Showing posts with label ogham. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ogham. Show all posts

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Celtic "Fis" Pictish Stone Ceramic Pendant


There are many representations of the ancient old Gaelic Pictish stones and this is mine! This earthenware clay ceramic pendant has had the old Irish word "Fis" meaning "Secret Knowledge" carved into it. I have glazed it with a rich, earthy blue color and attached a sturdy Aanraku bail. You can easily remove the dark brown suede cord if you have a chain you prefer to use.

Shipping is free for this item that is currently for sale in my Etsy shop, and a gift box is included!

~Who were the Picts?~

According to Wikipedia, the Picts were a confederation of tribes in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from before the Roman conquest until the 10th century. They lived to the north of the Forth and Clyde rivers. They are assumed to have been the descendants of the Caledonii and other tribes named by Roman historians or found on the world map of Ptolemy. Pictland, also known as Pictavia, gradually absorbed the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba. Alba expanded absorbing British and Bernician territory and by the 11th century the Pictish identity had become subsumed under a new term for this amalgamation of North British peoples the "Scots".

Pictish recorded history begins in the Dark Ages. It appears that they were not the dominant power in Northern Britain for the entire period. The Gaels of Dál Riata controlled their own region for a time, but suffered a series of defeats in the first third of the 7th century. The Angles of Bernicia overwhelmed the adjacent British kingdoms, and the neighbouring Anglian kingdom of Deira (Bernicia and Deira later being called Northumbria), was to become the most powerful kingdom in Britain. The Picts were probably tributary to Northumbria until the reign of Bridei map Beli, when the Anglians suffered a defeat at the battle of Dunnichen which halted their expansion northwards. The Northumbrians continued to dominate southern Scotland for the remainder of the Pictish period.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Back and Forth!


It's nice to have several online selling venues. I'm doing a little house cleaning and am in the process of moving some pieces back to my Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy shop. Several of my international customers have been inquiring about buying some of the Celtic, Norse and Druid jewelry that had been listed in my 1000markets.com shop and since Amazon is the only payment system allowed there (and not available to international buyers) I thought I would move them back to Etsy. Wow, that was one long sentence! LOL All apologies to my past English instructors :)

You can now find my Druid's Eggs and Celtic Oghams in my Etsy shop, with more pieces to come in the future :)

Monday, February 16, 2009

Old Irish Pictish Love Ogham Stone Ceramic Pendant


This "Pictish Ogham Stone" earthenware pendant is another collaborative effort between my husband, Grizzly Mountain Arts, and myself. I am so lucky to have a master carver with a studio right next to mine! Dave carved the original Pictish standing stone ogham, then made me a wonderful mold from that piece.

This pendant, which spells out the word "Love" in ogham writing, measures about 2 inches in length and about 1 1/2 inches in width. It has been glazed with an earthy bluish-brown glaze and hangs from a sturdy cotton cord with copper clasp. The cord could easily be removed if you have a favorite chain or cord you prefer. A gift box is included with your purchase!

**What are Pictish Ogham Stones?**

Ogham, is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to represent the Old Irish language (and, occasionally, the Brythonic ancestor of Welsh). Ogham is sometimes referred to as the "Celtic Tree Alphabet", based on a High Medieval Bríatharogam tradition ascribing names of trees to the individual letters.

There are roughly 400 surviving ogham inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and Britain, the bulk of them stretching in arc from County Kerry in the south of Ireland across to Dyfed in south Wales. The remainder are mostly in south-eastern Ireland, western Scotland, the Isle of Man, and England around the Devon/Cornwall border. The vast majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names.

Monumental ogham inscriptions are found in Ireland and Wales, with a few additional specimens found in England, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Shetland. They were mainly employed as territorial markers and memorials (grave stones). The stone commemorating Vortiporius, a 6th century king of Dyfed (originally located in Clynderwen), is the only ogham stone inscription that bears the name of an identifiable individual. The language of the inscriptions is predominantly Primitive Irish and Old Irish, apart from the few examples in Scotland, such as the Lunnasting stone, which record fragments of what is probably the Pictish language.

