Tag: Art Jewelry Elements

Summertime – the Art Jewelry Elements theme reveal

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Summer collage

Sumer Solstice has come! Summer is fully upon us: this weekend market by fireworks, trips to the beach, barbecues… And the reveal of the Summer theme over at Art Jewelry Elements.

What you see above is my beach summer compilation, I set myself the challenge to NOT do a beach theme this month. Just to make it more interesting… My motif is the moth. Flitting about in the indigo twilight, circling summer candle flames… colorful and interesting but often playing second string to their more illustrious butterfly cousins.

il_fullxfull.623029714_duu2_blogsize

I have a handful ready to glaze. And like all best laid plans, the kiln at the studio is down for repairs so I am delayed in high firing these porcealin prototypes. But no worries. I will keep making them until I can glaze fire! I am drawn to the downward arc of the top wing shape… and want to see them glazed with fine lines of iron oxide to allude to the striations on the wings, with spots of color accents… So many possibilities.

Porcelain moths

porcelain batch 2

In the interests of the reveal I glazed a few as tests. And broke one… I am thinking gold leaf on the repair? Kintsugi-like.

First glazed tests

The broken white moth also is glazed in a crackle glaze – I am thinking some sepia ink to accentuate the crackle. But for me – its the little aqua one. I amy not have a finished piece – but I have plans…

Mine.

What do you think? I think there are more moths to be made for Beadfest!

Until then – please hop along with the AJE team and our Summer theme guests!

Caroline Dewison
Susan Kennedy
Lesley Watt
Jen Cameron

Glass treasures – the May COM reveal

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Once again – a month comes to a close. I may not have blogged much – but I do have treasures to show you! Its time for the Art Jewelry Elements COM reveal!

I am spoiled. Sue gave me a selection of these new wee gorgeous cabochons when we briefly met up at Bead Fest April in Philly. I was greedy and asked for THREE (!!!) of these stars. I envisioned them as a crown over a celestial goodess face. 

Sue star cabs

But its Spring, and I have had a chance to go to the beach a few times. Walking dogs, with a coffee, early in the morning is my favorite pastime. And beach combing. Very quickly this became a starfish, destined to be nestled in a mermaid’s hair. (Late in the month I realized that #MerMay is a thing on social media. Google it). So when a new batch of stoneware face cabs came out of the high fire gas kiln… this happened: 

May 2016 COM

Shells from Bethany DE, antique coral, abalone from NZ (long story)… Sue’s cab sets the palette, and Caroline’s sea urchin bead completes the piece! Here are some detail shots: 

COM details

I need to stitch on some beaded loops or closed rings. That part always happens last as it seems like a chore to me. 

Umm – so I was at the beach this past Memorial Day weekend – and I always pack beads. The weather was a bit grey… so while tired dogs napped after morning hikes… 

Mermaid tapestry

This is a small tapestry. The enamleled mermaid is from Anne Gardanne. I have been treasuring it… You know I am doing a beaded goddess each month? Well, I have further challenged myself to sculpt all those cabs. So this is a bonus! The May goddess is done; the June piece is laid out. I am not sure where I am going with this – but that purple! It was as if Sue’s cab and Anne’s mermaid were destined! I’d love to hear what you think… 

I was very inspired, and rather prolific; please visit my team mates and our guests to see other creative designs featuring Sue’s wee cabs!  

 Guests
Allison Herrington
Lola Surwillo
 
AJE Team Members
Susan Kennedy – host
Diana Ptaszynski
Kristen Stevens
Jenny Davies-Reazor ( here)
Caroline Dewison
Lindsay Starr
Lesley Watt
Jennifer Cameron
Niky Sayers
 

The eyes have it! The March theme reveal at Art Jewelry Elements

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Welcome! Its the end of March and time for the reveal over at Art Jewelry Elements. This month’s theme was very illuminating. I found myself thinking of and researching so many eye motifs… 

Eye inspirations collage

The Egyptian Eye of Horus, Lover’s Eyes and an eye brooch designed by Salvador Dali. (clockwise from top left)

By happenstance, Rachel Helinki of Dida Metals posted a glorious eye pendant/necklace she has created – incorporating one of Joan Miller’s porcelain eye cabochons. I was planning to use a similar cab – so I asked Rachel to appear here with me as my guest… Here is her offering, words and images: … 

“The lovely Jenny Davies-Reazor asked if I wanted to partake in the AJE Monthly Challenge & after seeing the theme — it was a total no brainer for me.  Eyes are a major design element that I like to focus on with my work, so I couldn’t resist participating!  
 
