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Amethyst is a form of the mineral quartz, and is a relatively common gemstone. Amethyst is usually purple, but can range in color from pale lavender to a very deep, reddish purple to a milky color to green. Deeper-colored amethysts are more highly valued. The name "amethyst" comes from the Greek A ("not") and METHUSTOS ("to intoxicate"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. Much fine amethyst comes from Russia, especially from near Mursinka in the Sverdlovsk region, where it occurs in drusy cavities in granite rocks. Many of the hollow agates of Brazil and Uruguay contain a crop of amethyst crystals in the interior. Many localities in India, the United States (Yellowstone National Park, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Maine), Canada, South Korea, yield amethyst. The largest opencast amethyst vein in the world is in Maissau, Lower Austria.

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Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity for intaglios. Beads of amethyst are found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England. Amethyst is a symbol of heavenly understanding, and of the pioneer in thought and action on the philosophical, religious, spiritual, and material planes. Ranking members of the Roman Catholic Church traditionally wear rings set with a large amethyst as part of their office.

The ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. Supposedly, when a drunken Dionysus was pursuing a maiden called Amethystos, who refused his affections, she prayed to the gods to remain chaste. The goddess Artemis granted the prayer, transforming her into a white stone; humbled by Amethystos' desire to remain chaste, Dionysus poured wine over the stone she had become as an offering, dyeing the crystals purple. Variants of the story include that Dionysus, the god of intoxication, had been insulted by a mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal who crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish; the mortal turned out to be a beautiful young woman, Amethystos, who was on her way to pay tribute to Artemis. Her life is spared by Artemis, who transforms the maiden into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple.

Amethyst facts

1. A huge geode, or "amethyst-grotto", from near Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was exhibited at the Duesseldorf, Germany Exhibition of 1902.

2. The ideal amethyst grade is called "Deep Siberian" (or "Deep Russian") and has a primary purple hue of around 75-80 percent, 15-20 percent blue and (depending on the light source) red secondary hues.

Influenced by 3 different cultures, Hanna Ben-Nathan who was born in Europe, brought up in Israel and currently lives in South Africa, demonstrates in her work an interesting weave of cosmopolitan art. Silversmithing is a late occurrence in her life, although art in its different trends was always an integral part of her being.

Raising four children, she was foremost a Mom and a wife, but her spare time was always dedicated to a wide variety of crafts. When the computer was introduced to her, graphic art enabled her to bring to life her vivid imagination. 8 years ago Hanna gave in to the strong urge to become a writer, which was a life long desire. She wrote her first novel and an endless string of stories and poems. Though content in her writing, she kept doing graphic arts and was planning to adorn her published book by her own work. A tragedy in the family brought to a complete halt her writing.

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To fill the void in her life, Hanna, in the last year, with the kind help of a friend, discovered silversmithing. It was a life-line which helped save her sanity and brought forth her natural talents.

Shapes and textures are the main themes in her work. Old world pieces (Europe) mixed with Middle East boldness (Israel) down to the lively trends of Africa, all these make her work unique and interesting. Ideas come from all human senses, incorporating philosophical concepts and nature around us.

Hanna is still taking classes and would like to expand her metal work to areas such as etching and chasing which she finds most challenging. She does not have a site of her own, yet, but you can see some of her work here on this newsletter or try the selling site in South Africa (like Ebay) at http://www.bidorbuy.co.za

Read the full article on silversmithing by Hanna Ben-Nathan.

Natasha Berezovskaya is a Muscovite and is 43 years old. Her professional career lies with a publishing house in Moscow but her true interest rests with her artistic work. Beadwork attracted Natasha since she was a young school girl and her beading hasn't stopped since. In 1995, she took part in a craft fair and was amazed by the variety and complexity of professional beadwork. There and then Natasha decided to take beading classes in order to achieve the proficiency needed to produce pieces such as those she saw in the fair.

Natasha sees beadwork not only as a craft but as a gate to a fantasy world, filled with fairies and flowers, a world with no boundaries and full of hope. With the years, her beading work took a turn and Natasha began to weave beads around glassware, creating beautiful designs to complement the original shape of decanters, bottles and carafes. Each piece has its own unique character and by using beads of all colors, Natasha creates a new medium in the world of beadwork.

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Natasha's work can be seen at her gallery: bead woven glassware gallery.

Contact Natasha with any questions at n-berezovskaya@mail.ru.

Visit Natasha's website: www.biserinka.com.

2008 Wearable Expressions International Exhibition

February 22 - April 13, 2008
Palos Verdes Art Center
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

2008 Wearable Expressions International Juried Exhibition of Wearable Art will take place in Los Angeles area, among artists from all over the world are beaded jewelry artists: Zoya Gutina, Tatiana Van Iten, Lana May. To see the list of fiber and jewelry artists click here.