Money Bubbles

This is what a propane leak looks like, when it's sprayed with soapy water.

All I see is money floating off....

Pearly Buttons and Chasing Tools

At the Genoa National Fish Hatchery Event, they also talked about the old button industry, making buttons from the pearly shells found on the shores of the Mississippi River.  That made me think about my own stash of buttons, from the Grandmas of course.   I found a few hand drilled and handcarved beauties.

These buttons were more likely made from shells out of the Wabash River, along the Illinois Indiana border, as they came from the family that lived in that particular region.  The buttons on the left would make beautiful rings, or brooch elements.  Are the ones on the right some sort of embellishment, maybe for a pearly fringe?  They'd be wonderful as earring components.

In any case, I won't get around to using them for a month or so.  I am busy finishing up ten sets of chasing tools.

I thought I'd be taking all ten sets to my workshop at Haystack, but it seems that five or six sets may already be claimed.

I'll be teaching at Haystack June 1st through the 13th.  I'll be away from my shop and inventory during that time, so I won't be able to ship out any purchases.  If you do purchase something, I will ship it out within 2 business days of my return, so mostly likely, June 16th and 17th.  I do hope to get these chasing tools completed, sold and shipped out before I go.
I should have internet access while I'm at Haystack.  You know how much I love my email, blogs, Skype, discussion forums, etc....  Unfortunately, my travel computer isn't big enough to run my favorite online games- boohoo!   That's probably for the best.  I am hoping to get lots of small chasings done for jewelry.

Fishing!

Once again, the amazing the folks from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the Wisconsin DNR put on a wonderful Kids Fishing Event at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery, just a few miles down the road from us.  Every year near the 3rd weekend in May, they invite all the area kids out to learn about fishing, fish out from one of their ponds stocked with 2500 fish, hand out prizes, and then give everyone a free lunch!  So the kids go home with 5 respectable rainbow trout, a goody bag, maybe some prizes and the whole family goes home full and maybe even a little sunburnt.

(Click on the titles below to go to the detail page.)
1. Untitled, 2. Genoa National Fish Hatchery, 3. Genoa National Fish Hatchery, 4. Genoa National Fish Hatchery, 5. Genoa National Fish Hatchery, 6. Genoa National Fish Hatchery Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Before the kids start fishing, they go through 4 education stations; fish anatomy, regional wildlife, fishing lures, and then education on the wildlife in the river, like the various mussels. My daughter had a birthday party to attend, so I didn't get to stay for the entire event.  We ladies went off to Chuck E Cheese while the boys got to enjoy one of the best parts of our little section of the The Great River Road.
Yes, the trout was good for dinner!

If you do come to visit the area, call the hatchery ahead of time.  They will take groups, even small groups, on tours through the Hatchery.  It's one of the best field trips I've ever been on.  I never knew raising fish could be so interesting.  If you want to spend more of your vacation fishing, try out Clements Fishing Barge, right in Genoa.  It's a family owned business- really nice people who care about the environment, the community, and of course, good fishin'.

Cleaning Silver

A lot of people wonder how to clean silver chains, or more delicate silver jewelry.  When I was in grad school so many years ago, one of my professors, Arline Fisch shared her secret.   Arline specialized (still does)  in textile techniques in metal.  With her woven, knit, and crocheted silver jewelry, she needed a non-chemical cleaning method that would get into all the areas that a polishing cloth can't reach.

She used a product that she got from the Harriet Carter catalog (of all places) called a Maggie Pan.  It's basically a blue plastic pan with a sheet of metal in it.  I don't know the exact alloy of the metal.  I and a number of other students got Maggie Pans of our own.  I still use it - especially with tarnished chains. 

I place my jewelry in the pan, directly onto the metal sheet.  I squirt some dishwashing liquid right onto the jewelry and pan.

The photo looks blue because the metal is reflecting the royal blue walls of the surrounding plastic pan.  The name pendant is just a touch dull, but the chain and the acorn pendant are tarnished to a dull gray dingy color instead of whitish silver.  They look ok in the picture because of the light reflection, but trust me, they weren't good enough for me to wear in public.

I heat up a lot of water nearly to boiling temperature in the microwave and then pour it into the pan, on top of the metal sheet, jewelry, and detergent.  Let it all sit there and steam awhile.

