Parvati

Parvati, in Hindu mythology, is the goddess of love. According to the story, she fell in love with Shiva, the warrior god who was living in the mountains as an ascetic. So she also went to the mountains to live the ascetic life in order to win his attention. Eventually she caught his attention, and he was attracted by her great beauty. They left the ascetic life and became married. Because of Parvati, Shiva mellowed and became the god of the arts as well as the warrior god.
The bead in the picture is one of the Beadshaper's Fashion Fish beads named for the beautiful Parvati. This parvati can be found on Beadshaper web site at Fashion Fish Beads

Bling

The word bling can be used to describe bright, shiny, or flashy jewelry. The term began with rappers, probably beginning in the 1960s, although more so in the 1980s. Some believe it originated with the Ultrabrite toothpaste commercial which portrayed brightness of brushed teeeth with a visible flash and a bling sound. Other historians trace it back to the admiration for bright jewelry in gold producing afreas of West Africa. Today it is still used to describe exciting attractive jewelry.
For many colorful bling beads and jewlery, see Beadshaper

Helen of Troy

Helen of Troy was a mythological beautiful woman whose beauty and desirability resulted in the Trojan War. According to the story, Helen had numerous suitors but married Menelaus, the Greek king of Sparta. Paris, a Trojan Prince, desired Helen and abducted her, taking her to Troy. The story varies as to whether Helen went willingly. Menelaus gathered up a large number of Greek warriors, putting together a fleet which sailed to Troy in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) resulting in a war. The result of the war was that the Greeks won and Helen was brought back to Sparta.
This picture is of a Beadshaper Fish Bead named for Helen of Troy

Astarte

Astarte was the mythologic goddess of love and beauty in various Semitic cultures of the eastern Mediterranean area thousands of years ago. She is particularly associated with the ancient city of Byblos in Phoenicia (now Lebanon). When the concept of Astarte was carried westward, she became the precursor of the Greek goddess Aphrodite and later the Roman goddess Venus.
The picture here is of Astarte Fashion Fish bead named for the goddess. This bead and other Fashion fish beads can be found at Beadshaper Fashion Fish

Venus

Venus in Roman mythology is the goddess of love and beauty. She is the Roman equivalent of the earlier Greek goddess, Aphrodite. According to Roman mythology, she is the daughter of Jupiter, the king of the gods, and the ancestor of Romulus, the founder of Rome. As the story goes, she was married to Vulcan, the god of craftsmanship who didn't pay enough attention to her because he was too busy working, so she had an affair with Mars, the god of war. It looked like those ancient Romans had the same frailties we see in some people today and attributed those same frailties to their gods and goddesses.
Venus has been the subject of many works of art, most notably the painting "The Birth of Venus" by Boticelli (1445-1510). The most famous sculpture bearing her name is the Venus de Milo. However that statue was actually made by an ancient Greek artist depicting Aphrodite, but the later Roman name has remained the more popular one.
The picture in this article is a fish bead made by the beadshaper and named Venus Fashion Fish . You can see more of the Beadshaper's work at Beadshaper .

Repousse

Repousse is a technique in which a piece of metal in a sheet form is hammered from behind to raise up a design in the front. Gold and silver are generally used in making jewelry and other small objects, but copper and other metals have been used for making large structures. An example of a large structure made using repousse is the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. The word repousse comes from French and means to push. Although the name is French, the process dates back to ancient times and has been found in the art of various diverse cultures. The earliest examples were made in the Middle East about 5000 years ago. It has been found among the objects in ancient Egyptian tombs and was used in designing the armour of ancient Greek soldiers. It has been used by artists in India and the Far East for centuries in making jewelry and bowls. Archaeologists have found examples of repousse in the mounds of the Mound Dwellers who preceded the Indians in the Midwestern USA.
The pendant in this picture is the focal point of a necklace made by the Beadshaper. More detail about the necklace can be seen at Beadshaper Repousse .
The Beadshaper teaches classes in Repousee. See Beadshaper Classes for details.

Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the beautiful goddess of love, desire, and pleasure in ancient Greek mythology. In the various stories about her, she has various gods as lovers. She is often depicted as wearing gold jewelry. The bead crochet necklace with gold strands depicted here is named for Aphrodite and can be seen along with other bead crochet necklaces at Beadshaper Crochet