I've made two more of these nameless-jasper (the "African turquoise" I wrote of a while back) pendants with the sterling silver basket-weave bail and like how they turned out. I kept them simple -- no crystal quartz briolettes this time -- and am thinking of putting them on simple necklaces of mixed-size glass beads with some combination of bronzite, smoky quartz, and jade accents. On the second piece (at left) I might unwrap the bottom swirls a bit to loosen up the look; I like how the first one came out. It's all about experimentation, which is a good bit of the fun in making anything. For these woven bails I used 22-gauge and 28-gauge sterling wire, which is a good combination but does require a fair-sized hole through the focal bead. I'm also trying a spine of 24-gauge wire in a new, entirely different sort of piece and it's working well... more on that one in a few days.

Sold! (Wow!)

Yesterday was a great day at the gallery for all three of us; Conne sold a beautiful turquoise necklace and some other pieces, Nicole sold lots of tie-dyes, and I sold a necklace AND a mosaic along with several pairs of earrings. A local woman bought this mosaic -- I finished this and another one (my second and third pieces, officially) on Thursday evening and, despite feeling shy about them, went ahead and put them up for sale. Many thanks to Sara Creekmore and David Durham for the beautiful glass; I have many more pieces like these and will put them to good use soon. I figured out a pretty cool process for making letter tiles without a kiln: I formed some Sculpey "boards" and gave them a wood texture by rolling a small twig over them, baked them, then carved the words into them with a Dremel. I used acrylic paint, which took a bit of a beating during grouting but was easy to touch up. Eventually I do want to do letter/word tiles in ceramic or precious metal clay, but this will work for now. A kiln is a long way off, logistically speaking; books for school and clothes for the kids do need to come first, for now.

Now that I've sold this piece, of course, I have a space to fill in my gallery. Ah, gee, that's too bad... ;-)

"She Gathers Rain"

Okay, I'll be brave and show this: my first mosaic ever, made in Laura Robbins' Placitas, NM studio on May 16 of this year. My critique: the composition isn't great (I was rushed to finish it, and am definitely a novice), but it's an interesting start AND (most importantly) was just a blast to make. It was a good day for me overall -- a sort of rebalancing since May 16 now marks my college graduation (Penn 1988, summa cum laude thankyouverymuch), marriage anniversary (1998; it lasted 9.5 years, most of them very rough), and huge divorce case setback (2008; my relocation bid to take a GREAT job back in Philly was denied, leaving me with no income prospects beyond, say, Walmart). This day evened the score, so to speak.

The theme is actually an old one for me; the song "She Gathers Rain" by Collective Soul came out in 1995 just as I was breaking up with my then-boyfriend... now ex-husband... and the themes of cleansing and starting anew apply so much more now than they did then. (If I'd known then what I know now...) Rain imagery comes out often in my jewelry and takes up a good third of my mosaic sketchbook, so I consciously chose this theme for my first mosaic. I haven't finished any mosaics since then (materials shortage; bills come first, dangit), but I have several in progress. In fact, I am about to start shaping gemstone scraps for a "personal mandala" mosaic that also includes some beautiful glass pieces generously given to me by Sara Creekmore and David Durham, who live just up the mountain. This image shows the glass pieces (mortared into place on the Hardibacker), a sketch of what's to come (rain, water, reeds; kind of a circle of water thing), and the "fringe" of copper and glass beads. That last part... well, what did you expect?

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.

Summer eye candy {sold!}

More treasures from February's Tucson trip have made their way into the showcase: cane glass! Lots of it, in summer brights, hand-wired onto sterling silver with Swarovski crystal and finished with a sterling sun clasp. I had never quite known what to do with cane glass until I added them, sparingly, into the bracelets posted earlier; this time I didn't stop at a few but just kept going, and going... I haven't counted but figure I have a few dozen on this bracelet. This piece is not exactly sophisticated. Like summer, it is bold (almost overbearing, yes) and unabashedly colorful, and looking at it makes me smile.

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.

