More Jewelry Making...

Had fun today making a copper ring with this gorgeous labradorite I bought. I used copper solder instead of silver solder and I’m really pleased with how well it blends in. 

Also, here is the completed Azurite ring I made for my mom. Kind of getting the hang of this soldering business. 

Over my Christmas vacation I played with a technique I had seen but never tried where you melt silver solder (the type for stained glass) on copper and then stamp into it. Definitely want to make more of these and am on the hunt for red rubber stamps (can handle the heat) with deep details but not fine details so they show up well. 

Also made a copper bracelet. I enjoy silver but copper calls to me. 

What cool things have you made lately?

New Year’s Vacation Play

Having a lovely week of vacation with creativity and rejuvination. Can’t show everything yet because all have been gifties. I can show a silver bracelet I made with 16 gauge sterling silver wire. Made the links with jumbo round pliers and after connecting all of them stretched them into ovals with small round pliers. 

Tried out balling the wire for the first time to make the hook. Definitely easy and gives a nice touch. 


Made some silver earrings but cutting out sterling silver sheet and texturizing with my new Brenda Schaefer Fretz hammers that were a gift from my sister. Love them!

I also started a ring with Azurite that I’ll finish up this week. 

Had fun texturizing the band with the Fretz Raw Silk hammer. 

Hoping everyone is having a wonderful new year and taking time for themselves to start the year off right. 

Playing with marbling...

A couple of weeks ago I had a blast learning how to marbleize paper with my good friends Ann and Kevin in their studio/gallery. You have to preplan this process as the water used to float the paint has carrageenan (seaweed stuff) and has to sit overnight. You also have to put an additive in the paint to get the right consistency. Then it is all about colors and patterns. Oh and tools, both bought and homemade. 

Here is the setup and paint floating on the water solution. 

And here are some of the fun papers. Kevin had a ‘recipe’ book on how to comb through the paint for different patterns. 

This was a fun process and I haven’t decided yet how I’m going to use the papers. So many possibilities. 

Cold wax fun...

Since my cold wax class last year with Jodi Ohl I’ve been having fun with the medium. I’m also taking Jodi’s online class which I highly recommend. 

These four pieces were actually one sheet of oil paper so each one is about 5x7. I don’t usually work in yellows and greys but it’s good to step out of the safety zone. 

I am still working with the Gelli plate for monotypes and working on going larger. This is more of my favorite colors and is about 15x19. 

What I really like about both mediums is the layers peaking through. 

More to come after my next opportunity to play in the studio.

Crafty down time

Life and work has been very busy and stressful this year so this weekend I designated as lounging in sweats time and leisurely creative time. I have to say that I am very much in my happy place. 

First, I had bought this shelf from Hobby Lobby but wanted to make it more cheerful and add knobs for hanging jewelry from. Still need to hang it but here is before and after.  It is actually more turquoise than the pic shows. 

The other project I completed was a lamp makeover. I had seen some cool lampshades with the wire frame and various fabric strips tied on. The shade that came with the lamp didn’t have wire ribs so had to find an alternate. I bought a lampshade at a thrift store for $5 and stripped off the fabric and then raided my stash of fabric ribbons.   Here is the before and after and live the results. I may add a pom trim later. 

A fun weekend

Last weekend I went to Artworks Vass https://www.artworksvass.com/ to learn how to do powder coating with Jean Skipper. We had so much fun and did a bit of metal smithing and some loose wire wrapping techniques. I haven’t put the powder coated pieces to work yet but here are all the fun creations. 

And to top off all the fun, I now have more of my art at Artworks. 

So Excited!

I found out today that Netflix is buying two of my pieces, Stepping Stones I and II, that were on display at my friend Ann’s space down at Westside Market for the set of a show that is coming out next year. I don’t know if I can stand the wait to see how they place them. 

Studio coming along

Plugging along on the studio and almost everything has a home now. A few ads and ends to deal with and still need to hang some artwork. The tables have wheels and are right side up. They feel a wee bit taller than I anticipated but if it bugs me I can shorten the pipes the wheels are attached to. I’ve been debating on whether or not to stain the tops and I think I will but may wait until fall. My second rug is down and the colors are perfect with my other rug. Next weekend it is time to reclaim the dining room which has become a dumping ground for any leftovers. 

Art play date...

Saturday was an art play date with friends. Had a lively time and it was great getting to see one friend’s new home as she was the host this time. Our project was to try our hand at tie dye. Of course we were all watching video tutorials all week to prepare. It takes a lot of die. Here is the progression and I was pretty sloppy with my rubber band technique but pleased with the results.