Necklace for winning contest entry
A refresher on what the winning entry was, submitted by brigidsblest:
Something that reflects all the aspects and phases of the sun--its light, its warmth, how it marks the seasons, how it helps things grow, the deities it represents, eclipses, etc.
In making this necklace, I used the following components:
Smoky quartz, yellow jade, peridot, tiger's eye, goldstone, glass, and a large piece of amber in a gold tone setting.
The longer glass beads on the left are for the lengthening days, and the small glass beads on the right are for shortening days. The smoky quartz at the top left is for winter, the yellow jade is for spring, the tiger's eye is for summer, and the goldstone is for autumn. Each of these is intended to show variation in the sun's warmth through the year. The peridot and green glass beads toward the center are for growth, and the smoky quartz oval beads in the middle on each side are for equinoxes and eclipses. The amber and setting are for the deities; there is an 8 pointed star on the back of the setting (not visible in the photo), which is a symbol the Sumerians used to indicate deity.
Now that brigidsblest has received it, I can post the image without preventing her from having her first experience of it in person!