not quite fine art...

When I was moving I came across all kinds of stuff I completely forgot about... crappy college decorative stuff, junk that belonged to old boyfriends, boxes of papers, ugly dishes (and I've recently put some of it on ebay... and yay, people are buying it! hehehe.) Well, in the throws of going through piles and bunches of crap, I came across this...

I know it's hard to tell... but I'm in that picture! Ugh! Before I became a jeweler, I was a Corporate Art Consultant for a company to remain nameless. But every year for the holiday card, the owner like to recreate a piece of art or copy an artist's style. Any guess who this is? Anybody? Anybody? Bueller?

No... not Cynthia the Plaster Caster! I'm sorry, the answer is George Segal. (If you don't know who Cynthia is... I will give you a link. BUT it is not PG13 by any means... so be aware before you open it. Here... don't blame me if you blush!)

Now... to make this card, FIRST we had to be covered in paster till it hardened. They did section by section... and the Italian artisans giggled when they covered my chest, and made a few crude comments in Italian, not knowing that I could understand them. Then they had to cut us not only out of the plaster, but out of our clothing too. So, here we are, a bunch of coworkers pretty much standing around in our knickers.

But, honestly, this wasn't the worst part. The worst part was, well, a toss up between 2 things. (1.) Having my face covered in plaster with 2 straws shoved up my nose to breath OR (2.) Having to sit with my legs crossed till the plaster hardened, leaving my legs to fall asleep and go from the prickley feeling to completely numb and cold. Lovely.

So, then we brought the life sized versions of us to a T yard to photograph them on the Green Line. E Voila... a crappy looking holiday card to send to all of the clients.

Oh... and if you can't seem to find me... I'm in the first row on seats, on the isle, with my legs crossed. Pretty!

worth more dead than alive...

well... say goodbye to the ginormous dogwood earrings! they are worth more in the scrap pile than just sitting in the safe. the gold market is nearing an all time high, and it's much higher than when i made these earrings. it's sad to say, but i haven't seen one bit of interest in them. AND most of the time people just say 'they're beautiful, but i couldn't wear them.'

it took me about 2 weeks to finally come to the decision. but just like they teach you in art school, you have to disconnect yourself from your work... and they are just metal. so... that about says it all!

but i'll give it till friday. if ANYBODY knows somebody that would be interested in my monsters, here's where to buy them. and after friday, they will be dismantled and sent to the refiner along with all kinda of other scrap and sweeps (from old jewelry, filings, polishing materials, etc) and bring it all back to life as newly refined (aka RECYCLED) stock!

and if this occurs, the diamond centers will make lovely diamond studs :)

I bet you've been wondering where I've been hiding!!! Well, here I am!!!

I finished the wedding jewelry for my client that found me through the Blog. Hehehe. I'm still amazed that people really do read this!!!

The design for her jewelry was to match her wedding outfit, which was a beautiful red-orange color with beading. If you want to see the sketches, click here.

The pieces are fabricated from Sterling Silver with Tourmaline briolette. The necklace is convertible... where the main pendant is located on the choker is also the clasp, sooooo... when she doesn't want to wear the large pendant... she can put on a simple 'S' hook.




The design and finish of this piece is a little more 'hand made' looking... which is what the client had expressed to me in our meeting. So, I made each link of the chain by hand... starting with cutting each piece of 14 guage round wire about 20mm, filing it to the shape of a tooth pick (tapered at the ends), bending it into a 'u' shape and forging the bottom of the 'u' to make it flat and wide (leaving the hammer marks on it.) From there, half of them were bent into a loop on each end, the other half of them I melted the ends of the 'u' to create a ball. Then I polished and assembled it. By doing this, each of the links are slightly a different size and shape.


I was thrilled when she tried it on and it fit perfectly at the base of her neck. I can't wait to see the wedding photos!!!

Back to work!

BLOG SALE!!!

Okay... this is a one time event!

I had built a bunch of beady-beady jewelry for a jewelry party over a year ago... and I'm not a beady beady kind of jeweler. I still had a bunch, and it's just been sitting in a box. So, here it is, offered to you at bargain-basement prices!!!

EVERYTHING is $35 (plus ground shipping to where you are.) I'm basically selling everything for materials cost!!! It's BELOW wholesale pricing!!!

