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Friday 20 April 2012

My Tortoise Escaped And Ran Away Into The Woods


When I made this bracelet the other day I had a story playing up in my head. I've never had a tortoise. But I couldn't help imagining we had one, by the name of Mr Tortoise :-), and that he escaped, and "ran" into the little wood next to our garden. I felt he had a good time roaming around in there among the branches, stones and blueberries. He was gone for about half a day. Eventually we would of course find him, and bring him home to the safety of our care. But he got a great adventure for a while there. And he was happy.


Do you get stories in your head like that when you make your jewelry? I do most often actually. I've never thought about it before, I guess it is just a natural part of my creating process. But this story was so strong and specific, so it stuck. I care for that Mr Tortoise, and I wish for anyone who would wear this bracelet in the future to know of his story. Doesn't he look very very content now? :-)

  • Content Mr Tortoise by TreeWingsStudio
  • Ivory polymer clay "swirls" by Floridity
  • Rustic etched lampwork bead by Outwest
  • Forest polymer disc bead by HumbleBeads
  • Small Ceramic brownish round by Gaea
  • Glass, prehnite, agate, coral sticks, lucite flower, seed beads, memory wire

Mark on the other hand had a tortoise when he was a child. And apparently it used to escape about once every year, when the mating season hormones struck. They do that he was told, and it is a strong strong need, so you can't stop them. Mark always found him again, but then one year he didn't. So sad! Now, Mark really liked this bracelet when he saw it yesterday as I was taking the pictures above. Stories inter-tangling :-).

All my best,
Malin

17 comments:

Louise said...

Lovely story and lovely bracelet!

steufel said...

Cute bracelet - and one of my tortoises (the biggest one, Hermann) escaped too. I was so sad, because Hermann was the best tortoise ever!

Angel Whisperer said...

underbart mjuka färger i detta fina armband! och även en trevlig lite story runt det hela :)
Min sköldpadda jag hade i 10års åldern rymde aldrig...den dog i stället...längtade kanske ut trots att han ofta fick vara i trädgården under koll..

Patti Vanderbloemen said...

Beautiful bracelet, and I love the story!

H.T. said...

Hi,Malin:
Beautiful story,beautiful turtle,beautiful bracelet:-))
Greets-Halinka-

Heidi Post said...

Lol, you are so funny Malin! I don't know that I think of stories like that when I'm creating jewelry. But I absolutely think of stories like that about my actual pets or about other animals I might see when I'm walking my dog (lizards, squirrels, birds, etc.) And sometimes I'll tell those stories to my dog. I'm afraid you've but the bug in my brain now, so I'll probably start doing that too.

Also, that's a great bracelet! Love the sleepy tortoise, and the colors are perfect :)

Kim said...

Love the bracelet and the story :-)

Elysian Studios said...

That was a great story- I enjoyed reading it, and, of course, looking at your gorgeous bracelet! Well done!!

aneri_masi said...

LOVE this bracelet! Am going to pin it on my pinterest boards, do let me know if you mind :)

Rebecca said...

Love it! It's a gorgeous piece. YOu always make me smile Malin! I don't really make up stories when I'm beading but perhaps I should...

Malin de Koning said...

It's already sold! Yay! To UK! :-)

Pretty Things said...

Absolutely love it! Such a cool story, too!

Rebekah said...

Oh, Malin!! You know just how to make my critters really shine! What a sweet bracelet! Your story is just perfect and makes it so very special! Thanks so much for sharing it with me! :-)

Unknown said...

Really like this bracelet! Mr Tortoise is of course extraordinarily cute but you have put together such a lovely combination of assorted beads to make the finished piece. I especialy like the selection of seed beads - that light green works so well with the coppery brown :-)

Gold Charm Bracelet said...

Why of course there must be a story behind each jewellery...well good that you caught your tortoise because it looks damn cute sitting on the bracelet.

My Life Under the Bus said...

So cute love the story and the bracelet!

Ginny Henley said...

Your enchanting imagination breathes life into your art. I never understood the need to name a piece, much less give it a story, and now I get it! Cyril Connolly said, "Imagination = nostalgia for the past, the absent; it is the liquid solution in which art develops the snapshots of reality." Thanks for the lesson and streaming eye candy. Love it all.