RINGS FROM THE SEA

About a year ago, a lovely friend from Greece had sent me these "cat's eye shells" that she personally collected on a Greek beach... I wanted to turn them into something special, reminding of the sea they came from -- now I have turned them into rings! I set them into a mix of blue, turquoise and white polymer clay recalling the colors of the Aegean Sea...

Cat's Eyes

Cat’s eye is the common name for the lid or operculum of the common sea snail Turbo smaragdus. When the snail is threatened by a predator or is exposed above the tide, it withdraws into its shell and the operculum seals the opening. After the snail has died and decomposed, the operculum falls free of the shell. They are flat and circular on one side and convex on the other.
They are widely used in Europe and the Middle East for protection against the evil eye, no doubt because they themselves resemble eyes and they are used as protective charms.
The spiral side of the cat’s eye represents development and positive energy, protecting and guarding.

I love the way the rings turned out, delicate in size and shape yet colorful and bold. One a little more blue and the other in lighter shades of turquoise.