Clay Art Contest # 8 - One of the Best Gifts You Received

This is my 4th submission to the Clay Art Contest and I have to say I really have fun creating and clay has become a stress relieving activity for me. This week's theme is: One of the best gifts you have received and for me that was an easy choice.

There is one gift I treasure the most because of the symbolism and meaning it possesses but was gifted three separate times with the same idea in mind which I will explain as the post unfolds.

The original gift was given to me ten years ago celebrating the arrival of my first-born child. My mom purchased a necklace for me with a beautiful silver pendant from a local jewelry store and gifted it to me but instead of saying it was from her she wrote the card as though my newborn son had given me the gift.

The pendant illustrates two parents holding the hands of a child. It represents family and love. It symbolizes the bond between parents and children and the circular shape with the interconnecting arms represents unity and an infinite connection.
I wear this necklace always, only ever taking it off to repair or replace a broken chain or two over the years or to clean it.

Three years later, I was blessed with two more children with the birth of my twin girls. As if their presence in my life wasn’t gift enough, I was also given an upgraded version of my beloved family pendant. Now showing three children and two parents. The store carries pendants with all sorts of family dynamics and a larger size and a smaller size, but I like the look of the larger one on me. My kids tell me to make it complete I really should get two more little heads soldered on to represent our cats which is true, they are a big part of my family but let’s face it I don’t think I’m going to go that far. ha-ha.

I decided to recreate it out of clay but as you can imagine, replicating silver is no easy feat. To make up for the lack of colour diversity, I used some paints to create the illusion of highlights and shadows to give it some dimension where colour lacks. I also added a bit of glitter to the chain because in real life it does sparkle nicely just like my chain.

In the past 10 years of wearing this necklace I have received so many compliments. I don’t think I have been on a shopping trip to date where someone does not comment on it’s uniqueness or how lovely it is.
I am keeping my original pendant safe to give to which ever child of mine has the first grandchild.

The third gift but same theme came two years ago, my boyfriend introduced me to a new hobby with a gift that he gave to me. He learned how to do wood burning craft projects and since he knew my family necklace is so near and dear to my heart, he created a version of it (forgot to include himself) by burning the image into a wooden picture frame. “Family is Forever” is what is written, which describes why I hold this piece of jewelry so close to my heart. This gift inspired me to take up wood burning as a hobby which I also really enjoy doing and have paid it forward by making meaningful gifts for other people.