Beautiful Rosaries!

The beading adventure has entered a new phase: I’m making rosaries (and therein lies a tale, below…) to help raise funds for the choir. Take a look!

The cross on the left — the triangular piece — is handcrafted glass made by choir member Doug Thomas. Among his many accomplishments, Doug is an artist in glass. He makes spectacular art bowls and plates that sell for startling amounts of monnaie. And the cross on the right is by Navajo artist Kee Nataani. I found that at the Heard Museum, also at a somewhat…surprising price.

The decade beads on the one with the glass cross are faceted red agate and the larger prayer beads are brecciated jasper. For the one with the silver cross, the decades are red agate and the larger beads are Swarovski pearls; the blue decorative accents are Swarovski crystal. The three-way connectors are TierraCast silver, the best-quality silver findings available, IMHO — they have an image of Mary on one side and of the spotless rose on the other.

Both of these are sold. But I have one more Nataani cross. Doug is on vacation and does not know about these antics, but we believe he can be prevailed upon to make more of his glass crosses. They really are very striking — much more so than is obvious in the image. So if you would like a unique, truly one-of-a-kind handmade rosary, e-mail me at vicky [at] thecopyeditorsdesk [dot] com, entering the usual symbol in place of the bracketed terms. Price is $50 each; if you would like to make it a tax-deductible donation in return for a FREE GIFT of a rosary, let me know and I’ll tell you how to make out the check. Either way, all proceeds go to the All Saints Episcopal Church Music Program.

Just now we have two others in hand: one made with greenish African jasper decades and red agate prayer beads, with Swarovski pearl accents and a different type of cross by Nataani, and another made with fairly large, highly polished nuggets (stone is unknown, but they have a pale reddish cast) and red agate.

The African jasper number is my favorite, and I’m surprised it didn’t sell on Sunday, when we put the things on display. It actually could be used as a necklace, if one chose. My photography is not as good as Nanette’s, but here’s a vague idea of how it looks:

And a close-up of the Nataani cross:

As usual, click on the images for larger, higher-resolution versions.

So, you might reasonably ask, how did the Prods come to be practicing their devotions on prayer beads that looks suspiciously like, oh…say, a Dominican rosary? Well, I personally have no idea. Presumably when Henry VIII decided to go his separate way and take the English with him, some of us were reluctant to part with old customs. Also, quite a few escaped RCs come to rest in the Anglican (Episcopal, in the US) church, and they also are comforted by their traditional ways.

A smaller, more Protestantly ascetic Anglican rosary does exist, but as it develops, the prayer group in our particular church prefers to use the Dominican rosary, and so that’s why we decided to try this more traditional style.

From what I’m told, a five-decade rosary for use by Episcopalians is more likely to have a plain cross (as above), rather than a crucifix.

These things make perfect confirmation, baptism, and first communion gifts, and also as Christmas or birthday gifts to the faithful and to rosary collectors. No two are alike.

My next effort, after filling a few orders for new ones with Doug’s glass cross, will use a lapis cross and lapis rondelles for the decades, with pearl prayer beads, pater beads, and accents. Here’s the cross I have in mind:

Is that gorgeous or is that not gorgeous? They make one in malachite, too, which may be even more arresting. Malachite and lapis are both pretty expensive, and so I don’t know whether to hold the price at $50 or not. As it is, $50 is about what it has cost to make the rosaries shown above, so we’re actually selling them at cost.

The accents on each of these are sterling silver. So the effect should be pleasing, whether one uses them for prayer and meditation or as jewelry.

At any rate, if you’re interested in buying one for a worthy cause, get in touch: funnyaboutmoney [at] gmail [dot] com  or leave an inquiry in the comments section below.

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And give a listen to the group you’ll be supporting: