Introducing: One of A Kind, by Hieropice

  I feel I often begin posts by talking about how excited I am, and am probably getting dangerously close to sounding like I'm perennially hopped-up on something, so, despite the fact that I AM really excited about this announcement, I'm going to refrain from stating that.  At least, not first.
  I've so appreciated all the love folks have shown me, and support for Hieropice.  I think, as an artist, you've got to keep innovating, changing, doing new things, to keep your brain from atrophying, or burning out.  As I was making one of many made-to-order terrarium necklaces recently, I thought, man, I am working SO small, the vessel is so tiny, I really wish I could expand this and create a whole landscape in this thing!  And my next thought was, um.....I can!  So, I started thinking about ways to create miniature landscapes under glass, and for some reason, the first thing that came to mind was Tucson, Arizona, where I lived after high school.  The desert there was the most surprising place I'd been to-date; contrary to my impressions from back East, it was not "deserted" at all, but full of life, and amazing shifting color palates that revolved around the movements of the sun.  I saw more shapes, colors and textures in the desert than any landscape I'd encountered previously, and an abundance of plants with romantic names like "agave" and "ocotillo."  And weird things, inexplicable stacks of boulders balanced on the edge of a cliff, oversized cactus blossoms that only bloom at night and just once a year, and an aspen forest, covered in snow at the peak of Mt. Lemmon in the middle of the city, while miles below, it was eighty degrees and sunny.

Barrel Cactus Detail

   Yeah, all kinds of weird and wondrous, but memories of the desert haunt me now that I've moved back to the northeast, and it seemed fitting to create my first landscape from those memories.  And so, I am introducing the first of Hieropice's new one-of-a-kind Landscape Terrarium Necklaces, the Sonoran Desert Terrarium Necklace.

   My goal with this new line is to experiment with vessel shapes and sizes, creating miniatures incorporating a variety of techniques, like re-creating miniature plants from bits and pieces of other ones, hand-painting, dyeing, etc., with a focus on realism.
 
   This first piece includes a miniature barrel cactus that I impregnated with a slew of little wire spines, a stack of stones that I created to match my memories of Mt. Lemmon, lichen tumbleweeds and layers of sand that I hand-dyed, to recreate the changing landscape of the desert.  Red-tipped agave, cholla, and of course, the iconic Saguaro cactus, that the Arizona desert would be bereft without.  There are a lot of other goodies tucked in there, and the piece so reminds me of the Sonoran, I wish I could crawl into it!

Agave Detail

  The new one of a kind (ooak) pieces will be just that, never to be reproduced, so when they're sold, they're gone.  But I hope their new owners will enjoy having pieces that are unique, and knowing the one they own is the only one in existence.  I'll be listing the new pieces on Etsy as I make them, so stay tuned for future landscapes!

Blanched and Bleached

  
   I've waxed poetic about Fall, because it's just my favorite, and I love everything about it.  I want to pretend Winter will never come, though the dropping temperatures here in Massachusetts beg to differ.
  We have strong associations between the color white and the Winter season, perhaps because of the snow and ice and absence of the colorful flowers of Spring or bright leaves of Autumn.  There are all these (supposed) fashion rules about colors and their corresponding seasons, wear vivid colors in Spring, muted colors in Winter.  Green, orange, yellow are supposedly Spring/Summer colors, while navy blue, grey, and black are for Winter.  Meh!  I think we need color most in Winter, when it's hard to find, when our moods could really use a boost.  But nonetheless, our associations are what they are.
   I love color.  And usually, Hieropice's wares are super-saturated, I strive to cover every tone in the rainbow with at least one piece in my inventory.  But I wanted to create something "wintry," a break from the usual, colorful Hieropice look.  So came about the Winter White Terrarium Necklace, now available at Hieropice on Etsy. 
  I have to say, I'm kind of in love with it.  It's such a departure for me, but it makes me feel calm and serene.  A swath of white sand, a tiny white stone, a branch of pale lichen and a tiny blush flower.  It looks like the place you'd go to take a break from the world, to be silent and contemplative.  One day, perhaps I'll build a life-size garden resembling this necklace, I can see that being striking and intriguing; a landscape of all white.
   Hope you enjoy the necklace, and the remainder of Fall!

;)
Dara