Workspaces Wednesday

A new feature...WORKSPACES WEDNESDAY

This idea is not original to me, but I've seen it on other artist's blogs and think it is a lot of fun.  Plus, I'm hoping it will give me some accountability to finish projects and clear off some workspaces!

Some people have "work bench" or "work table" Wednesday.  I use a lot of different spaces, though. There's always one beside my bed where I often sit and putter at the end of the day.  I also have a desk.  My current favorite, though, is the the top of a long, low set of shelves.  It works well for torch-firing enamel, so a piece of galvanized steel lives there.  When I'm not enameling, the steel can also handle resin and liver of sulfur spills or hot wires that I've just torched to get a balled end.  So, our tour begins here!

First project: resined paper bead caps.  I've seen some neat focals made with resined vintage paper and wire.  I've been on the look-out for ways to add more bead caps into my work and wondered if I might use paper to create some.  Quite a process, it turned out to be (says Yoda, the beader.)  First, I cut circles from a 60's tome on gardening and wet them down.  I formed the wet paper around a marble and let it dry completely.  Next, I brushed the shaped paper with Mod Podge and helped them into 1/2 spheres. While they were drying, I hammered flat some 26 gauge copper wire, wrapped it around a Sharpie, snipped jump rings, soldered them closed and tossed them into some liver of sulfur.  Yeah, just that easy.  Final step, slip the rings over the paper shapes and paint them with Ice Resin.  The results weren't perfect.  Some of the caps ripped when I removed them from my drying rack.  There was uneven coloring where the resin seeped in around the hole.  Still, it shows promise and I'll do better next time.

 Here's a peek at a pendant I am making with one of the caps. 

Which brings me to these pretties!  I purchased these lampworked art beads from  SpawnofFlame at Etsy.  I'm crazy about this artist's work!  These color schemes are "Warm Fire" and "Cool Fire."

And these..."Red Velvet."  The etched finish gives a soft matte surface that I  love!  These earrings  are created with fine silver wire (26 ga. and 18 ga.), freshwater pearls, and Adornments fibers.

These bangles have been sitting out for weeks.  I like the idea of them, but there is something wrong.  The clasp mechanism is clunky and the enameled, layered flowers don't show well as the bangle flops around on the wrist.  What to do, what to do?

More bead cap experiments.  These are...wait for it...
cut from a Pokemon tin!  I need a deeper dapping block to get them just right, but they will be fun to use.

Here I have a crazy accident that I insist on turning into something cool.  On this same workspace, I was using a solution of vinegar and salt to clean up a copper component and these crazy crystals started growing on the bowl.  I let them go for a few days and didn't have the heart to just throw it all away when I cleaned up.  So, of course I made a resin  pendant with the crystals.

The final stop for today, some dalmation jasper that I dressed up with alcohol ink.  The  stone is cool on its own, but  it takes the ink so well and looks really exotic when the black spots show through.  Now, I need an inspired design to use them...

Thus ends the workspace tour for this Wednesday!  I hope you enjoyed the peek at my art life.  Come on back soon!