Tag: enamel

Colors of Spring – February Component of the Month reveal!

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February has been the longest month this year. I am so happy that – as you read this – March is here. Spring can spring anytime!  

Melissa Meman of Melismatic Art Jewelry shared the love with the AJE team this month. Literally: 

CoM hearts

When I recieved mine, all i could see was the wee pops of color that embellished the heart. They were small kernels of spring time color, an I was starved for more. My necklace is very simple, no new experimental techniques, nothing fabricated for this specific focal… but to me it was all to honor the color and call in Spring! 

Feb CoM

Hearts of Spring

Feb CoM necklace

The strand of seed beads is actually a rich dark plum. The Czeck glass was a medley of turquoise and aqua with a little pop of apple green. A few flowers to complete the focal… 

Here’s one more pop of green to entice Spring’s arrival. 

snowy daffodils

Have a great week, and please visit my colleagues and our guests this month! Their blogs with links can be found at Art Jewelry Elements. 

Until next time… 

February Finale – the Art jewelry Elements Component of the Month reveal

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 February – how I missed you. You were gone in a flurry, frenetic, so fast. One thing that was successful, accomplished on time, and simply a positive during February was the Component of the Month over at Art Jewelry Elements! Here is what Francesca sent us: 

F. Watson CoM

Aren’t they gorgeous? Depth of color. Variations in color. The fine silver accents. The pieces are very subtle, and have detail when seen up close. I didn’t want the enamel to get over shadowed by one of my more elaborate mixed media assemblages. (You know how I am…) So I went back to simple, gorgeous gems, to accent this piece and set it off…

F. Watson enamel

Strung with moonstones, pearls, aquamarine, apatite, and silver spacers…

I adore moonstones. I have a lovely strand of tiny faceted rondelles that are drilled too small for any wire but 26 gauge – and I decided this was their chance! It was the silver embedded embelishment that inspired this palette. I wanted accents of color to link to the overall blue/aqua tones, as well as silver. 

CoM necklace

These elaborate silver beads visually cap off the gem strand as it transitions to chain; the chain is just the last few inches on the back of one’s neck. 

I love the piece – simple, clean, with a bit of subtlety. I can’t wait to see what my fellow AJE team members did – and dont forget the lucky guests who WON a pendant each! You can see it all at the Art Jewelry Elements blog. Thats where I am headed…. But before you go – I would love to hear what yo think…. 

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/

Art Jewelry Elements – October reveal!

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AJE

 October is going out with a bang… at least here in the Mid Atlantic. I am writing this ahead of the reveal date, as we have a predicted date with Hurricane Sandy… 

You may recall that a month or so ago – I shared with you that I had become a member of the Art Jewelry Elements team – a fantastically talented group of bead artists, jewelry artists, designers… here and in the UK. At AJE we have a challenge of sorts… Component of the Month. Components are made, and offered to the team, and in a give away to the readers. Magic happens, and we post the pix here!

October’s CotM was this crazy fabulous seed beaded bead set and leaf charm by Kristen Stevens of “My Bead Journey”. Take a look : 

AJE Oct. components

 I knew I wanted to showcase the leaf and give it a little more visual impact as it was really delicate. I have a tendenacy to incorporate text into my pieces, as you most likely have gathered by now…  In keeping with the organic concept of the piece, I chose to pair it with seed pod slices, pearls, rough emeralds, and citrine. I utilized the seed pod beads as cones of a sort, where I attached seed bead and leather strands for the back of the piece. 

AJE Oct.

Here’s a detail of the pendant…to me the leaf was asking to be embellished – so I enameled a small flower and attached it with a soft rivet, using an enameled headpin. (Thank you SueBeads!) The quote reads: “dance on the edges of time” – an excerpt from this quote by Rabindranath Tagore: “Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” That quote really struck me; so perfect for the season. 

AJE Oct detail

I will say – I had never used beaded beads before and wasn’t sure how I would incorporate them into my aesthetic. ( Hence the challenge, I know…) I am very pleased with the result, and love the beads. I like the texture they add, and a bit of volume visually while being lightweight. I look forward to working with them again! Thanks Kristen!

