Charm Swap VI!

The charms for the EtsyMetal team's 6th charms swap (CS6) are finished. I waited until the last minute as usual. So here is the process for making 22 charms. A small production line. It started with a butterfly sketch I swiped from my good friend and artist, Michelle Byran. Butterflies are everywhere in jewelry, but I was attracted to the great feeling of flight and movement in the tiny sketch on a post it note. I made a prototype to see if it would work in metal. Michelle will be getting a charm. Maybe she'll give me some more sketches :)

I shrunk the image down and traced it. Then adhered the tracings to sheet copper.

Cut out all the little butterfly shapes.

Cut sterling silver half bead wire for the bodies and balled up the ends of silver wire for the antennas. Then the pieces were soldered together and I put a bend in the butterfly bodies to give them more dimension.

All that was left to do was add a patina, tumble, and seal with a little bit of wax.

All done! I am the partner of the curator, Inbar Baraket for this charm swap and have been receiving all the charms over the past couple of weeks. There are still several to come in, but it promises to be a fantastic bracelet. Everyone has done lovely work.

Blog Carnival: Food For Thought

The topic for the etsymetal blog carnival for August is Food: What do you eat? What won't you eat? Do you suggest any interesting pairings? What is your favorite studio snack? Optional: Include a favorite recipe.

I don't have any food restrictions. I am not a vegan, vegetarian, locovore, non-dairy, non-carb, low-sodium, or anything. However, if I am given a choice, I will chose organic, and I love it if its locally grown. I only buy hormone free foods at the market, but I confess that I have no idea what's in my In and Out hamburger or where it comes from. I am not picky, but there are a few things I dislike, like raw peppers, eggplant, and asparagus - yuck! And there are some things I avoid like ice cream - I wish I could eat it, but I can't - it is no longer my friend. I love milk chocolate and guacamole but not together. I do think that most things are better with cheese.

My work bench and computer space are located in my home studio, which is in my kitchen, so I always have access to snacks while I'm working. I try to keep fresh fruit on hand for snacking. Todays choice is cantaloupe. I also always have a pot of coffee going so I can have it throughout the day - I like it hot or iced and I also often splurge on fancy latte drinks from coffee stores when I am out and about. I usually have a coffee cup and a cup of water within arms reach of my workspace, but I don't snack while working because salty, greasy, and sticky fingers don't work well with what I am doing.

My husband, Patrick is the breakfast chef of the household. Weekends and holidays we have "real" breakfast, but the rest of the time, it's toast, cereal or frozen waffles. I like to cook meals, but don't usually have time for anything elaborate, so I make a lot of things that are fresh, but half-done from the store - like tortellini from the fresh pasta aisle with broccoli pesto (over-steamed broccoli with brown butter). Occasionally I feel like something that will take some time to make and is super yummy. I made this recipe up and its great on a cold day:

Risotto with Everything:

1 cup arborio rice

1/3 cup minced shallots or small onion

1 cup white wine

1 carton of chicken or vegetable broth

1 package of crimini mushrooms

butter

olive oil

salt & pepper

1 cup of frozen peas

1/2 - 1 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese

leftover cooked chicken, or vegetables

Slice mushrooms and saute in a little butter or oil with salt and pepper - set aside. Over medium heat, add 1 T. butter and olive oil to cover the bottom of a heavy sauce pan. Add shallots to pan and cook until translucent. Add arborio rice and toast, trying not to burn the shallots - You may want to lower the heat a little. Add white wine and stir. When the wine has been absorbed into the rice, begin adding broth, one cup at a time, stir, and wait until the broth is absorbed until adding another cup. You might not use the entire carton of broth taste it to check. With the last cup of broth, add the frozen peas. Add the reserved mushrooms and cooked chicken or other cooked vegetables available. This is where the "everything" portion comes in. While the rice is cooking, I rummage through the fridge and pantry looking for leftovers. Last, add the grated cheese. Let it cool for a couple of minutes or you will burn yourself. Dig in!

I wish I had a photo of the Risotto to show you - I may add one later.

