When I begin creation on a new piece of work, I look for inspiration in dreams, in myth, and in history.  I’m oftenoverwhelmed with information that comes to me while a piece is in its early stages, because there is so much symbology coming together from many different currents of thought and belief.

 

While this piece was influenced by the Three Fates or Moirai of Greek and Roman mythology, I was feeling intentionally drawn to the Nordic Norns.  I love similarities between the two cultures in the way they use threads and weaving to depict the linear aspect of life.  They differ in approach, however, with the Moirai focusing on the moral weight of the life they are holding, where one’s expectancy was tied to their virtues or their vices.  The Norns were more neutral in their approach, simply weaving the fabric of each individual life without any concern or judgement for that entity’s shortcomings or lack of judgement.  

They seemed to take control of this piece of work.

 

The Norse Norns, Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld are three sisters who dwell at the Well of Urd underneath the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. They are the keepers of time, and weave the destinies of the gods and man with their hands while remaining neutral to any outside influence. 

 

Urd weaves with the thread of the past.  She holds everything that has already happened.  Verdandi weaves with the thread of the present.  She represents everything that is in the process of the choices we make in the moment. The third sister is Skuld, who weaves with the thread of the future.  She holds the promises of future possibilities, or the uncertainties and promises of death.  Their three threads ply together to create the life of gods and men, and none can escape their influence.

 

This piece depicts the three Nordic sisters. Their individuality blending together to form one piece.  I’ve interwoven their faces with the aspect of Níðhöggr, the snake that lives and feasts on the roots of the world tree.  While the Norns embody the path the lives of every god and mortal will take, Níðhöggr reminds us all of the inevitability of death, and that it comes for man and god, alike.

 

This pendant depicts the three Nordic sisters, with the rib bones of the great snake in their hair, and its vertebrae representing the all-seeing eye of fate in the center forehead.  I sculpted the faces with ADC. It is hand painted and coated in resin for protection. It is surrounded and backed with tiffany soldering.  It hangs 10 ½ inches from clasp to top of the pendant, with the pendant adding another 2 inches in length.

 

The pendant hangs from golden thread, knotted with intention.  The beads I’ve chosen to use are aventurine which means “By chance”, citrine which is believed to help us manifest our dreams, dragons blood jasper, as stone used to increase life force energy, and tigers eye, to keep us grounded and focused.  I’ve also included wooden beads of yew, a tree that is associated with death and resurrection, and is a bridge between worlds.  

 

Yggdrasil was believed to be a yew tree.