talisman

talisman (TAL-is-man, -iz-) noun
1. An object marked with magic signs and believed to confer on its bearer supernatural powers or protection.
2. Something that apparently has magic power.

I felt the need to make a talisman for Someone. I found a great book called Amulets And Talismans by Robert Dancik where he made some unusual objects using found objects, clay, PMC, and so on. I've had the book for awhile but never done more than flip thru the pictures.

Then last week I read it. I found it very interesting, full of wonderful tips on how to do certain techniques, how to work with certain materials, some must-have tools, etc.

I didn't currently have access to several of the materials or tools he spoke of (though my day-long PMC workshop is next Sunday; YEAH!). But I can work with found object, polymer clay, wires, woods and metals.

I made the body of the piece out of pearlized polymer clay. I carved a mountains on one side (with a well-worn path) and pressed a geode into the other. I removed the geode and fired. Once my fired piece had cooled I inlaid more polymer clay in green and red into my mountain and path. I fired again. After the last firing, I placed my geode back in and attached with a two-part epoxy putty. I then got busy working on my base.

I took 2 small pieces of wood slightly larger than the body of the talisman. The bottom piece is wrapped in wire mesh. The top piece is wrapped is a soft sheet of copper. I used small purple glass beads as spacers and the feet are wood cubes painted black.

The body of the talisman was then screwed into the top piece of wood. I wanted to use the minimal amount of glues as possible so it's just held on with a screw. I wrapped a red wire (22 gage) around the top of the talisman and decorated with assorted glass beads and Milagros.

I then tea-stained a piece of paper which I had removed from my moleskin journal. I tore it into strips in various sizes, making sure each side had a rough, torn edge. I then wrote some of my favorite quotes about dreams, goals and following your path on each.