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 From
the dawn of the Roman empire, the Goddess Fortuna was revered
and worshipped for her ability to change the course of man's
fate in life. Temples and statues were erected in prominent places
all around early Rome. The statues portray Fortuna holding the
wheel of fortune along with a cornucopia of bountiful gifts,
food and coins. She has also been depicted as holding onto a
rudder as she was able to steer the course in the lives of men.
The wheel of
fortune could be spun around to determine the fate of those she
looked upon, either for the good, or for bad. She would cover
her eyes so that she would be unbiased in her decisions. She
saw no difference between nobles and slaves. The wheel would
be turned, determining the arbitrary nature of fate and luck.
The wheel stopped when the life of the man met his end.
The invention
of the wheel is one of man's true creations. Very little in nature
could have been used for inspiration, unlike other tools. The
first wheel created was of stone and is thought to be a potter's
wheel from around 3500 BC in ancient Mesopotamia (modern day
Iraq). Wheels needed a central core that could be attached to,
or fed onto, an axle. In this way the wheel was free to rotate.
Other than the materials used, the wheels of ancient times versus
the wheels of today, have changed very little, making this invention
one of the greatest created by man.
Fortuna's Wheel
of Fortune Bracelet is a series of three "wheels".
The central "wheel" is a CZ that has a simple peyote
stitch beaded bezel. From there, the outside of this shape has
been extended to give it a square 3-D shape representing the
early designing stages of a wheel. It's not square, but not round
either. The side "wheels" are made in two parts, the
wheels and the axles.
The wheels are
made of CRAW (cubic right-angle weave) using seed beads and fire
polish beads. The axles are CZ's that have a simple peyote stitch
bezel that are extended off the back, fed through the wheels
and increased to form rivets, or the axle on which the wheels
turn.
The three wheels
are connected to one another to form the central component for
the bracelet. CRAW extensions are made for the bracelet bands
ending in a sliding metal clasp.
Workshop: This is a one-day
workshop designed for the Heart of Texas 2021
Skill level: Intermediate to advanced
Bracelet measurement: 1.25 inches wide by
desired length
Techniques:
Cubic right-angle weave
Peyote stitch, flat even count
Peyote stitch, flat odd count step up/step down
Peyote stitch, flat circular, even count with increasing
Zipping techniques
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