After the water cools down a bit, I use an old toothbrush to move the jewelry around and to scrub any parts that might need it.

The jewelry really is all bright and shiny now, ready to wear.  I couldn't have gotten that chain clean any other way, unless I used some sort of smelly toxic dip. 

This is some sort of electrolytic cleaning, but please don't ask me to repeat any of the scientific explanations. 

I did some Google searching.  It looks like the Maggie Pan is no longer available through Harriet Carter or anywhere else online.  If you search on ebay, there is someone selling another product using a metal alloy sheet, hot water, and washing soda as an activator.  (Washing soda is available in many laundry soap aisles or online.)  I think I'll try washing soda in my own maggie pan next time I need to clean my jewelry.

If you have a similar product,or buy one, and it works, let me know in the comments!

Life in Motion

These kids just can't sit still. 

But why should they?

There's time enough to sit still when they get old, and a little lazy, like I feel right now.

Exercises in Creativity

It's time for the Jewelry Blog Carnival Again! It actually starts on Friday, but I needed to get mine done today.
This month's topic is "what you do to jump start your creativity". After you read mine, please surf on over to the other member blog entries, but make sure you check them on Friday.

http://lorahartjewels.blogspot.com/
http://www.creativetexturetools.com/news/
http://www.fleseri.com/blog/
http://angelacrispin.canalblog.com/
http://penny-candies.blogspot.com/
http://gentrydesignco.typepad.com/jewelrydesignchronicles/
http://chris-parry.blogspot.com
http://www.lorrene-davis-designs.blogspot.com/

When I was younger and seriously feeling a lack of direction, I decided to start sketching every day for 15 minutes. I allowed myself to sketch anything, from my big toe up to a more detailed animal, but I kept it quite disciplined with the time. After about six weeks, I could see a direction evolving in my sketches, which in turn gave me a direction in my metalwork and my personal style.

These days I have lots of ideas but very little time. Often, when I do need that jump start, it's for custom work, ideas for a rather open-ended commission request.
So- some of the things I do now....

1. Pull out all of my samples, scraps and UFOS (unfinished objects) and then start working collage style, to make small sculpture or wallpieces. I force myself to work quickly and intuitively, often finishing several pieces in a day.

This "English Ivy" series of 8 small wallpieces, evolved in that way. I had 8 small english ivy leaf chasings and very ideas on how to use them. I picked up all all of my textured metal scraps and started composing. If you click on one of the photos, you will be taken to my photostream on flickr that includes the rest of the series. Many of them are also available in the chasing and repoussé section of my Etsy shop.

2. Work on a smaller custom request. I get lots of requests for smaller pieces, usually jewelry, and often in a subject I haven't addressed yet. If I'm stumped or frustrated with another project, I will turn to one of these jewelry requests and shake things up a bit. These recent copper rings and steel bracelets evolved from this approach.

This approach seems to lead me to great limited production items for my shop and art shows, pieces that I wouldn't have made without the challenge of a customer's request.

3. Work on something completely different, with no intentions of selling or exhibiting. This is lots of fun- to craft for the sheer joy of crafting! When I do this, I let myself work on simple processes and themes. I typically work in traditional fiber arts , like knitting, crochet and now felting. I make pieces that are much different than my metalwork. They are usually abstract explorations of form, color, and most importantly, JOY.



I did the hats in 2006/2007. This year I've been exploring simple common forms like hearts, balls, acorns... making ornaments for next Christmas.
And YES! It does carry over into my metalwork.

Domestic Creativity

First some creativity.
We are finally decorating the children's bedrooms.  We couldn't find any good curtains, in the right size or color for the kids rooms.  I remembered the huge rainbow playsilk from Desertdyeworks that I had tucked away in my gift stash box.  Look - it works perfectly as a curtain!

This type of sheer curtain is very easy to make.  Find a drapey fabric that has finished edges all around.  Fold over the top edge, to form the tube that will slip over the curtain rod.  Then use buttons or some sort of decorative themed embellishment to secure the fold.  In this case, I used little flower embellishments and sewed them on at 8 inch intervals.  You could use buttons, bows, ribbon or any type of sewable, gluable, or fusible embellishment.   I did stitch these on, but you could also use some sort of glue or fusing adhesive to secure the foldover and embellishments.

