Copper Tones

Turquoise, Copper, and Sari Silk Bracelet, Jan. 2011

This bracelet started with a scrap of sari silk wired between a blue-green patina turquoise ring and a red patina one. Following my pledge to use what I have, I raided my stash for the turquoise, red dyed pearls, sunset-orange Hessonite garnet, copper heart charms and leafy bead caps, antiqued copper chain from a long-unsold necklace, and two fantastic patina copper beads and a few chain links from Etsy seller MissFickleMedia. I was tempted to get one of her patina clasps (along with about 27 other things) but, sticking to my pledge, decided to wire up the rest of the bracelet and make the toggle bar with plain copper wire from, of all places to find cool jewelry stuff, the garage. I'm hibernating and making more bracelets today and am also pulling together a package of treasures for my beading partner (as yet unannounced) in the Bead Soup Blog Party -- I am SO excited to get started on that! It's a perfect diversion for winter, and visiting the participants' blogs (which I'll start doing tonight or tomorrow) is incredibly inspirational! So, happy beading, everyone, or whatever it is you do to express your creative spirit.

"I heard a bird sing in the dark of December..."

December Dusk, Bracelet of Ceramic, Leather, Turquoise, Coral, and Copper

 I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,"
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

-Oliver Herford

Just like this time last year, I have had a strange burst of creativity recently that seems out of place in the cold, dark weather typical of late December. This year it seems to be jewelry, specifically bracelets, which, unlike necklaces, offer a fairly constrained format that keeps me from getting overwhelmed as I experiment with new techniques.

Another constraint I'm imposing on myself is to use what I have: years ago I remember Christopher Lowell (oh how I loved Interior Motives! It always left me with a smiling heart full of happy) talking about how limited resources can actually spur our creativity, and over the years I have repeatedly found this to be true. In fact, in addition to the creative possibilities I find while poking around in my stash for treasures like the beads and charms in the above bracelet, perhaps the constraints of cold and dark have awakened or highlighted something that I might not notice when the weather is sunny and warm and I'm outside taking pictures of flowers and bugs. Kind of like how a candle is barely noticeable until the lights are dimmed....

Okay, so I won't get too corny on you, but yes, work with what you have -- it always turns out to be much more than you thought. Creativity comes from within; materials help, but nothing happens to them until a spark within you illuminates the possibilities.

I bid you all a happy new year full of creativity and joy.

Kumihimo Necklace

The Bead Soup Blog Party has indeed sparked my creativity again; I just finished this kumihimo necklace and am about to finish another much more elaborate one that I'll show later this week. This one uses a kumihimo (Japanese braided cord) of embroidery cotton with a handmade brass wire and turquoise clasp and brass end caps; the exquisite stone is Mexican green turquoise and was made by dear friends Dean and Conne of Two Cranes.

So yay for beading parties, real or virtual; even more fun than getting my package of goodies from Wanda and creating with them has been meeting my fellow party-goers! As part of the celebration some bloggers are having giveaways; Denise Yezbak Moore calls hers "the best bead give-away ever" and I would definitely have to agree! Even if her various color collections are split up, this is an amazing and generous giveaway. Please visit her blog and leave a comment to enter in the giveaway, and then stay to see Denise's wonderfully creative jewelry designs. Such talent, and I'm so glad to be part of the Internet Age so I can see what other people do and learn from and be inspired by it all! Speaking of inspiration, the Bead Soup Blog Party continues; see today's reveals here and enjoy the show!

Prayers at Sunrise

 

Morning Prayers, Bracelet in Turquoise, Charoite, Citrine, Glass

I'm entering my first art contest ever: the Art Bead Scene Turquoise Color Challenge, which you can learn more about here. The task: combine turquoise, purple, and pale yellow in a piece of jewelry that includes one or more art beads. This is my entry; I based it on a set of prayer beads I made in 2007 that I'd been thinking of turning into a bracelet and had to restring anyway because the knotted silk cord I used was fraying. This piece uses charoite (the divine purple stones, all natural -- most "charoite" I see lately is dyed Zebra jasper or very poor quality charoite), turquoise, citrine, handmade "sugared" glass discs, and sterling and Balinese silver. I made this to fit me because I'm keeping it.

