Cactus and Full Moon Pendant

Height-1 3/8" ~ Width-5/8" ~ Material-Copper & Brass

*This item is handmade, so appearances may vary in color.

Saguaros, giants of the desert…in fact they are the largest cactus species in the United States! A hearty survivor of the Sonoran Desert, they grow to be nearly 200 years old, surviving sometimes decades of drought. A foundations specie of the desert, providing homes for birds and sweet, succulent berries for the desert critters…and me, 😊!

My process for making the copper components. We’ve manipulated the color of the copper using genuine top shelf copper and changing the colors using both heat and chemistry. Read on!:

Original Artwork by Patricia Healey ~ Each gorgeous genuine copper bead and pendant is handmade from sheet metal. First we cut the shapes out, then put form to metal using the technique of “Repousse”, (beating the crap out of the metal from the reverse side giving it form). We use a bronze solder which you can sometimes see as bits of gold peeking through the solder seams. To get the rich colors we use our top secret patination formula and then fire it up with a torch. Finally, the color is sealed in with a metal lacquer.