Selkie Mara Studio

What is a selkie, and why did I choose this name for my studio?

A selkie is a mermaid-like creature from Celtic mythology. In the old stories, selkies are seals in the water and humans on land. They shed their seal skins to walk ashore, and those skins are their most precious possession - their truest nature, the part of them that belongs to the deep water.

This mythology is full of longing. A selkie living among humans is never entirely at home on land. She's always listening for the tide. Always aware of something just beyond the horizon that calls to her.

But the selkie skin is also a symbol of hidden identity - something true about yourself that you carry with you always, even when it's out of sight.

Selkie Mara means "selkie of the sea" in Gaelic. It also kind of sounds like a name - maybe an alter ego? In any case, it felt right to me.

Image: painting by Scottish artist Lucy Campbell. Check out her lovely work at .

Did you know humans can't actually feel water? Or air? Our brains construct both sensations from temperature and pressure. We move through these elements our entire lives and never truly touch them.

I think about this when I'm on my bike, just feeling the air moving across my skin. In those moments, I don't feel separate from the atmosphere; I feel a part of it. Atoms arranged in the form of me, passing through atoms arranged in the form of air.

Maybe this interplay between immersion and separation is what draws us to the sea. A longing to dissolve the boundary between self and element. After all, we do spend our first nine months as aquatic creatures.

Artwork: Beneš Knüpfer, Nymfa na Delfínu (Nymph on a Dolphin)

Sending this lovely peacock pendant off to its new owner! It's nearly impossible to capture the beauty of that faceted Swarovski crystal. Will be listing more like this on Etsy soon!

Something I've been quietly building is finally ready to share.

I'm Barbara, and I make jewelry from sun-bleached oyster shells collected on the Atlantic coast. I paint worlds or decoupage beautiful images inside them. Night skies. Ocean depths. Peacock feathers. Sea creatures, some of them embarking on a journey to the sky*. Then I embellish them with gilded edges, Czech crystals, freshwater pearls, tiny faux pearls, brass charms, and a touch of glitter. Each is unique.

Selkie Mara Studio is named for a creature from Celtic mythology who carries her true nature with her always, hidden, waiting to be found. My hope is that you'll find something here that speaks to where you are right now - or where you're headed.

The shop is open on Etsy now at https://www.etsy.com/shop/SelkieMara

*I'm forever grateful to New Orleans parade artists Caroline Thomas and Melody Chang for the original concept that inspired me to explore this direction.