Tag: copper

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! 

 

 

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

 

 

February COM reveal for Art Jewelry Elements

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Time to reveal what I have been up to on those bitter cold days of February! Its nice and warm in my studio, coffee at hand, sleepy dog at my feet. 

The Component of the Month this month was a lovely metal clay piece by Melissa Meman. It is from a stamp she carved herself; and I received a copper one. I was immediately drawn to the holes – an element of the design AND they go all the way through. I was debating between bead embroidery or a mixed media piece, using the holes for stitching… 

I decided mixed media, and made a polymer piece to go behind and complement the metal clay. I imagined it with Swellegant patinas to replicate copper’s patina over time. Here is the result: 

COM and Plan 1

Everything went EXACTLY according to plan… and I didnt like it. I felt the background pattern was detracting from Melissa’s design. I had not addressed a bail. The stitching was great, but I cut it apart. Onward to plan B. 

MM mehndi

I cut Faux Bone in a shape that echoed the petal design in the metal clay. I was intending to stitch it too… but as the piece developed it was unnecessary. There are tube rivets at top and bottom to attach the metal clay disc and embellish the dangle area. I used alcohol ink on the FB. This is more pleasing to me aesthetically – the players support the lead now. 

MM Mehndi collage

The necklace is finished with a gentle asymetry. One side has larger gems, wire wrapped red and blue tiger’s eye. The smaller gems, sapphire quartz and blue calcedony, have copper bead cap accents and an additional strand of chain for visual interest and weight. 

Thanks to Melissa for a stunning original to create with this month! 

Check out the blogs for creative offerings from the AJE team and this month’s guests: 

AJE team: 

Jennifer Cameron 

Jenny Davies-Reazor

Susan Kennedy 

Melissa Meman

Rebekah Payne

Lindsay Starr 

Kristen Stevens

Francesca Watson

Lesley Watt    

Guest Participants:

Michelle Mach

Patty Miller

Divya N
 

 

 

 

 

Ammonites! The October AJE component of the month reveal!

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 Welcome to the AJE Component of the Month reveal! 

(If you are looking for the “Inspired by Reading” book Group – its here.)

 I love copper, the warm tones are very autumnal to me. So when I recieved this lovely copper clay bracelet bar from Kristi Bowman for this month’s CoM – I was thrilled. And to have spiral/ammonite textures? They are some of my absolute favorites. I love the combination of patterns that brings to mind suns, flowers… The heat patina on the copper had a flash of purple. That’s all it took… 

Kristis copper focal

 I wanted to accentuate the purple and play off the contrast between the copper and the flash colors. But I didnt have any amethysts that were right, and the seed beads and glass I had werent the right scale. So I challenged myself and went a bit outside my comfort level and used leather. I have a stash of scraps from my friend Betty at Emperor’s Needle. She makes clothing and accessories and is a regular at the Pennsylvania Rennaissance Fair. The purple was divine… 

Oct CoM bracelet

I paired the purple with 2 strands of size 8 seed beads to add texture, and color variation. I accented the focal, and drew attention away from the clasp with a lamp work bead by Sandi Volpe. ( My Beadfest swap partner, and friend). That bead cap? Yes, it looks familar! It is a duplicate cap from Lesley Watt/Thea Elements from last month’s CoM! Lesley did not recommend manipulating the bronze bead cap; but I dared, and was gentle yet persistant… and it worked! I curved the petals in to curl around the leather and hide the connections. I am happy with the way it came out, like the leather, and love the feel of it on!

On a second note – I have finally finished the polymer pod from last month – inspired by Lesley’s bronze petaled bead cap. Here it is painted and sealed. I am not sure what I am going to do with this one – but it has really started the creative wheels turning thinking of vessels and hollow forms… What do you think? 

 Sept CoM finished Sept pod open

Here’s to another great month at Art Jewelry Elements! Its a pleasure to work with such creative original artists! Please head over to the Art Jewelry Elements blog for links to all of the participants this month.  You wont regret it… 

AJE Component of the Month! May “flowers”

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Welcome! Its that time of the month again! I seriously dont know where time has gone… The Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month is an event I look forward to! … and yet always feel rushed…

Sue Kennedy of SueBeads provided a lovely ruffle edged lamp work bead this month. Seem like I have been thinking this over for ever – and suddenly its time! It has to be finished! 

I was happily out of my comfort zone with the colors. Orange and olive. The shape of the bead was a bit floral to me, and I knew I wanted to place it “flat” so the whole bead would show… Here are my sketches: 

May sketches

I try to use words more and more in my work – this is no exception. I found a quote by Marcel Proust that touched on the friends I have made in AJE and the floral associations I had formed with the bead.

