The December Challenge theme at Art Elements is white. I immediately thought of a necklace of pearls. A pearl necklace is a wardrobe staple. Whether you like strung, looped or knotted pearls, a necklace of pearls is a classic item that adds elegance to your look. It can be simple or ornate, but a pearl necklace never fails.
The Colour Psychology of White
While white not exactly a colour, it is the source of all colours. Many of you would have come across the colour theory of how white light gets split into seven colours making up the VIBGYOR. In that context it makes sense to study the psychology of white.
Colour psychology is based on Visual, personal and social contexts. The universal values of white are purity, peace, and calmness. It is dichotomous in the sense that white stands both for simplicity and for luxury (high maintenance). Some Christian values of white include poverty, chastity, and Virginity. While many wrongly think that white is the colour of mourning in India, it is worn by widows, a funerals and at other solemn occasion for it is the colour of piety.
A necklace of pearls
I find stark white impossible to work with. It feels too costumey to me whenever I make any jewellery or accessory in white. Thankfully for me, Claire included Pantone swatches of “several whites” in her challenge post inviting us to use the “white” that spoke to us. I chose to work with pearl whites along with an accent of light gray. Wanting to keep it simple, I chose to create a necklace of pearls.
I patina-ed a filigree circle with white patina ink and brushed it to get a sheen. That is maybe why it looks offwhite in the pictures. While the gray pearls are Swarovski, the whites are naturally aged pearls. I have had them for atleast 24 years and worn them regularly as a teenager. The necklace got slightly stained with turmeric when my mom wore it for an auspicious occasion in 2008. Read the story in my reply to Laney in the comments ection.
This is the third remodel since then. Though it is just a necklace of pearls, it is jazzy enough to be used as party wear and ethnic enough to match my Indian outfits.  This necklace is not for sale.
After making this necklace, I had plans for many more thematic explorations in different mediums including a white pompom Christmas tree.. However, the day of the reveal is here and this is the only piece that I have to show. I hope that my other ideas will soon get translated into products.
This month’s Participants
This is a blog hop. Please visit the other participants to see how they interpreted white.
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