Breathing Room

Pianist Randy Weston once said of Count Basie, "He was a master of space. He knew the notes not to play."

When Judie brought in this necklace, she asked, "Do you think I should leave it as it is?"



Judie is delicate, even at 5'7". The necklace was a good six inches across. When she put it on, it looked as though the necklace were wearing her.

I said, "Sure, if you want to gain 50 pounds, or be a drag queen."

Lots of people would probably disagree.

"It's Ruby Z! How can you say that?"

I love Ruby Z. Look at the bird in the center of the necklace. Look at those leaves. Just gorgeous. But add them together and the composition works better as wall art than to wear--at least for Judie.

As a necklace, it needed breathing room.

So we freed the bird. He's now perched on an onyx, crystal, and Czech glass necklace.



And we spread out the leaves. They are accompanied by freshwater pearls, vintage German glass, Czech glass, and sodalite.



Oh, and just between us, sodalite might be an underrated gemstone. Where lapis has flecks of gold, sodalite is often marbled with white, making it a natural companion for pearls.

And who doesn't love pearls?

©2009 Laynie Tzena.