I am so happy to present the new Barbara Bixby Caravan Collection to you! It is an exciting new collection based all of the beautiful visuals that a gypsy caravan brought to mind as well as the concept of a caravan representing our life’s journey. The camel is the quintessential “spirit guide” representing our ability to makes it through life’s trials with dignity and strength so he became an important part of this collection. I've always been attracted to these strange creatures but really did not know why. My grandfather collected and sold antiques and one of my favorite pieces which my mother has owned since I was a very little girl is a large camel sculpture. It wasn't until I started to study their symbolism and importance as “spirit guides” that I really understood why I was so drawn to these animals!
When I started conceptualizing the Caravan collection the camel immediately came to mind because of the obvious connection to journeys. Camels are designed to endure harsh circumstances and endure long and arduous travels. It is said that they serve us spiritually as well as physically as guides on our lives paths and can teach us the lessons of endurance, adaptability, nobility, humility, etc. –tools that we all need on our different paths through life. For centuries the camels have shown us that even the most difficult expeditions can be navigated if we balance our energies, both physically and spiritually.
This was a joy to design, as I loved the juxtaposition of the whimsy and nobility that the camel brings to my imagination. I experimented with many sketches for this cuff and while thinking about the introspection (mirror) necessary to tackle the challenges of life I decided to use two camels facing each other to symbolize that mirror. I really liked the elegant form and symmetry that the 2 camels brought to the design as well. They are meticulously carved from white mother of pearl and each wears a blanket of beautiful turquoise enamel with intricate silver detailing. 18K gold tassels dangle from the corners of the blanket. It was important that the stones brought both the colorful, gypsy caravan feeling of the collection as well as the energies that spoke to the message of the symbols. I chose beautiful pink garnet cabochons because they lend physical, spiritual and emotional energy and connects us with our guardian angels. I also used amethyst, one of the most ancient stones associated with protection and spiritual energies, creating a shield of spiritual light around us , enhancing our environment and helping us remove karmic baggage. The white topaz at the point of the bracelet magnifies these energies.
I loved this design so much that I designed an acoustic guitar around it (other guitars to come!). The camels make up the headstock of the guitar. The fingerboard has inlays of Tibetan clouds, the sound hole is inlaid with a mother of pearl crescent moon and star and the blanket appears to be draped over the bottom corner of the body. This has been a really exciting part of my artistic journey and I am so happy to be able to share it with all of you.
Please join me this Sunday, September 8th, at 4pm to hear more behind the creation of this very special collection.
XOXO- Barbara