Saturday, August 14, 2010

Birds On Vintage China Patterns (broken china jewelry by Laura Beth Love)

Today I'm taking a look at jewelry I have made over the years from antique and 
vintage bird patterned china. Check my Etsy shop for new pieces.

Pendant approx. 1"



"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could have worn."


-Henry David Thoreau


American china with bird motif


 Broken china bird pendant by Laura Love

 Broken china jewelry bird pendant by Laura Love.


 Broken china jewelry by Laura Love.

 Broken china jewelry by Laura Love, Emmaus, PA.

 Broken china by Laura Love.

 Broken china Jewelry by Laura Love, Emmaus PA.




Bluebird China


“Bluebird china enjoyed a brief but spectacular history, first appearing in the late 1800s, reaching its zenith in the early to mid-1920s, and was almost entirely gone by 1930. China decorated with the bluebird motif was produced by over 50 different American companies including Anchor Pottery Company, Atlas China Company and Atlas-Globe China Company, Chippendale China, Homer Laughlin China Company, and Steubenville Pottery Company to name just a few.”

-Excerpt from the book Bluebird China (Schiffer Book for Collectors), above, which can be found Here





Classic Homer Laughlin "Fluffy Bluebird" Pattern



Homer Laughlin Fluffy Bluebird pattern china



Necklace pendant



Necklace Pendant



Bracelet made from a broken tea cup



Broken china mosaic heart with bluebird



Bluebirds of Happiness

“The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird.
-Excerpt from Bluebird of Happiness, which can be found HERE in its entirety.






Other Bluebird China Patterns


Vintage Lovebirds - Unknown pattern




Some examples of a few less common American bluebird china patterns:



Necklace with freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal






Pin brooch with freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals




Bracelet displayed on the plate it was made from




Link bracelet



How about these sweet little birds? Looks like they've made their nest in a basket.



Necklace pendant, vintage American china








Necklace pendant



Entry May 18

Your words are born not spoken. Dimensional soft-vowelled words palpable to the eye or to the fingertip. Exquisitely curved as the young that flowers conceive.



Often I have watched your lips shape words... and your tongue nudge them out

like small birds not wholly certain of their wings. Your sweetest words are those

shaped ovally like plums or wild birds' eggs. And the long bright ribbons you

laugh, the multitudes of hyacinth and bluebells.


-Walter Benton, This Is My Beloved






Pin brooch with freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals




An older, unusual bluebird china pattern, probably circa 1920:



Necklace pendant



Pin brooch with freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal




Necklace made with Amazonite, Rohodonite, and sterling wire




Necklace



Necklace, unknown pattern





Robin pattern















Another unusual American bird pattern. These look like lovebirds or budgies. Notice the motif surrounding the heart design in the second photo below.






Pin brooch






Bird of Paradise & Pheasant Patterns



"The bird of paradise alights only upon the hand that does not grasp."
-John Berry










The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea...with a few species occurring in the Moluccas of Indonesia and eastern Australia. The family has forty species in 13 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of most species, in particular highly elongated and elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat.”
-Excerpt from Bird-of-paradise, which can be found HERE in its entirety





Antique pattern. Pin brooch with heart-shaped coin pearl and crystal.




Heart charm, approx 7/8"




Pin brooch




Beautiful colors! Pin brooch with Swarovski crystals



Pendant



Parrots & cockatoos



Art deco china pattern with parrot motif, American china




Same pattern as above. This pin brooch was made from the design on the center of the plate.





This Parrot pattern is from England:



Pendant



Pin brooch




English china, necklace pendant






Blue Willow birds:




Pendant



Blue willow porcelain from Japan. Necklace made with glass beads, glass pearl beads and sterling wire.



Necklace




A few other bluebird and bird china patterns:



Pendant



Pin brooch





Silver spoon bracelet with 7/8" heart charm





Bluebird china earrings


Heart charm approx. 7/8"


Shelley fine bone china. Flow blue bird motif with gold overlay.



"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Pin brooch with amethyst briolette drop. Newer porcelain.



English transferware with swan motif. Pin brooch



Heart charm, approx 7/8" English transferware




Vintage American pottery with doves motif. Pendant



Birds are flyin' south for winter.
Here's the Weird-Bird headin' north,
Wings a-flappin', beak a-chatterin',
Cold head bobbin' back 'n' forth.
He says, "It's not that I like ice
Or freezin' winds and snowy ground.
It's just sometimes it's kind of nice
To be the only bird in town."
-Shel Silverstein Weird-Bird




Birds are one of my most requested china patterns for jewelry. Because they can be hard to find, sometimes even rare, my finished jewelry pieces made from these patterns on average cost a bit more than other patterns.

I hope you enjoyed this look into the world of vintage bird china! No matter how often I look at these patterns, they are still a delight me each time I see them!
-Laura

(all jewelry shown above was made by me...check out my Etsy shop here)




Which do you like best?


