It’s very humbling when a mom who has lost a child contacts me to create something in their memory. Some want a birthstone or favorite color incorporated, but don’t know exactly what they want the finished piece to look like. Others have an object, stone or symbol that had specific meaning to their child in mind. Sometimes they know exactly what they want and are looking for someone who can make that vision come into reality. Each time, the mission is to find out more about their child and about them. It’s not enough to simply create something with “amethyst”. The piece itself has to speak to the mother and bring comfort when they see it. One special creation was a bracelet for a mother, using her son’s birthstone. I usually see her a couple of times a month. Every time she’s wearing that bracelet. I asked her once if she always wore it. Her answer? “Always. I didn’t realized until you gave it to me how comforting it would be.” The response from each mom I’ve created a piece for has been simular. There’s something about knowing it was designed especially for them, with their child in mind, by another mother who “gets it”, who understands how devastating child loss is, how life will never be the same, that you find a way somehow to keep moving forward every day, that helps bring some peace.
Not only does the piece have special meaning, the fact that it is normally made with natural stones and materials also brings the healing properties of those materials to the wearer. Copper, for instance, is an essential element and used in 100s of bodily functions.,
That’s why I do what I do. I enjoy creating just for fun. It can be mesmerizing watching straight wire, chain and stone transformed into a thing of beauty. Each piece is made with inspiration from my son’s love of nature and my love for him. The hope is always for it to find in its new owner, someone who will understand the love that has gone into its creation. But when it’s to capture the memory of a person, place or point in time, it becomes more about sharing my son’s desire to make a difference to others than just another piece of jewelry. Over the next few posts, I’ll be sharing some of those special pieces and the creative process that went into creating each of them.
