YOJ09-11 Snowflake Obsidian Bangle
This has been such a physically brutal week for me, it’s a wonder I have any energy at all to post anything. I finally finished and submitted the viking knit piece I’ve been working on for the past two months. I haven’t been so stressed out about getting a piece done in ages. I developed a pinch in my shoulder, which made it difficult to turn my head. Then the pain spread across my upper back.
As I was staring down the finish, wondering whether or not all the stress was worth the effort, I developed an earworm – a song that plays over and over in your head and won’t stop. I kept hearing a Peter Gabriel lyric: “Don’t Give Up, Please don’t give up…” My spirit cheerleaders were encouraging me to keep me going, pushing me to work through the pain and the feelings of exhaustion and futility. I’m very proud of myself for pulling through. When I dropped the piece off, I commented to the organizer that getting it done was my reward: if it actually made it into the exhibition, I would consider it a bonus. (I found out tonight that the piece wasn’t accepted for exhibition, but did make it to the final round in the selection process.)
I’m paying for all the pressure now though: for days I’ve been alternating between exhaustion, nausea, heartburn, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal distress. Throw in a runny nose and lots of sneezing, and we have a recipe for Not Wanting To Do Anything.
Snowflake Obsidian Bangle (2009)
Sterling silver, snowflake obsidian
Constructed, cold joined
20.32 cm dia.
Luckily, I had made the setting for this obsidian a few weeks ago while doing prep for my class in July. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, so I left it sitting on the bench. Tonight, I whipped off a simple bangle to go with it. It’s about all I can manage.
I’ll post photos of the competition piece next week when I get it back.
