beautifully crafted handmade jewelery
Fall has always been my favorite season, but over the years that seems to have changed. At the moment our Spring garden - our whole neighborhood, really - is a an explosion of blossoms. It feels like a piece of classical music, different trees and flowers rising in a crescendo, and then fading as new… Continue reading Spring Blossoms
More sawing practice. Work is getting cleaner but it could be a lot better. Still, I’m generally happy with how these turned out.
For me, one of the pleasures of metalsmithing is the improvements that come from simple repetition. After ten months away from my bench my skills are rusty (to say the least). So I’ve decided to relax into it, not be in a big rush to construct anything again, and just enjoy getting re-immersed in the… Continue reading Repetition
This time of year always fills me with hope. 🌸 The featured photo is the witchhazel in our front yard, then some crocuses from my morning walk, and finally, a forsythia from a nearby park. 🌺
This weekend I had the opportunity to take a class with Taylor Saleem, whose work I have admired for years. She works in silver and leather, and I like how she brings botanical elements from her garden into her work. She also has some fun collaborations with her bestie, who works with enamel. The class… Continue reading The Language of Flowers
Wishing you all good things in the year ahead!
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season with your loved ones. It's been a very difficult few months for me and my family. I have been out of work on medical leave for a few months, due to an adverse reaction to my second vaccine in May. I'm just now starting to feel better, but I… Continue reading Happy Holidays
As much as I've been enjoying my current metalsmithing efforts, I also want to get away from work that is largely informed by the stones I have on hand. I am taking Heart of the Maker for the second time, and this time I am really focused on the design aspects. This post shares a bit more detail about what I've learned, and how I'm translating that into some new work.
Lots of work but very cathartic to be in the shop again.
Here is one final piece that I finished this past weekend. The main cabochon is called Iron Maiden Hotsonite. The photo doesn't begin to do justice to the beautiful subtlety of the pastel colors.
I finished up these earrings this past weekend, too. I just love the colors of this ocean jasper, accented with grey spinel.
I finally managed to spend a bit of time in the shop this weekend. I took some inspiration from Jessica Cote's Embellished Bezel class, and used these little mandalas to make a couple of pendants. The light blue is aquamarine, and the pale orange is glass. They'll be posted in the shop soon!