Working toward the weekend . . .

Still piling up the new work for my next show at the Visiting Nurse Association benefit Art&Soup show in Omaha this coming Sunday, as you can see.  Loving the new direction and working with enamels, torch-firing, and my stash of enamel jars continues to grow.  


It's addicting but I think it may really be the color splash that I am enjoying so much.  

It would be easy to re-create with others have done and I see much of that as I cruise through etsy and other selling sites but my own hand is starting to shine through now. I'm using all of the same techniques that I use in silverwork.  Lots of pinning, simple embellishing, punching and hammering shapes so it becomes mine and not just a stamped piece.

I am super-anxious to see how the new work direction is received and I can always count on good and honest feedback from this particular show.  Add to that the fact that shows are so saturated with silver and strung pieces that this is simply different from an art and craft show standpoint.

SPRING!

Post a little positive affirmation, okay?  I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Valentine's Day . . .

Happy Valentine's Day!

Simple : sweet : everyday Valentine

I've been slowly collecting different little jars of enamels, absolutely fascinated.  I have been doing my own lapidary work and amassing beautiful stones for such a long time and now this colorful addition has me oohing and ahhing at the sweet, soft combinations.  I'm using both copper and silver and playing with some success that has even me excited to combine enamels with metalwork and stones.  

I am finding that different gases produce different subtle effects - wanted and unwanted!  I particularly like the sugar phase of the sifted enamel powders transforming and the two pair of earrings here show exactly that.  Rough texture and deep, deep color.  Fun to watch the enamels as they transform and a trick to get them to stop just where you want.  Practice practice.

This pink and white pair of earrings shows that colors are not blended like paint.  Rather, combining two or more colors of enamel will give you speckles and another dimension to pieces.

I have a wonderful show on the schedule for 23 Feb in Omaha - Art & Soup - and I've been creating piles of earrings and pendants in the last month.  Gotta admit, I'm pretty excited to see if everyone else is as enamored with enamel as I am.

Fingers crossed.

Sunday enamel play . . .

Such a great day!  I carved out a few hours this Sunday afternoon to play with my enamels and see what developed?  My goal is to keep at it until I know what to expect each time - I guess that's called consistency - and I'm slowly figuring out my technique issues as I go.

I took a few old pairs of copper earrings and here's what came from my playtime.

I love the orange dangly pair - what a wonderful color and I so like the way it darkened on the edges.

The sky blue pair turned out lumpy and I've got to figure that one out.  I think I need to leave the fire on it for a little while longer.  Not sure. Hmmm . . . . 

The flower pendant was turquoise with tangerine sprinkles on the edges.  I can see that I had a little bit of contaminant on one of the petals so next time I'll remember to clean a bit longer before I sift the enamel powder onto the piece.  The three silver balls are attached by first drilling holes where you want the decor, enameling and then threading the balled wire through and torch-pinning on the backside.  This one I'll keep for myself because it's got a boo-boo.

Overall, happy.  Happy and successful day.

Bluebell Earrings . . .

For Lorraine.

Sweet little pair of faceted lapis and sterling silver earrings.

copper love . . .

I got all my chores done for the day, cut grass, watered the dry stuff and even trimmed the rogue saplings and overhanging Bur Oak branches in the hedgerow with my 'chainsaw on a stick' so I think I deserved to spend a couple of hours in the shop creating some new things. I do have a few special orders waiting and now I'm energized, ready to tackle the week.

So here you go:

* copper love *

New work for Art & Soup Show in Omaha . . .

I've been pretty busy in the shop getting major work stockpiled for an upcoming show in Omaha, Art & Soup, as well as several galleries. The cat animal help really isn't so much help but they are good company.

I finally feel like my work has a cohesive look to it and I've found my artist's hand so I'm pleased with what I'm turning out. Of course, time will tell if anyone else is as pleased but it was a good holiday season and i'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Spring look and feel to these pieces will do well.

I look at some of my work from years past and think it has a rather hodge-podge look and laying all of this out on the worktable to inventory makes me smile.

Valentine's Day . . .

These sweet litte earrings are so simple. No embellishment. Nothing fancy. They are what they are and I love them.

Earring-alicious

So I found these wonderful gemstone beads on limabeads.com - a little bit of Rainbow Soocho Jade and a little bit of Agate. I'm in an earring mode this week and I need to spend a little time hibernating in my studio. These two little guys were turned out yesterday.

Time to 'git bizzy for Spring' and these will certainly get me started in the right direction.

One a day

Sometimes it's a challenge just to get into the shop and clear off the bench. But I turned these out today just for fun - so there you go.