Pencil It In!

Coloured Pencils...ahhhhh.
I have been smitten with my boxed set of 72 Derwents for many years. It was the first gift my beloved ever gave me.( A good enough reason to stick with him I reckon!)
Coloured pencils were like currency when I was at primary school. And Derwents were the Rolls Royces of the pencil world!
You can imagine then how taken I am with these colourful creations by three jewellers who fashion off-beat pieces from the humble coloured pencil.

Italian designer Maria Cristina Belluci has a background in theatre and costume design. Her bold,sculptural jewellery is almost organic in form. I am totally enamoured with her creations.
I would almost be willing to donate some of my beloved Derwents just to own a piece!Another talented sculptor/jeweller who also uses pencils in her work is Jennifer Maestro from Massechusettes. She produces a range of pendants, earrings and brooches which also contain smooth and sanded pencil pieces, some even retaining the brand lettering.

But she is most well know for her pieces that utilizes the pointy end of the coloured pencil. Brooches and larger works reminiscent of sea urchins and anemones, similtaneously appearing sharp and dangerous, but also beautiful and eye catchingly fluid.
Jennifer writes "Hullo pencil fans! All these pencil items are handmade by me, Jen, and I have the fingernails (or lack thereof) to prove it!
I am a sculptor with a particular fascination for pencils. I find them extremely inspiring, probably because I have a million of them in my studio. The big joke in my studio- I can never find anything to write with."
According to Jennifer March 30th was Pencil Day!! Drats I missed it.A divine shot of Jennifers workbench with zillions of colour coded pencils on hand. Bliss.
At her Etsy shop Jennifer introduces us to another pencil crafter, Stacey Dawn from Texas.
Stacey 's bracelets, pendants and necklaces are sweet and simple. Delicate transformed pieces of sawed up pencils create bead like components. The colour combinations are wonderful and appeal to my rainbow hued sense of design.

Stacey uses pre-loved pencils in her jewelery still retaining the marks and bumps of their previous life.She says "I make them from real pencils so they aren't perfect but that's one of the things that I happen to like best about them."