brooch inspiration

 I put together a treasury of brooches for inspiration to anyone who is joining or thinking about joining our brooch challenge.

 I hope you'll have a peek at these fun pins!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/NTE0MTEyMnwyNzIzNzM3NjMy/pin-it

Brooch a Day

Here is a link to the daily brooch challenge for 2013 if you'd like to join us!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/brooch-a-day2013/

Challenge for 2013

Well, a challenge for 2013 has been put out on Flickr for all to join who would like to make a brooch a week. You can join the group here on Flickr. I think I've finally recooped from doing the Ring a Day in 2010 and am ready for this. A few of us are going to do a brooch a day because we think its actually easier for us to stay motivated. Yesterday at work I did a little warm up brooch and used materials in my cubicle. This brooch is made from plastic packing straps, elastic string and a big paper clip. Inspiration is everywhere! I love to play with non conventional materials and in a spontaneous way like this. I now will attempt to make this idea out of copper and enamel. If I were just sitting at my bench with my metals I would never come up with this sort of line. I look forward to this brooch challenge and making this piece in metal next year.

The Bracelet Show

The bracelet show at Kathleen Sommers in San Antonio, Texas opened last night and runs though next saturday December 15th. I have three bracelets on view. If you you live in the area head on over and take a peak, there are over 100 bracelets for sale by the following artists. Wish I could see them all myself!

This is one of the bracelets that I sent down for the show. Sterling silver with a cute little flower made from license plate and a piece of tin from a candy container. This piece was inspired by my collection of native American jewelry.

Inspired by...Codognato

 Yesterday I discovered the jewelry of Codognato. This is a jewelry house in Venice, Italy that has been in business since the mid 1800's. They are especially known for their skull designs and it is obvious to see why! Major sighs occurred when I saw all these gems.

 People always ask why I make skulls and I often wonder if I should slow down on them but seeing this work just made me feel good about my love for using them. I will not quit making skull jewelry! Although I still don't feel like I can use those pieces when I apply to art shows, which is really sad. Last night I happily sketched out a small collection of new skull designs that I will work on next month during christmas break.

Oh x-mas break! A week off from work, I can hardly wait.

Why do you make jewelry?

This is the theme for this month's Etsy Metal Blog Carnival. I know it will be fun to read all the other team mates responses to this question. Here's mine:

 I have always loved to make things for as long as I can remember. I'm sure I drove my mom crazy with the request to constantly craft. I remember having a big book as a kid full of projects that I could grab and pick a project. What really kick started the specific desire to create jewelry though was a trip to Albuquerque and Santa Fe when I was in junior high. Walking through galleries and seeing all the gorgeous art jewelry was what hooked me. I had fallen in love with some particular pieces that were layered wood and hand painted in all sorts of bright colors and patterns. Upon our return home I immediately started trying my hand at this type of jewelry. Not long after I was turned onto Fimo and did polymer clay jewelry for several years before taking some metals classes in college.

So, thirty years later I still love making jewelry and learning new techniques/materials. I've just set up an enamelling station in my studio and look forward to many fun years with this new medium.

Here is a list and links to some of my team mates who are participating in the blog carnival:

1. Cynthia Del Giudice - http://CynthiaDelGiudice.blogspot.com
2. Laura Jane Bouton - http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/
3. silentgoddess http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com
4. Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com
5. Peculiar Forest http://peculiarforest.blogspot.com
6. Tosca Terán http://www.nanopod.me
7. Nodeform http://nodeform.blogspot.com
8. Mary Anne Karren: http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
9. My Precious Studio: http://mypreciousstudio.blogspot.com/
10. Deborah Lee Taylor: http://www.e5jewelryblog.com
11. 2Roses: http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com
12. Anne Walker: http://www.creativeinclinations.blogspot.com
13.Andrea Ring http://www.amuckdesign.blogspot.com
14. Gracebourne Design http://www.gracebourne.blogspot.com
15. Danielle Miller http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
16. Evelyn Markasky http://markasky.blogspot.com
17. Inbar Bareket http://www.inbarbareket.info/blog
18. Jewellietta http://www.jewellietta.blogspot.gr/
19. Abella Blue - http://www.abellablue.com/blog

Gem show

Went to the gem and mineral show today to pick up some cabochons. I found these gorgeous pieces of turquoise, some Druzy and amazingly bright Swarovski pearls.

