Ginkgo Art

I took all of the larger copper and bronze ginkgo leaves that I had cut and hammered them into small sculpture, for the wall and tabletop.


Sizes range from 5 to 7 inches at the maximum dimensions.
They are all in the decorative arts section of my online shop.

Maple Leaf Art for the Wall

The last of my twiggy bracelets.  Click on the small photos to be taken to the detailed listing in my online shop.
These two bangles are hammered steel, quite modern yet still organic


These three bracelets are copper hollow twigs- textural, lightweight, and lovely


Feeling good about the twiggy theme, I went on to finish some of my leaf wall art/sculpture pieces, this time in bronze.  These are just magical.  They fit in the hand, but have enough presence to stand alone as individual artworks.  (I haven't linked these photos.  Go to the Decorative Arts section of my online shop to see the individual listings with  details and measurements.)





I love this kind of small art, arranged together on a wall with other small works.  Small art is very affordable and versatile.  You can develop a great art collection over time, without spending lots of money.  Don't limit yourself to standard Wall Art.   Mix it up with jewelry, fiberarts, clay tiles, whatever looks good and hangs on the wall with small nails or straightpins.  With such ease of hanging, you can move your pieces around whenever you feel like it, even change displays with the seasons.   

Sparklies and Metalwork in Progress

Sometimes I have to hang out with the kids.  Other times, for no particular reason, I can't face the metal studio.  I'm tempted to eat candy and play games all day, but instead, I do put some time into creative pursuits.  As you may have noticed, sometimes I knit, sometimes embroider, sometimes play with with mixed media fiberarts.  Recently I got out those wire wrapped briolettes, more beads and wire, and made up some sweet sparkly earrings.

Petite elegant and elegant faceted natural rubies with sterling silver
I have six pairs of these left, enough to buy several and give as gifts.


faceted pale pink and pale yellow with silver -
The round yellow bead is very pale, just barely lemon toned, so the entire effect is quite delicate and sparkly.

As always, I do get back to the metal studio.  Hearts and roses in progress on my workbench today.

Silk, Stone and Silver

Several long experiments in progress... Finished

Goth Garnet, a crocheted silver rope, adorned with dark faceted garnets.

I've had the rope partially crocheted for years, but tucked away in a drawer. I decided to pull it out and finish it in the evenings. Once it was complete, I was having a hard time deciding on the final finish. I'd used two different batches of fine silver wire, manufactured many years apart. There was just a slight color different in the white tones of the silver- hard to believe but true. I decided to oxidize the entire silver rope and then tumble it to burnish up the highlights. That resulted in a beautiful dark mysterious glow from the inside of the rope with the garnets and the exterior burnished silver picking up the light. Can dark glow? I'm not sure, but it seems to in this necklace.


Shifting to a different sort of rock...
I've had this flattish oblong black rock for ages.  Or maybe my son had it and I claimed it.  Anyway... I've also had an obsession with the idea of drilling my favorite rocks.  Here's a tutorial for how to drill your own rocks http://www.jewelryartistmagazine.com/stepbystep/mar04.cfm .  I got my budget priced diamond drill bits and budget diamond burrs and drilled this stone.  Then I sat there and looked at it, trying to decide how to use it.  You can follow my thought and experiment process in the photo collection below.  (If you want to see the individual photos, full size, follow the text links under the overall photo mosaic.)

1. silk and stone fail (1), 2. silk and stone fail (2), 3. silk and stone fail (3), 4. silk and stone fail (4), 5. still experimenting (5), 6. still experimenting (6), 7. still experimenting (7), 8. Silk and Stone detail, 9. Silk and Stone, 10. Silk and Stone back view     Created with fd's Flickr Toys

The final result, a simple but lush combination of silk ribbon, silk thread, and stone.


The adjustable button clasp on the back uses another black stone, and a little coral bead that I had rolling around in my bead bag.


A archaeologist jeweler friend pointed out how the stone in the necklace reminded him of archaic period gorget artifacts.   He's right.  Their purpose is unknown, although researchers suspect they may have been used for a variety of purposes, not just ornament. 

Now I can hardly wait for a warm day, so I can walk the banks of the Wabash to look for other interesting water-tumbled rocks. 

Ornate Glam Fey Vamp

I've been on a roll, using my long acanthus or ivy style leaves.  I'm in the mode to finish things, so I am finishing my various creative themes up, one idea at a time.

the earrings
 

Pendants
  

Long and Lovely Necklaces, with a sparkly chunk of faceted rock crystal
 

The value comes from the form, the fantasy, the mystique and all the dreams you attach to them.

Studio Update- a belt buckle I like

I finished a belt buckle that I like!  This is almost a collage-style using copper and brass sheet metal.  At the overlap of the copper and brass, the brass sheet folds back, making an edge that looks like an abstract stem for the rose.




During my non-metalshop time, I finished up a crocheted silver rope necklace with citrine beads.  I used to do a lot more metal crochet back in the early nineties, when I was still in grad school.  I still get the urge to make sparkly fiberart jewelry, sometimes all in metal, sometimes incorporating other natural fibers.




Please click on the photos to be linked to the full details for each piece.