Eyes are actually why I got into metalsmithing to begin with.  Two years ago I was diagnosed with an chronic autoimmune disease of the eyes.  Metalsmithing had always been a dream of mine & the thought of experiencing any kind of vision impairment really put everything in motion for me.  I took a weekend workshop where I had access to materials & tools and never looked back!  
 
Eyes & chronic illness are themes I like to explore personally through metalwork.  I have several eye pieces that I wear as talismans that give me strength when I need it.  I know that many people look to the eye as a symbol for so many different reasons & that it has roots in many different cultures (Thank you Lindsay M Starr for pulling together a great list — I’d not known of the Lover’s Eye before your post!)
 
For this challenge, I’d like to feature one piece in particular — a pendant featuring a gorgeous porcelain cabochon made by Joan Miller!  Joan’s piece was perfect for setting — it has a fun iridescent, detailed iris, but still allowed me to add interest with the setting.  The entire piece is hand fabricated from fine & sterling silver using traditional metalsmithing techniques.  One of my favorite details on this is the bezel which is shaped to look like eyelids!
I’d like to thank the Art Jewelry Elements ladies for hosting this challenge & allowing me to participate (& Jenny in particular for letting me guest post on her blog)!  “

Dida eye1

Detail shots

See? I am utterly enchanted with that necklace! I hope to finally meet Rachel next weekend at Bead Fest Spring – we have been Instagram acquaintances for a while! 

So… the cab ended up in a very different setting for me… 

the beaded eye

I was going to do a wall hanging in an Egyptian style… no – then I was thinking crystals and a teardrop a la Dali… I definitely was keeping to the blue palette in a nod to the traditional evil eye amulets. Then this happenned: 

Eye beading WIP

Now I have to engineer a backing and attach it all together… The frame is polymer from a large! mold I made. It is colored with paint and Gilders paste. I want to use the Latin phrase ” Respice, Adspice, Prospice” somehow in this piece. (It translates as “Look behind, look here, look ahead” or so I have read. Translation apps arent cooperating with me today.) Maybe small stamped brass strips riveted to the frame? Ill keep thinking on this – any ideas are welcome! 

Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to leave comments for me and for Rachel! We would love to hear from you. Oh – and dont forget the other participants: 

Guests – 
 
AJE Members – 

 

 

 

 

 

Phaedras! The February COM reveal at Art Jewelry Elements

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 Welcome to the February Component of the Month reveal! This month the piece was something new, and for me very challenging. Its a chain mail “Phaedra” piece made by Diana. I love it – its bling, sparkle, the gorgeous blue crystal nestled inside. But it was a challenge as it is far outside my usual asthetic… 

The interlacing links of the the weave made me think of Celtic knotwork, and from there an idea started to form… 

First I tried metal...

Here ( above) is the first attempt. I had decided that silver was required, and perhabs crystal, naturally. But the triquetra would be a great shape, easy to link the rather fragile Phaedra too… This one is sawn from nickel – a prototype. I like the shape! But I wasnt happy with the flat silver and the tall Phaedra.  

Then polymer...

So I turned to polymer, to sculpt a more 3d triquetra. This is more like I was thinking… I like the Pheadra floating between the 2. The polymer pieces are silvered with mica powder. They may get a coat od Diamond glaze to increase the shine. Im also much happier with the 2 polymer links, and plan to use two lengths of chain – as shown here/WIP. Now – I need to go shopping for some crystal….

Thanks for the challenge Diana! 

Please take a look at out team mates and guests offerings this month! 

AJE team: 

Susan

Diana

Lesley     

Jennifer

Caroline 

Guest Participants ( aka winners)

Shaiha Williams

Renetha Stanziano

 

 

Welcome the light! The December theme challenge at Art Jewelry Elements

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Happy New Year!

Here’s to a creative and magical year of successes – creative and personal! 

To start this year off we at the Art Jewelry Elements team have the reveal for the December themed challenge. The theme was the sun, the return of the light as celebrated in cultures the world over on the Winter Solstice. (You can feast your eyes here at Lesley’s original post.) My piece grew with the beading – and will be a wall piece for sure: 

Sun swirls

It started when I was playing around… and found a face that fit in this textured circle. These arent my usual colors, but it was sunny; the swirls as rays… SO I went for it. I liked the darker area in the glaze that inspired the moon/sky section at the bottom. 

initial idea

So far so good – peyote bezel on the face. 

