<\/p>\n

I remember being mesmerized by lockets as a little girl. And now, I still am.<\/p>\n

I love surprises. And secrets are exciting. Loving something enough to circle your neck with it and wear it on your chest gives strength. For all these reasons, I adore lockets.<\/p>\n

$\"Sterling$ <\/p>\n

Lockets throughout history<\/h3>\n
American Civil War soldiers headed off to war would leave a lock of hair at home. Should he be killed in battle, his betrothed would then wear a locket containing the tress.<\/p>\n
During the Victorian era, lockets were often heart-shaped, symbolizing the joining of the hearts of the wearer and the loved one whose image was held inside as the heart-shaped locket brushed the heart of the wearer’s chest. The interior images then would have been a tiny hand-painted portraits, done by a gifted artist with the ability to capture the likeness of someone in often less than a square inch.<\/p>\n
Many other uses of lockets have been documented – as a sachet for the body containing a cotton ball soaked in perfume oil, as a place to hold baby teeth, as an opportunity to keep lip balm at the ready in a dry climate, or even a place to keep your poison, should you need it.<\/p>\n
Only in the last century have photographs become the primary contents of lockets.<\/p>\n

A surprise contained<\/h3>\n
In the moment when you hold a tiny container in your fingers, you become aware that there is something inside. Wonder consumes your thoughts – what’s in there?<\/p>\n
You begin to search for the way inside. How does it open? As you reveal the interior, you discover an image, or a message engraved. Or, perhaps it’s empty, waiting for its purpose to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n
This moment when a symbolic container is opened is one of the reasons I love to create lockets. I also celebrate the symbol and meaning for the wearer. And, I do love to build.<\/p>\n

Technical challenge<\/h3>\n
Building a container with an attached lid – as a locket – is great fun for me. It involves the symbiotic interweaving of many skills at the bench, and I truly enjoy complex technical problem solving at the bench.<\/p>\n
Unlike many other objects made in the metals studio, measurements matter, math is involved, and parts must fit. These are the keys to building a locket. I highly recommend The Metalsmith’s Book of Boxes and Lockets<\/a> by Tim McCreight. $\"\"$ <\/a>My copy is well-worn. From the introduction:<\/p>\n
\n
Lockets and boxes offer a wonderful format for metalsmiths. Technically, they call upon a set of skills that can challenge anyone: hinges that slide fluidly, seams that disappear, catches that click with confident assurance.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
I am never sorry that I took the time to measure twice, cut once.<\/p>\n
Come together<\/h3>\n
It’s all worthwhile in the end. Taking the time to work through both the aesthetics and the technical always creates satisfaction with the finished product and its worthiness to bear a symbol of life, love, lore or loss.<\/p>\n
Upcoming Post: The Elizabeth Locket<\/address>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a><\/address>\n
$\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/a> $\"\"$ <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I remember being mesmerized by lockets as a little girl. And now, I still am. I love surprises. And secrets are exciting. Loving something enough to circle your neck with it and wear it on your chest gives strength. For all these reasons, I adore lockets. Lockets throughout history American Civil War soldiers headed off […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,5,6,7,8,9,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/gingermeekallen\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Come together<\/h3>\nIt’s all worthwhile in the end. Taking the time to work through both the aesthetics and the technical always creates satisfaction with the finished product and its worthiness to bear a symbol of life, love, lore or loss.<\/p>\n