Friday 14 May 2010

Rose Quartz and a bit more about Creativity


I had another brilliant day last weekend at the Scone Grammar School annual fete - lots of stallholders this time and a real market feel to the whole event. People kept milling about and there was a real reluctance for people to go home! I caught up with lots of clients, some ex-Coolah residents and sold lots of jewels. It's wonderful to watch people see "the" one piece of jewellery for them. (Of course, I have a couple of clients who find "the" one, each time they look LOL. Addicted to beautiful stones - what a way to be!)

I've had a few questions recently about specific stones and realised I haven't really written about the stones themselves for a while. So this week I thought I'd do a run down on rose quartz since I use it quite a bit in my designs.

Rose quartz, a member of the quartz family, is found abundantly in Brazil, Madagascar, India, Mozambique, Namibia, Sri Lanka, the USA and in smaller quantities elsewhere in the world. Of course, the grade of rose quartz varies considerably and it is often crackled and usually turbid rather than transparent. Some higher quality rose quartz is softly glowing pink and rather than completely clear it is often as if it's just a bit misty. With a hardness of 7 it is a sturdy stone although care should be taken to avoid hard knocks or impacts as these can cause conchoidal fractures - which will look like 'chips' to the naked eye.

Rose quartz is named after its pink colour and this colour is thought to come from titanium. Although its crystal structure is trigonal, it is usually found in a massive form (so found in chunks rather than crystals).

A popular stone, its use in jewellery goes back to 7000BC in Mesopotamia where it has been found in the form of beads. The Assyrians used it during 800-600BC and the Romans used it for seals.

Many cultures believed in its metaphysical properties, notably for love and matters of the heart. Egyptians believed it prevented aging (quick, give me some!). It is still used by crystal healers in a variety of ways, predominately to restore calmness, balance and clarity to the emotions.

All in all a pretty stone with nice connotations!

On to other things, the topic of creativity has featured prominently around here lately. I worked with the local preschool on a mother's day project where the children could make a bracelet for their mum. I took in a vast array of beads and my not-good-enough-to-use-in-my-jewellery gems and pearls, some memory wire (it springs back into shape) and my pliers. Over the course of a week, the children strung their selections onto the wire which I then made into bracelets. The results were incredible. There was the occasional mish-mash and the occasional child that obviously wasn't really interested, but most of the bracelets were amazing. There were some real stars too in the colour combination category! The feedback from the mothers has been overwhelming - the preschool teacher even called me last night to tell me how thrilled the mums were.

Is this creativity innate or do you think it's inspired by things they see or their play? Do you think it fades as we grow older or it just needs topping up?

I saw a great post on the Heart On My Sleeve blog about a couple of university graduates being so inspired by the often colourful washing hanging on lines that they took photos of clothes lines in over 22 countries! Some of the pics ARE inspiring too, particularly with the varying backdrops. And if creative play inspires, then I think the cute little knitted finger puppets at Your Cheeky Monkey would be just the thing to get the children in the mood.

Given the run down on rose quartz, today's photo is of a rose quartz and freshwater pearls sterling charm bracelet. Very feminine and very spring inspired (even though we're going into winter - like I said, the muse takes me where she will, regardless of what's going on around me! *sigh*)

Till next :)
Annette

11 comments:

escapade said...

So timely - I have just been reading up on rose quartz and it's amazing qualities, have been looking for the right piece. So interesting to learn more about it.

Mandee said...

I love that piece! The pale pink is so very pretty! Thanks for the little bit of info about the quartz too. Interesting. :)

I hope you have a great weekend! :)

Name: Holly Bowne said...

We're gearing up for summer here in the U.S. so that bracelet fits right in with my summer wardrobe. It's beautiful, Annette!

As far as my thoughts on creativity, I do believe it is innate, but it is also like a muscle. For those that exercise it, it gets bigger! And for those that don't, well, it may get a bit flabby. But it's never too late to start using it. ;o)

Veronica Lee said...

I love pastel colours and the pale pink is really sweet. Love the info about the quartz.

Have a great weekend, Annette!

Pam said...

It is interesting to learn more about the rose quartz. I had to do a study with my son recently about quartz but we only learned about the clear variety.
Glad the sale went well. Your jewelry is beautiful so I am sure that it is easy to find the right piece over and over!

Le said...

hello there .. I think creativity is both - inate and a productive of the environment .... my boys play such wonderful make believe games ... currently all based around two things - home styling and muddy roads .... and what have we had lots of in recent months .... rain and muddy roads and what have I been watching on tv latey ... home reno shows ... hee hee love le

ps how far from oberon are you ...

Christine Holroyd said...

This piece(peace) :-) is very soothing on the eye. I love rose quartz.

Creativity is innate, I'm sure. Holly sums it up beautifully.

Melanie @ Whimsical Creations said...

What a beautiful bracelet!! Love the soft pale pink.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend and have a great week!

Cate said...

Thanks for the mention of Heart On My Sleeve! Your quartz necklace is beautiful--what an eye you have. I think creativity is innate, but one has to keep 'working at it.' It is a Voice that can disappear under all the world's noise as we get older. And there are two kinds of creativity--the first is something you do to get attention, accolades, build the resume, etc. The second kind comes from some Inner Place, Spirit, whatever you want to call it. That's the kind that you need to really tend. Hey! Maybe that's another blog post in the making!

Amber Leilani said...

i forget y'all are going in to winter... it's blazing hot summer in new orleans already! i love rose quartz, but it just fades into the background on my pale skin... so i admire it from afar.

as far as creativity goes, i think it's something we are definitely born with, but from personal experience i can tell you it has to be tended to very very carefully. i am not sure the world really appreciates creativity and it will try to suck it out of you. of course, if a child is encouraged from a young age to keep on that creative path... their life will be far richer for it!

Millie said...

This is such a gorgeous piece Annette, thianks for the accompanying story. I knew your Market Stall would be a huge success!
Millie ^_^

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