The more ancient examples are standing stones, where the script was carved into the edge (droim or faobhar) of the stone, which formed the stemline against which individual characters are cut. The text of these "Orthodox Ogham" inscriptions is read beginning from the bottom left-hand side of a stone, continuing upward along the edge, across the top and down the right-hand side (in the case of long inscriptions). Roughly 380 inscriptions are known in total (a number, incidentally, very close to the number of known inscriptions in the contemporary Elder Futhark), of which the highest concentration by far is found in the southwestern Irish province of Munster. One third of the total are found in Co Kerry alone.

Thanks for looking at my item! Don't forget--Shipping is always FREE!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Celtic "Love" Ogham Ceramic Pendant


This "Love" Ogham has been glazed with a clear crackle glaze to give it an aged look. Each piece comes out of the kiln with it's own unique characteristics! The Ogham writing on this pendant has been glazed with a brown glaze, and the pendant hangs from a faux suede cord that can be tied to accommodate many necklines. This material is also great because it doesn't shed all over your clothes like real suede can. The bead is an old Tibetan yak bone bead that has been inlayed with turquoise and coral.

This ogham, and others, can be found at my 1000markets.com shop!

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Celtic Prosperity Ogham Ceramic Pendant


All of my Celtic Ogham pendants are individually hand carved by me. There are about as many variations of interpretations of the Ogham symbols as there are interpreters. I hope you enjoy mine!

This "Prosperity" Ogham has been glazed to give it an aged look. Each piece comes out of the kiln with it's own unique color! The Ogham writing on this 3 1/4" long pendant has been glazed with a dark blue glaze, and the pendant hangs from a faux suede cord that can be tied to accommodate many necklines. This material is also great because it doesn't shed all over your clothes like suede can. The pendant is accented with an old Tibetan yak bone bead that has been inlayed with chips of turquoise and coral.

You can find more Celtic ogham and Norse rune jewelry in my 1000markets or Etsy shop!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Celtic Love Ogham Ceramic Pendant

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

This is another of my handmade Celtic "Love" Ogham pendants. The Ogham has been glazed with a dark blue glaze and the pendant has been given an aged look by washing the glaze over it. This piece is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Celtic Mother Earth Ogham Ceramic Pendant

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

This "Mother Earth" Celtic Ogham has been glazed with an earthy blue glaze to give it an aged look. Each individually hand carved piece comes out of the kiln with it's own unique color! The Ogham writing on this pendant has been glazed with a dark brown glaze. More photos of this pendant can be found here.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Celtic Happiness Ogham Ceramic Pendant

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

This "Happiness" Ogham is accented by a old Tibetan yak bone bead that has been inlayed with turquoise and coral. The Ogham writing on this pendant has been glazed with a dark brown glaze. I try to give an aged look to all of my pieces. If you would like to view addition photos of this piece, or see other examples of my work, please visit my Etsy shop!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Celtic Healing Ogham Ceramic Pendant

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

All of my Celtic Ogham pendants are individually hand carved by me. There are about as many variations of interpretations of the Ogham symbols as there are interpreters. I hope you enjoy mine!

This "Healing" Ogham has been glazed with an earthy blue glaze to give it an aged look. Each piece comes out of the kiln with it's own unique color! The Ogham writing on this pendant has been glazed with a dark brown glaze, and the pendant hangs from a faux suede cord that can be tied to accommodate many necklines. This material is also great because it doesn't shed all over your clothes like suede can.

If you would like to see more photos of this pendant, or see what else I have made, please visit my Etsy shop!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Celtic Courage Ceramic Ogham Pendant

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

All of my Celtic Ogham pendants are individually hand carved by me. There are about as many variations of interpretations of the Ogham symbols as there are interpreters. I hope you enjoy mine!

This "Courage" Ogham features an old Tibetan yak bone bead that has been inlayed with brass. This pendant has been glazed to have an aged appearance and hangs from a faux suede cord that can be tied to accommodate many necklines. This material is also great because it doesn't shed all over your clothes like suede can.


~~What are Celtic Oghams?~~

The Celtic Ogham alphabet dates from the fourth century. The alphabet is named for Ogmos, the Celtic god of knowledge and communication. The alphabet consists of twenty letters, each named for a different tree believed sacred to the Druids.

