What’s Black, White, and Red All Over? May 16, 2014

           No, it is not a zebra reading a newspaper !

                 It’s a big old pile of these gorgeous Zigzag Nerite Shells!

I missed last month’s We’re All Ears Earring Challenge hosted by Earrings Everyday.

So I’m jumping on board for today’s blog hop.

Here is the inspiration for our May earring designs…

                                                      Just look at all the cool wavy line details !

 

 

 

And here is my offering…  Black, White, and a touch of frilly Red.

All about texture this time and inspired by natural materials.

Stone, bone, and silk…  spun by those busy little silk worms.

 

 

Black lava stone, ivory carved bone, and a bit of deep red sari silk…

         all wrapped up in brass wire.

Check out what others made for this month’s challenge here.

 

Art Bead Scene February Challenge February 15, 2014

This is one of my favorite on-going jewelry challenges on the web, yet I haven’t participated in quite a while. It’s hosted by Art Bead Scene. The designers offer up a different fine art piece each month as an inspiration for a jewelry design, which must include at least one handmade art bead.  Here is this month’s colorful painting and a little bit about the artist, Paul Klee.

The Rose Garden, 1920

by Paul Klee

Oil on cardboard

19 1/4 x 16 3/4 in. (49 x 42.5 cm)

 About the Art

Cubism had a heavy influence on Swiss-born artist and graphic designer Paul Klee, as demonstrated by the flat 2 dimensional planes and geometric shapes in his painting but his ambitions with colour never faltered.
In his painting of The Rose Garden, Klee broke down the scene into well-defined lines and painted with various patches of a single predominant color. Different objects in the picture (such as a church, tower, fish, etc.) were outlined blocks before adding various tones of a single color to create depth and a multi-dimensional picture. The effect is that you see something new each time you look at the picture from a different perspective. The painting looks like a patchwork quilt, but with more dimension.

About the Artist

‘Art does not reproduce the visible but makes visible.’     Paul Klee

 Paul Klee (1879-1940) is one of the 20th century’s most influential and much-loved artists. He is best known for his vibrant colour compositions, cosmic metaphors and fantastic landscapes. Much has been made of their inventiveness and of their humour however Klee’s charm as a storyteller conceals a profound exploration of picture-making which produced one of the most original bodies of work realised by a modern artist.

I was struck by the geometric lines and vibrant colors in this work.

It just so happens that I was also working on an etched copper piece

with similar line designs and decided to use this as a pendant in my Klee inspired

necklace. It was also a perfect opportunity for me to work on asymmetry in

design (always a bugger for me).  I was even able to work in a bit of Pantone’s

Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid,

with two gorgeous lamp work beads by Juli Cannon of StudioJuls.

They’re a glowing addition to this necklace

and a nice compliment to the dark red sari silk.

Copper etched design with a heat-treated patina

Here’s another etched copper bar that I curved

to created this soft, ethnic wrap bracelet,

this time braiding the sari silk ribbon.

The etching process is the major technique taught this session

in the Adult School metal’s class. It’s laborious and smelly,

but with interesting and satisfying outcomes.

She’s a Winner !! September 28, 2013

I woke up early this morning with this nagging feeling that there is something I had forgotten to do.

Then, it hit me.

Oh, yeah…time to pick a winner for the little give away that I posted last week !

And the random number generator said… #7.

Debra Freeland !

 Come on down!

So, Debra, please contact me with your address

and I’ll happily get this little package off to you pronto.

 

 Here is what she will receive from my recent faux ceramic glazed poly clay explorations:

A heart ornament, a pottery shard bead, and just because…three scroll beads.

 

 

The scroll beads were inspired from a tutorial that Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio

posted on the Art Jewelry Elements blog earlier this month.

Truthfully, I’m not quite sure how I’ll use them in my jewelry designs yet,

but hoping Debra or some of you might share some ideas.

Anyone??

 

I am just having so much fun playing with this medium.

Last week, I shared some designs for a cabochon challenge.

These are some new ones using poly clay with the liquid polymer glaze finish.

I have found that the part I truly enjoy is mixing the glazes and the painting.

So relaxing.

 

Two are with some glass pebble and Japanese paper cabs…

the other is a small piece of green beach glass.

Again, not quite sure what will become of them, but I’m getting some ideas.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

 

 

Contrasting Elements April 4, 2012

Steel is hard, rustic, and durable.  Silk is soft, rich, and fragile.  These two materials go together well in this necklace, I think.  I’m still getting to know the annealed steel as a jewelry material. As hard as it is to work with physically, it certainly makes strong, sturdy components that one doesn’t need to worry about coming apart.  The red crystal links will be earrings with another crystal dangle or necklace components.

      

Love the deep, saturated colors with the dark gray steel, don’t you?

“It’s a Wrap” Give Away! March 5, 2012

It’s time to post this month’s give away…I’m happy to offer a choice this time. Your choice of one pair of these sari silk ribbon wrapped earrings.  The omega style is made with copper and dyed pink jade. The pendant style is with gold craft wire and some cool fuchsia glass beads.  As a fun bonus, the winner will also receive 10 feet of this gorgeous ribbon to play with.  And I do hope, if they are inclined, they will sent me photos of their lovely creations.  I’d love to see them and share them with you all.

What would you do with this bundle of delicious colors?

For a chance to win this month’s give away, follow these few simple guidelines.

1.  To be eligible, you must reside in the U.S. or Canada.

2.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Please let me know which pair of earrings you’d choose… Omega or Pendant

Scroll to the bottom of this post and click “add comment”.  Be sure you add your email where prompted. Your email address is seen only by me. One entry per person please.

3.  Entries must be posted by Monday, March 19th,  12:00 noon Pacific Standard Time.  That’s two weeks from today.

4.  The randomly selected winner will be chosen using a list randomizer.  They will be contacted by the email listed in the comment and have one week from that date to respond.  Arrangements will be made to securely package and mail the winner’s prize.  If I don’t hear from them, then another winner will be selected and contacted under the same procedure.

Good Luck!

Back to the Sari Silk March 3, 2012

Still looking for ways to use this beautiful ribbon in jewelry.  Here’s some wrapped bead links I’m experimenting with using Tacky glue to start and finish the ends. I started by making bar links out of 18 gauge copper and brass wire, a little over an inch in length. Wrap, wrap, wrap, wrap with the ribbon. The four beads on the left have a coat of Mod Podge, as I was concerned about the durability of the bead. It definitely darkened the colors and gave it a hard coat, which might be okay…don’t know yet.              The three on the right side have no other finishing. I think I like this look better, as you can really tell that they are made from some sort of fabric/ribbon and have a much softer appearance.  The beads in the middle are possible go-withs (after I settle on how to make the sari silk links to my liking).  I’ll post a finished piece(s) very soon.

Two notes…  First, a teaser…this month’s give away will involve the sari silk in some fashion. Come back next week and see what’s up.

Secondly, if you don’t know about Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Hop party, today was the big reveal on the participants’ designs…all 200 of them!          Lori partnered up 200 designers into pairs. Each pair exchanged a package of a focal bead, clasp, and any other goodies they wanted. The challenge was to create something delicious with the Bead Soup mix they received in the mail. I haven’t visited everyone yet, but what fun to see the wonderful variety of jewelry designs. If you have time in the next few days, start at Lori’s blog and take a peek at a few or all.