HOLD- Honoring Our Loved and Dear

I started making this type of jewelry after the loss of a special dog, Gonzo.   The day came when I couldn't quite remember the texture of his fur, or the way he smelled, or exactly what his bark sounded like. The ache of his absence was already nearly unbearable:  This forgetting of all his "dogness" shattered me.  Creating a piece of jewelry-something tangible- helped me feel a physical connection to him. It gave me a container:  A way to hold those memories.  A way to touch them. And I realized:  Jewelry is powerful The first piece I made for someone else was for a man who had admired my reliquary and wanted one for his wife, to honor their recently departed dog. I put their pups image on the front, and sealed it with an enameled disc in deep burgundy- the same color as his collar. When it was presented, she told her husband it was the 'most thoughtful gift he'd given her in twenty plus years of marriage.” That's the moment something shifted. I have a Masters in Social Work, but bur