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Author Topic: A very personal athame  (Read 3500 times)

Jenett

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A very personal athame
« on: October 16, 2016, 06:51:36 pm »
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).

They were a complete joy to work with, and I'd gladly recommend them to anyone else interested in such work. (They also do really well-made non-custom pieces with things where you can select from their standard options.)

I got it in my hands yesterday, and so of course I want to share photos. There's a much longer description of various aspects on my blog for people who want more of that, plus details of the pommel, crosspiece, and other decoration.

Here's the front.


Here's the back:


And here's a detail of the sun and planets:
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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #1 on: October 17, 2016, 12:19:09 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).

I got it in my hands yesterday, and so of course I want to share photos. There's a much longer description of various aspects on my blog for people who want more of that, plus details of the pommel, crosspiece, and other decoration.

 
Of course I was one of those who wanted all the little details.

That is absolutely gorgeous, and so full of well-chosen symbolism. I especially like the detail work in the ponds - that badger, f'ex, really does look like a badger, even though it's so tiny.

I was very briefly tempted by, 'if I had an athame custom-made, what details would mine have?' - but my story is exactly the opposite of yours; I found the right one immediately, and have no desire nor need to replace it. (I'll tell the story if you want this  thread to be about people's athame stories and how different they can be, but for now I'm considering it to be all about sharing your own athame joy.)

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2016, 03:10:29 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).

 
Holy crap, that's gorgeous. I loved the blog post with all the backstory, too, thanks for sharing the write-up!
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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2016, 04:24:00 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).


 
That is beautiful!

Jenett

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2016, 08:03:32 am »
Quote from: SunflowerP;197583

That is absolutely gorgeous, and so full of well-chosen symbolism. I especially like the detail work in the ponds - that badger, f'ex, really does look like a badger, even though it's so tiny.


The badger! The flowers! The turtle! I am delighted by the turtle.

Quote
(I'll tell the story if you want this  thread to be about people's athame stories and how different they can be, but for now I'm considering it to be all about sharing your own athame joy.)


I am good with other people's stories! Or a new thread, if you think that works better.
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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2016, 09:32:55 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197594
The badger! The flowers! The turtle! I am delighted by the turtle.



I am good with other people's stories! Or a new thread, if you think that works better.
An absolutely stunning piece of art! While I don't actually practice magic myself, I do always appreciate amazing metalwork (plus I have a serious thing for daggers and knives). I'd love to see a thread of everyone's athames.

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2016, 03:53:24 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).

 
Just absolutely beautiful, Jenett.  So happy for you. :)

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2016, 08:10:25 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).

They were a complete joy to work with, and I'd gladly recommend them to anyone else interested in such work. (They also do really well-made non-custom pieces with things where you can select from their standard options.)

I got it in my hands yesterday,


Gorgeous!

And the timing of your post is startling; after years of searching for an appropriate place to have a pair of symbolic/ritual swords custom-made, I stumbled on the Omega Artworks website over this past weekend, and was salivating so much over the chance at *finally* getting just the swords I want that I've spent the last few days designing their finishing touches (when I really should have been doing other things).

Sometimes the universe acts for a reason. Sold--I'm ordering my swords from them ASAP!
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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2016, 08:17:25 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
for people who want more of that, plus details


A question about the style of the inscription: Is that a standard font? Did you provide a "camera ready" version of the inscription, or did you simply provide the text, and the ultimate appearance was determined by the available fonts at Omega Artworks?

And finally, any reason why you chose a flowing lettering style, as opposed to the block-style all-caps one might expect for inscriptions on metal?
The first song sets the wheel in motion / The second is a song of love / The third song tells of Her devotion / The fourth cries joy from the sky above
The fifth song binds our fate to silence / and bids us live each moment well / The sixth unleashes rage and violence / The seventh song has truth to tell
The last song echoes through the ages / to ask its question all night long / And close the circle on these pages / These, the metamythos songs

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2016, 09:49:04 am »
Quote from: Jenett;197568
A bit over six months ago, I commissioned a custom athame from the amazing folks at Omega Artworks (Gary and Suzy Zahradka).


 
Seriously gorgeous!

I'm particularly drawn to the sun and planets representation and the turtle is squee worthy adorable.

Jenett

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Re: A very personal athame
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2016, 09:58:37 am »
Quote from: Altair;197631
A question about the style of the inscription: Is that a standard font? Did you provide a "camera ready" version of the inscription, or did you simply provide the text, and the ultimate appearance was determined by the available fonts at Omega Artworks?


I provided the text, they suggested the font. They've got a bunch of others, but...

Quote
And finally, any reason why you chose a flowing lettering style, as opposed to the block-style all-caps one might expect for inscriptions on metal?

 
The style was a nod to more typical 15th century Italian lettering style, plus the flow fit better with the curves of the blade. If you look at some of the images on the Wikipedia page about Ficino, you can see some samples. I actually didn't want to be perfectionist about it, I wanted something readable that didn't jar the feel.

They were lovely to work with, and I'm delighted to steer more people their way. (I should note: the work is not inexpensive: custom artwork shouldn't be, really, but worth every penny: I'm glad to discuss more details via PM or email. You might be able to combine elements in their existing designs more inexpensively.)
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