PLease stop by the Art Jewelry Elements blog to see what my colleagues have done! 

And now without further ado… Bead Soup!

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Reveal 1 Banner BSBP

Hello and Welcome to the first Bead Soup Blog Party reveal! If you are here, you are most likely familiar with Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Party ( or BSBP…) but if you just arrived from the far flung reaches of the Universe then here is a synopsis: 2 people, personally paired by Lori, exchange packages, beads aplenty. Head to the studio and make magic, whether it be ornate, simple, a new style, a challenge… Share your creations here. (For all the details, including the future Hop dates – Bead Soup Blog Party. )

My partner – what a nice way to ‘meet’ new people! – is Cassie Donlen. Cassie is a lampwork beadmaker, jewelry designer, and artist extraordinaire. Her work was new to me… was I out in the far flung reaches of the Universe? I love every thing she sent me, and she was so generous! Here is my loot: 

BS6 from Cassie Donlen

( For what I sent Cassie – she has great pix on her blog. )

Donlen lampwork

The first thing that popped into my head was “Exotic blossom”. 

I need to pause here, to build anticipation for the reveal and also to give you a bit of back story/inspiration. My Bead soup from Cassie got lost. There were a few tense days – and the Postal Service is NOT to blame. I sent her my address typed incorrectly. (The whole story is posted here in my first BSBP blog. ) Clearly I did retrieve my package. While some people would attribute this to luck, or coincidence – I think there is a message here. The Universe was shouting at me. The message you ask? Well its all tied in to the ‘exotic blossom’ …

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
Anais Nin

Exotic blossom

I kept the 2 main flower focals together, and added dangles.  The stamped copper reads “Risk” and “Blossom” to remind me to move forward and push the boundaries. I hung the blossom on a link of chain, showcasing another of Cassie’s lovely beads. The green and blue together, contrasted with the red…and the nature of the focal were all so visually appealing that I found myself designing a simple piece to accentuate the focal. I had planned to use the fab copper chain Cassie sent for this pendant, but I needed more red for balance. (Silk from Marsha Neal Studio). This is an amulet to me, and while I may add more charms – for right now it is complete. 

The pendant wasn’t the only creation… The first thing I did was this…

BSBP6 bracelet

…using Cassie’s clasp and focal bead. I admit – it was my favorite bead so it got singled out for deluxe treatment. Strung with copper and glass from the Soup, and paired with copper chain, and hand spun sari fiber. (You read that right. Its not ribbon. It was hand spun from recycled saris. YetiandYarndrygoods on Etsy) I am thrilled with this one, and plan to wear it often – whenever I am not in the Ceramics studio, that is…

On a final note – thanks to Lori and to Cassie for yet another fantastic BSBP experience! I appreciate all the time and effort went into organizing, and the creation of these beautiful beads. Each year I participate I am excited to have a chance to PLAY, to do something new and unusual, to be inspired, abe to experiment a bit. But enough of ME – you, my dear blog reader, have other treasure to view, creations to see!

Here is the link to the complete list of participants in today’s reveal: Bead Soup Blog Party July Reveal. Have fun! And thanks for stopping by…

You can never have too many earrings! Earring Swap reveal!

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Earrings and a necklace. Daily wear! Whether I am in the studio, teaching, working from home – I am not dressed without them. So – when Diana of Suburban Girl Studio announced an earring swap – sounds good to me!

My first partner is Linda Younkman. Arent these lovely? The blue beads are very detailed. and I love a spiral motif!

earrings1

And then these came from Mary Shannon Hicks! They are a bit heavier, so not every day wear for me, but that owl!  Thank you so much for all the work in that wire wrapping. 

earrings2 earrings2.2

I know you may hop to other blogs, just wanted to post a picture or 2 of what I sent to my partners…

my swap pairs

I enameled these copper washers, and originally had them paired with enameled discs (seen below). They were so uniform in composition, and lacked movement. So – I had to swap them out for pearl and gem dangles. The vintage bells will add a bit of jingle as they dance around. The extra discs? Sent to my partners -a little bonus for them to make into something…

first version extra bonus

Here is the list of participants. Have fun taking a look. I am sure there will be diverse offerings for every style!