Spake the Raven: When in doubt, go rockhounding

Spring fever has driven me to distraction (not a good thing as I try to get a good start on three new courses) and so, possessed of a stunning spring day and a restless dog, I decided to hoof it a few miles up the mountain to the old mining town of Kelly. This mineral-rich area is one of Magdalena's (few) tourist attractions, and both the remains of the town and the man-made hills and valleys of weird rocks dredged from deep in the mountain are actually quite interesting in the rugged, silent, do-with-it-as-you-will way that so characterizes this area. Arguably the world's finest Smithsonite came from here, and although I'm sure the area has long been picked clean by hikers you never know what a hard rain might uncover. And so we keep coming back up the mountain.

 I found some very pretty rocks, large and small; I use most of them to add some interest to my gardens, which are also rugged and spare not by design but by necessity. A few are tinged with what appears to be chrysocolla (which has more intense coloration than turquoise and is relatively common in this area); many more are a mix of quartz and other minerals, like this strangely compelling specimen. Next trip up, I need to put a backpack on Lucy the dog so I can bring more pretty rocks home. (Don't worry about her; at 94 pounds she can handle it, I'm sure.)

O Spring... {sold!}

I had so much fun in Tucson... and found some wonderful components, of course. This bracelet uses a few lampwork glass garden beads I picked up at the Best Beads show along with a sterling clasp and unusual Thai silver bead caps from Ands Silver, my neighbor at the Renaissance Bead Show. Tucson in early February is a blessed respite from Magdalena's not-so-southwestern winter weather, and I was so pleased to make the pilgrimage with two great friends. I'll be back next year, paid or not, if only to feel a warm breeze and find more beautiful stuff and talk to more great people, especially the glass artists.

Welcome back, jewelry mojo

Spring fever is hitting hard this year... and just how does this differ from any other year? Well, this spring I have a lot less time to "play," so when my most recent quarter of coursework ended (I'm charging full-time through a graduate counseling program) I was happy to cut loose from my 50-hour workweeks and spend more time again at my jewelry workbench. My current obsession: bracelets.

These pieces mix things up a bit: amethyst (a perennial favorite), pearls, cane glass, fluorite, and sterling. This and the one below add in some Sassy Silkies from jewelry/fiber artist Kristal Wick. My friend Conne gave me a few of these, and like so many things that intrigue but also baffle me I simply set them in view, but out of the way of works in progress (usually a chaotic scene), to ponder. Essentially, I look at them every now and then, which seems to allow them to work their way into my imagination over time. Then one day I find myself pulling them down and making two or three or even five pieces in a similar style. Indeed, in addition to these three bracelets I made three in labradorite with some grey silkies that I'd gotten along with the purple ones.

This batch of bracelets will debut in Albuquerque, at my friend Paula's wonderful gallery that is currently at Central and University but will soon be moving downtown. Thank you, Paula, for asking to show some of my jewelry in your amazing gallery. I wish you much success and continue to be inspired by your artistic and personal journey.

More amethyst (of course)

Among (many) other things, I found some beautiful, good-quality amethyst briolettes in Tucson to replenish my depleted supply. These cascade-type earrings sell very well, and I'm glad to have higher-quality gems to offer this time around. Amethyst is a quartz (silicon dioxide) colored by traces of iron and manganese. The amount and proportion of these trace minerals determines the color's hue and intensity, with darker, clear varieties considered the highest grade.

I use sterling headpins to wrap and attach side-drilled briolettes (a faceted teardrop shape) to sterling chain, and stepping the briolettes down the chain allows for the "grape cluster" effect. My variations on this theme have included darker amethyst on oxidized sterling (shown at right), which I'd love to repeat if I could only find those briolettes again. I suppose this is the downside of an eclectic approach to building one's supply, focusing on the unusual and one-of-a-kind. This simple earring style works with any briolette, of course, but we always seem to crave that which we cannot have... and so the quest continues.

