New Mourning Pieces

I've been working pretty diligently to get some

new pieces of mourning jewelry finished up. I just had some necklaces documented that used horse hair, sterling silver, and jet beads in the design.

The new pieces that I'm working on will also use hair and beads, but will also incorporate some vintage fur (mink?) stoles that i've deconstructed, and are more playful with the beading. I'm liking where the direction of this thought is going, and am excited to complete this series of pieces so that I can figure out which direction I'll take. I'd like to continue with using the fur and integrate some other vintage textiles and leathers.

The image on the top is of a set of jet and gutta percha mourning jewelry. The middle image is a depiction from an 1884 Harper's Bazar of a woman wearing a mourning mantle. This

outfit features a crepe collar, deep cuffs, and a veiled mourning bonnet,

which indicates that this outfit was meant to be worn during deep mourning. Finally, the last image was one that I took while working on some three-dimensional sketches in my studio.

I like to compose pieces (in this case a necklace and a brooch) on my dress form. Working this way helps me figure out ratios, balance, and composition. This image is a little bit dark, but you can see the black mink fur, and some of the different beads that I'm using.

I'm also creating a few monochromatic white/beige pieces of mourning jewelry. Although I'm super excited about them, I'm keeping the images a little more top secret... I think they are a little more glamorous, and I'm using the working title of 'A Champagne Funeral' for these pieces...