August 2023
My Frog Jewellery
Froggies!!! That is often the excited reaction from people when they first set eyes on my frog jewellery. They have not seen anything like it - whether they like frogs or they don't.
I first started making frog jewellery many years ago as a response to the lack of handcrafted items that represent North Queensland. A Canadian friend was returning to her country and wanted to take back something that was locally made and that represented North Queensland. The only things we could find were made in China - and many of them were not that attractive. I thought that frogs were a perfect symbol of North Queensland. As a result, I experimented with frog jewellery and have made thousands of earrings (find them here) and pendants (find them here) since then.
I always say "when I wear frog jewellery, people smile at me". And it is true.
The Magic of Seahorses
I recently listened to an interesting ABC podcast entitled David the Seahorse Saviour featuring a marine scientist talking about his work to protect seahorses (which are endangered). As a former diver I could only agree with his comment that no-one ever says they dislike seahorses
Seahorses are fish though they do not have scales and they are slow swimmers. They remind me of a mythical creature such as mermaids. That might be because of their unique features.
And I found it interesting that the main seahorse in Australian waters is the White Seahorse - but it isn't coloured white. The name derives from the Surgeon that accompanied the First Fleet.
Given this interest it is not surprising that I have made versions of Seahorses over the years in glass, silver and enameled.
The silver and lampwork pieces are free form ands so involved a lot of experimentation to get them to the standard I set. And the glass pieces required me to produce twelve murrini for the various parts of the body.
Upcoming Markets and Shops
Barrier Reef Glass Beads will be at Yungaburra Market on Saturday 26 August and at Carnival on Collins in Cairns on Sunday 3 September. I will also be at Rock, Paper, Scissors Arts Market in Mackay on Sunday 3 September.
In August and September I will have the following pop up shops: Castletown on Saturday 26 August, Saturday 7 September and Saturday 23 September. I will have pop up shops at Fairfield Central on Saturday 16 September and Saturday 30 September.
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