Slices of heaven

Tucson was a wonderful experience for me; apparently, though, business was way down for everyone this year. We still did well, and I was fairly busy most days I worked. During lulls, I was more than happy to make jewelry, of course, and passersby seemed to enjoy watching. I made this bracelet of rough-cut blue lace agate, pearls, and sterling to complement a stunning Two Cranes blue lace agate pendant that had the characteristic striations on the side and full druzy in front. I put that piece on three pale lavender, blue, and ivory silk cords and presented it on black velvet, along with this piece and one other pendant on a single silk cord. That drew some attention, and both pendants sold by the end of the show. Technically a chalcedony, blue lace agate is found as nodules primarily in Namibia (southern Africa) and is relatively rare. I love the large, irregular pieces that show off this stone's unique coloration and texture, particularly those with druzy.

Now THIS is my kind of tourist attraction

I am in Tucson at last, having been invited to The Big Dance by Dean and Conne -- not only to make this pilgrimage, which would be amazing enough, but to actually work one of their shows for them. What a way to shake off the winter doldrums -- they have fallen away as I've roamed around taking in as much of the show as I possibly can. My favorite attraction so far: this huge amethyst geode from Brazil, where the world's finest amethyst specimens are found.

I believe (gemstone addict that I am) that all spiritual malady might be erased permanently if I simply crawled inside this amethyst geode to nap for an hour or two. Yes, I would actually fit in there. I could sit or recline, my choice. Amethyst, a quartz, ranges from pale lavender to the cherished deep violet that you can see is abundant in this sample. Found in geodes from alluvial deposits, amethyst crystals grow from a base of humble rough stone, nicely illustrated in my photo above, and gain their coloration from iron or manganese, sometimes in combination. Its name derives from a Greek term, "not drunken." In Tibet, amethyst is considered sacred to Buddha, and in many cultures it has long been thought to bring clarity, serenity, balance, peace, and unity. (Although I am basically an agnostic about gemstones' purported healing properties, I largely agree with the folks at JewelrySupplier.com who write, "We don't necessarily promote or believe these claims, but we think they make for interesting conversation.")

I wonder if they wheel this beast inside overnight... it would make a lovely sleeping chamber, albeit a bit hard on the bones.

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.

A little lapidary: "A fragment of the starry firmament" {sold... alas...}

I have very little time for lapidary work or anything else now that I've started school full-time (an MS program in counseling, my answer to the question pondered earlier this year), but I do believe my limited time at Dean and Conne's workshop is well spent. Still in practice mode, I worked this freeform lapis lazuli piece from a scrap left over from a recent batch of beautiful Two Cranes beads. I made it expressly for wirewrapping, and the gold-fill wire was an obvious choice given the beautiful pyrite that emerged as I ground and then polished the stone. I kept the wirework simple (improvising as usual) because, really, the stone is what we all want to see. The pendant measures a little over 1.5 inches (33 mm) and is on a necklace of lapis chips and rounds with vermeil (sterling silver plated with 18-karat gold) spacers and beads.

(BTW, the quote in this entry's title comes from Pliny the Elder, referring, of course, to lapis lazuli. Such an apt description.)

... And Four Minutes Later:

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

The Right Tools

Always have the right tools on hand for the job, my Dad tells me, or you're just wasting your time. I've taken this to heart with my jewelry business, though I've had to acquire my tools gradually as I built my business. Moving online added a new demand: taking good pictures, to showcase my creations in an appealing manner to customers who can't just pick them up and look them over, try them on, and so forth. So I have a decent digital camera (though it now has a scratched lens thanks to a recent mountain [mis-]adventure), and I have Photoshop to make my pictures clear, color-corrected, and Web-ready.

But I've known I was missing one important element: a proper shooting environment. Lacking serious studio space and equipment, I improvised with deflected sunlight, but finally I found the perfect solution: a light tent made of special fabric that diffuses light evenly. You can see the difference it makes in these two shots, both un-Photoshopped, taken in the same window at around the same time of day:



I am ecstatic -- I was spending at least 10 to 20 minutes Photoshopping each picture, and this will cut that way down. The second photo just needs lightening up a bit, maybe some sharpening, and it'll be ready to post. And that leaves me more time to spend on my creations....

More Sonora Sunrise Stones and Jewelry

As promised, here are some more pictures of the Sonora Sunrise stones I've just started working with, along with another finished necklace. The overview above shows most of what I have, and it is beautiful. First, the newly finished necklace of Sonora Sunrise, turquoise, cultured pearls, smoky quartz, and sterling silver:



I just picked up two mostly-red pendants from Dean and Conne; the red is cuprite, and it has awesome depth of hue and texture. I haven't decided what to do with these yet, but I'd better decide soon because red is another HOT color for this fall and winter.