Looking at past challenges and winning entries I see that the emphasis is more on seed beading, which is something I just don't do because I lack the dexterity and am also losing my close-up vision... and I really don't think I have the patience for it. In any case, I really enjoyed this challenge both because turquoise and purple is such a wonderful color combination (and I love how the citrine yellow warms it up) and because it inspired me to sit down at my long-neglected -- and now CLEAN -- jewelry workbench. Well, it was clean yesterday.... So I guess I need to spend the afternoon finishing the other four projects currently cluttering it: two necklaces that include pendants I wirewrapped myself, earrings for an Etsy order, and some copper findings that I'm the process of soldering. Yes, soldering, thanks to an iron I found in the garage and some instruction, flux, and soldering wire from a friend. I've been dying to do metalwork...

Another Lapidary Day

Wednesday is now lapidary day, I hereby declare, at least until I finish some of the pieces I started last year. Here are six of the seven pieces that I finished today. From left to right: two pieces of Gaspeite (I may have to keep the bottom one; it is SO beautiful and even has some crystal quartz running through it); Nacozari (Mexico) turquoise (top) and No. 8 turquoise (bottom); and Kingman turquoise (top; I may also keep this piece!) and Bacamite (bottom). I also finished a small Lepidolite pendant, but girl child ran away with it... I guess that one stays here, too. Next week I hope to finish two chrysoprase pieces, a green aventurine drop, the fossil coral repair/reshape, and the red Sonora Sunrise pendant. They need a few extra steps and will totally be worth it.

My next (ad)venture

... will be something along these lines:


I've had the idea to create gemstone mosaics for a while; the lightbulb went on above my head one day early this year while rooting through some of Dean and Conne's gemstone scraps for lapidary possibilities. I am getting pretty good at working stone, and I love mosaics... now I just need to find the time to put these two obsessions together. The ideas have been no problem; I've already filled up half of a notebook with sketches and notes. I also now have the Hardibacker, Versabond, and grout waiting down at my studio. I've started picking out turquoise and other scraps from a 5-gallon bucket Dean brought me one day, and am even marking some (Sharpies work well for this) for shaping at the lapidary wheels as I "sketch" out a pattern on an 8-by-8 inch piece of Hardibacker.

This, I know, will be very, very cool. I can't wait to get started, and to start posting pictures of the process.

Fire and Rain {sold!}

My latest jewelry creation is often my new favorite, and I may need to spirit this necklace away into my permanent collection. The focal piece is a 20-cm jasper stone that reminds me of a waterfall or rain against a fiery sunset, hence the piece's name. I made a modified basketweave bail using a "spine" of 22-gauge sterling wire wrapped with 28-gauge sterling wire, and on the three ends of the "spine" I then added five wirewrapped crystal quartz briolettes. The necklace is a simple composition of dyed pearls, Thai silver cornerless cubes, and more of the briolettes.

I'd never seen this stone before; after some Googling I learned it is sometimes called "African turquoise", although it is unrelated to turquoise in any way except appearance and is usually found in Australia or North America, not Africa. It's not a common find, unfortunately; two weeks after purchasing a strand of these at Mama's Minerals I returned to find the whole hank gone, with no more on the way. I have maybe a dozen more of these beads (at left is a bracelet I made with [real] Mexican turquoise rounds to enhance the blues) and will probably make several more of these pendants. This one, though, seems most special; although I currently have it for sale in my new gallery, I might need to wear it home one day.

Troubadour

Just a simple bracelet in turquoise and sterling silver; it's all I have time for these days. I've had these beads for a few years and like how they came together here; maybe it's all about re-learning how to fly, be free, reach for the stars... Or maybe sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet.

Celestial {sold!}

Turquoise and copper appeared on my workbench again recently and this time came together in a charm bracelet of sorts. The turquoise is from all over, mostly from China (the source of most commercial turquoise these days). It is stabilized (impregnated with resin, a common treatment for mid- to low-grade stones) but not dyed. The copper came from the local hardware store; it's so much cheaper there than at many jewelry suppliers for exactly the same stuff. I also used some handmade copper headpins from a favorite Etsy supplier and pure copper spacers I had found at the 2007 Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta. Copper wears nicely for most people (I wear it fairly often and haven't ever turned green), and this bracelet will darken a bit as it ages. Buffing would keep it bright, but I like the darker patina and would, at most, buff some highlights to enhance the contrast.

That's all for now... final projects for my fall quarter are coming due soon.

Turquoise and copper, again {all sold!}

This Mexican turquoise bead from Two Cranes has a lovely green-tinged hue and rich brown matrix that work very well with copper. I kept the necklace simple, using more Mexican turquoise along with some rough copper spacers and a copper clasp that I scratched up a bit on purpose so it will darken up more quickly during wear.

