HOLD- Honoring Our Loved and Departed

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 memorial piece I made for someone else was for someone who had lost his dog and admired my reliquary.  He asked me to make one for his wife. The front had a picture of their dog. It contained his ashes and was sealed with an enameled disc in a deep burgundy- the same color as his collar. After he’d presented it to his wife, he emailed me to say that when she opened it, she told him it was “the most tho