Jewelry Design Adventures

I've been feeling like I'm stuck in a creative rut lately... making simple, (boring), non-creative projects. I have no actual formal art training to fall back on for inspiration and my design sketches are hit and miss because I get upset that I can't draw very well and just quit. So I stumbled across a great jewelry design tutorial series called Think & Design Jewelry by Eni Oken.

credit: Think & Design Jewelry

Each issue walks you through practical hands-on drawing exercises to create new jewelry designs.  Since I'm not currently bursting with spontaneous creativity, I was thinking that working through each of these tutorials and making a project for each will kick start the process. After skimming through most of the tutorials, it seems like the majority will be really useful. Some don't really interest me quite as much (I'm over heart shaped jewelry and butterflies are just too twee) but I will work through all of them anyway. And since I have this perfectly good blog here, I thought I would share what I'm doing.

I will be starting with Lesson #1: the Flower.

credit: Think & Design Jewelry

Flowers are right in my wheelhouse. I love making flower inspired jewelry and I think this tutorial will help me get past the idea of making just realistic looking flower replicas and move into more abstract designs.

I have already sketched some preliminary designs. Over the next week or so, I will share my designs and hopefully at least one finished project from them.

Creativity here I come! (Hopefully...)

Periodic Update

I can't really call it a weekly update anymore... It's edging into more like a monthly update...

Anyway, I finished my casting class. It was super fun and now I'm sad that I don't have the room (or funds) for a whole casting setup in my garage. Someday...

Here were my final projects straight from the casting machine.

The medieval-inspired ring is ridiculously heavy - like I'd be afraid it would crack a floor tile if I dropped it heavy. I'll be keeping it for myself once I figure out how to finish it. I got all of the investment out of it and cleaned it up a bit with burrs and files, but I'm not sure what to do with it now. I originally wanted to put a stone on the top of the little table, but it's already a big ring and that would make it absurdly tall. I'm thinking of cutting/drilling out the top of the table and setting a stone inside, but that would make me a little sad because I worked too hard at shaping that silly thing out of wax just to get rid of it.

I did clean up and finish the silver flower ring. I would love to make a whole series of these. I just love how easy it is to carve a bark/wood texture into the band.

Other than that, jewelry-wise things have been a little sluggish around here. Just a few online orders trickling in here and there and my creativity/muse/whatever has completely deserted me. I have a plan to try to fix that, which I'll share in a different post a little later.

In Which I Covet Jewelry From the Oscars Red Carpet

Anybody else watch the Oscars this past weekend? I usually have it on in the background while I do something else, just so I can look over whenever there's a pretty dress or something interesting going on. I also like to jewelry watch, because there's certain to be a large amount of very expensive, sparkly jewelry.

I was a little disappointed at the lack of variety of jewelry worn at this year's show, though. It seemed to be that all the actresses stuck with the safe choice of clear diamonds. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a nice big sparkly diamond as much as the next girl, but after a while they seem a little boring. No color, and in all the pictures the white diamonds and white platinum just blend into a silvery blur. I guess I can understand that actresses want their designer dresses to be the focus, but it would have been nice to see some color in the jewelry.

The lone splash of jewelry color that I noticed on any of the big name stars came from Amy Adams. Her rhodochrosite, lapis, turquoise and diamond earrings were very pretty.

While still colorless with all white diamonds and platinum, Jennifer Lawrence's necklace was another favorite of mine. I love the rectangular crystal links and the close-up shows how intricate each platinum and diamond link is. She also managed to work the backwards necklace look without looking awkward. (But I really want to tighten the backs on her diamond studs so they aren't so droopy!)

I love the shape of these earrings that Lupita Nyong'o wore.

And I know that the headband has diamonds that are probably worth more than my house, but what I really wish I could find a better picture of is her bracelet - I read that it is an antique gold snake and it looks really cool! (That right hand ring could show up in my mailbox and I wouldn't complain either...)

Cate Blanchett's opal earrings were very pretty too - I love that they give just a little bit of pastel color depending on the angle.

Emma Watson was rocking the stacking ring look... I especially like the multiple band ring on her right hand ring finger.

And not at the actual Oscars, but at an after-party, Taylor Swift's ring is beautiful. It looks like possibly a garnet with diamonds. And it matches her manicure!

Got any favorites? How about the dresses? Or Pharrell's shorts? (or not...)

Updates! Get your updates here...

