Dancing Flower

Named for the beautiful dancing ladies in my inspiration photo, "Dancing Flower" is a symmetrical design (as per my assignment.)  Creating a symmetrical design sounds simple enough.  It turns out that in this day of asymmetrical fashion, it is hard to go back!  

The design grew from the vintage filigree earring that I dismantled to create my focal.  I added a flower of Czech pressed-glass leaves and hung a smooth glass drop.  The strap includes steel wire-wrapped magnesite rondelles, jade "pickles" (that's the official name given by a former co-worker,) faceted agate rounds, and a couple of vintage metal beads.  The large-link chain is aluminum and the handmade clasp is large gauge steel wire.

I was grateful for my teacher's comment to another classmate about a variety of textures in your beads warrants fewer colors in your design.  It gave me permission to put away the magenta drop and red AB rondelles back in the beadbox and focus on the visual weight of my beads.  Instead of a shock of pink, the drama all comes from the sparkly mirror-backed leaves!

Mother of the Groom Set

This is the set I designed for my girlfriend, Diana.  In my haste, I'm afraid I didn't get the very best pictures.  The grey Swarovski pearls and the Indicolite 2AB bicones are an amazing complement to each other and the whole effect was truly elegant.  Or maybe it was my friend who was so elegant.  Either way, they made a lovely match.

The focal crystal is a 16mm Swarovski rivoli called "Sphinx."  It has amazing flashes of blues and greens.  I had never seen this particular color before the day I went shopping for this project.  Divine intervention, I think!

This Just In!!! Enamel on Copper

Wednesday, June 22, Sara Lukkonen of www.ckoopbeads.com taught a basic enameling class at Beadhive www.beadhivebeads.com in South Minneapolis. Wow! We fired up 10 torches and went at it...we were very eager. The beads on this piece are my very first enamel on copper! They are quite difficult to photograph and get an accurate color representation, so don't be surprised. For instance, there appears to be a lot of pink on these beads and...there is NONE. One has a little splash of dark red copper, but there is no pink. They are browns, light blues, greens and white.

Art Clay Silver

I am in art heaven. There is a product on the market that is known generally as "precious metal clay." There are a couple of primary brands and I am using Art Clay Silver. (The other brand you'll see around is PMC.) A nice explanation of the material can be found at http://www.artclayworld.com/what_is_art_clay.php. It is my understanding that it is a product that makes use of recycled fine metals. More on that as I dig up information.The product is a slightly moist clay (also comes in paste and syringe forms) that can be formed like any clay and then fired with a kiln, burner, or butane torch. I'm using a small torch with butane that I purchased at the local hardware store. The set-up is very economical (especially if you get the starter kit offered at Fire Mountain Gems http://www.firemountaingems.com/details.asp?PN=H203256TL. That said, the clay is not. The clay is very small particles of silver held together by an organic binder that burns off upon firing. Once fired, it is over 99% fine silver. Hence the cost (about $45 for 20 ounces.)

Here are some of my first projects:

Above is a Roman-style face pendant (pressed with a $1.50 button I liked)

Below is a long necklace made with miscellaneaous chain (including some I rescued from a vintage lariat.) The Art Clay in this piece is the woman's profile, also from a button but molded in a silicone mold. The lady has a liver of sulfur patina, but she's still fine silver.

Finally, a great project with which to start. The geometric components of this set were stamped with a Close to My Heart set called "Adorable." I love, love, love my necklace and wear it all the time! Some times I don't even resist saying, "Look, I made this!

Bezel a rivoli????

Beading and jewelry-making has its own dictionary. The first huge lexical speedbump that I encountered was "bezel a rivoli." Huh? a what? I really wanted it to be pronounced "bee-zul a rivoli" but my quest to be informed taught me that it was pronounced "be (short-e)-zul."

A bezel is a jewelry setting that encircles a stone, gem, or other element. It is often a flat-back piece of metal with a lip around the edge. In beading, it is a stitched ring that encases a decorative element.

Once I figured out how to say it and what it was, I set out to learn how to do it! Good fortune would have the front sides turn out fabulously well. Good fortune would also keep you from looking at the back sides...ever.