Art for the Eclectic Heart

The word, jewelry, typically brings to mind something sleek and stylized. Precious stones in a refined setting, perhaps. Though I'm not quite sure why, I tend to favor something rough-hewn. Old world. Primitive. Mysterious, in an ancient sort of way.

Celtic art and culture embodies the sort of mystery I find appealing. According to LiveScience:

"The relationship between modern-day Celts and their ancient forbearers is a contentious issue that scholars have different opinions about. Languages change over time, and people move, and how much modern-day Celtic peoples, language and cultures are related to the ancient Celts is an open question."

When I came across a circular metal pendant simulating an inscribed stone, I was curious to learn the history of those markings. After a bit of Googling, I discovered the medieval Celtic alphabet, called the Beith-luis-nin, based on the names of some of its letters. Not to be confused with the misnomer, "Celtic runes," the Beith (for short) contains letters bearing the names of trees, in what is known to scholars as the "Ogham" system. These markings appear in relationship to a vertical line and represent the branches of a tree.

Of the 26 letters in the modern English alphabet, 20 are represented by Ogham symbols. With some contemplation, I matched the missing six to those letters that sound closest to them. Then I got busy creating some prototypes of words spelled along my own Circle of Life, die-cut from polymer clay and either buffed using a metallic finish or hammered to look like flecked-gray stone.

"Love" inscribed around the Celtic Circle of Life

With a 1.5-inch diameter, the resulting pendants appear much like ancient artifacts made from metal or rock. Even so, they feel just weighty enough to steady them at the end of a length of leather cord.

As for inscriptions, depending on the word applied, they can bear as many as ten letters, or seem rather cramped at just five or six. Some space must remain at the top for the cord and also to discern where the word begins and ends. With these few limitations, it's still possible to create many variations on the theme, including a personalized version. Even in the case of a fairly common name, hand-inscription ensures that each piece will vary from all the others.  I'll admit, I couldn't resist the idea of a simulated "ancient artifact" with my own name on it. How about you?