I'm about halfway finished with my casting class. I've only actually cast one thing so far, but I think this is quickly becoming one of my favorite techniques! I'm still getting the hang of wax carving - I have no idea what shape carving tool is supposed to do what, and I still have trouble planning and thinking in 3D - but I'm having a lot of fun learning!

Here are a few in-progress photos and the finished result of my first ring:

I'm now trying to carve another ring inspired by a medieval design and I think I'm going to make another smaller flower ring in class tomorrow that I'll cast in silver. So fun! I've been trawling Craigslist for casting equipment and kilns in my spare time... Maybe wishful thinking right now, but hopefully soon in the future.

Here are a few other pieces that I have made in the last month (all listed on my website and Etsy shop)

Rhodonite Cocktail Ring

Herkimer Diamond Prong Pendant

Crazy Lace Agate Link Bracelet

Petrified Wood & Amethyst Pendant

I have some other pretty stones in the works on my bench that I'm excited about too. Hopefully it won't take me a whole month to update next time!

Early January Updates

Just a quick post to show off some of what I've been working on in January. The gallery that shows some of my work (Studio 54 in Enumclaw. Check them out if you are in the area!) is swapping out inventory so I'm trying to get some new artsy stuff made to send to them.

This filigree ball was just a little quickie project that I saw in the current issue of Lapidary Journal Jewelry Artist. I like how it turned out.

This is a fun bracelet with curved copper links connected with sterling rings and riveted on rhodonite circle beads. I found these beads a while back and just thought they would be perfect to try riveting to something.

This is a large brick red brecciated jasper with a coordinating colored leather and silk cord necklace. I even handcrafted the end caps from tube and wire.

And (almost) matching red jasper earrings. Very simple because they are larger stones and I didn't want them to get too heavy.

In non-jewelry doings, I managed to verrrrryyyy slowly haul my out of shape butt up to the top of Rattlesnake Ledge last weekend. Cemented the fact that I need to dust off the treadmill in the basement. Too bad I can't do jewelry and treadmill at the same time!

I also had my first casting class last Sunday. I think wax carving is kind of fun. The jury is still out as to whether I'm ever going to be any good at it, but it was something I wanted to learn. I go back again tomorrow. I'll make sure to take a few pictures of what I'm working on.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2014! It seems like 2013 absolutely flew by! And it will probably take me three months to remember to write the correct year when I have to date things... (yes, cliche but true...)

Check out my New Year's Eve present to myself - a reward for good holiday sales!

An upgraded workspace! I found a local supplier that sells jeweler's benches, so I now have a real bench (no more crick in my neck when I try to saw things!) I also got a flex shaft - the weight of my Dremel has been giving me wrist pain when I use it for too long, so I figured it was time for an upgrade. And a new rug to save the room carpet from dropped hot metal (melting carpet smells bad!) My old desk is now a soldering station.

All I need now is a better chair. I'll probably inherit the chair that's currently in my husband's home office; we just need to pick him out a new one.

It's been a little while since my last update! Here was my table at the jewelry trunk show at Studio 54 Gallery:

And here are a few things I've made since Thanksgiving:

A psilomelane pendant that I made as a gift for my mom for Christmas.

And I got a few jewelry technique books for Christmas so I made my first completely handmade basket prong setting and put it on a ring with two tube set CZs. It's not good enough to be anything but a practice piece, but not bad for a first try!

I start out the new year a little later today with the (un)enviable task of inventory... Counting and measuring and weighing all of my metal and stones.

Updates!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went over to our neighbors' house for Thanksgiving dinner, which was fun. Then we made a "second Thanksgiving" meal (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans - the works!) on Black Friday because as fun as visiting someone else for Thanksgiving is, we really wanted turkey leftovers! We didn't go Black Friday shopping because crowds just push all my buttons, and the most strenuous thing we did was put of Christmas decorations. All in all, a wonderful holiday weekend!

First things first - an couple announcements! I will be at Studio 54 Furniture and Fine Art Gallery in Enumclaw, WA on December 14th from noon to 6 PM for with the gallery's two other jewelry artists for a trunk show. All of us will have our jewelry for sale and be giving demonstrations of how we create our pieces. The gallery will even wrap any jewelry purchased, perfect for Christmas!

And second announcement - the final day for U.S.-bound holiday orders from Miscellanea Etcetera is December 18th. Orders made after that date will be shipped out after Christmas.

