Necklace 2018
Japanese maple, sterling silver, hemp
largest bead 2″ diameter x 1/4″, 18 feet long
Photo: Ken Yanoviak
Prayer for Repair is based on a Hindu prayer mala and comes from the trunk and branch of a 50-year old Japanese Maple tree that mysteriously died. The tree was chopped down and made into 108 slices or beads. Because it had not dried completely, many of the slices cracked. Wood workers butterflies made from sterling silver were placed to stop the cracking. The Japanese maple was repurposed and thus transformed into an 18-foot long prayer mala. Each slice had to be handled, lovingly transforming the rough tree to polished beads as if the making of the mala was a prayer and a meditation in itself.