And The Universe provides ..

So. I wanted to make some jewellery and I needed some metal. Those of you familiar with my work know that I am hardly likely to call up my nearest metal merchant and say "Hey people, send me a truckload of your finest sheet metal - better make it precious metal at that!" That is just not how this recycler rolls. No sireee - I need metal, I head to the op-shop. The thing is,I enjoy conceptual jewellery - I find it interesting and challenging but I am just not gonna be wearing a bracelet like this one by Nanna Welland ...

pic nicked from here

(yep that is a real animal heart)  The concept behind the piece ( a Memento Mori ) is a very big-brain idea. But I want wearable. I want tough and more often than not that means I want METAL. At least as a substructure. Mind you, I am not gonna wear GaGa's meat frock anywhere either so maybe it is just a flesh thing? No, it really is that I am sooper dooper simplistic and want to make stuff that can be worn. At this point in my life I am going to leave the big brain stuff to those with bigger brains and more interesting things to say.  I really like using pewter from old tableware etc but it is pretty soft and not all that suitable for brooches etc without some kind of support. I have a heap of pewter but a dig through my boxes of metal odd bods did not come up with anything inspiring so I high tailed it to the oppie. Here is where the Universe bit comes in - they had tubs of old metal trays that they were practically giving away. Serendipity? Fate? Or perhaps whoever is in charge isfinally tuning in to my brain and does that mean I should get an aluminium hat?  The oppie is apparently pretty keen to get rid of the trays going as far as placing a "penalty price" on them. If you buy 1 tray it will cost you two dollars. Alternatively, you can buy two trays for one dollar! This is what I picked up ...

Scrummy aren't they? And just what I needed. Deconstructing this stuff is hard yakka though - this is what it looks like -

My  trusty dremel and jewellery saw make a great team but it takes me an age. On the other hand the ManBeast cuts through this stuff with tin-snips - voila!

Now I am ready to go - stay tuned to see what these become! In the meantime don't forget to put your requests to the Universe and see what happens - Providence could be yours. Failing that, you will have a good excuse to hit up the thrift store!

Work in Progress

Really it has just been far too hot here to think, let alone undertake any creative work! Nonetheless, this morning my fingers were itching to be busy so I sat at my bench and collected a few bits and pieces together ...

I didn't have a plan - I just thought it might be fun to practice some cold connections and join some stuff together. In the end, I settled on making something with the little hinged box with the blue front.

I wasn't really loving that blue front so my first step was to disguise it behind some text from a dictionary which I covered with mica to make it durable.

That looks better - right? By this stage I had settled on making a pendant box - maybe something of a treasure box? Or a place to keep wishes? Next step - decoration!

Amongst the bits I had fished out was a squished bottle cap and this lovely brass bird - it was a necklace from an oppie. I also added a layer of etched pewter and then rivettted it all to the box lid. I think the key pictured here will dangle from the bottom of the box and I will make a bead chain to hang the pendant from. In the end my studio just got too hot and I had to call it quits but it was a fun play while it lasted. Sometimes it is good to come back to a project later because you see it with fresh eyes and make creative choices you might otherwise have forgone. We'll see. I'll keep you posted ....

At the bench ...

Today I unearthed some old spoons - there are souvenir spoons, teaspoons, soup spoons and just about every other kind of spoon you can imagine in my collection.

I had planned to make some simple charms but as chance would have it, my simple charms grew into slightly more complex and layered pendants.

That is okay though sometimes you just have to go with the creative flow!

This one started life as a very pretty spoon but a few good whacks with the hammer soon pounded it into a nice flat piece of metal - just right for the addition of a pretty image and a flower.

I spent some time before Christmas cleaning out my magazines and mined them quite thoroughly for nice images. This owl was one I saved - he is pretty cute and fitted perfectly with the piece of glass I had to hand!

I captured this bit of a vintage doiley behind glass and thought it would make a nice component in a necklace, but then, as I was playing around it just kinda grew into a pendant in its own right! The bird and the twig are both made from reclaimed pewter that I have cast. The paper behind the lace was also saved from my magazine destash!

I am still most fond of "Alice" images - I just can't help it. This pendant is made from a teaspoon, mica, a funny old brandy label and another larger spoon that when flattened ended up in this neat shield shape. Add one vintage key and voila - a pendant is born!

This picture gives a better view of the layering . I haven't sat at my bench for a while and my shoulders are feeling the absence tonight - I am out of practice! I am working towards creating enough work to take along to a makers market that is being run in conjunction with Grampians Texture - I am attending some workshops and maybe the market stall might help pay some of my accommodation costs? It is good motivation to get back to work and stop doo-lallying about .... mind you, I don't plan to overdo things - there are still cocktails to be slurped (I mean sipped!) on balmy Summer evenings ...

My Creative Space

Joining all the other creatives over at Kirsty's today. At the moment my creative space is all about butterflies ...

All in various stages of completion. All made of "found" or reclaimed materials. All need to be finished soon - ish!

