THE WOODS

NECKLACE  / THE WOODS

Inspired by eponymous episode of Cold Case (one of my favorite TV series, and one of my favorite episode - a very dark one) and of course by the tale "Snow White". 

  

GEMS : a premium quality red eye tiger (35 carats)

 

In the woods, silhouettes are hiding. 

In the woods, shadows are creeping. 

In the woods, dangers are lurking.

Monsters may chase children sometimes,

Through labyrinths, from room to room,  

Through the forest and through the trees,

Through dazzling reflections of mirrors

And of kaleidoscopes

And of dreams.

From one place to another place,

Whether real or just imagined, 

From a squirell cache to the secret place

Of the hunted man, of the wounded child,

Against the trunk of a small tree...

Where, at this in-between 

And often blurry stage of night,

In the midst of the wooded area,

 Deers and wild pigs try to escape

The deafening blows and the blastings,

And finally, after breathless miles,

Fall at the edge of their nightmare

Under their own weight

At a small clearing,

And at this point

Where the stalker who has been walking

Deeper, all night long, into the darkness

Slowly becomes invisible,

Where  screams become inaudible

In this illusion of suspended time

When the prey is alone

When the prey is alone

In its own woods

In its own woods

Far beyond the trees.

 

Tiger's eye is known to increase vitality, endurance, courage. and to create a powerful shield against harmful actions and thoughts.

I would love this necklace to be a talisman that may protect you against jealousy, hatreds, hurtful words, rumours, lies and convey its warmth and its calm. It may also help you to stand back from events and keep the bad stuff out without fearing harm.

Oh... and if you are interested to know what is the cold case "The Woods" about, you may read an excellent summary here. 

 

Ce collier, The Woods (Les Bois ou plutôt "Dans les bois") s'inspire à la fois du conte Blanche-Neige (la "méchante reine", son miroir magique, Blanche-Neige qui fuit, le bûcheron ou, selon les versions, le chasseur, le cerf ou, selon les versions, le sanglier, le couteau - ou la hache -, la pomme, Blanche-Neige cachée dans les bois) et de l'épisode "Dans les bois" de la série Cold Case, dont l'héroïne Lily Rush se trouve confrontée à un tueur en série qui fut lui-même (tout comme elle) victime d'une agression dont il n'a pas pu se préserver. Les Bois, c'est ce vaste endroit sombre où la traque impitoyable est lancée. Jalousies, ragots, médisances, convoitise, haines dont on ne sait même pas toujours comment et de quoi elles sont nées. Les Bois est un endroit froid, solitaire. La traque y pousse la victime. Le chasseur l'isole. Elle y est seule. S'y effondre seule. Apeurée.

Alors ce collier, je l'ai voulu comme un talisman. Il raconte l'histoire des proies et des chasseurs, mais sous le prisme de la force, de la lumière, de la beauté. Le cerf est constellé d'étoiles. La pomme empoisonnée n'est pas mordue. Le visage de la reine est au fond - regardez bien - moins profondément haineux que perdu et triste. Le chasseur est, comme sa victime, un être isolé. Et humain. Rien dans ce collier ne fait peur. Le corbeau a un regard lucide, détaché. Calme. L'oeil de tigre, lui, protège. Il forme autour de la personne qui le porte un beau, lumineux bouclier. Il dissipe, dit-on, les maléfices de toutes sortes. Les écartes. Il dispense son énergie puissante, sa chaleur.

Vous ne serez plus seul(e) "dans les bois"...

Œil de tigre et jade rouge

vous assureront protection bienveillante,

énergie, vitalité,

et bonne garde

si votre chemin s'achoppe aux bois

ou que vous devez les traverser.

Prenez l'oeil de tigre au creux de votre main.

Laissez-le réchauffer vos doigts.

Vous murmurer son calme, sa force, vous entourer de sa protection...

vous sentez ?

Hawkeye, donkey skin

NECKLACE  / HAWKEYE, DONKEY SKIN (no longer available)

GEM : hawkeye (real one) // a tiny white "moonstone" // the 2 little "sun stone" beads are of course synthetic

Remember the fairy tale Donkey Skin ? The king who intended to marry his daughter ? The fairy goodmother who advice the daughter to ask for impossible things in order to repel the father ? A dress which would be the color of the moon, another one the color and brightness of the sun ? And then the skin of the cherished donkey of the king - this donkey whose feces were gold ? And then the escaping of the daughter, covered with this soiled "donkey skin" ?

Here we are. I made this jewel as a wink to the tale and to all those whose path through life and various processus of changes, transformation or emancipation processes - or both of them - have been difficult.

There are periods of time when life is like creeping and wandering, trying to not goiing astray by hiding from the world, feeling dispossessed and deprived. And sometimes even feeling ugly.

Heidi Ann Heinger quotes Maria Tatar : "According to Maria Tatar, the donkey skin turns the heroine into an outcast, but it also affirms her connection to nature. She is both degraded and empowered by this clothing".

This necklace also tells this : you could be or feel "degraded", you are, by the connection to nature, to the universe, to your inner truth and your inner self - and also by walking your own way and learning from life - "empowered".

The hawkeye is told to protect its owner against the negative energies of ill minded or evil intending people. It's also a way to clairvoyance.

The little bird in cage charm tells you that you can go through, and will go through.