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” 


Here is a close up of the bead and the copper washer I have framing it. The spiral wire will be the soft rivet to hold this into the polymer I am planning… 

Sue beads CoM

 The polymer: I wanted to use the orange and green again, and embrace a palette that isnt my usual. The polymer is 2 layers, textured, hand painted. There are copper tube rivets at the top, and two dangles at the bottom. (There was supposed to be one. I drilled off center. Now there are two. )

pendant detail

The necklace echoes the colors – yellow jade, a seed pod, carnelian, and mystery stones – agate? Jasper? (I hate when I dont label it all carefully after the  rush of shopping at a show…Sigh.)

necklace finished

The back of the piece, stamped with the quote. It is upside down when worn – another adjustment I had to make. But if you are showing the piece to someone while wearing it – it is convenient to simple turn it over instead of flipping it up… ( Nice way to justify… )

necklace back

I love using Sue’s beads. Last year we were table neighbors at Beadfest Philadelphia in August. The time is coming soon… hope we are neighbors again! 

Please share your thoughts! I am working from home lately and love to have some Internet time to chat… Stay tuned for next months AJE CoM – organic ceramic earring pairs by yours truly! 

 

 

April Component of the Month! Headpins…

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 (If you are looking for the “Inspired by Reading” post and creative reveal – please click here. )

 I love it when a plan comes together. I received these simply gorgeous glass headpins from the hands of Jen Cameron for this month’s Component of the Month at Art Jewelry Elements. But I was out of town. I got home with 36 hours until the reveal… and I was tired and had mounds of laundry to do… When I sat down this afternoon I was thrilled to make it work – and I am pleased with the results. 

Jen's headpins

The headpins made me think of water. Not only the color, but the spiral and the tiny bubbles… I have been working on and off lately on a series of Goddess necklaces. This color and the element of water made me think of Yemanja. She is the Yoruba orisha, or diety of water, childbirth, the essence of the ocean. She was and is revered in many Afro-American regions, from Brazil to the Caribbean. (My Yemanja figure, shown on my “water” shelf with Sulis from Bath, is from New Orleans. ) Over time, Yemanja was seen to share many characteristics with the Virgin Mary: protectress of women and children, robed in blue, Mother of all… Mary is also known as Stella Maris/Star of the Sea thus linking her with the ocean as well. 

Water elementals

So I started browsing the stash… and started with a piece of sea glass. Here is a little “photo essay” of the selection process: 

planning pix

After that – the Parawire and the seashell were kept in the mix, along with copper links. I found the color blue more vibrant than the gems in my stash, and turned to Czech glass and crystal to satisfy my palette. The copper links are stamped “etoile” and “de la mer” to reference Yemanja/Stella Maris/Mary. 

the necklace

Coiled wire bail, dangle headpin, stamped copper links, wire wrapped crystals and glass beads, sari silk, seashell, hand made wire clasp. 

Not bad for a day’s work! What do you think?

Please stop by these blogs – my team mates and the guest designers participating this month: 

Guest Designers:

Erin Prais-Hintz

Kathy Lindemer

Alice Peterson

 

AJE Team:

Susan Kennedy

Lesley Watt

Melissa Meman

Linda Landig

Jen Cameron

March Madness! The Component of the Month reveal!

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 I love Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month. What could be better? Every week, no – every day – I am reminded how happy I am to be on this team of talented, smart, funny, creative women. And then every month one of them sends me a treasure? Its like your birthday – every month. Its a pleasure getting to know them each a little better by working with their work. And its a pleasure meeting new people out there on the Interwebs; people who win a piece and create along with the team. 

( I know there is a practical marketing side. That we are showing off our creations and networking, and spreading the word about handmade artisan beads/components. But I cant deny the social side!)

OK. Enough gushing, enough sentiment. Let’s get down to the loot. This month’s element comes from Joanne Tinley of Daisy Chain Jewelry. You can find her finished jewelry and her components on Etsy! She made stamped copper hollow disc beads. The amount of labor that went into these! – you can read that best in her own words. 

Daisy Chain hollow beads

I like them all, but I did request a dotty/divoted one. It reminded me of the craters on the Moon’s surface. I have a tendency to try to highlight the CoM piece, and really make it the focal of my design/creation. I imagined these would be larger because of the labor involved – they arrived and are so delicate! My original plan is sketched below (on left): 

CoM sketches

 (I had been planning to sculpt a polymer goddess, faux ivory-ish, and have the moon bead in her arms.) When I received my bead, I decided the dark rich patina wouldnt “read” as moonto most people. That – along with my crazy schedule, a few postal issues… all contributed to a change in plans from the sketched design. So I sat amidst my gems, and started making piles. The first – a lampwork disc by Joanne Z. Second and third – ceramic pendants by yours truly. The color palette was a natural choice as I love aqua and teal with copper. 

moon goddess necklace

I hammered and oxidized long oval copper links to serve as a counterpoint to the “moon” bead as I still think of it. Gemstones are wire wrapped; chain completes the last few inches. (Gems: kyanite, smoky quartz, amazonite, apatite) Its simple, but very much my style. I hope the gentle asymetry balances the composition yet sets off Jo’s bead. And there is a pair of matching earrings –  I am always late to the Earring Hop at AJE but I DO make earrings… 

CoM necklace

(PS: those are SueBeads enameled headpins peeking out of those earrings!)

So – thoughts? I love Jo’s components and truly appreciate the time and energy involved.  As always – a pleasure to work with my friends and their work. Please tune in to the AJE blog to see what every one else – and a few lucky blog readers – created with their treasures!

