Snow Full Moon Arising!

February 7, a full moon arising… 

This event takes place each year in the dead of winter. The American Indians sanctified this moon as the moon of snow, the Celts, the moon of ice.

And what do you wear to that full moon celebration? My newest creation of course!

A cluster of snow-white orbs of Gaia’s hair, wire spiraled to keep them in place, then attached to a simple neck wire. The wire is stainless steel, and it shimmers and sparkles like snow on a wintry night, catching the reflective light of the full moon.

Silver Puffs cat hair necklace

Love Token no. 9

A pendant made using my cat’s hair. 

I love my cat, I love my cat, I love my cat… I remember a song from the 80s(?), and it went: I’m so happy my cat’s not dead. I can relate. I want my cats to live forever, but they don’t ! 

The Victorians, during 1800s in England, fashioned the human hair of their beloved into articles of jewelry. It was a way of having a cherished individual close to the heart.

For cat-aholics, who want a beloved feline presence closely felt, there is the cat hair pendant. I crafted this single, double spiraled orb, using brass and stainless steel wire, then attached it to leather strand. A hand full of Gaia’s hair is all it to took to create this three quarters of an inch orb.

What do I do when I need more cat hair? Oh, I get by with a little help from my friend!

Mmm, I’m gonna try with a little help from my friend, with a little help from my FRIEND!   LUNA  GIRL ! ! !

So you want my hair too??

I need your help Miss Luna, my first RagaMuffin love and Gaia’s housemate, for my next project!

THE MAKING OF MR. TUBULAR. I wanted to make, what I call, the tubular style of cat hair necklace for sometime, but was afraid it might be a risky design for cyber space. The inspiration was Gaia. His body shape is somewhat tubular from out stretched tail to head, as seen from above. But, this endeavor would also take a lot more cat hair, months of grooming Gaia, for the quantity I needed.

Mr Tubular ambling toward the front door

With Luna’s Help I accumulate the hair I need. I have to groom her too! Grooming now begins in ernest. (note: Luna’s is silky-soft and dense and Gaia’s hair is super-soft and cloud-like)

Two Months later… I have enough hair, mounds of hair! I take the hair to my studio, retrieve the mental sketch I had stored in my brain, and began forming the tubes of cat hair that constitute the structure of the necklace. I construct the hair tubes first using Luna’s hair, then, wrap the outside with Gaia’s supper soft hair. I finish the design with four wire spiraled hair puffs.

The finished necklace: Mr Tubular.

From feline fur to fashion statement

I submitted this article in December 2010, 6 months later it was printed.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011—The Chronicle’s Pet Tales by Eileen Mitchell

It’s a well-known fact that cats love to play with balls. But how many cats play with balls made from their own hair? And how many cat guardians wear hair-ball necklaces? Flora Davis is a jewelry designer who observed her creative kitty, and then mined her cat to come up with a most unique idea.

Gaia is a flame point ragamuffin, whose luxurious fur is long, thick and white with a salmon accent. His hair is more similar to rabbit than cat and needs to be combed at least once a week or it starts to mat. When Gaia was a year old, I discovered that a rolling comb delivered mounds of fluffy hair. Ordinarily I would have thrown the hair into the compost, but it felt so soft in my hands, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away. As I examined his beautiful hair, I started rolling it into a ball and then, on impulse, I threw it to him. He loved it!

We now play “get the ball” with Gaia’s very own personalized hair balls. I toss a ball and he chases after it, batting it around the apartment like the most expensive toy from PetSmart. He even plays on his own, chasing after it in his mouth, tossing it, and then running after it again.

All of Gaia’s grooming sessions now result in a new hair ball, and I have perfected the technique. I begin with a small handful of fluff and mold it into a starter ball. To this I mold more fluff around the edges, puff some wet breath onto it, which felts the hair, and then using both palms, I roll it back and forth until a tight solid ball forms. Over time, I discovered that Gaia preferred to play with smaller size balls. Voila! Production was under way.

But Gaia is a serious shedder and over time, the balls began to accumulate around the apartment: under the couch, behind the stove, in the closet, as well as in his sleeping basket. Awash in hair balls, I gathered a bowlful and placed them on top of the piano. Surprisingly, the balls had a lovely appearance that reminded me of oversized white pearls. This was my inspiration for using Gaia’s “toys” in another way that would display my love for this special cat.

I’ve been making jewelry for about three years and wondered: Could I string the hair balls together to create an interesting, unique piece of jewelry? Whatever the outcome, I figured the result would be a portable reminder of my soft, furry creature.

And so, I gathered the numerous balls together and pierced and strung them with fine copper wire into a necklace with an asymmetrical focal point. The result was an overwhelming hit at the 2010 San Francisco Open Studios reception where I wore the necklace with a black V-cut blouse. Amidst compliments galore, everyone was astonished to learn that the stunning work of art was made from – of all things – cat hair.

I just smiled, grateful not to have allergies. And I paid silent tribute to my vendor, companion and love, Gaia.

Gaia wearing a necklace from from his hair

It’s all Gaia’s fault!

2009 was the year. Gaia was not even a year old.

I combed that Ragamuffin’s beautiful hair one day in 2009 and was left with a hand full of the most soft and silky hair. Could not throw it away. Rolled it into a ball. Threw it to him and a new toy was in production. Many many many ball later, now we are talking about 2010, I got the idea to work them into a necklace for myself. I wore that one at an art event that fall. Everyone was amazed that the pearl-like puffs of hair were made from cat fur.

Here he is wearing that first necklace I made with his fur.

Gaia