This playsilk worked so beautifully that I ordered two more of them, in blue and green colortones, for my son's room.  I think we'll use a variety of buttons, his choice, to secure the fold on his curtains. 

You can do all sorts of variations on this theme, even stitching with a sewing machine for a much more durable curtain.  Experiment with longer pieces of cloth, let lots of it fold over and tie the excess with a gorgeous glitzy tassel.  I'm getting all sorts of ideas for my own bedroom now.

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Now for the less creative domain in my house- the kitchen!  I don't really mind cooking, but I hate the whole shebang that amounts to an organized family meal plan.  I dislike meal planning, making grocery lists, getting the timing straight.  There is a lot of organization that goes into the family meal planning and I dislike every bit of it.  Well, I discovered a service online that does all of the parts I hate, except the cleanup.  I now pay http://www.mealmixer.com $1 per week to create a menu based on our tastes, provide me with the exact recipes, and with a detailed grocery list organized by categories.

You have no idea how happy this makes me.  Now I sit down at the computer for about 15 minutes on Friday, get my meal plan set, print out my recipes and print out my grocery list.  I don't have to spend 2 hours pulling out cookbooks, cross referencing ingredients, or trying to make an organized list.   For one dollar a week, I've eliminated the most stressful annoying part of our family meal planning.  Now I can actually enjoy the cooking and the meal.  I spend less money on groceries too, because we buy the food we need once a week, rather than continually stopping by the store for one more thing.

the moral of the story?  - well for me, that was acknowledging that meal planning and organized grocery lists are sheer torture for me.  I'm glad the solution was so affordable.  Heck, I wouldn't plan anyone else's meals for $100, let alone $1. 

Mother's Work Weekend and a Great Treat

I spent my Mother's Day weekend moving cleaning the kids area, moving furniture, putting together furniture, and getting the entire area organized. I also took my kids to the opening reception of the regional school districts art show at The Pumphouse Regional Arts Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Here they are looking at the elementary kids art from their own school.

Here they are looking at the middle and high school art. The kids really enjoyed the work. They had a much stronger appreciation for art than I ever remember having. They talked enthusiastically about colors, texture, as well as subject matter - all of the things that the rest of we adults should be discussing. Do stop by the Pumphouse and see the show if you are in the area. The kids around here are exceptionally talented.

My daughter loved this piece that she is standing in front of, not the type of work that I expected her to appreciate at all. Now how can I ever choose art for her again? She has such well considered tastes. We will have to start art window-shopping together.

Yes, I spent my Mother's Day weekend being a Mother.

I did buy myself two new trees for the yard, a sugar maple and a prairiefire crabapple. I planted them too, in the rainy windy low 50s unnaturally cold spring weather.

So did I rest today? No, I still had work to do. It was at least business related work, but not in the metalshop. I completely re-organized, or perhaps I should say just organized, my office, photography and shipping area today.

The floor is clean, all the way out to the loft edge.

So what was my reward, other than my lovely little trees?
Today I got my necklace from duckduckgoosestuff, her end of a trade that we started last fall! I love it!

A Taste of Spring

Spring is easing in this year, slowly but surely.
The bleeding hearts are blooming. I haven't gone out searching for any wildflowers. I'm satisfied with the flashy, yet coy reddish pink of the dicentra.

I do love the wild, or half-wild, violets that grow in the margins between yard and woods.

Yes, I have gotten a little studio work done, silver ginkgo leaf pendants. Four of them are for a custom order.

They actually have more of a white silvery satin sheen. In the photo, they are reflecting too many of the dark colors around them.

In the house, I've been completely redoing the kids bedrooms. If I have any energy left, I will take photos. Son gets a big heavy old style tv, complete with rf modulator, so he can play Wii in his own bedroom, with plenty of space. Daughter of course gets lots of pink flowery fluff, so much fun for Mom! :). Now if I could just find some yellow eyelet curtains..... If you see some, let me know.

fyi- I am completely giving up any serious gardening this year. I am devoting myself to all of the little home finishing jobs that we've talked about for the past 4 years but not done anything about. We still need trim in some places. We need a total interior paint job. I'd like a minimum of landscaping around the house - that sort of thing. Let's not even mention that "temporary" railing in the loft. It's time to "finish" this house.