Beaders block

Cooky sent me some bead she was destashing! The colors were perfect! Definitely colors I did not have in my stash… My original plan was to bead spirals out and around – drawing out the spirals in the ceramic donut. This is what I did… but now I’m not so sure. It feels to me like two pieces. I wish I had left the ceramic sun face as is – a brick stitch edge and done. I love the way the spirals turned out, but no longer love them with the ceramic piece. 

details finished

 I also wish I had gone for a little more contrast in the spirals themselves, a little more “pop”; and to unify the spirals with the glaze palette of bright yellow. I really do love the copper triangles that frame the clay piece though – that may be my favorite element. 

As the year ended, I re-started my art journal practice – for the millionth time! I have decided this year to focus on a page a week. AND I am working on loose paper. I love that this gives me time to set aside a wet page and start a foundation collage for a future page. Here is my sun themed offering. The word “solstice” is derived from the Saxon word for wheel… 

art journal page 

Drawn on collaged encyclopedia paper – crayon, marker, alcohol ink, image tranfer, you name it! 

Here’s to a BRIGHT year ahead! 

Please click back to the main page at Art Jewelry Elements to continue your hop! 

 

 

 

 

Fall is in the air! The September COM reveal

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 The windows are open. The soundtrack is crickets, Canadian geese… and while flowers are still blooming, Fall is definitely in the air. 

Its time for the Component of the Month reveal at Art Jewelry Elements. This month the fall themed piece is a ceramic oak leaf and acorn from Linda Landig. She offered a diverse palette in warm tones, but this sage speckled green called my name. When it arrived the orange stumped me. Its not a color I work with often, and this glaze was a coral/orange color. I’d recently had the pleasure of an intro needle felting experience with Marsha of Marsha Neal Studio... and there was this pumpkin color wool that I had picked up as scrap… Umm… I think its time to wet felt! 

COM materilas

Here is Linda’s original (finger for scale reference…) and my felted piece – back and front. I have done small scale welt felting before – thanks to the uber talented Cooky Schock. Its so like painting that it speaks to my inner colorist, and draws on my painting experience. There is an element of random for me – while others may have more mastery of the material, I can sort of get it to do what I imagine… The felt turned out great! I wanted to bead it, and create a small mixed media hanging piece. Here’s my end result: 

COM in situ

I hung it there between my closet and my new bead tower in the studio. It may stay there! Here are some details of the beaded embellishments: 

COM details

The stamped text translated as “bright autumn” in Gaelic. I love text, but sometimes using other languages is more interesting to me, adding a mystery element and keeping the text a visual first. I chose Gaelic as a nod to the Celtic language of trees. The oak stands for strength, courage, perseverance… Ironically the twig I used is a cottonwood twig from New Mexico. I am very pleased with how it turned out, and have to thank Linda for the incentive to try wet felting again! After this I did a shadowbox shrine showcasing one of Lesley’s foxes! 

With glittering eyes

(Sorry for the bad pix. It was a quick snap as I dropped it off for a fibers show at the local gallery.)

I’d love to hear what you think! And the guests and AJE team is listed below! Please take a look at their creations as well! 

Guests
Carolyn Lawson
Alice Peterson
Diana Ptaszynski

 

 

Art Jewelry Elements Art Camp – and the COM reveal!

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 August. Bead Fest. End of Summer. Back to school. And AJE Art Camp! 

This year I am thrilled to share today’s reveal with Lesley Watt! She came for Bead Fest and a vacation… We sat down Friday in my studio to work on projects… her COM was done. Mine was not… 

The ceramic piece we were working with is a rustic coin by our friend and colleague Diana P. of Suburban Girl Studio: 

Dianas rustic coins

Diana’s Rustic coins – our August Component of the Month. 

 I confess – I had an older rustic coin that I had altered. I poured resin, trapping a thin sliver of snakeskin inside. Although Diana sent me a new coin for the COM – I decided to challenge myself to finish the piece I had started… The coin no longer has the center opening so I was leading towards bead embroidery. Although I sadly covered up some of the crusty glaze on the edges, I love the matte aqua and really wanted to play up that color. The snaleskin showed best on a white substrate… and as I worked a snake emerged. Yes – that is one of Diana’s small cabs there in the “head” of the snake. It was a perfect fit. 

JDR WIP and details

 Here is the finished piece! I am happy with the results and plan to hang it on a wide silky ribbon. I liked the pearls with the 15* anchor bead – echoing the dot pattern of Diana’s hand stamped design. And the little seed pod beads were a perfect companion to the stoneware clay. 

Snakeskin JDR

Now – with out further ado I turn it over to Lesley! 

