her house, she gave me a beautiful gold and coral broach plus a strand of what appeared to be small coral-colored (possibly coral or coralina) beads.  Having treasured the gift for many years, at the beginning of my career as a jewelry maker, I decided to create a necklace and earring set featuring the broach as a focal point in a long two-strand necklace. Furthermore, I wanted to place the broach on the right side of the necklace, rather than in the center. To achieve the length I envisioned for the necklace, among Marie's 'coral' beads I interspersed slightly smaller coral-tinged white ceramic beads, purchased at an outdoor market in Ghiradelli Square, San Francisco.  The dangle earrings include the beads, from which hang small circular brass hoops, in which three pieces of coral from a necklace of my mother-in-law are suspended.  "Auntie Marie's Treasure" is a handcrafted jewelry set that carries with it memories and a history to be passed along to the next generation.  (Materials collected  from family members circa 1970 - 2006)

A family heirloom

While living and working in Ghana, the artist was fascinated with the glass beads and jewelry in plentiful supply.  She found a particularly lovely necklace made of yellow glass discs,  and  blue glass painted beads with designs of orange, red, yellow and white.  The set also included clear gold colored glass spacers.   She gifted this necklace to her younger daughter, but the length was not to her daughter's taste,  She said she would love a bracelet made out of the beads in the necklace. Adding red glass spacers from one of her old necklaces, the artist designed a three-strand bracelet that turned out to be extraordinary.  Plus, she had sufficient beads left over to make a center portion to a brass chain necklace.  Adding yellow round milk glass tubes with green and red accents and  hand-forged brass beads from Kumasi, Ghana, she connected the center section to a brass chain.  The transformation was a success!! (Materials from an old necklace and collected while living in Ghana 1975 - 2006)

A remake for my daughter

These striking pieces have a color palette as varied as the locales from which their components were discovered.  The largest beads in the set were obtained by a young Agricultural Economist - Liz - who was in Africa with the British Civil Service working on her PhD in the late 1960's to early 1970's.  She returned to Africa several times in subsequent years.  At some point while living or traveling there - probably in either Senegal or Zambia - she procured two strands of glass 'African Trade Beads,' which were most likely crafted in Venice (or thereabouts) and are of the 'millefiori' (thousand flowers') type.  This style bead was used widely in Africa as a 'currency' by European traders.  Eventually, Liz gifted the two strands to the artist's eldest daughter's close friend, Jane, who grew up knowing Liz as a friend of her mother and bonding with her as an 'auntie.'   Years later, Jane generously gifted the beads to the artist.  The black lava stone orbs were found in Ecuador, at a busy collection of shops in Quito.  Smaller beads of lapis lazuli were bargained for in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China.  Though from much different locations and cultures, the artist has succeeded in combining these materials into a dramatically striking ensemble that will generate comments whenever worn. (Materials collected from a friend and various travels 1994-2018)

Purchased by Jane - $84.00

All found by the the jewelry designer during her various travels in Asia, the individual materials of this piece were collected over a period of 25 years.  At the time of purchase, the artist was attracted to the intrinsic beauty and charm of each stone and pearl.   Her eldest granddaughter selected the pearls and carnelian for this necklace (to be a birthday gift) and the artist added the agate accent beads.  Not only are these gems lovely, special ‘properties’ are attributed to them, including enhancement of creativity, ambition, courage, confidence, and mood.  Yunnan Province of China was the locale where  the jewelry designer obtained the carnelian and agate stones while searching through a collection of scenically-sited shops.  She bargained for the pink freshwater pearls in Bangladesh at a tiny stall on the beach of historic Cox’s Bazaar. Filled with a grandmother’s love, this necklace was a true pleasure to design and craft.                        

Materials collected during various travels 1992-2017

A 17th birthday gift to my granddaughter

The swirls of color contained in the centerpiece, blue glass beads of this jewelry blend beautifully with the other stones in this striking set.  Artists on the island of Malta, a historic outpost to world history, designed and produced the beads that captured the artist’s eye.  She matched them with ‘Inca Rose’ orbs of Rhodochrosite, a favorite of many jewelry aficionados in Buenos Aires, where the artist found them in the La Boca ‘Tango District’ of the capital.  Tiny, raspberry-hued, garnet beads from “The Pink City” of Jaipur, India further enhance the colors of the Maltese spheres.  With materials from three continents, this compellingly alluring jewelry speaks to the beauty of our planet and its synergistic cultures.

Materials collected during various travels 2015 - 2019

A  birthday gift to my eldest daughter

Featured in this set are two beautiful stones from opposite sides of the world, both the result of organic activities.  One is essentially fossilized tree resin, and the other is composed of the skeletal remains of microscopic radiolaria ‘cemented’ by silica-rich groundwater. The reddish-orange, translucent stones are amber, selected by the artist while visiting the Curonian Spit, opposite Klaipeda, Lithuania.  At times called ‘Russian Amber,’ these lightweight stones regularly wash up on the Baltic coastline after fierce sea storms. They can contain ancient insects, trapped in the resin before it hardened during fossilization.  Amber is said to have emotional healing properties and to promote calming.  The colorful, round stones in this jewelry, originating in Australia but obtained by the artist in South Africa, are mookaite jasper.  These are essentially ‘chert,’ with vivid colors that are a result of various minerals percolating in groundwater through the compressed tiny radiolarian skeletons.  Connected to the Aboriginal ‘Dreamtime,’ the stones are well-regarded for their healing properties, including stress reduction.  Found and formed in vastly different environments, the amber and mookaite jasper not only may promote physical and emotional well-being, but in combination they create a distinctly beautiful necklace and earring set.

Materials collected during various travels 2013-2017

A gift to my son-in-law's mother