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Spirals, Circles and Arcs - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade features artisan design that feature spirals, circles and/or arcs.  All three symbols were used as early as 38.000 BC in Europe, Africa, Australia and South America when ancient man began to carve into stone or paint cave walls in protected areas.  It is possible that earlier hunter/gatherer peoples might have decorated their bodies and clothes or marked trees or features in the landscape but, if they did, evidence of that art has not survived.  

Red Hot for Valentine's Day! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

With Valentine’s Day less than three weeks away, you can’t help but to notice all the red heart cards, boxes of heart-shaped candy, red cupids and the like.  Red is a very emotionally intense color.  Since it is the color of fire and blood, it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power and determination.  Red also can signify passion, desire, and love (hence it’s use for Valentine’s Day).  It enhances the human metabolism by increasing the respiration rate and raising blood pressure.  Stop signs, stoplights, and fire equipment are usually painted red since it has very high visibility.  In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage and confidence and is a color found in many national flags.  Red is the color for the base or root chakra, located at the base of the spine, allowing us to be grounded and connected to universal energies.

First We Dream - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

One of my favorite sayings is from Carl Sandburg:  “Nothing happens unless first we dream.”  I don’t know about the other artists that are included in this post, but I often dream about a design, especially one I am trying to figure out, whether it be a color combination or a new wire wrap technique.  Maybe “dream” is not exactly the right word, but a design can come to me in that state between wakefulness and sleep where my mind comes up with all sorts of weird stuff.  

Anyway, the handmade items in this post are the first ones listed (at least at the time this was posted) in the shops of the Indiemade artists featured here.  Most are one of a kind items . . . and all are a “dream” to have.  Enjoy.

Think Green for Artisan Christmas Gifts - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Red and green are colors that are closely associated with Christmas.  Last week I shared how red became a Christmas color.  You can read that post here:  Think Red for Artisan Christmas Gifts.  This week, green, the other Christmas color, is explored mainly through the symbolism of holly, mistletoe and evergreen trees.

The color green and its association with the time around Christmas has a pre-Christian origin, more specifically tied to the Winter Solstice.  Evergreen plants, like holly, mistletoe and pine, spruce or fir trees have been used for thousands of years to decorate and brighten up buildings during the long, dark, cold winter when life could be very tenuous.  Ancient peoples were scared of the short days and freezing nights and mistakenly believed that the Sun might disappear altogether. Evergreens reminded people that spring would come and that winter wouldn't last forever.  Historical records show that the Romans wove wreaths of holly to hang on their walls and doors to celebrate the winter solstice / Saturnalia. They also exchanged evergreen branches as a sign of good luck. The ancient Egyptians would bring green date palm branches into their homes during their mid- winter festivals as a symbol of "life triumphant over death." To the ancient people, the color green represented life, nature, peace, eternity and the hope of the future.