Shimmering In The Water: Collection inspiration from the lady of the lake
The Nimue Ring and the Melusine Ring
Shimmering In The Water Collection
The Shimmering in the Water Collection, the first collection coming to Melusae, is inspired by the fae that inhabit the lakes, wells, waterways and the stories that follow them through time. The imagery is inspired by fish glimmering just under the surface of the water, a flowing silver dress catching the evening light, and the image of an enchantress emerging from a magical pool of water, dripping and shimmering.
The pieces in this collection were made over a number of years, while learning the medium of silversmithing and living in a desert landscape and dreaming of water. The collection was released upon returning to home waterways, poetically just in time to watch the salmon spawn in the streams.
Each piece is hand forged and fabricated or hand cast. Each part of the process has been done slowly and methodically. The collection features sterling silver mixed with shimmery shells and delicious gemstones in stunning watery tones. You will see pearl, abalone, blue chalcedony, lapis, labradorite in its stunning colorshift, and the beautiful Ellensburg blue agate from Washington State.
Inspiration From The Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake, Lancelot Speed, 1912
The lady of the lake inhabits this collection as its central figure of inspiration. The image of an enchantress emerging from a shimmering pool of water evokes the idea of her. While she is best known as the bestower of the sword excalibur on King Arthur, like most elements of folklore and mythology, her lore is larger than that.
The title ‘Lady of the Lake’ is given to multiple cast members of the arthurian legends. She is Viviene, Ninniane, Niviene, Nynue, Nymenche, Nimue, Mab, Morgan, to name only a few. In different roles she takes on different stories and archetypes. She is a fairy that raises Lancelot du Lac (of the lake), then points him in the direction of Camelot. She is a magical aide to knight errants. She enchants the sorcerer Merlin to trap him in a cave for years. She carries a dying King Arthur to the isle of Avalon.
The Beguiling of Merlin, Edward Burne Jones, 1874
It is her role as a fairy in the celtic tradition I find the most interesting. Fairies play a large part in arthurian legend as well as broader celtic lore, sometimes as fatal figures and sometimes as magical helpers, often hiding their true forms. They are sometimes seen as the folkloric legacies of the goddesses and nymphs of antiquity.
Folklore contains hints of older mythology. The Lady of the Lake’s connection to the Greek sea nymph Thetis is an interesting example of this. Thetis provides her son, the hero Achilles, with magical weapons and protection to aid him in battle. Similarly, the Lady of the Lake raises the knight Lancelot, the greatest hero of the arthurian storyline, and gives him his sword and rings of protection. Further tying the two figures together is Thetis’ husband Peleus. Peleus shares a name with the knight Pelleas, the lover of the Lady of the Lake.
Humanity reflects itself over and over through time and story. While the ancient greeks recorded enough for us to associate many later stories with their ancient inspirations, we only have pieces of legends that have been passed through time much longer than recorded history. We don’t know what predated many of the ancient myths, yet many of the archetypes remain. This is all a chef’s kiss of a rabbit hole.