Have a great week!
Laura

Join me on: 




Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2019 and may not be republished in print or other media without express written permission from the author. For any link corrections please leave correct info in comment area.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Heart and Lynyrd Skynyrd at Musikfest 2010, KISS at Montage


Musikfest 2010 Bethlehem PA


Nancy Wilson of Heart

It’s festival week here in the Lehigh Valley PA with Bethlehem’s Musikfest! This ten day festival runs August 6th through the 15th, and boasts over 300 performers! During Musikfest the streets of downtown Bethlehem are closed and 14 stages host a huge range of local to nationally known musical performers.

Musikfest is presented by ArtsQuest, a nonprofit arts organization, and all proceeds from the festival help support The Banana Factory (ArtsQuest’s community arts center and gallery in Bethlehem, PA) as well as other local nonprofit groups.

I’m a huge music fan and really look forward to Musikfest every year. Last night I got to see Heart, which was a long time coming for me, as I’ve been a huge fan for 20+ years and this was my first time seeing them live! The previous night I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd, another long awaited show – and both concerts were just outstanding. Here are a few photos I took at each concert!



Heart
Musikfest August 10,2010


As beautiful as ever!






































Lynyrd Skynyrd
Musikfest August 9,2010









Musikfest website: http://www.musikfest.org/

ArtsQuest website: http://www.artsquest.org/



KISS at Montage in Scranton PA

Thanks to a friend, I was able to see KISS in Scranton PA on the following Sunday, August 15th. They were awesome, as usual. The best was that we didn't even know we had front row seats until we got there...the tickets said "row C" so we assumed we were third row...until we got there and found out the rows started with C!













all photos copyright Laura Beth Love 2010 and may not be used without permission


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I Heart Fiesta & My Fiesta Hearts Me






Imagine my thrill when I was gifted with this fancy-schmancy sandblasted Fiestaware plate from a Homer Laughlin Fiesta Collector’s Association!
It's perfect!


Is this not the cutest thing ever?


I had already been making my jewelry from broken plates and pottery for quite a few years when one day I was approached by a Fiesta collector to enter a contest in which artists create something from broken or damaged Fiesta. Of course, now I cannot find a photo of my winning piece, but it was a piece of jewelry, a heart pin brooch with fancy edges and so pretty! Here are a few photos of some other things I have created with broken Fiesta over the years.


Pin brooch (sold '02)


Mosaic teacup plaque. Doubles as the most awesome bird feeder ever. (sold '03)



Backstamp pendant (sold '04) (approx 1.25")



Bracelet



Love these earrings!



Another necklace pendant (approx 1.5")



Mosaic heart - perfect for the Fiesta kitchen! (approx 6")



Earrings with Swarovski crystals and Czech glass pearls (1/2" by 1 & 1/4")



Read on for some interesting history about Fiesta ware colors:
“At its introduction in 1936, Fiesta was produced in five colors: Red (orange red), Blue (cobalt), Green (light green), Yellow (deep golden), and Old Ivory (yellowish cream). By 1938, two years into production, a sixth color was added: Turquoise (robin's egg blue). With the exception of the Red, this color assortment remained in production until approximately 1950. The original Red had been discontinued before 1944 (see below).
The lack of this vibrant color, plus the general changes in society due to the United States' participation in World War II, had caused a slump in sales of the larger serving pieces from the early 1940s. Prior to this reduction in the number of shapes offered, only one or two very specialized shapes had been discontinued and those by 1938. Later items which were discontinued, such as covered onion soup bowls in turquoise glaze and mixing bowl covers in any color, are scarce and highly prized by collectors.
By 1950, home decorating styles and colors had changed. The Homer Laughlin Company discontinued some original glaze colors and replaced them with four new colors. The original Blue (cobalt), the original Green (light green), and the original Old Ivory (yellowish cream) were discontinued, replaced by Rose (pinkish-brown), Gray (medium), Forest (dark green), and Chartreuse (bright yellowish green). Two existing glaze colors, Yellow and Turquoise, continued in production, so the company continued to offer six colors through the 1950s.” Excerpt from the article “Fiesta (dinnerware)”, which can be found HERE in its entirity


One of my later designs, about 2006 (1/2" by 1")

I will have some new jewelry in these and similar designs up for the holidays so be sure to check back!
-Laura

Monday, August 2, 2010

Mosaic: When Art Inspires Poetry



MOSAIC

I will bring my hammer down on you hard
And for that brief second close my eyes
(believe me, this hurts me more than you…)
All of your beauty –

Shattered with one swift swing
And cleaning up the pieces –

A messy job.

But I must admit – I thought of you,
In that particular, sentimental way

before I did you in

Oh, the beautiful company you’ve held,
The admiring eyes,
The groping hands once all over you,
Fingertips touching and feeling
Your every sleek curve and smooth…

Patience is the key now
To give the mastic time to dry before

Mixing just the perfect hue of grout

to complement your new assemblage

Oh wedding vase, anniversary plate,
Knick-knack cat, teapot lid.



Mosaic bird's nest bowl made from broken china




Wedding Vase



Anniversary Plate



Knick-knack cat




Royal Winton Chintz teapot and lid

Below: Necklace I made from same chintz pattern shown above

poem copyright 1999 Laura Beth Love

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