There's a blue faith and confidence in this necklace. You ARE empowered. You are beautiful. You will shine :)

 

Ce collier est un clin-d'oeil au conte de Perrault, "Peau d'Âne". Souvenez-vous : le roi qui, pris d'une passion malade pour sa fille, veut l'épouser, la marraine qui suggère à sa filleule de fixer à son père des conditions irréalisables, la robe couleur de lune, celle brillante comme le soleil, celle couleur du temps, et finalement la peau de l'âne chéri du père - cet animal miraculeux qui faisait toute sa fortune en déféquant, chaque jour, de l'or... Vous y êtes ? Ce collier est un hommage aux personnes, notamment femmes et jeunes filles, qui ont dû cheminer sur des sentiers très escarpés, dans l'existence, au risque de chutes vertigineuses, parfois. Si vous relisez le conte (et on le voit bien dans la comédie musicale de Demy) Peau d'Âne est à peu de choses de basculer vers cette "chute", parfois : le père la cajole et la brusque tour à tour, et se montre si persuasif qu'il faut toute la force de caractère de la femme qui sait lui faire face (la bienvenue "marraine") pour pousser la princesse à s'échapper. Et s'échapper vers quoi sinon de nouvelles difficultés ? Le rejet, les humiliations, la raillerie, l'errance vers une contrée étrangère..

Et pourtant de cela naissent le bonheur, l'amour partagé et la force. Heidi Ann Heiger, citant Maria Tatar, dit que la peau de l'âne - cette peau sale, souillée, née du sang (et, ajouterais-je, d'une mort symbolique) - fait de son héroïne une "hors caste", une rejetée, mais affirme également sa connexion à la nature : "cela la dégrade et la renforce à la fois".

C'est aussi ce que dit ce collier : vous pouvez vous sentir affaibli(e), perdu(e), voire même dégradé(e), vous êtes, de par votre connexion à la nature, à l'univers, et à la vérité de vous-même (à ce que vous êtes réellement, au-delà de tout ce que l'on peut dire de vous ou vous faire), "renforcé(e)".

L'oeil de faucon a a réputation de protéger des énergies négatives et des intentions malveillantes et/ou malsaines, et d'apporter la clairvoyance.

Le petit oiseau en cage dit que vous pouvez- et allez - passer à travers les étapes difficiles, influences négatives, emprises malsaines : que vous irez, meilleur(e)s et plus fort(e)s, au-delà.

Il y a de la foi et de la confiance, dans ce collier bleu. Vous êtes renforcé(e). Vous avez la beauté en vous. Vous allez dépasser tout ce qui vous semble aujourd'hui difficile, et briller :)

Ce collier n'est plus disponible.   

THE SECRET KEY OF DESTINY

 NECKLACE
 inspired by the Grimm's tale
The girl without hands (La jeune fille sans mains)
 
GEM : Turquoise / Red jade

The Handless Maiden is a Grimm tale about a sinless child promised by her father to the devil, but the devil couldn't approach her, so her father dismembered her (chopped her hands off) as the devil ordered him. But because she cried, her tears washed her stumps, and she stayed clean... The tale is a long one, the maiden wandered, married a king
who loved her despite of her stumps, had a baby boy, but had to escape and to wander again and to hide, always because of the devil. Fortunately, an angel protected her and the tale had a "happy end".

This necklace is like a story, a very cruel and strong story, telling the stormy journey of a righteous but fragile girl, subject to the willingness of her father, escaping the path that was traced anl becoming a strong, determined woman.

The key is the wheel of destiny. Turquoise as we know it is born from a chemical reaction and is made from several little desposits, in a natural, unique process that takes dozens and dozens of years.

I assume the turquoise puck, as if it was sold to me as "turquoise", is more likely a reconstitued one, but i added a real turquoise bead, on the leftside of the necklace - the heart side.

You will also notice a little red jade bead.

Turquoise is said to be a purification stone. It protects against negative influences and also absorbs negative feelings - including those of its owner.

 

                                                                     

    *******

This necklace is available for sale  
(Ce collier est disponible à la vente)

Snow White

My own version of the "Evil Queen" of Snow White.

"Spieglein, Spieglein, an der Wand
Wer ist die Schönste im ganzen Land?"

I don't like to see people in black and white. In my opinion the Queen is a very sad and anxious person. Why ? First because jealousy is (for me) a total nonsense. Secondly i crossed the road of some very jealous, envious persons, and all of them were nervous, insecure, agressive... and (even if most of them used to play a part) deeply sad... And in fact maybe it's not Snow White, but a reflect of her idealized self that she hates and would like to kill - because she cannot be this "self" - this idealized, perfect, eternally young (like Snow White is in her glass coffin) woman. Though, in the mirror (or in herself) she has to kill her in order to live.

Here's a detail of the face. I worked on the face a long time, layer by layer : first i put the colors, shadows, etc., and then i work on the texture of the skin with little dots or thin lines of various tones or colors, and then i slowly blur them in the skin, etc.).

Blanche-Neige (Snow White)

Dans cette image j'ai choisi de mettre en avant la guérison, au-delà des blessures. Dans la forêt, Blanche-Neige perd tout mais aussi renait, se métamorphose et guérit.

I choosed here to hightligh the healing of Snow White. In the forest she lost everything and is about to die, but she birthes again, transforms herself and get better.

Crayons graphite et graphite soluble + pinceau, stock personnel (forêt, tronc d'arbre, neige), travail sur picture it et merci encore une fois à Kimberly Crick pour son stock de textures et photos diverses mis à disposition sur Deviantart, et à Trisha, mon joli modèle pour cette pose.

Graphite pencils, watersoluble graphite, backround / textures of my personal stock (wood, snow on the ground, forest), adjustments and circles with picture it. Thank you so much Kimberly aka Enchantedgal for your beautiful stock on DA ! It's so helpful. And thanks to Trisha, the pretty model for this pose.

NB : This picture still needs a lot of little adjustments, but i'm waiting for my new computer (and bigger screen - mine is soooo little !) and for Painter.  I'll make it better i assume :o)

La jeune fille sans mains (the handless girl)

Inspiré du conte recueilli par les Grimm.

You can read the english version of this tale here.

Peau d'Ane (Donkey Skin)