Here are three of Dean and Conne's scraps that I ground and polished myself into freeform stones for wirewrapping:



I'm thinking of putting this ethereal pendant on a necklace of turquoise, onyx, pearls, and coral:



That's all for now.

Purple! Sugilite and Tourmaline, a New Twist on Earthtones

As I ramp up jewelry production again, I've been looking around the Web for fall fashion trends, particularly colors, and was just thrilled to see that purple is HOT this year. This being my favorite color, I have plenty on hand in the form of amethyst (of course), sugilite, charoite, and various glass and crystal beads. I also just got in some tourmaline, another addition to my top-five favorite gemstones (a list that probably numbers in the double digits by now; I'm aware that doesn't make sense) and have created this earthy necklace of tourmaline with pearls, sterling silver, and an exquisite sugilite pendant. I used these large tourmaline chips because their rough texture emphasizes the pendant's earthy nature; I think fancy faceted tourmaline beads might have overshadowed the sugilite a bit, or contrasted too much in style. I love tourmaline's color range and drew upon the full spectrum here to pull out this pendant's more subtle hues while emphasizing the sugilite's inimitable royal purple.

The closeup image shows the gorgeous color -- all natural -- in this handcut slide pendant, which also has some interesting tonal variations in the matrix, even a hint of fire red. (To bring this streak out I was tempted to use natural red coral rather than the tourmaline, but I guess I'm not that bold... I like to think of my choices as generally practical, and wearable.) Discovered in 1944 by Japanese geologist Ken-Ichi Sugi and now found in quantity only in one deep South African mine, sugilite is thought to facilitate healing by dissipating negative energy and enhancing creativity. This stone is rare and expensive, but I'll keep seeking it out because it's gorgeous and it's purple. I see it a lot in modern Native American jewelry, especially as inlay, and love the contrast it makes with more "traditional" stones such as turquoise, lapis, and spiny oyster. Larger pieces such as cabochons display sugilite in all its glory. I hope to find more slide pendants like the one I used for this necklace; I see endless possibilities for this stone, and of course I love working with purple.

Another Before-and-After: Ocean Treasures {sold!}

Hey, these are fun! Here's another mess of elements turned into something beautiful, and again it took me about a month not just because my inspiration runs so deep that it takes a long time to come back up but because I get busy with other stuff. Conne Gibson so generously gave me this beautiful starfish pendant made by Green Girl Studios, so of course I started dreaming of the ocean. One of my favorite places on earth is Big Sur, on California's central coast, and as I replayed in my mind my many road trips up there I recalled the blues and greens of the ocean, the dusky lavender and pale greys of the mist over the surf.... God I miss going there.

So I was once again inspired to pull together many small, seemingly disconnected treasures from my stash -- fish, birds, shells, and pearls; hand-dyed silk ribbon from last year's Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta; apatite and Swarovski crystal and a few luminous chunks of fluorite -- to evoke a tidepool home for this lovely starfish. I may be far from the ocean these days, but a girl can dream, and the dreams will always inspire new creation.

On the Workbench: An August Fancy

Looking at a strand of tiny multicolored tourmaline chips, I thought of making a simple lariat-style necklace, just with the chips, a few accent beads, and a simple loop closure. Then I thought about adding some pearls, and found the perfect strand at my friendly neighbors' workshop. Then came the idea to use vermeil (gold electroplated over sterling silver) instead of sterling silver, to enhance the warmth of the tourmaline and golden-green pearls.

And then, as my dear girl tore through my studio dragging a stray piece of yarn that just happened to match what I'd laid out so far on my design board, the last piece came to me (well, I had to chase after it, "it" being a lovely strand of hand-dyed silk I just couldn't release to my child's play): and so I have another fiber piece in the works. I do have some vermeil, but I'm not sure what kind of focus to give this piece... so now I'll just do what I do best: sit with all the elements (yes, laid out on my workbench) and think of how best to present them: lariat, as originally planned, or loose multistrand? Single pendant or focal bead, or multiple foci? Clasp in back or in front, if any? Yes, I'll post pictures as I go along. It might take a year, though; I'm easily (and usually necessarily) distracted.

