Crystal Clear

Remember that crystal that I captured in a brass setting a few days ago? You can see it here. I wanted to use it in an interesting way and let it be a part of a necklace rather than the focus of the piece. This is what I came up with ...

I have used it to create a pendant with an old watch case, chandelier crystal and a charm.

I have called this piece "Crystal Clear". I like to think of it as a bit of a talisman to promote clear thought and wisdom. I collaged the watch case with an eye print and encased a pearl for feminine wisdom and a sodalite star. Sodalite is believed to clear the mind and bridge the gap between your thoughts and your feelings. The word "clarity" is stamped onto some metal and remains fixed in place whereas the pearl and stone can move.

I have strung it on a piece of flocked tube and whilst I like the dimensions, I am not completely convinced about the material as I am not sure how well it wears.

So there it is - from conception to completion - in under a week - could be some kind of record for me as I do like to ruminate about the pieces ... Anyway I am dead delighted with the rustic chunkiness of this piece and its museum-like quality. I think I will be revisiting this idea.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig ...

Just home after a wonderful beachy holiday with the family. We have had an extra special helping of family time over the Christmas period this year - something that gets harder to arrange as the kids get older, get jobs,study,leave home, travel etc -so I am feeling pretty grateful right now.
We had a great time mooching about some little seaside towns, swimming, eating and laughing ourselves stupid. Our holiday included :

Some DIY henna tattooing.

Fun and games.

Some catch, kiss, and release fishing adventures.

And of course some icy cold wine to wash down some really great local food!

We also made some stuff, watched Tim Minchin DVDs ( not recommended for those suffering any form of stress incontinence!), visited nearby markets, lazed around reading good books and trashy magazines and of course immersed ourselves in the briny sea at every available opportunity. It was trooly rooly Heaven - even so, it is still good to be home.

Too too easy ....

I have constructed a pair of ear-rings.

 
OK, so that is not all that noteworthy except that these were so amazingly simple that I feel deeply suspicious that there must be some fundamental design flaw.

  They have a simple loop closure that seems to work well and remain secure ... The wires are forged so they retain some "spring" but can't be easily bent out of shape and the recycled brass discs seem to fall naturally to the "right" place when these are worn. They are no trickier to put in my ears than any other hoop-style earrings I own. What is going on? It all sounds too good to be true - there are absolutely no tricky manoeuvrings involved in making or wearing these.

... and they look really great on! So you can understand my suspicions can't you? I am planning to road-test these for a week or two before making some to send out into the world. Am I being paranoid?!

Learning Curve

I thought you might like to join me on a little learning adventure ...
You see, this morning I was cleaning out my handbag and found these ...

I had bought them at a market in the hills well before Christmas and they have been stealthily lurking in my bag ever since. These a roughish bits of quartz and whilst I fell in love with them at the time, I had no real idea about what I would do with them. Well, it is a new year and all so maybe it is time to learn a new skill? I wanted to capture the crystal in a way that would allow me to hang it. Somewhere in the blurry recesses of my brain I have an idea that I have seen some jewellery made using little tabs to hold things in place. How hard can it be I thought ... Well for better or worse I decided to go for it. Here is how I did it ...

 

I chose my crystal and decided which would be the uppermost side. Then I did a rough little trace around it. Then I added tabs that will eventually wrap over the crystal, and some half circles that will form the hanging mechanism.

I cut out the paper pattern and tested it on the crystal - notice how I have marked the top of the crystal - it is easy to lose track of what goes where ... I had to make the tabs a little bit longer as I had underestimated the crystals' girth - in much the same way as I often underestimate the girth of my butt!

Next up - pattern glued to some brass and we are ready to cut this baby out!

Okay - that is really just a gratuitous shot of me wielding my trusty saw and looking like a proper jeweller!

So, I have cut the shape out, files and sanded the edges and here it is being "antiqued" with a blackening solution.

 

The moment of truth - will it fit? Will it be secure?

Yessirreee Bob! It does take a little bit of manipulating and some very very gentle taps with a small rubber mallet, but it most definitely WORKS!  Bear in mind that I didn't measure anything so if you wanted a less "organic" (wobbly!) style you would need to rule straight lines and so forth - me, I think it works well with this less-than-perfect bit of rock! Now, to figure out how I am gonna use this component ...?!

First pieces for 2011

So I have gotten the New Year off to a flying start! Could be that I know I am going to be away from my workspace for a week ... whatever the motivation, I have made 2 new pieces of jewellery on the very first day of the year.

This piece I have decided to keep for ME! I can't seem to get a decent photo of it though so you will just have to imagine that when I put it on I go from regular scraggy-Sue neck to giselle-like Uma Thurman neck. At least that is how it makes me feel when I wear it which is what really counts huh?!

It is made from a pewter tankard, a brass planter and sterling silver.

I polished the pewter and the brass using emery paper then my trusty Dremel and then 2 grades of steel-wool. In real life this accentuates the contrast between the pewter and the brass.

I cut a weeny disc out of some pewter and stamped it with date and name so that it would be a bit commemorative. The second piece I made is completely different - it has a gorgeous vintage feel.

I made the central component by sandwiching a piece of lace doiley between a glass pebble and a piece of copper. The key is an old one I found in my father-in-laws workshop.

Other bits include some stacked mother-of-pearl buttons, a large crystal and some chandelier crystals. Oh and some freshwater pearls for scrumminess. The chain is courtesy of a recent trip to Spotlight - yikes they had a lot of stuff on special and I couldn't resist. So that is me started for the year - can I keep it up I wonder? Probably not once the realities of family life, Uni and so forth sets in, so I shall bask in my productive warmth whilst I can!

Looking back ...

This is certainly the time of year for reflection. Most people cast back over the year and have a think about their highs and lows - it is a natural thing to do and I guess it is one way in which we grow each year. Today I saw a bumper sticker that said "I am in shape ... Round is a shape!" and it made me giggle a bit - I kinda relate to the round bit and am not unduly uncomfortable with my shape - even at this reveal-more-flesh-than-any-other-time-of-year time. It got me to thinking about labels and such and the limitations they can place on us if we let them. Two sets of traffic lights later and I got to thinking about all the things I had learned this year - and there have been alot - from practical skills to the realisation of personal aspirations. One thing I learned in 2010 is that labels are not always bad. For the first time ever, I actually wrote "artist" as my profession on a form this year. And it didn't feel weird - how weird is that?! So I guess I feel I have earned the label and learned to be comfortable with it. I could blather on about the skills I learned from the indomitable Ms Kazmer, or all the things I continue to learn from my kids but maybe I will save that for another time ...
So what have you learned in 2010? Did you have an "ah-ha" moment, acquire a new skill or perhaps you gained some insight into something you had previously found baffling?
Thank you for joining me here in 2010 and I wish all of you a most happy and creatively bountiful New Year!

Scribbles ...

Strangely, I am feeling the urge to fill up my journal with ideas. I say strangely because I would have thought that the amount of food and alcohol I have consumed lately may have curbed my creative impulses! Not true apparently and I am scribbling away like  a madwoman - ok so the bit about being mad is probably no surprise but the fact that the stuff I am thinking about is for an exhibition in August is, quite frankly, ASTOUNDING!

Of course I find that yet again I have ideas that exceed my current skill-set - meh - what is life without a little bit of challenging endeavor? For now I am just gonna keep on scribbling and probably making a few prototypes ( damn my design-by-making brain!) and see where it leads. How about you - now that there is a little lull are you feeling creative or do you just want to lounge about and soak up sun?