Project Runway Jewelry Challenge

This week, on Project Runway...

We went Canadian! All the fun without the painful scrutiny of Iman - she's mean! Mean and Great! Our challenge this week was taken from Season 1, Episode 8, where the contestants had to chose their models based on iconic period costume dress as their inspiration for swim wear. The choices were Marie Antoinette, Greek Goddess, Gypsy, Flapper, 80's debutant, British Punk, or Geisha. The hardest part for me was choosing the period. I have a number of sketches that I may work on at another time, but I landed on Greek Goddess.

The earrings I made are inspired by ancient Greece, Mycenae. One of the motifs I saw while looking up the jewelry of this period was the coil. I used copper because that was what was at hand, and the geeks did use copper, but I see these coils in bronze or gold more likely. So, I played a little in photoshop with metal choices. You can tell me what you think:

The coils are hand formed and hammered, and attached with a simple wire wrap. Interestingly, the shape of the earring turned out similar to the shape of the earring I sketched for the Marie Antoinette style - only that would have been made in platinum and diamonds in floral motifs (sorry I was fresh out of both platinum and diamonds). Once they were made, and I looked at them I thought of Alexander Calder's jewelry and now I wonder if he was thinking of Greek goddesses, too.

Other Participants:

Lora Hart

Rachelle

Victoria

Alisa

Favorite Finds

1. Tiny Bakelite Picture Frame

There's something wonderful and luminous about vintage bakelite. The colors are vibrant and it's smooth to the touch. This is an ingenious use of vintage buckles. I want a whole collection of these tiny frames.

2. Linen Pinafore

Pinafores are not just for children! I'm often drawn to clothing designed for children and wish there were an adult version. Fantastic linen and beautiful hand embroidery - I'm not sure which is my favorite part of this beautiful piece of clothing.

3. Chim Chim Cheree

My boys gave my husband the Fully Operational Death Star T from this seller for Father's day and he loves it! I love the Mary Popins T for myself. My birthday is coming up: Hint Hint.

4. The Stand

These great wooden stands make me want to turn my fruits and vegetables into a modern sculpture on my kitchen counter. A plain old bowl of fruit seems boring now.

Project Runway Challenge

I'm very excited to be participating in a challenge based on the program, Project Runway!  This week's challenge was taken from season 2 episode 9:  Flower Power!  The contestants were to create a dress using natural materials from the flower district.  We are using their guidelines for jewelry.  

I used leaves from my guava tree which are sturdy for the base of the cuff bracelet and blossoms from my neighbor's bougainvillea vine.  A little hot glue to keep it all together.  The bracelet is large and dramatic.  I love the bright color of the flowers.  The leaves and the flowers will actually dry nicely - the colors will not be quite so vibrant, but I think it will continue to be wearable.  

This was a fun challenge and thank you to Alisa Miller for letting me join in.  Please check out her blog for more information on the challenge!

Here's Lora's!

and Victoria's!

and Alisa's!

Mike  &  Mary   too!  Wonderful!

Signature Piece - Blog Carnival

I was asked to write about the inspiration behind my signature piece for the 2nd installment of EtsyMetal's Blog Carnival. I hesitated to write anything because I don't know if I really have a "signature piece" - one that represents my work. I have a number of lines of jewelry and some pieces that stand on their own, all with different inspirations and variations. I finally decided to use the Loopy Link Bracelet above for the purpose of this entry. It's one of the first pieces I started making and the basic design hasn't changed very much over the years. Each time I make a Loopy Link Bracelet, it is unique. Each link is fabricated and stamped with one of the variety of design stamps on both sides. The larger loops are curved and then they're put together to form the bracelet. The inspiration for the bracelet came from my own need for a bracelet that would lie nearly flush against the wrist, and not be something that would interfere with other work I was doing.

The design stamps might be my favorite tools. I love to use them to texture metal, and with the hammered links I use for this bracelet, most of the stampings are partial. Some I use to make a recognizable pattern and some are more all over texture. It's a simple and satisfying process. I make the links without any plan for size and shape and when they are complete, I lay them out to see which shapes go together. I like the combination of irregular shapes and the addition of circles, squares and hearts. I use a variety of gauges and shapes of sterling silver wire. I keep the making of the bracelet interesting because each shape and stamping is different. It's my favorite piece in my own jewelry collection as well and I usually wear it every day. :)

Check out the other members of the EtsyMetal Blog Carnival:

http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/ 
http://andescruz.wordpress.com 
http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/ 
http://sarawestermark.blogspot.com/ 
http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com 
http://ashleyakers.blogspot.com 
http://tangerinetreehouse.blogspot.com 
http://ninagibsondesigns.blogspot.com/ 
http://discomedusa.typepad.com