Assembling, Part 7: A Primeval Treasure {sold!}

(Yes, I skipped documenting the other steps, 7 being an entirely arbitrary number, because I think it would make for rather tedious reading and uninspiring photography... and really I just lost myself in making this and suddenly realized it was done.) And so here is the finished creation from the previous entry, a necklace drawn from the mess -- uh, elements -- pictured on my workbench. It all sat there for, oh, a month or so (yes, really; anyone who knows me, however, won't be surprised that I could work around it all) as I mulled it all over. Finally, after trying a few multi-strand ideas, I decided to keep it fairly simple at a single strand so as not to "lose" the ammonite (a fossilized marine creature akin to the squid) in a mess of beads, so out went the pearls. To emphasize the earthtones, I added Tsavorite (green) garnet faceted rondelles, which also have a wonderful texture and just enough glitter to hold their own alongside the vibrant amber and lustrous Labradorite.

 Labradorite is my new top-five-favorite gemstone; I picked up these good-quality blue-tinged beads at New Mexico Bead and Fetish a long time ago and, though they inspired me, I couldn't find the right combination (since I do love mixing gemstones) till now. I'm pleased with how well the whole thing came together, with the gemstones accenting and drawing out the ammonite's rich tones, and I look forward to debuting this piece. It will not remain in my personal collection: the ammonite pendant is actually half of a whole piece, the other half of which I gave to someone I once loved with all my heart. Having found my affections to be misplaced, I will release this piece to the universe as part of my healing. May its new bearer treasure it always, and may its other half someday find its way to someone who will appropriately treasure it also.

Assembling, Part 1

I keep trying to come up with some method for creating necklaces... okay, so "method" and "creative" don't always work so well together; perhaps it could be better described as a productive tension. Anyway, I've had this ammonite since last winter and yesterday my lovely friend Conne drilled it for me, so now it's ready for a necklace. I immediately thought of some amber I've had for a while, and then -- oh, labradorite! Tsavorite (an earthy green) garnet! Bronzite! And some earthy-green pearls I got from Conne a few months ago!

I can feel I'm not in production mode at the moment, so I'll just play. I'm wondering whether to use silver or gold; I do want to wire-wrap the ammonite a bit to enhance (but not overpower) its natural beauty, but otherwise the piece will probably be fairly organic, with only slight metal accents. More pictures as this piece comes together.

Presenting: Sonora Sunrise {sold!}

Anyone who loves gemstones will surely swoon over one of the industry's latest introductions, "Sonora Sunrise," a shockingly beautiful blend of chrysocolla and cuprite out of, you guessed it, Sonora, Mexico. I first laid eyes on this heavenly blend of firey red and electric teal at the workshop of Dean Crane and Conne Gibson, who had picked up a good bit of rough at February's Tucson gem show. Living a mere mile or so from these gifted AND friendly lapidarists, I wander into their shop every so often and never leave empty-handed. Or anything less than happily overwhelmed with gemstoney goodness. Sonora Sunrise is slowly making its way into high-end jewelry such as bolas, pendants, and brooches, but of what I've seen so far, Dean and Conne's large slide pendants and cabs most dramatically showcase this stone's beauty. They sell their pendants so quickly at shows that they can't even get pictures of them.


The night after I bought the piece in that necklace, I actually dreamed about the stone so, of course, I had to have more. I have a larger one for a necklace for my mom (she bought the stone, in the picture to the right, before it was even finished) and a midsize piece that will become a necklace for my travel showcase (along with the piece above) for shopping around to galleries. Dean and Conne said they totally sold out of their Sonora Sunrise pendants at the recent Bead & Button show but will be getting more rough soon, and not a moment too soon because I MUST have more. I have four or five pieces on my workbench now, and several more in production, so I'll be adding to the currently slim online inventory of finished Sonora Sunrise soon. I'll post more pictures of this beautiful stone soon.