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.