Just think... for you it's an inexpensive holiday gift... for me, it's cleaning house!



1. SOLD 15" Sterling Silver Choker with toggle SOLD
2. Sterling Silver and White Mother of Pearl Earrings



3. SOLD 17" Sterling Silver Choker with S hook SOLD
4. Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings with all kinds of stuff...
Moonstone, Peridot, Citrine, Black Pearls and Silver Beads



5. SOLD Sterling Silver Doughnut Pendant... I'll toss in a rubber cord necklace SOLD
6. SOLD Sterling Silver and Sunstone Bead Dangle Earrings SOLD



7. SOLD 15" Sunstone Choker SOLD
8. Sterling Silver, Moonstone, Garnet, Iolite Concave Dome Ring... fits size 5-6.
Ring shape is a soft square.



9. Sterling Silver and Black Mother of Pearl Earrings
10. Sterling Silver and Black Mother of Pearl DANGLE Earrings



11. SOLD Sterling Silver and Czech Glass Dangle Earrings SOLD
12. Sterling Silver and Moonstone Bead Dangle Earrings

If you are interested, just drop me an email through the website and tell me who and where you and I'll send you an invoice through PayPal.

HURRY! WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT WE HAVE!!! QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED!!!

SHARE IT WITH YOU FRIENDS!!!

the baby version...

Okay... by now you all know my dogwood earrings...


Well, this is the little baby version. 18K gold, no diamonds... and a hell of a lot lighter ;)





This diameter of the hoop is the same in both earrings, but much thinner in the new version. Also the flower is about 1/3rd of the size of the original. The finish is a combination of high polish and a mat corundum finish. I just wanted to make very organic to celebrate going green ;)

Keep checking back... much more to come this week!!!

mmmmm...

We had friends over for dinner this past weekend... and I decided to make something very hearty and fall like... CURRIED PUMPKIN SOUP!

It was delightful... so I thought I'd share!

Curried Pumpkin Soup

4 Granny Smith Apples – peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 stick Butter
1 Large Sweet Onion – sliced
2 Cloves Garlic – crushed
1 tablespoon Curry Powder
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 (15 ounce) can Pumpkin Puree
4 cups Vegetable Broth
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 Bay Leaf
2 cups Heavy Cream
Pinch Nutmeg

Directions
-Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, curry, cumin, sugar and nutmeg; sauté, stirring often, until onion is soft and fragrant.

-Stir in apples, pumpkin, broth and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-Puree soup in a food processor or a blender.

-Return soup to saucepan; add cream and reheat, covered, over low heat… do not let it boil.

Lots of Jewelry photos on the way!!!

quick catch up...

okay... somewhat been swamped, somewhat procrastination... but productive procrastination at that!

so... here's the quick version...

(1) whoopi: feeling better, but still sick. the vet thought he had scratched his eyeball, but now whatever he has is spreading to the other eye. so he's using a steroid creme in his eyes to see if it clears whatever it is up... and if not, he will have to go to the doggy eye dr. my poor baby! and because i need to get work done, the boys are currently at my folks house. i'm really sad about it... but my folks are retired and can give the lots and lots of attention!

if you don't know what my whoopi looks like... here he is...


look at those beautiful eyes! it makes me so sad to think something is wrong with them!

(2) work: well, that's coming along. i just rearranged my shop with some book cases and cabinets, so now i feel like it's finally getting settled. i'm currently finishing repairs for a friend and wedding jewelry. BUT i'm debating on turning my giant dogwood earrings into broaches. BUT with the price of gold so high, i'm also debating on scrapping them (which makes me really sad, but i can always use the money!) OR possibly scrapping one and turning the other into a broach. i'm not too sure yet! AND sal is helping me to get the new line of jewelry online this weekend. oh... and 2 of my pieces sold through my friend ilah's shop. yay! at this point, seeing they are on consignment, i feel like it's found money ;)

(3) apartment: this is where my procrastination came into play. when we rented this place, it was painted really dark colors and they past renters painted it white... and they did a horrible horrible job. so i decided to do a couple of touch ups in the kitchen... then i decided that if i painted the base board it would look so much cleaner... then i looked at the utility closet and bathroom door, which where dirty and had holes in it so i patched and painted them... then i once i painted that, the rest of the hall looked dirty, so i painted that too! oh... and a tv stand. PLUS i built an ikea tv stand, an ikea butcher block and an ikea foot locker cabinet. PLUS i hung curtains!

