Survivor Series - Copper Wire Spells Survivor Necklace.

by Deborah Hall
(South Africa)

If you look closely at this necklace, the copper wire spells "survivor". It's not completely obvious. It doesn't scream out at you, but once you see it, it's there.

It reminds me of those of us like myself who are survivors. We go through life, and it's not always obvious on the outside that we're survivors. Other people sometimes don't even know it about us. But we always carry it inside. It's always there.

One of the meanings of the word survivor, according to dictionary.com is: "a person who continues to function or prosper in spite of opposition, hardship, or setbacks".

To me, it means that and more. A survivor is brave. She is courageous. She is strong. She is a warrior.

I am a survivor. And I'm not alone.

The copper wire I've used is recycled. We built a house and had lots of left over electrical wire of different gauges, which would have been thrown out. I stripped it out of its plastic casings, snipped it, shaped it into the word "survivor", hammered it, and wrapped it with a smaller gauge copper wire. I wanted it to have a rough look - almost a barbed wire look.

Like a survivor it's rough, but because it's copper, it's soft but strong, and has an inner shine and glow. It's perfect in its imperfection, and beautiful.

I handcrafted the copper links that attach to the suede leather strip, and also the copper link chain that hangs down your back. I added two shimmery goldstones and a couple of tiny copper colored glass seed beads to the copper extension chain. I also handcrafted the clasp out of copper wire.

The word "Survivor" measures approximately 10cm (just under 4 inches) across. To get an idea of the size of the letters, the "S" is approximately 2cm x 2cm (3/4 inch x 3/4 inch). The other letters are approximately half that size.

To measure the necklace, I unhooked the clasp, and measured from one end to the other. That's 44cm (17 1/4 inches). The copper link extension chain measures 4cm (1.5 inches).


Deborah Hall
Singing Heat Jewelry