Anatomy of an Idea

This necklace is a wonderful example of how ideas become reality. I recently encountered someone from my past. At first the experience was entertaining. Then it quickly became disturbing and then somewhat frightening. As this was happening I started reflecting on how things from our past could reappear and affect our current life. Then I got the idea for the name of this piece. "Shadows of the Past". I had no idea at first how it would turn out. Then the ideas began to come. I used the wing because wings can be seen as protective--such as angels' wings or the mother hen hiding her chicks. Wings can also be threatening--like the shadow of a raptor or other predatory bird. Life events make us the people we are today. This can be a good thing, so even in the shadows there are colors. Shadows in themselves can be seen in many ways--in the summer heat, a shadow offers relief. I chose the monochromatic black color scheme to symbolize the shadows--and also because I needed a black necklace to wear with a lot of my outfits...