Weeping Willow

Today's post is inspired by the challenge on Humblebead's blog. The idea was to create something on the concept of "Willow". Willow to me means the weeping willow trees of my childhood. Granny had one as big as a mountain ( it seemed to me). The branches came all the way to the ground and you could pretend you were in your own private cave of green as far as the eye could see. We had one sorry willow specimen in our yard right on the fence row. The neighbor's mule would mosey up to the fence, bray once just to show he could get away with it, and chomp a few leaves. He finally killed it before it could flourish.
My dad sang an uptempo bluegrassy song that had this verse:"Bury me beneath the willow, Under the weeping willow tree, So she may know where I am sleeping, Then perhaps she'll think of me." It's strange how a snippet of song can bring back a forgotten feeling. I thought everybody grew up with the same songs. When I went to college the girls from the city knew a smouldering jazzy song with this line: "Weeping willow weep for me, You know where I long to be...". Same tree, same sentiment, different worlds.
I pulled out all the green mini beads I'd made from polymer clay from my stash and made a few shades I didn't have to make this willow-inspired fidget bracelet. Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Heather!

Coyote's Quest Beads

Day after day Coyote traveled the roadside. She felt the eyes of the two-legged ones watching from every angle. The roar and vibrations from the traveling machines keeping her wary. A safe place to lie down,a place to prepare was all she sought. A safe place close to water and far from the noise of the machines. "Are the safe places all gone?" she howled, but there were none of her kind to answer.

Summer of '42 Bracelet

Lina walked along the water's edge. She dodged the towels and umbrellas on the beach keeping her focus on the horizon. Shep was out there somewhere on the other side of that ocean.The sky was soft. The water was blue. The waiting was hard. Getting harder every day.

Mermaid's Treasure Bracelet

Lina lay on the rocks and dipped her tailfin in the water. She thought about the jewels in her clamshell. "I'm in a sparkly kind of mood today," she thought. This bracelet is what she wore.

Song of the Whale Beads

The whale came closer to shore. "Step back,"said the mothers,"The whale is so big." Sadly, the whale retreated, singing as she swam. The song spoke of regret, of sadness, of hope,of love. When the mothers heard the whale's song, they told their children,"The next time the whale comes by do not be afraid for she is a mother too."

Under the Apple Tree Beads

Lina waited for the mailman. Through the kitchen window she heard her mother's radio. "Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me..." The sun was dipping behind the barn. Night was closing in. Just like yesterday and the day before, the mailman never came.

Visionary

While I'm making beads there is always a story in my head. I'm thinking about a color, a texture, a story, a song, a poem. Here's where "Visionary" came from.
The sky was turning from ink to milk as Lina stood at the kitchen window. In the distance the trees were shadows in deep greens and blues. A woman appeared, mist swirling around her skirts. Lina was instantly drawn to the woman. She could feel the soft fabric of the woman's skirt against her own legs. Soft blue green with designs of lilac and sunny yellow. As the woman neared, she could see that the designs looked like eyes. "Should I go and talk to her?"Lina thought. Just then the woman turned to the left and was gone.
Later that day Lina found a scrap of fabric tied to the branch of her clothesline tree. It was soft blue green with designs of lilac and sunny yellow. The eyes looked back at her.