I was reading some bios on the freebie jewelry projects I get from an online blog and was turned off by how heavy it was with artist self-aggrandizement.

“I like an urban tribal look. As manufacturers started coming out with more and more interesting materials and chains, I responded and started incorporating them into my seed bead work. As an art form, there is a very feminine aspect to Steampunk, as well. Even with the growing interest in Gothic and vampiric ephemera, Steampunk is there in the shadows — no pun intended!”

Bla bla, bla bla, bla. And what the bleepety bleep is “urban tribal?” (Yeah, yeah, I know, and what the hell is bleepety bleep?) And this person’s jewelry prices are in the hundreds, upwards of six hundred dollars, to be exact. Six hundred? Am I missing something? Beadwoven Steampunk jewelry? Hey, I like Steampunk jewelry. But get real! Are you paying for the name? I like my name, but it ain’t that special!

I solemnly swear, and everyone who reads this post is my witness, that I will never get so freakishly serious about my craft that I feel the need to convince people that my jewelry is so special, I have to charge so much that you feel like a Hollywood celebrity when you wear it. I charge what the piece is worth, plus a little extra for my time. If you buy it, then that tells me that you like it, and that’s good enough for me.

On a different note, happy Easter! Despite all the political craziness and all the militant PC’s out there trying to bust everything worth celebrating, I still call it Easter. So, happy Easter!

I celebrated by creating this very, complex, wire-wrapped piece that incorporates new-found objects in the shape of bunny rabbits and glass beads. I feed my need to bead by mixing my metals, which I consider to be a fascinating technique that requires a refined crafting palette in order so as never to mix the wrong two metals with the wrong new-found objects. (Ha, ha, couldn’t help myself.)

I used silver-plated pewter bunnies,	freshwater pearls,	sterling silver,
czech glass beads,	silver beads, and a sterling silver lobster clasp.