I haven't really set stones in my work since college, will be fun to bring this element back in.

What are your favorite stones?

COLOR!!

I just love color! Now that I have my enameling oven set up in my studio Im just itching to do sugary sweet and bright jewelry. I think I can safely say that there will be some new and surprising pieces coming from my studio for 2013.

This installation piece by Pip and Pop is gorgeous and speaking of sweet it's entirely made of sugar! Can you imagine sitting on the floor and laying this all out?!

Gnomes are fun!

A friend asked me if I could make a necklace with some little plastic gnomes that she had. Sure! I said, I'm always up for a challenge. I hate to think how long I've been hanging on to these guys waiting for the inspiration on how I would connect/design this necklace.

You never know where inspiration will come from and this one was definitely a surprise. Bryan and I are doing some renovations on our bathroom and when we replaced the vent I was intrigued by a spring I found inside. The light bulb went off in my head and I finally had the solution on how this piece was going to look.

I used steel wire to construct the hanging mechanisms attached to each gnome. I think they look like they are on little ski lifts! My friend had also given me some plastic flowers so I added a few more flowers that I cut from a French Market coffee can.

I'm so happy with how this turned out, wish it were mine!

A skull in progress

Most of the time my designs are not pre-planned and sketched out. This piece started because I was rummaging through all my license plates and the color of this NY plate just struck me so gorgeous. I pulled it from the box and as I was looking at the colors and scratches the "X" screamed out skull and bones to me. Ok, I know your probably thinking that theme screams at me daily. It does, but this one was extra loud.

So, I had a skull cut out on my bench for another piece and grabbed it to put on top of the X. Yep, I'm making this for sure!

I've been playing around with steel this summer and put together a chain that's both sterling silver and steel. The skull will be bezel set in sterling with copper behind his eyes. Can't wait to see him finished. Im also trying to make more pieces that guys could wear. This one could definitely be worn by male or female.

art fair prep

I've been frantically trying to get ready for the upcoming Plaza Art fair here in Kansas City. This little brooch is really the only finished piece while everything is still in pieces like below. The cutting out of pieces though is the most time consuming so I won't totally become a wreck yet. I've been making lots of handmade chain this summer. It certainly adds a lot to a piece to do this.

Also, been working on a re-design for the Citybird necklace. Still debating the chain that will go with him.

Trying out a skull with wings and bezel set Street Hearts. Besides all the jewelry I also want to re-design the booth and make it a little easier to set up and all able to fit in my car rather than renting a truck even though I had sooo much fun a couple of years ago maneuvering the huge pick-up through those tight streets with all the other artists setting up. I think the setting up part of any show is so much fun. You really get to know all your neighbors and everyone is ready to lend a hand when needed.

I think Bryan and I finally nailed down the booth design this week. It's actually an example of how well we work together to solve problems. We knew we wanted to take advantage of the carpeted wall panels and hang more work there but how to display it? We tossed around LOTS of ideas, made mock-ups and then settled on this paper pulp material that we've always used with our frame displays. I tested it out with velcro strips on the walls and that was great but not so pretty. The edges needed some finishing. I tried cutting cardboard boxes and "framing" the pulp, ok but not great. Bryan comes down into the studio, looks at it and about two minutes later says "what about black gaffers tape around the edge." I grabbed the tape and wrapped the edge of a piece(differently than what he was actually thinking) and voila! it looked great. So, the issue of hanging on the wall is complete, now to make up some new earring trees.

Calder inspired challenge

 The Etsy Metal monthly challenge is to design a piece inspired by Alexander Calder. We did this challenge last summer and had so much fun with it that we brought it back. This year I think I will draw my inspiration from his Circus piece.

 Enjoy the little circus video and have a great weekend!!

New Work!!!

 Finally! I've got some new work done and hopefully a little steam to keep going. This pair was inspired by Native American jewelry. I took Monday off from work so I could be in the studio all day, It was fantastic and these earrings are what I completed.

 Well, I've got several pieces for the Ice Resin group to complete so I'd better get back to that this evening so I can do more of my own work later this week.

Call for Designers!

Ice Resin is thrilled to announce that they are searching for 5 new Designers to join their 2012 -2013 ICE Resin Creative Team. As of today the application process is open to all of you!


