Birds & Beads

Our youngest daughter is at college orientation this evening, and I find myself looking around at her things, excited for her, yet feeling a little sad. She is blooming in so many ways...she had her first real job this summer, working for a greeting card company part-time....she and her boyfriend became engaged this summer and have promised to wait to marry until she has completed her undergrad degree.... and, she has become a jewelry artist, self-taught so far. She has both purchased and created a variety of beads, and while she has finished some pieces of jewelry, she wasn't satisfied and took them all back apart. I think some completed pieces are on the horizon, and no doubt her perfectionist tendencies will pay off with some beautiful work.
She is drawn to birds as a theme for much of her art...and it shows in her jewelry making too. Her bead box has flat bird beads and 3-D birds, alongside a few specially designed birds and various purchased beads and findings. This one calls to me with its outstretched wings and coiled tail feathers.....I'm looking forward to see how she uses this little guy.