Abelone and Stone

An Abelone shell (Perlemoen - Haliotis midae - rear view) encased in silver solder sharing a chain with a pebble surrounded by silver wire. The pebble is a separate pendant.

Abelone is protected along all South Africa's coastlines and in 2008 Abelone fishing was suspended to protect the rapidly depleting shellfish species from commercial extinction. Illegal fishing and increased inward migration of a lobster species that destroy abalone habitat are being blamed for a decline in the shellfish's numbers. Also, over the past decades, the poaching of abalone has reached such proportions that it has become a full-scale industry. A record 3 000 tons of abalone was poached from South African waters in 2007, compared with the annual allowed quotas of 1 000 tons of farmed abalone.

Most abalone in the southern hemisphere is found in the cold waters off the South African, Australian and New Zealand coasts. The animal is protected in South African waters, and harvesting of wild individuals has been banned since 2008, while commercial operations need a permit to export.

Abalone meat is generally not for sale in South Africa, although selected restaurants around the country do serve it - at a price. Despite these regulations, stocks of abalone are dwindling because of illegal commercial harvesting. Most of the illegal harvest - as well as the permitted catch - ends up in Asian markets.

This piece had washed ashore many years ago and it certainly was a lucky find!

 Abelone pendant with silver wire and frosty glass bead hanging from a silver rope chain - (Shell 3½" - 9cm)

River pebble (1½" - 4cm) encased in silver wire, hanging from a silver rope chain

.

Life's a bitch...

but I appreciate her nontheless.
.
::
.

I woke up feeling utterly depressed this morning. No particular reason, everything is running smoothly in my life, no worries, no stress, no problems, no debt, and yet, I had this completely flat and miserable feeling. Even finding some beautiful feathers in the garden could not motivate or inspire me. In fact, my garden looked like shit. Even the birds, who normally wait in droves at the bird feeders, seemed to have deserted my space.

I wandered back into the house to my studio and opened a box of beach finds, hoping to find inspiration there. But nothing. My muse seems to have taken a walk, leaving me with the dregs of imagination.

When the thought, "life's a bitch" came into my mind, I decided to Google it, maybe find some explanation or inspiration. But all I found was "life's a bitch and then you die" and "life's a bitch and death is her sister". Not very inspirational or explanatory at all. I pondered this for a while and summarily decided that I didn't like those references at all. They must've been written by somebody in a deeper depression than myself and the thought was very scary.

I remembered a quote I had read some time ago, "Creativity is a drug I cannot live without" and decided the only solution was that I HAD to do something creative to break this feeling. Even if it's just something simple, not too complicated, just to get the juices flowing again.

I remembered seeing a nice round pebble, well, stone actually, in my garden earlier (so I DID notice something nice after all!), so I went out in search of it. I gave it a thorough wash and just holding it in my hands brought a feeling of peace. It wasn't long before I was totally immersed in wrapping it in some silver wire, as if wrapping some peace and love into it, safely securing it with some drops of solder. Attaching a ring and adding a chain, it was ready to hang around my neck.

Hand-crafted river pebble (2½" - 5cm) pendant hanging from a leather thong

Pebbles and stones represent solidity, stability, dependability. And that's what I needed to feel today, solid and stable.

Since earliest history, people have collected and admired pretty pebbles, often believing they had magical and healing powers. Even the earliest people told stories about magical creatures made of stone. Pebbles, stones and rocks are a vital part of our earth and our history - from providing us with our very first tools and building materials to giving us a chance to express ourselves through sculptures, jewelry and other fine arts.

Go ahead, hold a pebble in your hand. Feel its smooth surface grow warm in your palm. See it glow with light. I asked myself: Where has this pebble been, and what has it seen, in all its thousands of years of existence? Then I opened my mind to its healing power...

.