This was my little fundraising project a couple of months ago when I was raising money for El Hogar, the organization I worked with when I brought my students to Honduras for a volunteering trip in February. They’re made of silver clay, and my wonderful friends stepped up to support the cause. My ‘customers’, or rather Facebook friends who put up with my fundraising statuses … Continue reading Silver Clay Pendants: How I Make Them
In my 2014 round-up post I predicted that 3D printed jewelry was in my immediate future, and I was right! Ok, it’s true that as the person actually planning to make the 3D printed jewelry, I did have some insider information…so don’t go recommending me to friends seeking a future-predicting oracle. Unless, of course, they’re gullible and have lots of money. As part of a … Continue reading 2015 Prediction Comes True: 3D Printed Jewelry Was, In Fact, In My Immediate Future
Was 2014 a creative year for you? A handful of years ago I remember making a list of what I thought were the primary areas in life that were important for happiness & well being. Something like this: Relationship/Marriage Family Friends/Social Life Health Career Creativity Learning Spirituality (although I’m not a religious person, I still consider spirituality to be an important factor) … There were … Continue reading 2014: A Year of Living Creatively
I’m feeling pretty chuffed with myself at the moment: I made this pearl ring from scratch and I think it turned out pretty well! I made the ring using the lost wax casting method: carve the shape from wax; create a mold of ‘investment’ around the wax — sort of like immersing the wax in plaster of paris; heat the plaster mold up in a … Continue reading Thanks, I made it! Cast Silver Ring with Black and White Pearls
I can’t keep myself away from my neighbourhood jewelry studio! I’ve taken a few classes at Jewel Envy: Introductory Fabrication, Introductory Casting, Intermediate Fabrication, and recently I completed an 8-week course on enameling. I must admit, the look of enameled jewelry is not really my first choice for pieces I’d like to wear, but I just love being in the studio and learning new techniques … Continue reading Enameling Class
Yesssss! I’m a nerdy badass. Or a badass nerd. (Or, ok…I’m prepared to accept I am just a nerd.) I purchased this lovely 11 x 14″ screenprint by Kat Gomboc at the Trinity Bellwoods Park Outdoor Art Show & Sale (part of the Queen West Art Crawl) in Toronto. I love the contrast of the skull motif and the French country toile fabric. Now all … Continue reading Yarncore!
I’m taking an Intermediate Fabrication class at Jewel Envy. In the last class we learned how to make a die form to create hollow-form shapes. After 3 hours of intense, focused work, I brought my work home to show my husband. “Want to see what it took me all goddam class to make?” I asked as I walked through the door. THIS: “That’s…it?” said Dave. … Continue reading Fabrication class: creating hollow shapes with die forms
I’m actually pretty excited about this. Jewel Envy is having their annual Student Exhibition, showing pieces made by people who took classes there, and I’ve got three pieces in the exhibit. Woot! That’s my blurry silver cuff there on the bottom left of the postcard. But check out that ring second from the left. I’m told that guy made that ring in his first class. … Continue reading Jewel Envy Student Exhibition
My dear friend Tawnya had a birthday last week and I made her a long pendant as a gift. Tawnya is a gorgeous natural beauty with thick, wavy reddish-brown hair and green eyes, so I chose crystals with that colour scheme in mind. The heart is a neat little pre-fab item, from Arton Beads in Toronto, that opens up on a hinge so it made … Continue reading Crystal drop pendant
No, that doesn’t mean I was hammered while making it. Drunk knitting? No problem. Drunk metalsmithing with blowtorches and sharp tools? Definitely not. 🙂 You may have seen my posts about the wax casting classes I took at Jewel Envy. I enjoyed them so much I signed up for a jewelry fabrication workshop. Here’s the difference: in casting, we learned how to carve things like … Continue reading Jewelry Fabrication Class: the hammered band ring
Frivolous At Last 