What We Are Seeking

You might wonder what we are seeking in a Designer; we are looking for someone with not only a keen eye for deign but also a strong understanding of trends as well as individuals with the ability to think outside of the box while remaining cutting edge, trendsetting and true to their own style. Keep in mind while we are seeking artistically minded Designers we are not necessarily narrowing our vision to those who are widely known in the industry. Rather, it is our hope to create a team of Designers with various skills and design aesthetics. While our Designers are provided with products from the Art Mechanique line we are looking for compositions that stand on their own with fresh ideas not replications or interpretations of what is currently in the Arts and Crafts world at this time. It is important to keep in mind ICE Resin® is not just for creating jewelry but rather multiple applications such as Mixed Media Assemblage, Paper Arts, Scrapbooking and more!

What to Expect

Designers receive a box of hand selected items from our line of amazing products each month such as bezels, chain, fibers and of course ICE Resin®. Each Designer is asked to create a combination of 2 Projects and 1 Short “How To” within thirty days of receiving their package. Each year we participate in various trade shows and workshops; for these events we rely on our Designers to come up with artwork, jewelry and assemblage to be used in our displays for which they receive compensation.

To be considered for the Creative Team simply fill out the provided application ( ICE Resin CT application ) and be sure to attach 3 photos of your most recent work. To be considered please submit your application and photos to Kristen@iceresin.com. On September 16th we will be announcing our new Creative Team. Thank you so much for your interest we look forward to another year of creativity!

Inspiration

Today's inspiration comes from tiles made from old skateboards by Art of Board and some beautiful graffiti work by a group of artists in Canada called Ashop.

Inspiration

Came across this garden pic this week and can't quit looking at it. Here is the blog that this image came from, Everyone enjoy the weekend!

Amuck workshops!

Hi all! Iam finally planning my first workshop. I've had many requests for these but have never had the space to offer classes. Just a couple of weeks ago I became aware of a great community workshop. So, now I'm in the planning stages and would love some feedback.

Do you like taking classes that have a specific project to make or a looser plan? What's your fav piece of jewelry to make: bracelets,earrings, brooches,rings,necklaces?

What classes have you taken that you thought were exceptional and why?

I will definitely be going over many cold connections and incorporating found objects into jewelry. Right now I'm compiling some images that I think are inspiring to make a little idea booklet.

Ok, off to do more research. I look forward to hearing from you!

Pop Talk

Our friend Dayle has featured us on her super fun blog Made by Sodapop today, check it out.

Stripey Fun

Feeling inspired by red and white stripes.

pillow by Lauren and the Lost Boys
bracelet by Victoria Takahashi
corset by Alice and Willow

Happy Spring!

Happy first day of spring everyone! Wanted to share this rose necklace that I made for a friends birthday today. I cut the rose from a spring roll wrapper then sealed it in Ice Resin to protect the image better. This necklace is a smaller version of the tattoo rose necklace that I made last spring(bottom pic).

Urban Skull

LOVE this "skull" found in the road. I discovered this image on the Skull-A-Day blog and am feeling inspired at the moment!

Double sided earrings

I got this new app called Diptic yesterday, really cool. Works great for showing multiple views in one photo.

Earrings made from a curve in the road street sign, vintage noisemaker, license plate and sterling silver.

Two pairs in one

Here's a new design that I just finished today. I've wanted to make an earring that converts like this for quite awhile. This pair is made from a Washington state license plate and sterling. Can be worn as a long dangle or as little red studs.

Weekend fun

Hope everyone had a fun weekend. I really enjoyed the gray, drizzly weekend that we had here in Kansas City. Bryan and I just had to have a little fun with the fogged up windows at Latteland Saturday night. Our friend Maggie was nice enough to go outside and take these for us.

Brooch idea

I've had this brooch sketched out for awhile now and decided this week that its time to start working on it. made a little paper mock up yesterday.

I heart skulls

This was my latest piece that was featured on the Ice Resin blog yesterday.

“My inspiration was really the bezel itself. My first thought was an eyeball and then everything else just fell into place. I chose the color yellow because it paired so well with the bronze and the vintage rhinestones".

”My love of skulls, I could go on for awhile, but simply we all have them and it’s a part of us that will be around for a long, long time. I love that skulls were used in Victorian times (an era I come back to constantly for inspiration!) in jewelry as a remembrance of others and also as a reminder that death is inevitable so we should live every day to the fullest!”

personal logo

Had to make a personal logo for my Digital Imaging 1 class. This was our first homework assignment. I think my Roger skull logo came out pretty darn cute!