As to what I've been up to, jewelry-wise, I've been busy making and packing up orders that came in over the holiday weekend, but I managed to finish a few new items as well.

It's not a great picture, and it needs a bit more polishing as well, but here is a Cherry Creek Jasper pendant I just finished.The stone is such a pretty pink color!

I also made a prototype spinner ring with three spinners, yellow and rose gold-fill and sterling. I think I'll probably keep it for myself for a while just to make sure I actually like the way the spinners work. I also made a very thick sterling silver ring that I am going to practice flush setting small faceted stones with.

Back to more stacking ring orders over the weekend, and hopefully a few "arty" pieces that I can take with me to the gallery trunk show!

So do you think the model had to have her hand propped up on something?

Cause that's quite a rock! It's the 59.6 carat "Pink Star" diamond, and it just sold at auction for a record breaking almost $74 million. To put that in perspective, most women's engagement rings are 1 carat or below and even with all the buzz about it, Kim Kardashian's latest big ol' hunk of rock is only 15 carats.

But as the saying goes, it's not just size that matters with diamonds. Pink is a rare color for diamonds and this diamond has an exceptionally intense color.

In any case, if you would like to see other pretty giant sparkly gems, take a look at this slideshow from MSNBC.

What's new...

I spent this past Monday making a whole rainbow of gemstone stud earrings. I just love all the different colors of stones out there! I've been restraining myself from confiscating the sky blue topaz pair for myself.

There also seems to be a lot of stuff that I made in the last few months that I haven't shared here. Part of it was that I was hoarding all of it for my November craft show and didn't get around to taking great pictures of it.

Here's a labradorite ring that just recently sold. The buyer was giving it as a gift to someone who apparently loves labradorite almost as much as me!

Here's a close-up picture the big fossil coral and viking knit necklace:

I was a bit sad when this bracelet sold at the craft fair. I kinda wanted to keep it a little longer just to admire it! I'm just going to have to make a couple more with different colored stones!

And a sort of vaguely steampunk-ish amethyst pendant. I have to confess that the gear-like overlay came about because I accidentally messed up and cut too big of a hole in the first disc I tried to use. I was originally going to decorate it with more of a filigree design made from twisted wire, but I hate wasting silver, so I cut a gear pattern in the messed up disc and domed it to fit over the (correctly cut) bottom disc. Happy accidents, right?

And just tonight, I made a prototype ring out of copper. I had an ugly goldstone (I think?) cabochon that I keep knocking off my desk and new copper solder that I wanted to try out. I like how the design turned out and it was a good color test of the new solder. (Much better than silver solder!) I think I'll make something similar in silver (with a nicer stone!)

I'm also very excited! After my last "learn all the things" post, I found an Intro to Casting class in Tacoma and decided to sign up! I probably won't be doing any casting at home in the near future because flinging molten metal around is both slightly scary and expensive. But I have always wanted to know how to do it and this is my chance!

I guess that's it for now... I have a trunk show coming up in December at the gallery I show at (hopefully I'll have info to share on it soon!) so tomorrow I'm going to go digging through my cabochon stash to make some more "arty" pieces.

Learn ALL The Things!

(And buy ALL the tools...)

No, really! I've been reading some jewelry books and magazines lately and I have a very long list of new techniques I want to try. So long that I don't even know where to start! Making my own prong settings for faceted stones? Or maybe enameling? Oooh, wait! Maybe digging out and trying the metal clay I've had in a drawer! Or chasing and repousee? Let's go back to stone setting: flush setting small stones! Or reticulation, or keum-boo, or mokume-gane! Or how about lost-wax casting?!

So when are my lotto winnings going to start rolling in? (Especially for that last dream of learning casting!) Because I think I need a bigger studio for all of the new shiny equipment I would need for all these new techniques. (Which would mean a bigger house! Ha!)

I guess I should pick just one to start... hmmmm... Maybe prong settings... Although there's a kiln online that's been calling my name, and that would be a dual purpose tool: metal clay AND enameling! So many choices!

Why, hello there!

Buried in custom orders and building up inventory for my craft fair, but I though I would share a little bit of what I've been working on lately...

