It was quite a busy couple of days at Chez Polymath. Continue Reading →
I just got some great new jewelry posted over at my shop today. One of the great features of etsy (where I have my shop) is the focus on community. And one of the ways they have to build community is through the creation of ‘teams’ of sellers that have something in common – whether that be background, media, style, or anything else. I have joined two etsy teams so far… PDX Etsy (for people from the Portland area) and Mad Scientists of Etsy (for those with a background or day job in science or whose work draws on science.)
The Mad Scientists run a monthly challenge where they provide a topic and everyone who wishes creates something that ties into that topic. The picture you’re looking at is one of my entries in the February challenge, which had the topic of Mycology. I had a couple of related ideas on this one, tried them all out, and liked them – so I ended up posting 3 separate items for the challenge. Two necklaces and one pair of earrings, all inspired by Amanita muscaria – the iconic toadstool also known as fly agaric.
This distinctive fungus pops up in all sorts of interesting cultural places, from the Super Mario Brothers 1-up mushroom, to Smurf houses, to fairy pedestals in European renaissance art. In my tributes, I combined elements of poplar that I had laser etched with an illustration of the gill pattern from Amanita muscaria with vivid red-and-white polka dotted lampwork beads and 14 karat gold-filled chain and toggle clasps. As I said, I really liked how they all turned out… the red and white is classic and fun, and even gives it a bit of retro-50s flair, in my opinion. What do you think?