Diana Ptaszynski     http://www.suburbangirlstudio.com
Patti Vanderbloemen        http://myaddictionshandcrafted.blogspot.com/
Lesley Watt        http://www.thegossipinggoddess.blogspot.com
Jenny Davies Reazor      http://www.jdaviesreazor.com/blog
Melinda Orr      http://www.orrtec.blogspot.com
Cilla Watkins      http://www.tellyourgirlfriends.com
Stephanie Haussler       http://www.pixybugdesigns.blogspot.com
Sally Russick     http://www.thestudiosublime.com
Susan Kennedy       http://www.suebeads.blogspot.com
Cheryl Brown    www.dragonflybeads.ca

 

 

A dream-y collaboration…

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Last December I received notification for a show called TWOgether, a collaborative exhibit. Held at the Center for Creative Arts in Yorklyn, DE – the call was for a pair of works by 2 artists. I immediately thought of Betsy, my partner in crime, and many artistic undertakings. (We have had multiple exhibits of our show Imago Dea – envisioning the feminine divine.) So we sat at her kitchen table after the holidays and brainstormed. Until now we have always exhibited collages. Betsy’s are digital, using her photographs among myriad other items, textures, locations… She exhibits them as stunning giclee prints. Mine are paper, fabric, glue, paint… more traditional style collages. This time I wanted to do a mixed media piece, bring to life ideas I had been sketching. And I had to deal with surgery and recovery. So I sketched this to show her my basic assemblage idea…

working sketch

(The moon was to illustrate that some image would be framed by the vintage Mother-of-pearl buckle…. Thats were we left it. For Betsy to take the threads of an idea, and a handful of found objects I presented to her as my potential materials. And run with it. And run she did!

Betsy's "Oceana"

Ooh – the textures, nacre of shell, ripples of water, sand… The colors. That ammonite – which she scanned from my original. Oh! This is going to be good. 

filigree links

Sterling and copper links echo the sea foam shapes. The sterling is actually the positive and negative of the same curl. 

WIP dreams

River rock and enameled copper for color. The same ammonite – tab set in copper. And putting it all TWOgether…

Detritus of dreams

Words from her poem (included in the print) under mica, framed by the MOP buckle. The layers are micro-bolted, and riveted. 

dreams detail

I couldnt be more pleased with how it came out! The show is opening tomorrow, with a reception on Friday the 10th from 6-8pm. If you are in the area, please stop by! It will be on exhibit until the 24th. 

 

 

Harmony: enamel shadowbox reveal…

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Good Morning! Welcome to the Enamel Shadowbox bezel and blog hop! Here in Delaware – it has been a busy few days as we are preparing for Irene…So join me for a cup of coffee, thats what I am having – and enjoy!

The Hop takes place thanks to Lorelei and C-Koop beads; Lorelei posted this contect/challenge on her blog and I was thrilled to be one of the finalists. For truly I felt like I had won the prize! The enameled pendants, bezels actually are created by Sara of C-Koop Beads. I enamel small components, and fell in love with these immediately! Here is the one I recieved: 

empty bezel

Gorgoeus shades of maroon, wine, and gold. The problem: I dont want to cover all of that up! I want to use resin – I create a series of resin penndats, incorporating word and image. The word is usually found text rom 200+year old books. I usually incorporate text in my pieces. Perhaps polymer? I had recently taken a class with the zany Christie Friesen – an was open to polymer’s potential. 

moth vs lantern

The bezel reminded me of origami paper, with its patterns of gold. From Japanese paper – to lanterns; the lantern was the first idea. I actually prefered the luna moth more myself – as it is a symbol of transformation… but in the end the lantern fit better, and preserved the gold pattering on the bezel. These pieces are sculpted from polymer, accented with mica powders, baked, and set in with caulk (my prefered glue). Seed beads were also added to create the blossoms and lantern base. The Chinese character for “Harmony” was written in with Sharpie, lo tech, but effective!