Mad March

I feel as if I have not been keeping up with things lately. Perhaps I am getting lazy in my middle years? Hhmm. I have had a little recap of what has been happening here during Mad March and maybe lazy is the wrong adjective! There has been an abundance of Birthday Celebrations, some of them for significant Birthdays like 21sts and the big 5-0h too. So that means costumes and gifts to make, food to prepare and bunting to sew - and champagne to wash it all down!

 via

Just one more 21st party and that will be March done!

There have been two average sized assignments to research and write for Uni ..

Yes it is true - I still write my essays in long-hand first!

I have put together a small body of work ( a dozen pieces I think) for a show with a fellow student - some pieces like these ...

And I also designed and made some fabo jewels for a Year 12 Formal - big and shiny was the request ...

Dangly, dangly ear-rings to match the dress...

and a cuff to go with ...

 Yeah - big and shiny are two of my favourite things - except when it comes to noses - I prefer them on the smaller side. I used a lot of lovely Swarovski crystal in Golden Shadow - mmmmmm - shineeeeee!

I have also been playing here:

I spend two days a week at Uni and they feel like long days now because it is dark when I leave home. Plus there is the usual "Mum" stuff of dealing with broken hearts, tricky work situations and Year 12 workload and there seems to be an expectation that there will be food in the house and the occasional load of washing done. And shirt and tie shopping for aforementioned Formal. And an appearance at the last ever school sports day for this family (yay!). I haven't replanted the herb pots or rung my niece or tidied my studio but I have managed the odd conversation with the ManBeast even though it is Vintage time and he is rarely sighted.

Crap, it is no wonder I haven't had time to shave my legs!

My Creative Space

I am trying to boost both my creativity and my desire to create so I am joining in with Kirsty in the hope it will spur me on! So, today my creative space presented me with the following ...

 

and in the end I had a necklace ...

It is long and luscious and very, very pretty!

Smashing Old Chum!

 Blogtoberfest (Day 27)

I had a lovely time this morning smashing china - it is very therapeutic. I totally get why plate smashing is such a popular wedding feature!

Once I was done with the smashing, I had to turn my 'shards' into something more presentable ...

Ah, sooo much nicer and infinitely more wearable. Shaping china is a grotty job. I wear a face mask and goggles as well as a big apron but I still manage to get fine dust on my face and all over my clothes. Seriously, I would do it naked except that I'd be too afraid that I could have a slip and do serious damage (now that is a mental image you didn't need huh?). I love watching these pieces take shape. Today, one thing led to another and before I knew it ...

a new bird was hatched! This is a first for me - by far the most ambitious shaping I have ever undertaken. It measures about 6cms across so it isn't tiny but will be great for a pendant. Smashing! As for those other pieces? Well, here is what I have made with them ...

These will are part of some work I am putting together for a juried exhibition, but more about that tomorrow!

Big Beady Efforts.

 Blogtoberfest (Day 20)

So this is what life is about just now - beads, beads and more beads! I have a couple of jewellery gigs coming up so I am staying chained to my workbench, making and making so that I have lots of stock for people to choose from ...

It is alot of work but those beadies sure are pretty - and fun to work with too!

 

Mind you, when it is all done and dusted I might just "fly" - and have a little rest!

"Ready Rupert"

Here is another exhibition piece that has gone to a new home. I am posting it here because I had a comment from the pair over at Woolfenbell about using china to make jewellery. This piece started life as a promotional mug for our daily newspaper "The Advertiser" ( can you believe we only have one daily?!). I found it all lost and alone in the thrift store and was immediately attracted to it because it was covered in text. When I discovered that text was in fact snippets from newspaper reports I was over the moon! I cut it up as carefully as a gem cutter might approach the Hope Diamond - to me it was just as precious and I really wanted to maximise the amount of text I could use. Then each piece was shaped and drilled. I decided to create a metal disc with the words "seek truth" stamped on it because I think it would be rather nifty if our newspapers did just that! I called the piece "Ready Rupert" - a reference to the owner of "The Advertiser" ( and a whole chunk of Australian media!), kind of as a plea to the man to allow his journalists to actively seek the truth without regard to who he favours, be they advertisers or political parties. Jewellery as a political statement? Hells yeah! Why not?!

The piece is designed to sit quite flat on the collar bone.

The text looks like little bits of torn newspaper.

Each piece is woven together with wire.

The double-sided disc - made from an old tray and stamped with "seek truth".

My Creative Space

I decided to join in with Kirsty's fun meme "My Creative Space" this week. I am still working away at getting some exhibition-worthy pieces together so of course my creative space is my bench ...

It is really messy - a by-product of the "design-by-making" process which means you get heaps of stuff out and have a play with it 'til it looks right, then work out how to make it happen. It is a process Art teachers actively discourage but although I will often start with a sketch, I seem to use this method a lot! Jewellery making is  pretty grubby - plenty of filings and stinky patinas to add to the general grottiness! However something emerged from the chaos ...

I have called this pendant "One Chance" mostly because it has a tram token that says "Good For One Fare" on it and really we only get one go at life so maybe we should worry less about time and allow ourselves to fly a little bit?  It is made of mostly recycled bits and pieces. If you get a chance, do head over to Kirsty's and see what all the other creatives have been doing this week.