(4) this coming weekend: well... i think i managed to overbook myself. Friday night, my sis and her hubby are coming over for dinner. Saturday day, I'm teaching a private lesson. Saturday night, were having friends over for dinner. UGH! it will be fun... but lots of cooking! PLUS next week is thanksgiving!

(5) health: i've been fighting some kind of a bug or flu... but feeling better on that front. well, i got a migraine today, and my dr wanted me to try a new migraine med. i had been putting it off trying it (because lots of meds just make me even more sick) so i finally broke down and popped one. well, it induced vertigo, made me antsy and gave me a tummy ache. meh. not a big fan. i like the meds that just put me to sleep and i wake up a few hours later and feel better.

i'm sure there are piles and bunches more... but i just can't think of it now! so, more sketches and photos and stuff coming, but i'm just waiting for metal to arrive!

all over the map...

Well, I've been running around the week. Between finishing jobs, still trying to unpack and get settled, Whoopi (my long haired wiener dog) has been sick, a teeth cleaning at the dentist, check up at the dr's... and it goes on and on! Now, when I'm running around like this... my head gets cloudy. I just can't concentrate on small tasks... like designing for a client.

I have been trying to work on designs for a client for the past couple of weeks... and I just can't seem to get them on paper! I have some great ideas... but they just aren't translating well!!! I'm calling it 'jewelers block.'

Well, the client just had to tell me one fact to get the ideas flowing. I don't know if he likes the idea... and I probably have to keep working on more designs... but I'm just happy to get something on paper. And, who knows, if he doesn't like it... I may just make it anyway!!!

The client mentioned something about a compass, a pink sapphire, recycling some gold and a couple of diamonds... and it triggered this...

I found this image online... and I LOVE IT...


It's the compass rose from a map of Scotland from 1840.

So, I came up with a ring that I think would be so much fun to build...

The compass would be Yellow gold (the sapphire set in the middle) which will be soldered into the head of the ring that is White gold. Then the long line leading to the fleurs de lis would be inlayed yellow gold. And finally, the fleurs de lis would be yellow gold soldered into the white. Both the fleurs de lis and the compass rose would be 3d and have stones set in them.

Like I said... not sure if the client will feel it... but I'm just happy to get some thought on paper! Hopefully, more will be on the way!

for donna...

So, I got a call from my buddy Lanie tonight and she had a complaint to pass along to me... a complaint from her sister. I was informed that I do not keep my blog promises to post pictures when I say I will (okay, which I agree is true) and that I shouldn't make promises that I won't keep. Well fine! This is for you, Donna! hehehehe

I took these photos of the coins that I bezel set in 18K Yellow gold. Unfortunately, you still cannot see the amazing detail of the coins well... but they are better photos than before.

Jewelers Building...

So... last week I was at the Jewelers Building running a few errands. I needed to hit the ATM (because lots of the dealers only take cash or check) so I skipped the elevators and jogged down a couple of flights. Well, the stairwell smelled of natural gas. Lovely.

I told the security guard and ran to the ATM. I went back upstairs (I really needed to finish my last errand) and when I was there I told the shop owner that it was smelling like gas in the common areas. She responded with 'Oh... that happens at lease once a week... or the fire alarm is going off.' Okay... that freaks me out, because everybody there has gotten so use to the scary occurrences that it doesn't phase them. What happens if there is a REAL emergency?

BUT the worst part was that she followed up with 'You know... I heard that the fire department won't come in the building if there is a real fire. Not because of the gas and oxygen tanks... but because they don't know where the safes are located.' I NEVER thought about that! If a real fire breaks out... and the floors are burning... the safes will just come crashing through! And I completely understand it... but still, that's nuts!

Now, I don't know if that statement is true... but it did make me decided that I would NEVER set up shop in a jewelers building!

sapphire / diamond rings...

A client had approached me to make two rings to add to the outside of a sapphire and diamond ring. She knew exactly what stones she wanted to use and the placement on them... and all that was left to me was the basic math of the design, the fabrication and the finishing.