A time for mourning

My father in law died. He was a great man, and a wonderful patriarch of a huge family. His wife asked me to make earrings for her to wear at the memorial service, the night before we were getting in the car to drive to California. I have no time, I thought to myself. But the idea that she asked me to make them for her was enough for me to make the fastest pair of earrings I've ever made. Formed and baked that night, and finished the next morning. They came together perfectly, with no problems. I barely had time to photograph them before I put them in the bag for her. This blurry shot is all I have, unless I drive back to California and do a retake, lol. Made with complete love for her.

It's been a very sad time, but also a joyous time. We celebrated a great man, a throw back to the old days when a man's word was good enough and church was where you spent every Sunday morning. 

When we got home from California, I used the leftover clay and made some more earrings that I really like: 

   

   

I'll probably always see them as special because I made one small batch of clay in black, white, and gold. Colors I never use normally. And they'll probably never come out that perfectly again!

It took about a month for me to feel motivated again. Inspiration was hard to come by. But slowly, ideas started to take shape:

  

 

I started feeling creative and had a burst of activity. 

Then I finally finished some Fourth of July earrings I had started before Poppy died. A few examples below:

  

My takeaway is that it's always nice to have someone in your corner, telling you they love what they do, that they appreciate it. Now, my husband, who has almost the exact same name as his father, goes through and makes sure to like each and every photo I post of my earrings. It's very touching, and makes my heart all fuzzy.

*****************

FINI.