Recently on vacation I visited an old graveyard in New York. As I walked among the gravestones I noticed that on some of the older ones there was a symbol, a skull with wings on either side which I thought it was really beautiful. It seemed most of the gravestones around the 1700’s had this insignia. It also got me thinking about life and how short it is. I took these inspirations and had a custom one-of-a-kind stamp created which depicts the skull with wings and the Latin phrase 'Omnia Vanitas' which roughly translates to “All is Vanity”. Just a little reminder to ourselves to make the most of life and enjoy the people around you while you can.
This lovely little charm measures slightly over 1” long and ¾” high and is strung on a sterling silver chain with a sterling silver spring ring clasp.
If you would like to learn about the process I use to create this pendant, please see below.
The item pictured is not the exact piece you will receive as I make these to order. Since they are special orders made especially for you, they will take roughly a week to ship.
Process - The medium I use to create this pendant is known as Metal Clay and it consists of recycled silver from photo negatives mixed in an organic binder. In this case I used a wax stamp to make an impression on the clay, then I fire in a kiln where the binder burns away and the piece that remains is .999 pure silver. I then oxidize (darken) it in order to bring out the texture, and polish the high points to create a nice contrast.
