Tiki Necklace!

You remember how giddy I was about being selected to participate in the Keep A Breast Foundation breast cast project, yes?  I was also giddy about "The Flower Parade," the incredible artwork on my breast cast by Ken Ruzic.  It's whimsical and wild and perfect.

Well, this whole Tiki Oasis thing gets better and better.  I asked ol' friend Sandy Meeks to create a necklace based on the breast cast so I can wear the necklace to the art showing at Tiki Oasis in August.  Sandy crochets amazing art sculpture necklaces from the cashmere yarn that spent a past life as a sweater.  Totally green upcycling stuff.  The vampire bite necklace that was all the rage last summer was her brainchild.

Sandy is phenomenal.  I put the bug in her ear to come up with something for me on Friday.  She decided to sponsor me with this necklace, and I'll make a dress to go with it.  She sent me a photo of it today.  It's absolutely gorgeous and totally captures the spirit of the breast cast.  Her description of her process with this custom piece is below:

I thought about it all weekend while at work, and then spent some time looking at the Tiki Oasis website, I went through the entire gallery of Ken Ruzic, then through photos of you too :)

I went with the green of the tropics, to the oranges and reds of fire (and your amazing hair), and added the coolness of the turquoise blues to represent not only the water, but to hopefully pick up on your eyes.

I noticed in Ruzic's work, it is tribal, with an influence of Art Nouveau (which I totally love).

I also added the tongue element (that is on the painted bust) to the bottom as well :)

The colors look dark and bold in the pic, but are a wee bit less so in life. My camera freaks out when I try to photograph anything with red and orange tones.

Incredible work.  I encourage you to check out Sandy's Etsy store.  Her stuff is very affordable and clever.