Friday, June 13, 2008

Sigma.... Pi....



Earlier this year I received a request from a math teacher... "Could I please make a pair of earrings depicting Sigma and Pi " ... She was going to a Math Conference and thought it would be fun to wear them to it...


...This pair shows the Sigma symbol, on the right... in lower case... 18th letter of the Greek alphabet...





After I made the first pair.. I liked them.... so I made several more pairs... some in copper and some in silver... each slightly different... to have on hand for the summer season...





The stones I used in these particular pairs are African Turquoise... I love the varying blue-green mottled color of them...






This pair shows the Sigma symbol, on the right in Upper case... in the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 200...

...the upper and lower case symbols have distinct meanings onto their own... which the math instructor tried to explain to me... but sorry to say and not being a mathematician myself... It rather boggled my mind when I tried to absorb this information...


............I guess I think with the other side of my brain... patterns.. shapes... designs... well basically I think in pictures... but I did appreciate her tying to educate me... I will leave it to you to discover the exact meanings of these... I'll just stick to intuitively making things here in my hermitted-away studio...





Pi is the sixteenth letter of the Greek alphabet... this is the lower case symbol... in the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 80...




The shell used as background display shows the beautiful designs that nature created on the inside and outside of the Green Sea Urchin...


Copper earrings approx. 2¼" long... Sterling Silver earrings approx. 2" long...  SOLD

25 comments:

Sharon said...

The hammered surface (copper?) of the top pair is so wonderfully archaic and mysterious......ancient..... & beautiful......thanks.

Anet said...

That African turquoise is beautiful, lovely for summer. I'm wondering do you have a way we can see your jewelry line, on line? I would love to buy a pair for myself! These are lovely, but like you, no math brain here! lol
oh I also love the green sea Urchin, what a funny creature!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Sharon, you were right... the top pair are copper with sterling silver symbols... I loved your description...!


Hey Anet... even though I do sell my work in shops I would like to sell directly to interested people who find their way to my blog too...up to this point, I have communicated directly with the interested party through their individual email after they have contacted me...I send them pictures and prices, etc...

I'm not set up for credit cards or paypal so I have to make a decision on which one... For now I am listing and describing in individual posts... then maybe have links on a side bar to click on that will bring them all up... ????? Not sure yet?
...
If anyone has a proven method I'd love to hear about it...
I have to do some figuring... Thanks for asking..

ArtPropelled said...

Also no math brain but i love signs and symbols. The math teacher must have had a lot of comments and compliments whilst wearing your beautiful earings.

Anet said...

Hey Gwen, I've heard pay pal is a pretty safe way for all concerned. I think my daughter uses it when she sells on E-bay. Have you checked out the Esty's site? Autumn is thinking of setting up a Etsy's account. It's a place for artist, crafter and vintage dealers to sell their things on line. And they can post a link on blogs, my spaces, etc. I think there is a small fee of some sort though. I'm not to sure.
Good luck with it!:)

Gwen Buchanan said...

Anet.. hey great minds think alike>>Sharon mentioned Etsy to me too a while back... I'll check it out and see what the details are, Thanks...

Gwen Buchanan said...

I hope she did, Robyn...

William Evertson said...

Hi Gwen - What lovely work - I guess I've been interested for awhile in commissioning some of your work for an anniversary this August. The last post with your pattern book was intriguing. I've been thinking lately about letters and symbols; how to include them in my work. Your work is an inspiration.

sandy said...

These are not only beautiful but fantastic and the way you photographed them...!!! wow.

In a way they remind me of Runes.

I'm not educated in the greek alphabet and the meanings but I know what looks good and this does!

Great photos.

sandy

Anonymous said...

beeeautiful.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Bill, The little book is really quite simple... I really love simplicity even though I love detail... One seems to counteract the other when I think about it...I guess I love finding the detail in simplicity...
Incidently I love the way you applied the lines of text over your work "Meltdown" ... That was really
effective... the colors too.. the whole thing had such passion!!!

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Sandy, now that you mention it... they do have a resemblance to Runes.. sometimes we are so close to what we are doing that we do not recognize what is apparent to others...I appreciate your thoughts very much...


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Thank you so much Pia...

VioletSky said...

I, too, was going to ask about seeing more of your work on-line, but I see I was a little slow! And the fist pair with the copper and silver are absolutly stunning.

Nekonezume/Katie C. said...

Hi Gwen, thanks so much for stopping by Fundy Blog and looking around! I'd be interested in seeing some of St. Martin's secret spots as well, and your designs are certainly a treat for the eyes! Beautiful work! I'll keep an eye on your blog for sure. Dad and I are working on a small album together too, if you're interested! :)

William Evertson said...

Gwen - give me some help - I keep getting an error message when I click on e-mail in your profile. I would love to talk off line about a commission, but on my end I can't seem to do it. williamevertson@sbcglobal.net

Gwen Buchanan said...

violetsky ... thanks for asking... I have started posting some designs and prices on my sidebar ... since I don't have another website.. I will do this for now...I really appreciate your interest...

nekonezume, Thanks for stopping by.. Yes I'd love to hear about the album you & your dad are doing.. I know it will be great... You are a very talented girl!!!

flyinamber said...

Beautiful works,Gwen!
I love semiprecious stones much more than precious!I like especially jade,malachite,jaspis,lapis lazuli,black onix..this african turquise looks wonderful too,I haven't seen it jet in reality.
But at the firs place for me is amber of course (although it isn't a stone)..It would be nice to see one par of thislike earrings with chinese symbols of the earth and the fire in combination with amber..what do you think about that?
Have a nice sunday with your family,Gwen!
Dada

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Beautiful! I have no idea of the math either but I love your designs.

Gwen Buchanan said...

That is such a great idea, Dada, you are making me want to go and try it right now... I love amber too.. especially being able to see through it and what was caught in it those many thousands of years ago...

Thanks so much Cloudsome! glad I am not the only one that gets a little boggled with math.

Rima Staines said...

Hello Gwen, just found your comment on my blog from a while back :) Lovely to meet you and your works...
Best wishes to you from Scotland
Rima

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you so much Rima, Your imagination is a treasure to behold!!

rivergardenstudio said...

These are beautiful pieces. I love your metals and your textures. I wish I could make jewelry!!! Thanks for sharing. Roxanne

Ruth said...

Happy and gorgeous. Wonderful juncture of science and art. They are sooo so beautiful. It must have been fun for you to create these from the request, and now variations. There is no end to the yin and yang pairings of things (I'm gonna post about that one of these days), that keep the world going, evolving. And I do love that shell as background. Wow. Mythical.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Roxanne, Thank you! But with your talent you are capable of anything!!!

............................

Hey thanks Ruth, I love things that pose against each other or bring something unexpected from the other... I will love to see your posting about yin and yang... I know it will be music to my ears!

Ruth said...

You love that posing, and that is the poet in you: finding two (or more) things that maybe no one has ever put together, and something is realized. Or even pairings that HAVE been together, but you reveal something new.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thank you Ruth... Ideas seem to evolve when we spend time with them