The Fifth Octopus
The first thing I did today at World Fantasy Con was swing by the dealer's room and buy an octopus. I'd seen it yesterday, twice, and was unsure about buying it. But this morning, I knew. It's a cast silver pin from Willow Zarlow, made by the lost wax process.
As she wrapped it up for me, I asked if it was okay to blog about it. She said yes, and it had a story. She'd made it for herself, and it was the final octopus.
Once upon a time, she wanted to make an octopus. She did, but she wasn't satisfied with it. She made another, and another, about one a year. This was the fifth in line. She added a freshwater pearl and an amethyst, and it was perfect. By the time she was done, she had several wax models of various hardnesses, of this octopus; she uses pictures of them as part of her portfolio, to demonstrate that she does her own castings.
But after some years she found she hardly wore it, and decided it needed to go to someone who would. I'm that lucky someone. (The picture here doesn't quite do it justice, but it's approximately the actual size.)