Music for Josie

Here's a flower pin. Just beautiful. But too little for Josie.

Josie Weiss was a big person. Not tall, or wide, not in-your-face. Josie had presence. She was funny and feisty and had the kind of light in her voice some people have--a lilt, I guess--that always made you want to hear more.

She died a few years ago, and I miss her. Mostly, I miss her voice. I miss her spirit.

But appointments were, shall we say, fluid. Oh, Josie! One time they were working on my apartment and I was staying in a hotel. Josie was coming over to see the next stages of a project we were working on. She was later than usual.

In the hotel office they had a little coffee pot. I soon discovered that Josie was downstairs drinking that coffee and schmoozing with the
hotel staff.

She brought in the pin.

"Let me think about it," I said.

What to do? I knew it needed a frame, but to put more silver around it with that amber at the top would look funny; it would be unbalanced.

I drew a few things. Nothing worked.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I wondered--not for the first time.

I kept looking at the flower.

Suddenly, I realized that, inverted, it would look like a musical note. We put citrine at the top of the bezel to balance the amber (now at the bottom) and, as the English-speaking Canadians say, "Voy-la!" I designed the coordinating necklace with amber, Israeli silver, and hematite.



Her family tells me Josie wore that pendant and necklace all the time. Just about every time I saw her, she was wearing it--sometimes, with things I might not have worn it with. But Josie could pull it off.

©2009 Laynie Tzena.