Pendant and Earrings by Sam Patania
The ‘08 holiday season is over, I enjoyed it with family and friends. Back to reality with inventory and year end bookkeeping. I ended up with a new computer which is nice and something to learn. Faster computers are always nice.
I was commissioned to make a piece of jewelry ,as I have been for many years, by a client whose wife has been buying my family’s jewelry since the 1940’s She told me the story of going into my grandfather’s Tucson shop at 19 West Congress and buying a concha belt on lay-a-way. The belt cost her $50 back then. That same belt would go for around $2,000. She made payments of $5 a month.
This client loves Sleeping Beauty turquoise, the clear material. I have been getting Sleeping Beauty from R.H. and Company in Glendale, CA for many years. My father has been dealing with R.H. since the 1960’s.Clear Sleeping Beauty looks like plastic to some people. It has been prized in Europe and the east coast of the US but, to us westerners it is hard to believe for it’s clarity. I have loved using it in yellow gold with faceted stones for an east coast look.
My client’s husband , who is the one I deal with on an annual basis, enjoys being a large part of the design process. If I didn’t love these people so much I would not enjoy such input. But I do love these people so I listen to his ideas and try to draw them and make samples to see if we are on the same page. He wanted what to me looked like a flower or star burst design with an oval Sleeping Beauty in the center with matching earrings. My design/engineering idea was to put the round solid bead elements between the ray elements, to visually tie the rays together and provide strength to the piece.
I haven’t heard form the recipient yet, she will usually call me and tell me how she feels about the pieces her husband and I made. I expect her to call soon. She always loves what we come up with and wears them often.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Michael Johnson 01.06.09 at 2:42 pm
It definitely has that Native American look. I love Sleeping Beauty turq, but it has been getting hard for me to find. I like the clearness, because I use it in channel inlays, where the matrix would break up the design.
Beautiful, but I cringe at the thought of working that specifically with a client. My vet is onto me to make her a bracelet with her spirit animals. She has kept my animals alive and healthy, and been with a few at the end of their lives. She is like family, but I cannot bring myself to agree. I generally avoid the subject or change it when she brings it up. Maybe, I should reconsider.
Beautiful work!!!
Coralnut 01.07.09 at 12:25 am
Sam, I love that design, whether she does or not!! Simple but elegant….thats the way I like it. Thanks for sharing. Don