designing

This was the picture as it all came together. I knew I wanted to use my chunky copper chain, and I knew flowers. I wanted the chain to be more elaborate, and decided to run a strand of seed beads through it for visual interest, and color. The color that worked best picked up the light tones on the lantern, not the wine colors as I had imagined. I needed a word. To define the Chinese character on the lantern, and to tie it all together. Harmony. (That is what the lantern says, BTW). So I am stamping that onto copper…

finished pendant

The finished pendant before resin. 

detail

Detail of the chain, three wine color pearls visually balance the stamped copper. 

finished piece

There it is. App. 18″ of mixed media magic. I am pleased with how it came out… Oh right! Resin…

with resin

This morning’s update: resin cured. (Little seepage on the back to be sanded.) I hope you liked that journey through my thought process. I cannot wait to see what the others have done! So go – see those blogs! And please, let me know what you think!

 

Enjoy hopping through these participating blogs!
11. Grubbi
12. Jenny Davies- Reazor (you are here. And I thank you for visiting!)

13. Beth of Elizabeth Williams

 

More give away madness!

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My last post – a give away I was involved in. This post – a give away I would truly like to win! Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire –  enamels beads using a lampworkers torch – with gorgeous results. As you know, I have been doing more enameling lately. (Thanks to Melissa Manley!) And while I havent enameled beads, having the other kind of torch – they are beauties!

And Barbara’s new book will be out soon!The giveaway is pictured on her blog – and you get to select the color. Hmm…

Painting with Fire

I sure do like that chartreuse! 

Happy Blogging, more later. I have been a bit silent, yet have stored up things to say. Soon, promise!

 

Art Bliss in DC

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Do you know that feeling when you have experienced something fabulous and you want to share, yet at the same time you want to hold the magic in, keep it close and personal and precious? 

I am ready to share… Art Bliss thoughts and ideas from this past weekend. There are a plethora of art retreats all over the country. I have never attended one. I am spoiled in that I take workshops and work with infinitely talented artists – at the Shepherdess in San Diego, my second home… And while that becomes a retreat in and of itself –  a seperation from the daily grind, chores, etc…I used to work there, and I relish the behind the scenes perspective I have returning there. And Cooky, the owner is one of my best friends…

 The event, the first East coast, Mid Atlantic art retreat; was organized by the multitalented Cindy Wimmer and Jeannette Blix Ryan. Held in a hotel near Dulles airport, all our needs had been tended to by our thoughtful hostesses. Meals catered, classrooms equipped…Time to get to work learning, creating, sharing…

So I departed, with the intention to arrive in Dulles before DC rush hour had fried my brain. Used to live there; know what it is like. Friday night Meet and Greet: wine and nosh, artist instructors and their work, reuniting friends eagerly anticipating the weekend of creativity and inspiration. I was a little adrift, as my friend Jen had to cancel…and I didnt want to monopolize the artist/instructors and come across as a crazy stalker student. ( If you have ever done a retreat or a class, you know exacty what I mean…) Pleasure to meet Melissa Manley, Deryn Mentock, Lesley Venable and her OOAK husband, chief executive cookie baker husband Tom. (Didnt get to meet Kerry Bogert. Oops)  

Saturday – “Hard Candy” enameled beads created from copper, glass, fire… taught by Melissa Manley using tools I already have! Oh I love an applicable skill that doesnt require $$$$ new tools! Just point me in the right direction, and sparks will fly: Hard Candy domes The first attempts. And the finished pieces, including a few extra components…

Hard Candy 

Saturday was a crazy day: dinner, evening class (more on that in a minute) and Trunk Show: Trunk show There were quite a few of my fellow students opening their doors as well, to display their wares. I wish I could have gotten out to see everyone! 

Stay tuned for Part 2 Art Bliss DC…..

Same Bat-time! Same Bat-channel! Until tomorrow…