*UPDATE* here's the promised photo: :)

Click to see what others are blogging on this topic:

vic http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/

stacey http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com

tomi http://metalriot.blogspot.com/

ann http://annhartleystudio.blogspot.com/

cynthia http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/

caitlyn/discomedusa http://discomedusa.typepad.com

Inbar http://www.inbarbareket.net/

Lauren/Creative Dexterity http://www.creativedexterity.com/Blog/Blog.html

Maria/Fluxplay Jewellery http://www.fluxplay.blogspot.com

Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com

Studio Mascot

This is Ozzy.  He's a betta fish that my youngest son brought home from a birthday party last year.  He is named Ozzy for Mr. Osbourne by the small boy who loves loud music.  In our family we have a little bit of history forgetting to feed animals who don't bark or meow for their food, so I have him on the counter in front of my bench.  If I look up, I see him and remember to drop the small pellets of food into his vase, which he eats audibly.  Yes, he lives in a vase because when you get a fish for a birthday party favor, you don't get a fish bowl, and I couldn't find anything better to put him in. He never complains.  In fact, Ozzy is quite animated.  If you look at him, he reacts by swishing around - it kind of looks like he's talking.  Over the past few months I have begun to show him pieces I'm working on and asking for an opinion.  Ozzy is always positive.  I've grown fond of the little fish that I groaned over when he first came in the door.  Our dog makes a mess and doesn't care for anything I'm working on or doing unless it has to do with tennis balls or food.  The cats are mad at me because of the dog and they only come by the house to see what's for dinner and beg for some cat nip.  Ozzy doesn't roam or make too big a mess, so I'm pleased to give him the title, Mascot.  He's hard to photograph, though.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

For other thoughts on mascots, please see:  

Ann Hartley

2 Roses

Victoria Takahashi

EtsyMetal Jewelry Challenge: Pop Challenge

Before the final challenge - a five piece, cohesive collection for the Project Runway Jewelry Challenge - is due (next Friday), we were given a pop challenge to make something using a 1" by 3" piece of sheet metal and three feet of wire - any gauge or size, copper or silver. I used 24 gauge sterling silver sheet and 18 gauge square wire. This is a two sided pendant. I cut the sheet metal into two pieces and curved them in a forming block. I added the square wire in a geometric spiral on one piece, and a bee's path to a flower on the other. The two curved pieces are joined to make a pillow shape and more square wire and sheet are used for the pi bale. I have a 1"x 1/4" piece of sheet and 2 feet of wire left over. If I had had another hour, I could have used the wire for two more geometric spiral earrings.

More Pop Challenges:

Experimetal

MikeandMary (Rachelle)

bcyrjewelry

Project Runway Jewelry Challenge: Sparkle, Shimmer & Shine!

Feathery Earrings

Last week's project runway was fun. The designers were to create a glitzy stage costume inspired by Bob Mackie's designs. An over the top garment that would stop the show. The EtsyMetal Jewelry Challenge was streamlined to simply create something with sparkle. I wondered what Mr. Mackie had done with jewelry so I did a search and didn't find much - some Christmas pins was all I found, but Bob Mackie did design a line of furniture, and I've always thought that hardware on furniture is quite jewelry like. There was one piece that I found especially show stopping. Just look at the inlay of wood surrounding the simple hardware on this chest. Very Cher and feathers, right?

I will admit that I left this until the last moment, so my entry may not have pushed the envelope outside my comfort zone, as those projects tend to take time. The feathery earrings do have shine. Using the feather motif, I've attached six pieces of hand cut patterned brass feather or leaf shapes to strips of sterling silver as if they were sequins, pinned with a bit of fine silver. They move freely on their pins and catch the light nicely. I am letting them dangle from ear wires so they can swing with the wearer's movement.

Other Sparkly, Shimmery & Shiny things:

MetalRiot

RubyGirlCreations

Mike&Mary (Rachelle)

Alisa Miller

Sara Westermark

BethCyrJewelry

WildflowerDesigns

experimetal

corbethy

See them all on the EtsyMetal Blog!

Blog Carnival: First Piece of Metalsmithed Jewelry

The very first piece of finished metalsmithed jewelry I made may have been this piece. It is certainly from my first class. My mother has another piece I made which may have been slightly earlier, and I was unable to photograph it, so I'll talk about this ring.

What did it mean to you?

This ring would have been one of the first times I worked in sterling silver and I remember being terrified of making a mistake. I had purchased a very small piece of sterling silver sheet and making a mistake meant driving an hour to only local store I knew of that sold jewelry supply.

What materials?

This ring is made with 20 gauge sterling silver sheet, a purchased prong setting, and a blue faceted stone (I don't know what stone). The assignment was to make a band ring.

Were you in class/home?

