Creative Life- Week 31

So.. yeah. I may have missed so studio time in the past few weeks. I was traveling for work again and I actually had to close the shop on two Wednesdays because of it. I got back on track last week and I made some new pieces. :)
I'm also getting ready for some great classes coming up at both the MBG and BMB designs and my calendar is so full starting this weekend through December, I'm not sure what to do with myself!

We went to Frankstown, MS and hunted for sharks teeth last weekend and that was SO MUCH FUN! it was great to wade through the water, hunt for teeth and fossil shells and watch the minnows in the slow moving creek. I have the hunting bug now and am looking forward to opportunities to look for more rocks and fossils in unusual places.

Since I have shows coming up- starting with the Crosstown Clectic show August 26th and 27th, I have been busy making. Here are some of the new pieces I've been adding to my stock.

Creative Life 2016 - Week 19

I missed weeks 17 and 18. and by missed, I don't mean to say I wasn't making- thankfully this time. I just missed posting. And sure i could go back date a post, but that kind of feels like cheating.. so I'll just say that I made some awesome stuff last week (because I did- I made three epic bracelets as a custom order for someone) and I traveled last week (to Greensboro NC) and the week before that I was just pretty overwhelmed.

I went to an amazing Full Moon sacred woman's circle on the 22nd- it was epic- and it actually coincided with the full moon in Scorpio. I got some guidance from the experience and it gave me the nudge to start working on it. The Navigating Negativity group meeting the following Monday (25th) drove the point home even more. I have to let go of the habit of comparing myself to everyone else- as an artist, as a friend, as a person. I constantly berate myself because so-and-so is a better metalsmith than me, so why do I bother? Or this person is better at putting their words to paper or that person is more energetic. I have to stop tearing myself down. It doesn't help me, and it doesn't help the people thatI'mm supposed to be helping. Because i really do feel like my path in life is to help people, to teach people, to be kind to people and protect those without voices. (and to help/protect critters and nature)

So i spent week 17 working on that- and i guess technically, it's still part of my Creative Life journey- not everything i do, everything i achieve, has to have a physical result to show off.

I created my samples for my class coming up in June at the MBG- I'm going to teach folks how to make spiculums and stuff! it's pretty neat to take a flat piece of metal and have some pod, flower, weird things at the end of a few minutes of hammering. (the lotus took more than a few minutes...) i can't wait to add enamel to this stuff.. whole new level awesome.

Weekly Challenge- Week 41

Pink Palace Craft fair was AMAZING!!!! it was so much fun to get to demonstrate, hang with my metalsmith BFF Virginia and interact with people that *loved* our work! I was in the studio each night after the show making new stock to fill in all the stuff we sold. It was a wonderful validation of what i've been doing and i am beyond thrilled.

Here's some of the stuff i made this weekend that went into the booth. My next show is going to be River Arts and i'll be demonstrating in the Artists @ Work tent and my work will be for sale in the Artist Marketplace there where the demonstrations are. I'll be doing some air chasing demos for sure, most likely cuffs and 6x6 wall pieces.

Weekly challenge- Week 25

this week's piece came together very quickly and exactly like i had hoped (very close to the sketch i made on Monday). I bravely assembled a 3 inch by 3 inch sheet of 24 gauge sterling silver, 18 inches of 12 gauge sterling square wire, fine silver bezel wire, 26 gauge sheet, a Wild Horse Canyon agate cab and a dark aqua larimar cab into a statement neck piece.

The forming of the metal was finished in one 3-4 hour session and it would have been completely finished in less than an hour more except my perfectionism kicked in and i tried to 'fix' something that no one would have ever noticed and made another 4 and a half hours of work for myself, cleaning up the damage i did. Check out the progress pictures below with the finished piece down at the very bottom.. I'm wearing it today to try to make adjustments to the neck wire for comfort. I think the wire will need to be trimmed a bit as the ends overlap now that i've put bends in it for the collar bones.  It is very comfortable so far - the air chased piece is extremely light (but super strong) and the 12 gauge square is a very comfortable size, especially since i took some 500 grit sandpaper and rounded the edges a just little.

The finished piece.. now to decide if i will oxidize or not.. 

Weekly Challenge- Week 19

I misplaced my sample for my upcoming Jeweler's saw class at the Botanic Gardens, so i had to make another one :) This piece was designed, pierced and cleaned up in 2 hours, using only one sawblade and my beloved Knew Concepts saw. Those super tight cuts were all made using the saw, not notched with a file.

Here's the class description if you're interested:

Sawing sheet metal or: How i learned to love my jeweler's saw May 30th 10am - 5pm

In this workshop class you will learn all the ins and outs of one of the most basic and useful of jeweler's tools, which incidentally, is also one of the most hated. 

 

You'll learn about proper blade loading, which saw blades to use for what, how different materials respond, how to mark your material for sawing, inside cuts and more. I'll have a variety of saws on hand for you to try, including the Knew Concepts saw, which has helped turn many an anti-jewelers saw person into a sawing master!

 

Our projects for the class will be mostly about learning how to use the saw and will be technique based, however, there will be a small pendant project that you can complete in class or at home, depending on the speed at which you work, and your practice pieces can be turned into charms. 

