Forget-Me-Nots ... For My Mom

I’ve been getting ready for Arts in the Park this weekend and creating new forget-me-not pendants for the occasion. It’s my favorite show of the year because it’s right before Mother’s Day and because I always make extra forget-me-nots for this one in honor of my mom.

Of everything I make, I think the forget-me-nots have the most meaning to me. Traditional flower symbolism holds that forget-me-nots mean "remember me forever” and they’re used as a symbol by the Alzheimer’s Association.

My mom, Joan, had Alzheimer’s and in the last few months of her life I started creating forget-me-not pendants as a meditative exercise to focus my memories on who she had been and also to channel my grief into something beautiful and creative.

It’s a labor of love – I sculpt each individual petal out of pure silver and then mold them together and set a sapphire in the center. I love making them but more than that, I love connecting with people who have also lost someone to Alzheimer’s and who feel a connection to the pieces.

I’ve always donated a portion of each month’s sales to charities on a rotating basis but the forget-me-nots are special -- a percentage of each forget-me-not always goes to the Richmond chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. My mom would have liked that.

Click here to see our Forget-Me-Not Collection.