 

Testing. Testing. Porcelain head pins…

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Monday. So much to do! One task was great fun, and quickly accomplished... Marsha had gifted me with a pair of her new/prototype porcelain shard head pins. We were talking about the use of nichrome wire in jewelry – leave it exposed, cover it… I decided to design a pair of earrings with the wire covered. The nichrome doesnt particularly bother me, I was just being the devil’s advocate, you know?  (Nichrome aparently is an alloy of nickle. I am guessing it will not darken with time. I know when I use  nickel silver sheet – it will not patina with LoS – I use a SHarpie!)

Headpin ideas

The stages of experimentation: (Clockwise from top left)

1.  Cover the nichrome wire with a coil. I used 24 ga Parawire in gunmetal. (Thanks Kerry for the coiling inspiration!)

2. I originally thought a gunmetal link. Seeing it – it was too “the same”. The coil texture was lost in the uniform color. 

3. White Clover Kiln bead caps. Adorable – but I wanted to not go too floral, and decided to vary the colors a bit more. 

4. Testing out a patterned copper chain link, like it! Sadly – these enameled bead caps from Sally Russick were rejected too. Marsha had done some combinations like this and I was striving to be different – not to let that subliminal influence take hold!

the results - 1

The results! I like the simple copper bead cap and the copper link together. These are lightweight, and I like them… but

option A  Option B

Option A: dangles of pearl, hematite, and turquoise – the metal’s palette as gems. 

Option B: One single dangle – a copper pearl. 

I want to hear your opinion! Which option do you prefer? 

 

 

 

January’s end?! The AJE Component of the Month reveal.

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 January has flown. I always have dreams of hibernating and catching up on the stacks of books that inhabit all rooms of my house. This year I was in the studio every day. Collages (4 new) and mixed media necklaces ( 6 new) for a gallery show that opens tomorrow. When that show was hung, it was with great pleasure that I got to return to this beauty from Karen/Starry Road Studio. I had been thinking on it for weeks, literally, and wanted to make my design become reality…

Testing

Playing with pictures – but you can clearly see the colors and textures here. Dimples on the edge, a spiral, and a great earthy green, hints of rusty brown, turquoise… I wanted to do a bracelet – partially because of the size ( app 1″) and because it is double sided. I get rather annoyed when a bracelet focal flips over all the time… The irony – in my final design the ceramic focal can’t flip over. Ha. Outsmarted myself. 

hinge clasp bracelet

The focal is framed with chunky faceted jasper nuggets. The bracelet is copper, stamped, forged, with patina. The hinge is formed directly from the sheet, and creates the clasp. A pin of wire ( chunky, like 12 ga?) is on a leash of vintage chain. 

open view

The spiral and dimple design was intended to reflect the bead’s design. I created the dimples with my center punch, punching on wood to get a deeper impression, and alternating sides to have rasied and recessed dots. 

texture detail  wearing it now

Detail of the design, and clasp when worn. The pin is short and smooth, and not too uncomfortable. I would wear this on my non-dominant hand on a normal day, but mousing and writing with it on wasn’t very practical. ( I am really focused on the wearability of jewelry. Why design a cool looking piece if it’s uncomfortable, or impossible to wear?) But I digress. 

I am pleased with the piece, and will wear it myself. I do see experimenting with the design a bit, offsetting the hinge for comfort…Thank you Karen for the challenge and the inspiration! Please see what my AJE teammates have created! The links can be found here. Until later… 

 

 

 

 

Autumn – the reveal for Suburban Girl Design Team

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 I love Fall. It truly is my favorite season. The crisp zing in the air, the colors, leaves… So when Diana sent us our stoneware leaf for the Suburban Girl design team, I was thrilled. My thoughts were on leaves – as I was working with Kristen’s beaded leaf for the AJE team…and I wanted this to stand out and be unique, different…

Fall focal

The quote is from Peter Mulvey – “… and the leaves were telling secrets to the wind.” The copper was a scrap, already reminiscent of a leaf, tweaked a bit with the jeweler’s saw. I liked the way it hung, and allowed the heavier leaf to balance the enameled acorn. ( Thank you Carol Myers!)

Clasp!

The lovely copper clasp from fellow team mate Michelle! 

SBGDT fall

The whole necklace: seed pod beads, tiger’s eye in yellow and red, wood jasper… finished with seed beads and chain. 

chain detail

Hand stamped copper links: “Change”- since this season heralds the change of the year into the fallow reflective period of the winter. So much change around us – from leaves, to routines, to weather… And I liked the shapes balancing the lozenges of the tiger’s eye opposite. 

Beauty shot

I loved working with this pendant of Diana’s! It was a pleasure! Thanks for stopping by – let me leave you with a question before you visit my fellow team members’ blogs – What is your favorite aspect of Autumn? 

Diana Ptaszynski http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com/
Kristen Stevens http://kristen-beadjourney.blogspot.com/
Jan Onipenco http://moltenmayhem.typepad.com/
Marie-Noel Voyer-Cramp http://skyejewels.blogspot.com/
Sandra Basara Miller http://www.sandra5461.blogspot.com/
Michelle Buettner http://misheldesigns.blogspot.com/