(clockwise from top left: Red Creek Jasper and Copper Collar, Bumblebee Jasper, Peridot, Citrine & Sterling Silver Pendant, Fossil Coral and Sterling Silver Necklace (with viking knit chain), and Turquoise and Sterling Silver Pendant)

What I've Been Up To - August 5 - 24

I feel like I've been running around crazy busy for the last two weeks, but when I look at my jewelry desk and things that I've finished, there's not much there! I guess I've been crazy busy with other things. My husband's little brother has come from overseas to live with us and we are running around trying to get him ready for junior high.

On the jewelry front, I knitted a long viking knit chain out of 30 feet of 28 gauge sterling silver wire for the fossil coral pendant I finished a while back. It looks great! Sparkly and shiny and flexible. It took a while to finish because I had to put it down every half hour or so to let my fingers and eyesight recover. I'm going to section it into three pieces, add end caps to each section, and separate them with fossil coral beads. I think it's going to be really impressive when I'm done with it (she says, humbly...)

I also took apart a moonstone ring I made a while back... (This one...)

I was never totally happy with it - the stone was a little crooked, the split shank was a little unequal on either side - so I managed to pry the stone out of the setting and I heated it until it the shank de-soldered from the setting. I bent the split shank wires into a nicer shape, turned the setting around so it was horizontal rather than vertical, and soldered it all back together with a handful of silver balls for decoration. 

Much better now! This version will actually get photographed and added to my shop...

I have also been busy making three custom earrings with a customer's own saltwater and freshwater pearls. I just finished them the other day and I'm very pleased. Hopefully she will be too!

Weekly (Really!) Update - 8/4/13

I think my biggest accomplishment this week was cleaning my jewelry desk! You wouldn't know that I cleaned it off by looking at it right now of course, but it was totally clean for at least 15 minutes, I swear... But I got some stacking plastic drawers meant for organizing paper that sorts my silver wire spools and coils perfectly by gauge and shape.

And I also got a nifty little sawblade, file and burr organizer, which is nice because I was starting to get neurotic about losing my setting bits in the mess of my side shelves.

I also ordered a new mini butane torch because I suspect the one I have is on its last legs. Only it's not so much of a mini torch! I'm going to have to be careful about melting stuff with this giant! (Or setting things on fire!)

I also actually made a few jewelry things last week. Stacking rings and earrings for orders, of course. I also finished a fossil coral pendant to match the earrings in my last post. It gave me so much trouble! Getting the bezel, the complicated openwork backing, the decorative circles and tube setting all soldered together wasn't overly difficult. But then I realized that the bezel wall was just a hair too short on one side for me to be sure that the stone would be totally secure, so I decided to add some prongs. And of course by now the piece was just a little to big for my little old microtorch to get heated properly. The prongs seemed to go on just fine, they stuck on through filing and finishing and a trip through the tumbler, but then they started breaking off as soon as I had the faceted CZ set and the bezel pushed around the coral. So I got to pry the coral out and force the CZ out of the tube setting (because apparently CZs can't handle high heat from torches). I'll make an already long story slightly shorter and say that luckily my new giant butane torch showed up in the mail so I blasted the heck out of the setting and got those stupid prongs totally soldered down and put everything back together. And the end result is nice!

After waffling back and forth for a while, I've finally settled on going whole hog on the chain - I'm going to knit a viking knit chain and piece it together in three sections, with fossil coral beads between each section. Of course that means, that I get to make at least six handmade end caps for the viking knit. Since I'm going all out, I'm going to make them out of tube and sheet and solder them to the ends of each chain. Should be fun!

After the fight with the fossil coral, I made a little copper and stone ring. Mostly for practice, since the band is copper and many people can't wear copper rings without skin reactions. It was good practice though and it turned out rather well.

I'm going to be working on the chain for my fossil coral, and I've also got local custom earring order to work on, so I'll be nice and busy in the coming week. But jewelry is the best thing to be busy with!

Reoccurring (Sometimes Weekly) Update - July 28th

So I'm officially an "artist"! Studio 54 Gallery in Enumclaw, WA picked nearly 20 of my jewelry pieces to display (and hopefully sell) at their gallery. Here's a few of what they picked...

I've also been busy making some new things, too.

Circle and Dot Earrings and Rings - available in my Etsy shop

Blue Lace Agate Hinged Cuff Bracelet

Fossil Coral Earrings

And straight off the jewelry desk (I finished them last night):

I was a little bit inspired by historical roman and medieval designs for these earrings. The labradorites have a nice blue green flash, too. They are pretty much my favorite stone.

I have a bunch more earrings and pendants planned out, I just need to get downstairs to my desk to start them!