I got a challenge from my good friend Sergiu to start creating art projects again. I already had tons of ideas, but I lacked the time and impulse to bring them into existence. And because he was the one presenting me with this challenge, I chose something that would suit him perfectly: a hazelnut charm with a leather string.

The hazel is one of the quintessential Celtic trees because of its legendary position at the heart of the Otherworld. Here, nine magic hazel-trees hang over the Well of Wisdom and drop their purple nuts into the water. In some accounts, the hazel-nuts cause bubbles of ‘mystic inspiration’ to form on the surface of the streams that flow down from the well; in others, the Salmon of Knowledge and Inspiration eat the nuts and send the husks floating downstream. Those that eat the nuts (or the salmon) gain poetic and prophetic powers.

Items needed:

• Hazelnut
• Drilling machine
• Leather string

1. Drill a hole through the hazelnut.



2. Pull the leather through the hole.



3. Tie the leather in a snake weave pattern starting from the hazelnut. I added a stopper knot to prevent the snake weave from loosening and at the end I added a fisherman's knot to close the end loop.



4. Or tie the leather in a celtic wave pattern starting from the opposite end. I added a simple knot to tie the leather to the hazelnut.



Hazelnut Wisdom Charm, Hazelnut and Leather, 2016, Zenith Adriana