Dream Traveller Totems

And when the roses are half buds half flowers

And loveliest the king of flies has come

It was a fleeting visit, all too brief

In three short minutes, he had been and gone.

He rested there upon an apple leaf

A gorgeous opal crown set on his head

Although the garden is a lovely place

Was it worthy of so fine a guest.

- By Danny Kirwan & C.G. Adams

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A creature of wind and water, the dragonfly represents change, resilience and strength in many cultures. Due also to their tragically short life span, they serve as a reminder to live our lives to the fullest, adapting to situations and living lightly on our feet. Their images can often be found embossed onto the garments of samurai warriors, symbolizing agility and good fortune. An ambassador between our world and the afterlife, they are said to carry the souls of our ancestors on their backs - a dream traveller.  

To  see one is often a good omen.

This dragonfly totem has been made entirely of sterling, handcrafted from start to finish.  A riveted construction makes this a moveable piece as the second wing can swing outwards, an ever changing  totem.  Tumbled for hours for strength, a dark patina has then been hand applied to add depth and to make the details pop. A beautiful art piece - and a reminder to live lightly on your feet.

Made with love and a touch of late summer magic from my Five Maples.

xo Blue Gnome

**  Both piece are now reserved for two special souls..thank you ladies! xx **

Grove of Dreams

It's a grey rainy day here today..a much needed break from the dry, sunny days lately, it's almost as if I can hear the garden sigh a sigh of relief as they soak up all this cool goodness falling from the skies. 

I thought it might be too overcast to properly capture the stunning vibrance of this green turquoise but surprisingly, with no warm overtones in today's early morning light, I think the photo turned out beautifully.

I've been saving this gorgeous turquoise for a special piece - one of my all time favorite examples of the incredible creations mother earth offers us, time and time again.  It reminds me of a grove of birch trees I found my self wandering through years ago while I was looking for an over exuberant Sachi who had taken off after a squirrel (ah..I don't miss those early puppy years!).
 I was mesmerized..it was like being on the perfect film set for a Midsummer Night's Dream.  A magical moment when you're certain you've just crossed that very thin veil between reality and dreams. 

This necklace will be available on Monday morning..make the most of your late summer weekend everyone! 

xo Blue Gnome

Turquoise Love

There's a Summer Turquoise SALE going on at the shop right now!

Hop over to www.bluegnomeemporium.etsy.com to see what else is included..this Diversity ring and many more!

Have a lovely Tuesday all you beautiful people! xo 

Summer SALE

Where The Heart Is

Hard to believe it's been three months since my last post - is it just my imagination or does getting older go hand in hand with time going speeding by, leaving you in its dust?

A ton of new events and occurrences since the end of March - despite the unseasonably cool weather today, summer has finally come to bless us with her presence and it's been GLORIOUS!  It's simply jungle-icious in our backyard and the rest of the city is looking lush and every bit the emerald city it does every summer.  My toes have been painted fire-engine red since the warmer weather hit, a little bit of sass to go along with every outfit I own.  

Perfection.  

Flip flops have replaced woolen socks and Blundstone boots and despite the ever pressing need for a real pedicure, I've been flaunting my bare feet everywhere I go.  

Wriggling your toes in the sunshine is one of those rarely mentioned thrills of life, a pleasure similar to cracking open a new book and smelling the smell of words yet to be read, storied yet to get lost in.  Speaking of which, I'm in search of something new to read..does anyone have any suggestions?  Something I can curl up with on the porch and get lost in..I'm due for a really great read.

My return back into the studio after being gone for almost a month went as smoothy as one always hopes after a long time away.  Sometimes it's a slow and painful process, training your hands to hold those old, familiar tools again and it takes a day or two of fumbling round the shop, looking for this and that before really getting back into the flow of things. This time however it was a delightful surprise to see my hands picking up the pace again with no really struggle or difficulty, hearing the humming of the machines and feeling the warmth of the bench light on the side of my face.  

It's great to be home..home is truly where the heart is.

Thank you to everyone who contacted me during my break for your patience and heartfelt messages! Without all of you, I wouldn't be able to keep doing what I love,

creating small offerings with my own hands, offerings that I hope you'll love and pass down to your loved ones someday.

I am truly blessed.  

And on this first day of a brand new decade ahead of me, I am so excited to keep walking this journey with you.

xo Blue Gnome  

It feels like I've been hitting speed bump after speed bump lately, just when I think the road ahead is smooth and even ground, yet another bump - like those ones on the city streets that have no markings or warning, its not until your front tires launch off the pavement..then, wait for it..the jarring landing where you cringe, trying to figure out what the rattling noise is you've just left behind.

My emotions have been a bundle of exposed nerves, twitching and reacting to everything and anything that's been thrown my way.  Despite the desperate attempts to build some kind of emotional shelter from the barrage of everyday wear and tear, it feels as if my days are a constant uphill trek, scrambling all day to catch up..only to fail, exhausted and defeated from the effort, surrendering to the days end and falling into bed for a night of restless sleep.  

My only solace has been my shop, still in desperate need of a thorough cleaning, this clutter that would usually drive me insane has given me some sort of odd comfort, a cushion from the reality of life.  

Some days are like this I suppose.  

Like trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole.

So I took a day off.  

Despite the mountain of work I had to do in the shop and household duties that needed attending to, we packed a simple lunch and my fuzzy girl and I drove for an hour or so, destination unknown.  Where we ended up was a quiet beach, deserted for the off-season, the tide still frozen along the shoreline in frothy spills.  

It was a cloudy, windy day.  I wasn't properly dressed to be walking in the freezing damp wind and as the cold bit though my woolen mittens and threatened to nibble at my toes, I screamed at the sky and into the wind as loud as I possibly could.  Startled, Sachi stopped dead in her tracks and stared..then slowly, her tail started wagging and when I opened my mouth to scream once more, she took off suddenly down the sandy beach and thundered back to me, eyes bright with excitement and let out a spine chilling howl that seemed to go on 

forever.

And this is how we spent our afternoon that day.  

Screaming and howling, laughing and barking, watching the gulls soaring in the wind.  

Both of us with a few more grays than when we first met 9 years ago but still inseparable and crazy.  And it wasn't until later when we returned to the car shivering, maybe later than that still, not until I was driving home that I realized how long it had been since I last shut off my brain 

and truly listened to my soul.  

I'd like to say that the sun eventually came out that afternoon to cast away all the gloom but that never happened.  Oddly however, the drive back into the city that day under the overcast skies was a beautiful one.  My car smelled of wet dog, I had sand in my hair and Sachi snored the whole way home.  

It was one of those perfect moments I wish I could hold onto forever.

xo Blue Gnome

Art Deco Love