I love turquoise with copper (obviously) and have sold several pieces that I've been tempted to keep but, well, when I sell one, I can buy stuff to make more. The piece at left is another Two Cranes Mexican turquoise pendant that I put on an adjustable leather cord finished with copper wire and some handmade copper headpins. This pendant has a more striking green hue which, to be honest, I couldn't figure out how to match, hence the leather rather than beaded necklace. Turquoise with leather and copper seems a quintessentially Southwestern combination, though, and I'm surprised that I don't see it more often. I have one piece made in this style that I've kept for myself (despite the frequent temptation this is actually a rare occurence), and the leather has worn very well for well over a year, darkening along with the copper as I wear it. I use a high-grade Greek leather, which surely makes a difference.

The necklace at right uses a Chinese turquoise pendant (not Two Cranes) with a beautiful "cascading" matrix. Turquoise matrix features so often look like water features, which is apropos given how the stone is created. I set this one on 16-gauge copper with wirewrapped leather and a front clasp that I shaped and hammered myself. I've used this clasp style in several pieces (including the aforementioned piece in my personal collection), but I later found (after conferring with the buyer) that it doesn't work well with a smaller, lighter stone: it pulls it off balance. I re-balanced this necklace for the buyer by adding some small copper-wrapped turquoise "charms" to the other side; she was pleased, especially when I threw in some matching earrings for free.

... And Four Minutes Later:

(Read the post below to find out what the heck I'm talking about.)

An Experiment

From my "personal collection" (a.k.a. Not Ready for Prime Time Pieces), here's the woven copper cuff I mentioned the other day. I haven't polished it since I made it six or so months ago, and I wear it almost every day, so it's gradually taking some patina that gives the wirework more depth. When it gets a bit darker I'll buff the highlights to give it nice contrast and shine.

This was a fun piece to make -- pure experiment with only the vaguest notion of what I might end up with. Actually, I was trying for something else but couldn't figure the pattern out, and so I kept going with this and just loved it. Notes to self: don't cut wire down to size until the weaving is complete (the cuff ended up a bit too short, and uneven), and don't hammer the ends till I've scrolled them (scrolling flattened, hardened wire is much harder). That's it for now.

Speak Your Wisdom: Beads for Prayer or Meditation

Here are a few of my favorite things, made up into "prayer beads" that you can hold in your hand as you meditate, pray, send vibes, or just calm yourself for a few moments. Turquoise and charoite, an exquisite chatoyant (cat's-eye effect) purple gemstone found only in Siberia, make a beautiful combination of both color and meaning: Turquoise is thought to enhance creativity and communication, and charoite brings insight into and resolution of fear and imparts courage and wisdom. I combined high-quality specimens of both these stones with Balinese silver on dyed silk cord and sterling silver chain, and I finished the piece with a silver-plated hand milagro that represents both the physical and spiritual labors that complete our lives.

I'm thinking of turning this into a bracelet, either by simply adding chain or by extending a simple turquoise beaded band from the ends of the silve to leave both the hand and the charms on the other end as loose charms. What do you think?

Fun with Copper

It all started with a simple suncatcher a few years ago, dangling in a shop window down in Seal Beach, California. Heavy-gauge copper wire, just like you see at the hardware store or on the job site, twisted into swirls and coils with some luscious glass beads dangling just so. I kept thinking about it, so one day I rummaged through my husband's tool boxes for some wire and started twisting -- I can't say I came up with anything artistic, but I had fun and filed that exercise away under "try again someday."

Behold my "someday" bangle, one that I sold a few weeks ago and will definitely make a new version of -- copper is "in" now in the jewelry world, so much so that I saw a whole table of copper findings at my favorite gemstone supplier yesterday, and even before that had managed to scrounge together a respectable collection of headpins, jumprings, earwires, and even crimp covers not to mention some amazing, very earthy-looking copper beads. This malleable metal makes for easy twisting and weaving, and although it's not for everyone, it offers a warm contrast to turquoise's cool blues and veiny matrix. It takes on a patina naturally and quickly but polishes up nicely, too, though I'm experimenting with a woven cuff I made just for me to see how cool a patina I'll end up with if I wear it every day and neglect to polish it.

Copper is showing up in more and more suppliers' inventory, but you can start easily and cheaply by picking some up at your local hardware store.