Artfully Meandering: Exploring Design

Howdy, y'all! I seem to have lost some steam! But, I have a new camera that has motivated me to take loads of pictures of my pile of goodies.

This necklace is a good metaphor for the twists and turns my life has been taking. And I believe the twists are not over. We shall see.

This is a very random long necklace. I have a few small spools of colored wire. I love twisting wire together and did twists of two and three colors together. After I twisted the wire, I then wrapped it around a mandrel, cut it into 1 - 1.5" pieces and slid it over a thick piece of silver. I hammered the loops.

In between, I've included polymer beads that I've tried to "age". I still don't think I have the right materials, but I did achieve some of what I wanted. With the turquoise beads, I scratched them up, painted them with brown acrylic and wiped it off to leave the brown in the scratches.

I added a twist bead at the bottom, then some copper chain mail. It's a randomly interesting piece.

I have lost momentum as I still think and dream in glass. Polymer is now becoming a staple, but I do simple beads. What I'm finding my customer base likes is simple and elegant. A little chain maille, some wire-wrapped beads and we're good. I'm thinking about simple designs that will go a long way in addition to my "artsy" pieces like the one above.

I have more to say and want to get writing again, but I'll save that for another day. Just wanted to throw some eye candy out there and say hi to y'all!!! Thanks for stopping by.

Studio Time: Color has this way of sneaking up on you

Studio Time: Simple Southwest

Nothing like a new camera to get me started with taking pictures of the pile o' jewelry I've made. Here is a simple one...mixed reds in polymer and a turquoise rectangular tube on brass.

Studio Time: East and West

The jury is still out on this necklace. (The jury in my head.) Style-wise, it's a little bit of East and West. The hammered silver bail reminds me a little bit of an Eastern roof-line and little bit of a Western hanging bar for the entrance to a ranch. The pretty part is the gorgeous glass beads by MoonKatty Studios. (If the jury in my head eventually nixes this pieces, the glass beads will be saved for a better project.) The polymer beads are my on-going experiments in polymer. I "age" the beads with a light wash of silver or copper ink.

The focal has gone through several iterations of aging with copper ink, sanding, silver ink, sanding. I really like the pendant and how it turned out. It just still feels juvenile and immature in technique. Both sides of the pendant are decorated.

Anyway, just a little something to look at... enjoy MoonKatty's glass beads. My inner jury is going to continue to deliberate on the polymer. :-D

Studio Time: Watching Out

Thought it was time to post some eye candy. I made a watch to match the necklace I made without the orange beads. I thought the navy and dove gray would be more neutral and go with more things. Now I just need to replace the battery in the watch face!