Welcome to White Tideline Designs, handcrafted jewelry-as-art ~ sculpted bracelets like watercolors, using premier artisan beads & gemstones & sterling. Each piece is designed and handmade by me in my San Francisco Bay Area studio, an old African mahogany dining room table in my home - my vast and beautiful palette.
It is about this time of year that I have travelled to Oslo, Norway for travel conferences; stayed in the Ibsen Suite at the Grand Hotel on Karl Johan, opposite the beautiful central park, just down the street from the Royal Palace and watched winter turn into spring in a matter of a few days. Those were the days! Single, childless, travelling and really in love with the whole spirit and country of Norway. It was during these late April trips that I would see spring unfurl from the winter, barren grey to a blizzard of green within just a few days. Suddenly, half-empty sidewalks were full of Norwegians out in cafes, enjoying the light and the warmth of what, to them, is a long summer's night.
Flying into the old Oslo International airport, took one right over Oslo Fjord & its harbor. It was a beautiful welcome back to such a glorious country. Seeing the country homes, palatial houses, long, wooden piers with boat houses on the end, I remember the gorgeous sailboats, the contrast between the melting ice sea, watercolor blues of Oslo Fjord, the sparkling green of the evergreen forest which joined rock at the sea's edge. So splendid and exciting. (The airport has been moved northeast, inland and while a stunning, efficient piece of architecture, the feeling is not the same though I am sure the upscale neighbors of Oslo Harbor are pleased...).
Anyway, long-winded - this is the muse behind "Oslo Harbor," done in spring green, cobalt, purple and sea blue with stunning swaths of bright vermeil gold.
'Oslo Harbor' is a cornicopia of lovely, earthy stone and beads by some of the most talented lampwork bead artists I have worked with ~ you will find the alarmingly exquisite forest watercolor beads by an artist known for her blending of colors which look like fresh raindrops on a watercolor which has not quite dried. In these lentils you can actually see the water drops blending the beautiful colors of purple, green and blue on a white canvas. This is why these rank among my favorite lampwork beads of all-time as it is an effect those of us who dabble in watercolor painting always try to achieve without going too far. Other lampwork include a single scroll round in cobalt and baby blue lines along with two etched green, blue & cobalt lentils. Beautiful purple 3D lampwork flowers and the extraordinary cobalt lampwork cubes add a perfect dimension to this snapshot of forest and sea of the ancient kingdom of Norway.
In composing 'Oslo Harbor,' I built the design in colors around the lampwork beads using semi-precious gemstones and freshwater button pearls. You will find:
* Stunning steel-blue faceted quartz briolettes
* AAA faceted quartz rondelles
* Faceted AAA cubic zirconia teardrops in forest green
* Elegant faceted green amethyst shapes
* High lustre freshwater button pearls in lacey vermeil gold beadcaps
* Royal blue & black striped furnace glass beads by Penrose
* A variety of Swarovski crystals in cubes, rondelles, bicones
* A variety of vermeil gold (22K gold over .997 sterling silver) findings, spacers & bumpy beads
* Two large vermeil gold starfish charms
"Oslo Harbor, II " is completed with a round gold vermeil Bali toggle clasp and measures a tad over 8 inches. This can be resized at no additional cost except for any necessary shipping costs in both directions.
"Oslo Harbor, II' is a lovely, elegant piece for any season and any event - from Sunday Farmer's Markets paired with blue jeans and a boyfriend shirt or dressed up with a tiny, black dress and heels, this design is a catchy, lyrical piece of glass art - at once earthy & a song of the sea as well as bright, sparkly with gold reminding one of the natural lustre of our amazing world, wrapped so beautifully in its watery blanket which is the sea or a good forest rain.