belonging to the darkness.

the 'belonging to the darkness' ring is based on an idea i had concerning the balance between love and darkness a while ago and which i was able to put into practice here last year for an awesome local couple before i released it in this incarnation. 

 based on the myth of persephone, who was stolen to the underworld to live as the queen of it, these 'engagement rings' are meant to symbolize a stand you have taken, an act of showing your commitment or belonging. whether this is to be to another person, ( i've always imagined this ring as being a perfect "alternative" engagement ring) or to an idea you hold dear, or perhaps even a declaration of belonging to yourself. 

many happy returns.

today this blog turns 3! three yearss ago today i was working on a series of new paintings and just starting blood milk. i never imagined that all these moons later, i'd have such amazing people reading my blog & supporting my work. as a thank you & a celebration of both the anniversary of my blog & jewelry, i'm giving away the conjoined sparrow claw ring in rose gold plate to one lucky reader as it's gotten some attention recently via the urban outfitters blog.

the give- a- way will be open all month and will close august 3rd, the same exciting week my new lookbook will be shot! to enter, leave a comment to this post . . . . good luck & as always, thank you for meeting me here.

xo,

jl.

*stunning image via andrea glavani. check out the rest of her amazing images.

blood & thistle. st. joan of arc.

one of the perks of living in philly is that i get to see this amazing joan of arc statue nearly everyday, as it rests at the end of my block near the philly art museum. however, it's been gone for months, being restored. it was promised back in the fall, but was just installed a few days ago. she's glowing and golden and i'm grateful she's home. to honor her return, i just made a new joan of arc necklace, blood & thistle.

xo.

sacred secret, a coveted relic locket.

this special piece has been in the works for months now and i'm happy to have it finally ready.

cast from an antique french sacred heart ex-voto locket, this piece retains all the beauty and mystery of it's original. paired with a vintage rosary it makes an incredible statement!

check it out in the shop!

xo

jan toorop.

i recently discovered the work of dutch artist jan toorop. it seems like work i've been connected to all my life, i don't know how i've gone this long without it! his work will certainly be bountiful inspiration to me as i begin to gear up for my show at topstitch in april.

in other new newness:

i started a facebook fan page for blood milk. i plan on posting secrets & specials on here so if you're so inclined, become a fan.......

my review of chris berens show at sloan fine art in nyc 'the only living boy in new york' just went up on fecal face......

selling blood to the like-minded.

one of the (many) thrilling things about making jewelry is when other artists buy my work. a few weeks ago artist audrey kawasaki picked up a couple skull necklaces and added this photo to her blog:

this is my favorite piece of hers that i had the good fortune to snag a print of:

& this is a photo artist tamara waite-santibanez posted on her blog of an optical lens/vertebrae necklace she picked up at youngblood gallery all the way in atlanta! even thou she lives so close in nyc.

& this is some of her amazing art:

XO

fresh blood.

fox tooth brooch

vampire bat skull & twin heart medal

stud chain and crystal bullet

fresh blood for the holiday impaired.

xo

all day i dream about blood......

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade BloodMilk.etsy.com

wow i'm seriously exhausted. i don't know how some of you post to etsy so diligently! anyway, here's 8 pieces of fresh blood. more to come.......

x

current nighttime obsessions ii.

it's currently 3:06 am here in philly & i've been up all night making new jewels, including a few pieces i'm thrilled about that are made with snake vertebrae. i'll be making more new stuff & have plans on having a separate collection of work specifically for my poor abandoned etsy shop starting next week.
a favorite friend recently lent me the vivian girls album, which i've wanted for a while now, admittingly only because they named themselves after henry darger's army of younglings, but really love it & have been listening to it on repeat all night while stringing together spinal cords with vintage brass. i've listened to it so much already that its become trance inducing. the ladies have a lo-fi style & sound like they may be singing in a damp, echoing tunnel underground or beneath a bridge. i hope to catch them live in person this summer.

lastly, i was recently made aware of the breathtaking artwork of remedios varo today. it's been one of those discoveries that feels like an epiphany. how could i have lived my life this long without ever having seen any of this before? apparently the artist was good friend's with frida, was a surrealist & took art classes with dali. i look forward to reading a book on her life and work that was lent to me today as well. coincidentally, the woman who wrote the book is one of mictlan's professors at moore. o world! how small & delightful you are. 

