Elf Magic

The hush was the first thing I noticed every time I entered the redwood forest. There was a point where the sound of the outside world disappeared; I never could pinpoint it, but the world just went away and left me altogether. I walked deeper into the forest, the earth a soft carpet of needles and moss beneath my feet, feeling smaller with every step. The trees were not only tall, they were larger around than any other trees, and I always had the sensation that it was me that was smaller, not the trees that were larger.

I passed a clump of sword fern that was nearly as tall as me, and was transformed.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Copper, freshwater pearls, seed beads. Hand fabricated using traditional bobbin lace, coiling, embroidery, and needlelace techniques.

Tied up in Chains

"Well, so they're metaphorical. Doesn't really change anything, does it?" Amelia was sitting across from me, her raspberry chocolate frappachino whispering sweet nothings to my taste buds, when I suddenly realized that I hadn't really been paying enough attention to our converation. I had no idea what she was talking about.

I sipped my black coffee (I hate dieting, but it's necessary) and tried to get back into wherever our conversation had gone while I was communing with her drink. "Chains?" I echoed. "Really?"

"Tied up." she said decisively. "Bound and delivered."

"She's just a baby!" I laughed.

"Yeah . . ." she said with this weird little smile, looking down at the bundle in her arms while the whipped cream melted down the side of her untouched frapp. "But she's mine."

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, faceted corundum. Hand fabricated.

Serenity

It was amazing that a place so beautiful could be this close to New York City. All she had to do was cross the GW Bridge and head north. Everyone else was heading south, so there wasn't even any traffic to speak of; she made good time and pulled into the small parking lot off Seven Lakes Drive. The creek was high; it had rained all last week. But today the sky was blue, and the ground was only slightly mucky. She stepped carefully, knowing that the trail didn't need much to wash out.

She stopped when she came to a large rock, and flopped down on it. She took her time with her equipment; she enjoyed selecting a lens, spinning the polarizing filter to minimize reflection, choosing the right f-stop, setting the exposure, and moving her tripod by fractions of an inch to find the best shot.

There. In a ripple left by a green frog was a lichened stone and a leaf torn from the tree by last week's storms.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, lampwork by Gail Kops of Beadles, Brazilian Amehtyst. Hand fabricated.

In private collection

Phoenix

She grinned ruefully as she realized that there really wasn't much left this time. She'd had some close calls before, but this time she'd really done it. He was hard to please under the best of circumstances, and lately it seemed as though nothing she could do would satisfy him. Ah, well, at least she still had her tools; they'd survived her fall from grace, and together they could stand more heat than he could produce. She gathered them up off the ground and squinted up at the window where he no longer stood; waited a few minutes more to make sure that nothing else was going to join her on the sidewalk, and then took a hard look down the long road ahead of her.

Her heart burned a few minutes more, and then her hopes began to rise.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Sterling silver, green tigers eye, citrine. Hand fabricated.

Corn Maiden

The sky was quite blue already, even though the sun had not made it up over the mountain. She was in a rather deep valley, and it would take the sun awhile to find her. She rolled up her bedroll and strapped it onto the frame of her rucksack. She boiled just enough water for coffee and drank it black, leaning against a tree, overlooking a clear stream. Morning was the best time for walking and she didn't want to waste a moment of it; although she had no set itinerary, she still had far to go. Breakfast would wait.

She shouldered her pack and set off to meet the sun halfway.

© 2007 Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

Fine and sterling silver, Sleeping Beauty turquoise. Hand fabricated pendant and chain.