I took my first metals class as an undergraduate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. I was a Theatre Arts major and looking to take an art class as an elective. I saw "Beginning Jewelry Design" in the coarse catalog and didn't hesitate. I didn't even read the description, and when I showed up for class, I remember being slightly surprised that I would be working with metal. My instructor was Sue Dorman who talked about materials as if she were in a dream. I loved it.

What would you do different now to it?

Oh, so many things! If I was making this ring again, it probably wouldn't resemble this ring, but if I had to re-make it to do so, I'd use much thicker metal to fabricate. I would clean up those saw marks. I've never had much patience for sanding, but it doesn't look like I did any at all here. It looks like I had some trouble with the sizing as there are lots of hammer marks on the back, like I needed to stretch the ring. So most of the things I would do have to do with clean up and finishing, but the design isn't very interesting. I think now that when you're learning a new technique, that simple is better - first, learn how to do it, then design around the technique.

What did you learn making it?

I would have learned band ring construction - how to spring a ring and solder. I had learned piercing on practice sheets of copper and brass, but that was new as well. Here's a picture of my first piercing and sweat soldering exercise - not a finished piece of jewelry, but fun to look at.

Here is a list of other wonderful jewelers who are participating in this blog carnival!

Sara Westermark

Danielle Miller-Gilliam

Beth Cyr

duckduckGoose

Caitlyn Davey

Laura Crawford

Tamra Gentry

andes cruz

Cynthia Del Giudice

Libby Rosas

Nina Dinoff

Clare Stoker

kerin rose

Quercus Silver

Delias Thompson

Tangerine Treehouse

Charm Swap Four

EtsyMetal's fourth charm swap is underway, with 20 members each creating 22 charms for the swap - one for each participant, one for the bracelet and one to be sold singly in the shop. It's exciting to participate in the swap, but also nerve-racking to come up with a design. I was limited by funds this time and couldn't do them in silver. I love the warmth of copper and have used that. I'll post some process photos showing the production of the charms.

The copper is cut into rectangles, and the silver tubing into tiny lengths and the tube rivets are placed.

These are the punches I will use to stamp the dandelion design. After stamping, the metal is all curved and needed to be pounded flat with a mallet.

Here they are before I've added the oxidation to blacken the design and after. The jump rings are left unsoldered so they can be added to a charm bracelet. I also added a tiny seed pearl wire-wrapped in fine silver - a tiny escaped seed of the dandelion.

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 

Pendant Swap

It's been a wonderful past couple of weeks with these lovelies coming to my mailbox every couple of days. EtsyMetal's first Pendant swap is complete! Libby (erosasjewelry) decided she'd like to do a smaller run than the charm swap where the participants have to make 22 charms. A great idea. I made my little Matryoshka pendant, and we sent pendants to each other individually. I can't ever seem to meet the deadline for these swaps, no matter when it is. I think the pressure helps me to get them done. Just look at all the great pendants I get to wear! The hard part is choosing!

Inspiration - Blog Carnival

The object of art is to give life a shape. [Midsummer Nights Dream]

William Shakespeare
1564-1616, British Poet, Playwright, Actor

Linquistically, the word, inspiration means "breathed upon." For me, that means the merging of the dichotomy of my life, my feelings, and the images in my mind with my chosen medium of metal, which by itself, could be seen as being cold and unyielding. Metal is, however a great carrier of heat, greatly reflective, and malleable.
Form
When working with silver and copper as raw materials, I am concerned with the form it can take. I draw inspiration for form from the things I see; shapes, figures, people, and other works I view as I go through my day or have filed in my memory. The feeling those shapes evoke can bring fluidity and motion to design.
Materials
Beyond the metal, I also use other materials which inspire design and form. What draws me to obtain those materials? Beyond beauty and color, I like things that have a sense of history. That history may be present because the material might be vintage, I may have found an item for which I can imagine a story, or it may be a stone that made itself over years and is now unearthed. Even the mundane, everyday object can take its place in a great story and be recognized for it's beauty.
Words
I am a big reader. The books I read and the stories I hear often leave me with images that can be translated into what I make. Being able to use words and incorporate them into design through stamping, gives me the ability to be inspired by a unique phrase or something I said when I was young that evokes nostalgia or humor. Words give me some measure of freedom in design.

I am a researcher at heart, trying to find a story to tell through form, materials and words. I love to be able to tell the story behind a piece. That story often helps me to reach out to others and make connections.

To read more stories of inspiration, read these blogs, whose authors are posting on the topic for 5/8/09:
http://www.chris-parry.blogspot.com/
http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com
http://deliasstudioinc.blogspot.com