Hollow Branch Forms in Steel

A few entries back, I posted about some tree shelf brackets that I've been working on.  Here's how they turned out! 

I used a U shaped beam at the top.  The shelf should be routed to fit over the u shape, so that it looks like the tree is going right up into the shelf. 

The shelf brackets are large, about 30 inches high with a shelf support length of 12 inches.  Surprisingly enough, they are not very heavy.  I specifically designed them to be strong, but also to be lightweight.

Let me back up a little.  When the client first approached me about the project, I sure "sure!" jumping in headfirst like I usually do, without thinking about it enough.  I originally thought I would use branch textured bar stock.  Then I realized a few things.

1. I don't have a power hammer anymore, so it would be terribly difficult to for me to texture my own bar stock like I used to. 
   
2. Those would be heavy!  I'm trying to avoid heavy.
   
3. Propane is very expensive right now, so that means hot forging is very expensive for me.  I've been adapting my work to use much less propane.

So I started to re-think the process.  At first I thought I would use plain un-textured bar stock.  Still that would use lots of propane for forging and would be heavy.  Then I thought, well I'll just buy the bar stock.  That was a mistake.  That supposedly "branch textured" bar stock from King Metals is UGLY and doesn't look at all like a branch.  Finally I realized, I need to go back to the rough anticlastic technique that I've used in the past to make hollow twig/branch forms, in both large and small sizes.  I used to use it a lot for steel work, but I only have the pictures as slides, with no slide-scanner.  If you look back through my jewelry pages on flickr, you can see the technique on the twiggy copper bracelets and on many of my leaf stem pendant bails.

Basically, I cut asymmetrical long strips of metal.  Then I shape them over the step of my anvil into a tube shape.  To finish up, I close up the tube, letting the metal overlap and wrinkle at the edges.   I also hammer around the hollow tube form, to create more texture and form.  This creates a surprisingly strong and lightweight hollow form, that is very organic and convincing as a branch form.

I agonized over this for ages before I started!  I hadn't done it large scale in so long and I was worried that it might not work after all the effort I put into it.  But as you can see from the pictures above, it worked beautifully!

I was so pleased after I finished the brackets, that I even created a few small steel branch sculptures, and a candleholder, using the same technique.  Click on each photo for full details.

All in all, it's turned out to be a great example of how a challenging project can lead to exciting new directions, or exciting new takes on old directions.

Inspiring Moth by my Studio

This little moth, and his friends, have been hanging out by the studio door since the weather has warmed up. Look at the shape of the wings and the flipped up tail - such inspiring forms.

I wonder what kind of moth they are.

***Updating to add --The UW-Madison extension entomologist says that it is the lettered Sphinx- Deidamia inscripta and that the caterpillars feed on grape. We have lots of wild grape here.

Mother's Day is coming up.

What's your Mother getting for Mother's Day?

Mine is getting the silver heart ring in this picture.

Here's another one, size 7, available in my Etsy shop that could go to your Mother. Or buy it for yourself!

I know I like to pick out my own presents. I don't want to be surprised. I just want what I want.

Hey, if you do buy it for your mother, put a note in the "message to seller" letting me know if you need it shipped to a different address or if you need a gift card enclosed.

Twig Time in the Studio!

I've been working on a branch theme in the shop.

Here are some tree shelf brackets in progress.  They are about 2 ft high and 1 ft deep, for the shelf.  I designed them without a continuous backplate, so that you can see tree before bracket.

 
I've worked on them since I took the photos.  They are now ready for the final clean-up, patina, burnishing and sealing.  I'll take pictures again before they ship out.

Then I went completely small scale to make some twiggy copper rings.  The rings are adjustable, a few for the pinky fingers and the others could fit anywhere from size 5 to 9, maybe even 10.

In the house, I got around to finishing up some more felt heart ornaments.

I couldn't resist buying more hand dyed roving at the local yarn shop, so you'll definitely be seeing more ornaments.

Here are a few springtime sights around the yard.
Our earliest flowers, a type of windflower

and the dried outer skin and seeds of a tomatillo, that surfaced after the snow melted. We planted tomatillos 3 years ago. We haven't planted them since, but they come up every year, loads of them. Don't plant tomatillos unless you really like them.