Precious metal clay projects: the tree of life (inspired by Pushkin)

Some time ago I finished one of my precious metal clay projects. Inspired by the tales of the Russian poet A.S. Pushkin. One of his poems “Ruslan and Ludmila” starts with the following lines:

There’s a green oak by the bay,
on the oak a chain of gold:
a learned cat, night and day,
walks round on that chain of old:
to the right – it spins a song,
to the left – a tale of wrong.

Another English translation of the poem, more dramatic:

There’s a green oak-tree by the shores
Of the blue bay; on a gold chain,
The cat, learned in the fable stories,
Walks round the tree in ceaseless strain:
Moves to the right – a song it groans,
Moves to the left – it tells a tale.

Actually the poet meant the Tree of Life when he wrote these lines. Rooted in the underworld and reaching to the skies with its branches. With the cat as the keeper of time and tides, a symbol of everything which is cyclic.

Since it is about trees and cats, I thought it would make a nice chapter in the series of my precious metal clay projects. The tree can be made using different techniques. I melted the trunk from silver scrap and then used wire wrapping and beading for the canopy. But for such a fine detailed cat figure precious metal clay would make the best material.

Here is the video show how one of my precious metal clay projects took shape. It has made a nice piece of literary jewelry.