..............AND WHEREVER ELSE THAT LEADS ME...............




Monday, November 4, 2013

Mourning Jewelry

New.................

Made from vintage pieces with a new twist on mourning jewelry.
                                                                      
                                                                                        
 
A great piece of jewelry
Kathy makes wonderful pieces using incredible antique and vintage
parts.....a good bit of which originally come from mourning or religious pieces.
 
 
 
This is an artist that is new to me,
Jeanette Janson..........
Again, an artist that seems to use lots of interesting bits to make
some intriquing jewelry.
 
Both of these artists have great blogs, that showcase
their many talents. 
 
I have provided a link to each on their name.
 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

MOURNING RIBBONS



                                                                            
Victorian heart mourning ribbons from the estate of
Joan Munkacsi
 
 
Mourning ribbon
 

Abrahan Lincoln mourning ribbon
with gem sized portrait
 
 

Vintage I.O.O.F. mourning ribbon
 
 
 
Unidentified soldier in Union Infantry
Seargant's uniform and
black mourning ribbon.
 
 
 
Daguerreotype........Woman with mourning
ribbons on her wrists.
 


Mourning Ribbon
(a new example?)
 
 

Little girl in dress edged in black
wearing a mourning ribbon.
 
 
 
 
 
(all photos from Pinterest)
 
 
 
 



 
 

Monday, August 12, 2013

HERE LYES THE.....

BEAUTIFUL ART.................


                                                                              
 
OF........

 
 
KIM HEPWORTH
 

Friday, August 2, 2013

MEMORY JUG



                                                                                  
 


 
(Gayle Hajek.....2013)
 
This memory jug has buttons collected over the years by my Grandmother,
my sister, as well as myself.
Remembering the many button collections I have rummaged thru
over the years, I also included some of the odds and ends that always seem to end up
 nesting right along side those buttons. For example......bobbins, snaps, garders, pins, etc.
Included also are various religious medals, parts of rosaries, crosses, and a small icon.
 













Sunday, July 28, 2013

Downton Abbey .............

                                               

 IN MOURNING..............

                                                                                     
 
jet mourning necklace
 
 
Lady Mary in mourning after the death of her
fiance in the sinking of The Titanic.
(season one)
 
 

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Black Victorian Mourning Jewelry.....

                                                    
A lot of the black victorian mourning jewelry is made of either vulcanite or gutta percha.


                                                                              
vulcanite mourning brooch
 
 
It can be hard to tell the two materials apart
and I admit I have a hard time .
 
Queen Victoria memorialized in a 1901 vulcanite brooch
 
 
A type of rubber, vulcanite is most commonly dark brown or black.
As a result in the mid and late 19th century, the hard
substance was used to imitate coral, tortoise shell and jet-
especially the latter, as dark pieces became more
popular especially with the prevelance
of mourning jewelry.
 
 
Mourning brooch made out of gutta percha,
(the hand was a popular motif) 
 
 
Mourning bracelet.......... gutta percha
 
 
Although the two substances strongly resemble each other,
vulcanite is a manufactured rubber and gutta percha is a natural latex
substance. It's also a black or near black rubber-like
gum derived from the resin of trees from Southeast Asia.
 
 
Antique mourning bracelet.......gutta percha
 
 
Both materials came to be used for mourning jewelry
as a substitute for the more expensive jet jewelry.
 
 
Hand and snake gutta percha mourning brooch.
 
 
Both vulcanite and gutta percha pieces are
almost always molded as opposed  to carved.
Vulcanites black color tends to fade over time with
repeated exposure to wearing and the light.
 
After looking at lots of examples of both..........
I still have a hard time telling one material from the other
and I suspect I am not alone as I have come across
many pieces labeled with both names.
I am sure an expert can easily tell though.
 
I did decide that I tend to gravitate towards the
pieces that have faded a bit to the browner side.
So maybe that means that I like vulcanite best?
But then I like the idea that gutta percha
is a natural material...........
 
 
A vulcanite piece that has faded a bit
towards brown.
 
 
Gutta percha photo frame
 
Although many people eventually put their
mourning clothes aside,
they often continued to wear their mourning
jewelry for the rest of their lives.


 
 
(all photos and information from internet) 
 
 
 


 


 


 


 


 
 
                                                                                        

 
 
 
 

 

Friday, June 14, 2013

WAX DOLL.................


                                                                                    
 
Wax effigy of a deceased infant.
 
A popular practice among French and German immigrants
to America.
Locks of the deceased childs hair were attatched to the
head of the doll, and the dolls outfit
was created from the fabric of the
infants christening gown.
 
 
 
 
Not quite sure what I think of this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Friday, June 7, 2013

MOURNING PHOTOS

1970's thru 1980's............?

                                                                      
 
It was not unusual to hide your face in
some way in mourning photos
taken of that period.
 
 
 
 
 
 
She appears to be holding something
that documents her mourning.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

VICTORIAN..................


GLASS DOME............

                                                                              
 
French cemetery scene with hair from
Sophie Henry, deceased, age 21, (1881)
 
(collection of John Whitenight)

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Primitive............

lovely........................

                                                                                        
(remembrance glass shadow box)
 
 
There are a lot of really beautiful mourning pieces out there
for you to see...........for me it is the simple heartfelt
ones like this that speak the loudest. 

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Mourning necklace

                                                                                               
 
Mourning necklace containing a finger
bone from the deceased. 

Friday, March 29, 2013



                                                                          

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

OSSUARY

Coat of Arms................


 
Coat of Arms of
Schwatzenberg Family
in Sedlec Ossuary in
Kutna Hora, Czech Republic
 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Mourning Tributes...........

 
Hair saved  in a wonderful hand sewn pocket,
along with a newspaper clipping....
an obituary?
 
 
I thought these wire wreaths were amazing....
Corey Amaro shared these on her blog
 

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

MOURNING HAT

Lovely Beaver Top Hat.............
                    
 
With mourning ribbon on band
 
 
 
 
 
Mourning ribbon/Hair