I have to be perfectly frank - I had a couple interesting ideas in my sketch book that I was hoping to work up for this week, but what with the home improvement issues, getting the Short One ready for Halloween and having family visit, I ended up not having enough time to rough the projects out and make the beads for them. Sometimes life gets in the way, and we just don't have the time we wished we had to devote to what we all love to do, namely, crafting (yay!), right? But not having an abundance of time doesn't mean you can't create something interesting. Out of all the simple projects I've profiled for Terrorific Tuesday, this has to be the simplest and the quickest. However, I think it combines a few common elements in an unusual way, so I hope you like it.
When I went shopping for lucite beads the other day, I spotted a strand of big pink rose beads, and I just had to have them. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, of course, and they seemed rather feminine, which is not my usual style, but they just screamed out "Stash! Stash!" in big neon letters when I saw them. As it turns out, I think they provide a perfect way to explore the concept of gothic pink. It seems to me that the color combination of pink and black is often used to suggest something a little naughty - like swiss polka dots and lace on lingerie - but I like to think of the combination as being rather gothic in tone. (H. and I watched a show a few years back where a woman was being instructed in how to be goth. When the experts asked her what the most frightening color was, and she replied "pink", they all said something to the effect of "Oooh, you DO understand goth." H. and I found this rather appealing.)
Although the pastel roses seem rather girly by themselves, I loved the way they looked paired with plain black lucite and glass beads. Roses and skulls strike me as a rather classic combination, so I added one of my small skull charms. I finished the bracelet with a geometric, checkered button to downplay any remaining suggestion of frilliness on the part of the roses. So there you have it - my quick and easy interpretation of gothic pink.
Thanks for looking and Happy Halloween!
15 comments:
Oh man. Teaching a girl how to dress like a goth? What show was that? Are we talking a reality show? If so, Jonah will go searching for it and he and I shall never have lives away from the television ever again.
I like that you pulled off the "pink in goth" thing in -pastels-! If you see someone trying to dress in that style, they're usually in hot pink, which has very little practical wearability once you decide you want to start dressing like you belong in the normal world. (This is coming from a girl with a pink fishnet top in her closet. It sees the light of day every other fortnight when I'm feeling un-lazy enough to tug it on before I put on a graphic t-shirt.) This, however, could be worn by someone who wanted a gothic feel, OR someone who just wanted a piece of jewelry that melded "classic" with a touch of "edgy." It's a masterpiece in marketing!
Nice to know you'll be back on the blogscene now. (:
I kind of forget now (it was before the SO was born - we don't really watch much tv these days - too tired), but I think it was a TLC show that put victims, er, people in different positions - cheerleader, cowboy etc. and then had a panel try to pick out the imposter. It had that train-wreck-in-slow-motion kind of appeal, if you know what I mean.
I think roses can be sort of macabre, although, as far as the pastel color is concerned, I probably had "A Rose for Emily" sort of feeling in mind... I used to have a hot pink spandex mini-skirt (circa 1990), but, as I wore it with 3" diameter gem paste earrings you could hardly have called it goth...
It makes me think of the old rhyme from the time of the 'black death' plague in England - 'ring around the roses, pockets full of posies, ashes, ashes, all fall down!' - it's slightly humerous that it has become a child's rhyming game. Pockets full of posies was the scented hankerchiefs everyone carried to cover the 'scent' that was everywhere, and I guess 'all fall down' is self explanatory. Your bracelet looks like it has that subtle undertone message with the skull and the pink roses.
Shows you how my mind works, I guess!
I like this. The juxtaposition of the feminine with the stark black is wonderful.
I would wear this as an everyday piece.
I like how the bracelet turned out! The rose beads are pretty great.
I love the rose and skull combination! Very sassy!
I love this. You always do such great work. I wish I had your eye for stringing...something always a little unusual and interesting. I love that about your work.
And this is kickbutt. Love the girly and sophisticated play with skulls.
Thanks everyone! Sometimes I agonize over design elements for days and nothing seems to go right and sometimes a piece falls into place immediately. Fortunately for me, the latter happened with this piece, as I didn't have a lot of time to put it together!
Lynn, I love the "ring around the roses" reference - I hadn't thought of that (more "Rose for Emily" or even "Arsenic and Old Lace"), but it certainly works very well with the bracelet!
Roses can be macabre, you and Lynn are both right. And roses are big in the "goth scene," but generally they're supposed to be black or blood red... or white if you're trying to send a message, I guess?
And then there's Poison.
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn." Hardly a goth-y message, but. The song itself makes everyone feel pretty dark and miserable.
And they had the outfits.
What a great way to end TT! It's the perfect combo of girlie and goth. I'm a huge fan of Lucite beads too.
As usual, you've made something thought provoking and beautiful.
Thanks so much for joining the fun!
Cheers,
Madge
I'm not a huge fan of pink myself, but I really like this combo. It's classy!
Yet again, you have created a fabulous piece of jewelry. Love it!
I'm really loving the combo off the delicate pink and the stark black. Gorgeous bracelet!
This is that BEST!!! And if makes you feel better, I thought the roses were brains!!!!
Thanks, Margot!
Kiki, I know what you mean - I never liked pink in my salad days. I'm beginning to see the virtue of the color now, though...
Thanks, Phyllis!
Contessa Kris - I'm glad you like the contrast!
Hee, hee - I love the idea that the roses are brains! Thanks, Michelle!
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