I’ve written about Spoken Stone before and I was recently interested in all the poetry she’s been pairing with her jewelry posts. As an English Literature minor, I’m always taken back to my college days when I wrote and read poetry. I immediately get a sense of nostalgia when I see Elisha’s posts and long to go back to revisit all the poems I once studied. Maybe that’s why I’m so drawn to rap music, as the lyrics remind me of poetry (although the rap music created today can never be compared to poetry or rap music from the early 90s/00s).
Here are some examples of Spoken Stone’s latest poems paired with jewels from her shop, along with some revealing answers to my questions:
How did you get into writing and jewelry?
I’ve always loved to read, which goes hand in hand with being a writer. As a child, I use to shovel snow/cut grass to make money to buy books at local yard sales. Once, I found a large box of young adult books, including the entire collection of Little House on the Prairie, for $5 dollars. I was 10 and beyond excited, it took me an hour to walk back home because the box was so heavy, but I had about 6 months of reading in that box, so it was worth it. Interestingly enough my love of jewelry also began at a yard sale, where I discovered a beautiful crystal brooch that began my love for jewelry.
What inspired you to combine writing and jewelry together?
I think any antique object contains a novel worth of stories within it. Just imagine all the stories your tea kettle or couch can tell. Now, something as personal as jewelry, which is often worn daily throughout a persons life, it contains all their life experiences; from their wedding day, the birth of their first child to their daily work commute.
When you examine a piece of antique jewelry you can also physically see aspects of the person who wore it. Depending on where the wear is on the band you can tell what finger it might of been worn on or if they were right or left handed. It’s these little jewelry elements, that inspire me to write about and imagine the life of the person who wore it.
I switch between writing short stories and spoken word poetry with my jewelry posts. you can find them paired with jewelry photos on my Instagram @spokenstone. if you come into the store after you make a purchase you can go into our magic back room, where you can pick out your own poem that goes with the jewelry you purchased.
What is your favorite short story you wrote with jewelry?
I’ve had a relatively strange life from a young age, which prevented me from having access to the knowledge of my culture until I became an adult. I come from a shamanic native heritage on my mothers side, and have been tapping into that energy as a writer. I love to write little legends or folk tales that have a lesson at the end of it, which is a tradition in many native cultures throughout the world. I love this micro short story, about how the only limitations we have in our life is really in our mind.
This sponsored blog post was brought to you in collaboration with Spoken Stone.