xoxo goodnight.

the lovely morgan just sent over some pictures of her modeling 'seeing the unseen', a wolf tooth necklace she just bought from me last week. i love to use teeth in my work, i believe they are metaphors for secrets and fortune telling. 

p.s. i'm trying to remodel my blog and lost all my links! :( i'm trying to list them all again!

xo

& the winner is............

to pick the winner i made a list of everyone's name who commented. then i randomly choose 24 tarot cards from my lovely salvador dali deck. amanda then shuffled them up until her heart's content and handed me each card which i then listed next to a name on my list, in order, so each one of you has your own tarot card. they are listed below so if you want to go check out what the card that was drawn for you means, you can over here at learn tarot. there are many other resources online and in books, but i find this one very accessible, especially for beginners. here is a source that outlines the meanings of reversed cards, since so many of you got them and the above website doesn't go into detail about the meanings of reversed cards. 

** EDIT** please don't be alarmed if your card seems "bad." investigate further on the internet or library, or get a true reading from a skilled reader in person. i only give "true" readings in person, when i get a sense of that person and their energy. xoxoxo  

leila: the tower reversed

lady fox and hound:the magician reversed

swashbuckleher: the world reversed

get ready set go: 8 of swords

danielle v: 7 of pentacles

rachel: 3 of swords

claire: the high priestess reversed 

sojournher: temperance 

mariarita: the devil reversed 

sue: the moon

jtk: the empress

keri: the star

joanne waryga: the hanged man reversed 

morgan: the ace of pentacles reversed

the giveaway diva: the sun

beth: the lovers

jen: strength

planet caroline: death

heather jean: king of pentacles

choklit: judgement

kelly patton: 9 of swords

verse: queen of swords

mon victorian: 2 of cups reversed 

pop culture casualty: 10 of pentacles reversed 

so after this list was compiled, amanda and i took turns shuffling the deck, and then i picked the winner!!!!

Ingrid from POP CULTURE CASUALTY!!!! who was the very last person to comment!

when we were picking the winner, my little BT daisy jumped in my lap to be in the photo too!

SO thank you all again for entering my contest, it was a lot of fun to hear all of your reactions to my work! 

wow i've been filled with so many wonderful feelings since the art star craft bazaar! i met such amazing people! thank you to all of the lovely boys and ladies who bought jewelry from me this past weekend, who asked thoughtful questions about my work, and who gave such lovely and personal feedback. i make this jewelry for people like you, who have a story that becomes connected to the piece of jewelry of mine that then lives on with you. the above picture is of the cutest lady who couldn't decided which ring to buy so she tried all of them on! 

the shop is bare but i promise to have it filled with all new treasures and stories this week. 

thank you all again and again!

p.s my first giveaway for a custom piece of jewelry ends this saturday! if you haven't already done so, please leave a comment to this post. all you need to say is hi if you like!

a very lovely writer and collector of beauties in brooklyn recently purchased one of my newer pieces, 'the divine lorraine,' based on one of my favorite places here in philly, the haunted divine lorraine hotel. i've been working on many new pieces that i'll be listing over the next few weeks so keep an eye out. also, i'll be part of this years art star craft bazaar which is run by the amazing ladies over at art star gallery. the bazaar features around 120 artists who have individual booths selling their handmade wares. this craft show is juried and everything is really lovely and inspiring, it's worth saving some $$$ for even in these tough times. The show is May 30 and 31st! I'll post more about this soon, including a special secret.
thank you for the lovely picture D.V. ! xoxo

sci-fi darling.

a necklace! 2 necklaces! circus coins! a gun! a knife!

sci-fi splendor for your neck, ending my little dry spell. in the shop.

Etsy Love

Today I found two notes in my Etsy inbox about lovely top picks my jewelry was included in!

This collection comes from a Storque Article you can find HERE.

 All of the designers are incredibly talented and I loved each piece.  

I was also included in this amazing treasury located HERE in Treasury West. Again, I was delighted by the surrounding artists. Thanks to the lovelies at GetReadySetGo for including me. Their luggage is amazing and I recently received a few pieces of it myself as a gift. I'll post some pics of them soon. 

Also, if you happened to notice, my blog got a little make-over courtesy of the super-talented Lelia of Red Heart Cult. You can find her jewelry and other dark lovelies HERE. Her blog is also a favorite stop of mine while voyaging the Internet.