Connected

This is a double silk stranded necklace with one magnetic clasp. 

Total drop with pendant and tassel: 26”

Drop without pendant and tassel: 17”

Drop length of shortest layer: 13”

Tassel length: 7” (can be trimmed to your desired length)

Both layers of the  necklace features natural crystals, stainless steel and metal alloy findings. The pendant is a polymer clay owl which has been hand painted and sealed carrying a tassel made of plant dyed, upcycled vintage sari material.

Crystals found on both layers:

Brazilian Orange Sodalite, ruby zosite, moonstone, rose quartz, crazy lace agate, and purple sea sediment jasper.

While owls are known to represent intuition, and the ability to distinguish reality from illusion; they also serve as a symbol of duality. 

“From evil to wise, harbinger of death to a portend of good luck, the symbolism of the owl is firmly dualistic in nature – reminding us that we live in a world where two fundamental concepts that often oppose each other exist. This is in opposition to the New Age concept of non-duality, which is in many ways different from the Indian and Buddhist understanding of non-duality.

‘Non-duality’ is the translation of the Sanskrit word ‘Advaita’, which simply means ‘not two’ and points to the essential oneness of life that exists here and now, without any apparent separation. In other words, two things that we have understood as separate from one another are, in fact, so dependent on each other that they are simply two sides of the same coin.” -An Ode to the Owl

 What does this have to do with a necklace? [To me] this is a lesson to remember pursuit of oneness without acknowledging and accepting inherent differences is perfect for robots, not for people. 

Two things can be the same and different, separate yet totally dependent upon the other. Take a look at your hands, or your feet —-even our eyes! They do function well individually. On the visual level, they are the same. In functionality they are different. If we expect the left hand to preform the tasks of the right hand we will find disappointment. We accept their sameness without criticizing their uniqueness everyday, without hesitation.

How can we apply that to our lives?

Without reserve, let us practice the oneness of the collective without the need to sacrifice every or any discomfort existing in our individual stories, experiences and ancestries.

In unison we are at once whole and broken; right and wrong; relieved and grief-stricken; sick and healed; individual and dependent. 

This is not an argument to passively accept wrongdoings as an unavoidable consequence of being alive. It is a statement that on the surface we may often see things as one or the other. If we keep looking we may see it is both, tangled and knotted together.

What we do with this knowledge from there is part of our daily purpose: how will we choose to live our lives in honor of our uniqueness, with respect to the impact we have on the collective?