According to Wikipedia, the letter names are interpreted as names of trees or shrubs in manuscript tradition, both in Auraicept na n-Éces ('The Scholars' Primer') and In Lebor Ogaim ('The Ogam Tract'). They were first discussed in
modern times by Roderic O'Flaherty (1685), who took them at face value. The Auraicept itself is aware that not all names are known tree names, saying "Now all these are wood names such as are found in the Ogham Book of Woods, and are not derived from men", admitting that "some of these trees are not known today". The Auraicept gives a short phrase or kenning for each letter, known as a Bríatharogam, that traditionally accompanied each letter name, and a further
gloss explaining their meanings and identifying the tree or plant linked to each letter. Only five of the twenty primary letters have tree names that the Auraicept considers comprehensible without further glosses, namely beith "birch", fearn "alder", saille "willow" , duir "oak" and coll "hazel". All the other names have to be glossed or "translated" with a plant name.


Worldwide shipping is FREE for this item and a gift box is included!

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Solitary Fern

Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

This "Solitary Fern" pendant was created using earthenware clay. No two glazed pieces ever come out of the kiln the same, so each piece is truly unique. This pendant hangs from an 18" ball chain and is available for purchase in my Etsy shop. A gift box is included with your purchase.

A special note to those of you that have contacted me regarding my earthenware Celtic Ogham and Runic pendants--First of all, THANK YOU! for your interest! I was "lucky" enough to have been chosen for jury duty for the months of November and December. We live in a sparsely populated county, so there isn't a huge jury pool. Between that and getting ready for my wonderful son to be home for Thanksgiving I don't have a lot of time to create, but hopefully I will get back on track soon :)

I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, September 15, 2008

New Oghams Added


I finally got a few more Celtic Ogham pendants added to my Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy shop! Things have been a little crazy around here lately, so I haven't gotten as many pieces finished as I had hoped. Oh well, I'll just consider more to later job security :)

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Old Irish Blessing Stones


I have just added some new Old Irish Blessing Stones to our Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy shop! For all of you Ogham lovers--that's my next project!

We are officially on vacation! To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, Dave and I are headed to Reno and will be gone until late Thursday evening. All of our shops will remain open and we will have our laptop with us to answer any questions you may have. It will be business as usual except all items purchased during this time won't be shipped until Friday, September 12.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Fresh from the Kiln!


Nothing is more exciting than opening the kiln door! You never know what you're going to find as the glazes never turn out the same way twice.

Our newest addition to our earthenware line, is our Old Irish Blessing Stone Pendants. These pendants were made to look like the Buckquoy spindle whorl, which was excavated in Buckquoy, Birsay, Orkney, Scotland in 1970. The old Irish Ogham inscription is believed to date back to the 8th century.

According to Wikipedia, the inscription was once used as positive proof that the Pictish language was not Indo-European, being variously read as

E(s/n)DDACTA(n/lv)IM(v/lb)
(e/)(s/n/)DDACTANIMV
(e/)TMIQAVSALL(e/q)

however, in 1995 historian Katherine Forsyth reading

ENDDACTANIM(f/lb)

claimed that it was a standard Old Irish ogham benedictory message, Benddact anim L. meaning "a blessing on the soul of L.". The stone from which the whorl was made, and on which the inscription was written, is native to Orkney.

We are still in the process of photographing these new pendants, so please keep checking our Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy shop for new additions. Our other earthenware pendants that are still located in our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop will soon find their new home at the Good Dirt Jewelry shop in the very near future.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Moving Day!


I've begun the process of moving my earthenware pendants from our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop to my Good Dirt Jewelry Etsy shop! If you have "hearted" our Earthenware Celtic Oghams, you'll now find them at Good Dirt Jewelry. There are still a few left in the GMA shop, but I will try to get them moved tomorrow.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Making a Change


Okay, I'm a woman so I'm allowed to change my mind!

I had been hearing how wonderful Big Cartel was, or was going to be I should say, but after having my ceramic pendants there for several months it's just not working out. I had planned on adding my new pieces to my BC shop after our upcoming show, but that's not going to happen because I've just opened a new shop on Etsy!

Good Dirt Jewelry will now be located on Etsy. You may know that we have another successful shop there already and we really like the site, so "Good Bye!" Big Cartel.

UPDATE I have just finished adding the pendants from our Big Cartel shop to my Good Dirt Jewelry shop on Etsy! Next week, I will move all of the earthenware Oghams to the new shop too!