 

If you do NOT have a jewelers saw and bench pin, PLEASE let us know when you sign up for the class. Neither tool is required to take this class, but I need an accurate count of how many to bring. I will assume you have both if nothing is noted, so for everyone's enjoyment, please provide this information. Sharing is caring, but I would rather everyone have dedicated tools :) 

 

Blades, practice pieces, and templates are provided and you will have a reference handout to take home chock full of useful information. We will be using twist drill bits, center punches, scribers, sharpies, burlife/beeswax, and adhesive in class. (You are welcome to bring your own if you have these- some will be shared in class) Some tools and extra materials will be available for purchase at class as well. 

Please contact Laurie at the Memphis Botanic Garden to register : 901.636.4128

Weekly Challenge - Week 18

So, i didn't get any new work finished this week... it's the first week in a long time that i haven't at least completed something for the shop. It makes me feel sad, like i've let down my muse. ( i did however complete a ring resize, and produce a number of charms for The Rescue Way Station)

I bought some new cabs, because i'm ALWAYS buying rocks.. and these are the three pieces i'm working on next. The large mint Chrysoprase is paired with a gorgeous Kammererite from Russia that has a lovely hint of mint in the upper right area. The top right is a pyrite cube from spain paired with a meteorite that has lovely olivine and iron inclusions. The bottom is a great piece of Horse Canyon agate paired with a small aqua Larimar from the Dominican Republic. I have sketches of how they will all look and will hopefully be sharing the finished pieces soon!

The ring i made and resized

Charms in Copper

jewelry a week 2015- week 1

I am not going to try to be as ambitious as I was last year. I'm going to try something a little more realistic given my overall schedule, and hopefully I'll be able to keep up with it better.

Here's the first piece of the year. I made the change to complement the pendant I made last year so that here's one finished piece of jewelry in 2015 :)

What I've been working on- December Update

I've had a lot of stuff going on lately on the artistic front. I created a piece for a challenge and actually submitted it (it didn't win, but that's not the point), I've been doing a fair bit of teaching, and I've been invited to teach a weekend workshop in Metal Clay at the Appalachian Center for Craft. I am participating in a show this weekend at the Brooks Museum- the Holiday Artist Market- and i'm pretty excited to see how that goes. Shows this year have been very positive experiences so far, decent sales aside, and i've learned so much from them. the shop is full of new stuff- tools, blanks, beads, chain and of course, finished jewelry. :)

So- yeah- I've been a busy little bee! Here's some Eye Candy for you. :)

Sterling Triskelion Earrings

Iris Fine silver button pendant with LOS background patina

Torch Fired enamel beads

Various rings

Infinite Love necklace

Ginormous garnet ring

New Work- incorporating GOLD!

 See the process below!

It started as a sketch.. i purchased this amazing Canadian ammolite from one of my favorite Etsy sellers (devali) after he sent me a pic and asked if i was interested (it's nice to have that kind of rapport with folks that i buy from on a somewhat regular basis!) 

well.. truth be told, it was even more amazing in person than the picture he sent, and i was sort of in love with it from the picture, so i knew it had to be made into something special... 

here's the sketch- i tried not to think about it too much- just trust the artistic gut and go with it. (i sketched out several more designs after this one, but i kept coming back to this one because 1- the simplicity lets the ammolite be the star and 2- it just felt right.)

Here's the stone laid out on the back-plate with the bezel on the main stone and the tube settings laid out. I was playing with the arrangement of the cups to see which way was more balanced. 

  

Here's the layout with the bail (sporting it's 14kt gold 6mm tapered tube bezel!) and the 2 pieces of 14kt gold 18 gauge wire, prior to balling the ends. 

 Here it is all soldered together. the gold balls and wires are all well attached and it just needed a long soak in the pickle to get the crud out of those tube bezels. I thought i was going to mirror finish the piece, but i really dig the satin finish on the bail as i was cleaning it up, so i decided to reevaluate once it's cleaned up to see which way to go.

Out of the pickle

 With the accent stones set and a satin finish on the piece...  then into the tumbler to work harden (as if i hadn't done that enough already with the hand finishing!!!!) and clean up any small scratches from setting

out of the tumbler and the main stone was set! Ta-da!

Jewelry a Week Challenge- New Work

I've finally completed the piece i started back in February using a lovely artisan cut Lepidolite in quartz rounded triangle cab and Amethyst pear CZs. It was intended to be a brooch/pendant but after i melted one pin setting and flooded another, i decided the piece was telling me that wasn't the direction to go. 

I envisioned a modernized take on a Balinese granulation technique- so i made big, bold fine silver 'granules' to adorn the piece. By the time it became a pendant, instead of a brooch, i knew the chain was going to need to echo the streamlining of the pendant's design. So i paired sterling mod components i fabricated with strong, sleek rosary links featuring spiral cut amethyst beads. 

The toggle closure is fabricated to match and the cross bar has balled ends to keep the circle/dot theme going. the entire piece has my signature sea foam patina. (here's a pic of what it looked like before polishing- the black and purple are really striking!)

This piece was a challenge to me. I had to let go of my idea of how it was supposed to be and let the piece (and apparently my skill and patience levels) direct the development. Once i decided to just go with the flow, the piece became something that i enjoyed working on again and finished as a lovely piece i'm proud of. :)