Thanks Jenny.

So as Jenny said, I was lucky enough to be staying with the esteemed designer of this months COM and was able to make my piece in her company. Ever the comedian here she is trying her best to distract me…!

 Work space LOL

My particular component was a lovely mellow sea foam colour and I just happend to have bought some African Turquoise brick beads at Bead Fest which were a perfect accent. I also brought with me from home some of Diana’s beads in the same rustic style and some leather. I went for a design strung on waxed linen and created a bail with some seed beads. I then raided Diana’s bead box for some brass spacers to intersperse between the turquoise and rustic beads.

 Lesley's COM WIP

Here’s the completed necklace which I finished with leather cord but I may well change this for some chunky brass chain when I get home. The design is simple and symmetrical but I love the way the natural stone works with Diana’s piece to give a soft but earthy feel – very me.

Lesley's COM final

Many thanks to Diana for giving us the opportunity to work with her lovely components. If you would like to see what the rest of the AJE team and our guest designers created please click on the links below.

Guests
 
AJE Team

 

 

 

 

Jenny wren – the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the month reveal

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If you are looking for the Beading back in time hop – click here! 

This month new member Niky Sayers ( of Silver Niknats, now Niky Sayers Artisan Jewelry) sent us pieces made from the old British farthing coin. (A farthing was 1/4 of a penny. There were 240 pence in a LB Sterling. Taken out of circulation in 1960 – that leaves a lot of coins for creative purposes!) Niky sent me a hollow lentil bead made from 2 coins. Its stunning! I am particularly fond of the wren, often called Jenny Wren. Some nursery rhymes have the Queen of Fairy shape shifting into a wren… 

I thought I wanted to do a bangle and have a message/mantra for myself as it is Jenny Wren… Here is the first attempt: stamped and engraved copper to frame the wren bead. I have a great little engraver that makes it so easy to do script… 

COM version 1

I wasn’t happy with that. I had those shapes in mind to transition from the width of the bead down in proportion to the wire wrapped bangle section. They looked like the whites on either side of an eye, and they didn’t sit well on my wrist. And color. I think I want color… 

AJE COM July

There! I am so pleased! Lampwork by Indian Creek art glass with aventurine and turquoise accents. 

bracelet detail

If you are coming to Bead Fest stop by Artisans Alley #461- I’ll be sure to wear this and you can see it in person. Until then – please join my colleagues and out guests on this month’s hop! 

 

 

May Component of the Month: beaded beads!

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May. I miss you already. But before you depart – its the May Component of the Month at Art Jewelry Elements! 

Sue of SueBeads sent these lovelies! I told her to surprise me because I think all her color palettes could easily inspire… SueBeads beaded beads

But Sue knows me and sent me these delicious beads: copper, garnet red and aqua. 

My beaded beads COM

The palette gave me a plethora of ideas! I started early as I wanted to bead embroider something to play off the beaded texture. The beads were small, but I wanted them to relate directly to the focal, inspiring the whole necklace palette so they would be a major player regardless of size. 

pc beaded focal

Polymer cab of mine; an Art Nouveau woman, in copper with patina accents. glass flower beads, garnet pearls, and corresponding seeds. 

details COM

 I knew I wanted the beaded beads at the junction of necklace and silk, with some visual rest between them and the focal. I selected simple pearls and amazonite to go between. I am happy with the results! 

Please join the rest of the team and our guests this month in the AJE COM hop: 

Guests
 
AJE Team

 

Heart of the Forest: the April COM reveal for AJE

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 When Rebekah of Tree Wing Studio posted these hearts – I was smitten. But silvery grey? Or copper? How to choose/ I am usually not so into hearts, but the wood texture on these appealed to my “woodland” inspired self. 

Tree Wing Studio hearts

Copper it is! So its a dryad inspired piece. That was a given. This popped into my head, almost complete: 

first stages

That is a stoneware cab of mine, with a polymer leafy surround. I wanted to create a tangle of vines to hang the heart. Should it be wire wrapped or seedbeads? Branch fringe? Seed beads won. 

Heart of the foret

It was all a bit freeform – in other words, I winged it. A drop here, a flower there… It IS a bit off center, but as her face is tilted it didnt bother me too much. 

And the back- I drilled small holes along the bottom edge so I could stitch and loop. As of right now she is a focal only, but I have a show this weekend and HOPE to have her finished to take along… 

Forest back view

Thank you for stopping by, please let me know what you think! And  take a tour of the other blogs – we have several guests and AJE team members participating this month! 

 Guests