wrens

new earrings.

wrens - tiny flameworked glass birds with glittery goldstone breasts perched on vintage coral branches with rice pearls.

&

raku wrens - flameworked dark silver plum glass birds sitting on black freshwater stick pearls with dusty violet freshwater pearls.

all the findings are sterling silver.

busy as a happy bee

i actually feel more like a triumphant flying ant.

yesterday i assembled three new necklaces and five pairs of earrings by working well into the night. i woke up with the birds this morning and photographed it all. then packed it all up with a mess of my other jewelry and took it all to the memorial art gallery for a presentation.

viola!
good thing i wore my new lucky chanel lipstick * because my jewelry is now for sale in the museum's gift shop.

can you hear me squealing with delight?

* chanel aqualumiere #64 - deauville

blossoming

i had one of those perfect days where the time to create and some wild inspiration collided.



all the bits and pieces i have been making for the past week came together - the glass twigs, the bird beads, the painted charms.
there is a whole pile of new necklaces and earrings just waiting for sunlight to be photographed.



with the steady rain we have had all summer my garden is very unruly and overgrown, this is a single coleus leaf as big as my whole outstretched hand - i plant them every year, just as colorful as flowers and easy as a weed to grow.

painting charms

my first tiny charms accomplished.

is was a fun & frustrating afternoon,
but future charms should be less traumatic.

they'll be easier because i figured out soldering irons and learned about something very important called tinning. all you master solderers out there can snort if you want.

my soldering iron came from a household sale. i love used stuff, but soldering iron may be one of those things (like mattresses) that are just better new.

i put a black patina on this last one, and am not sure about it...
at first i hated it, but now i think i love it.

any way, here is the book that i used, simple soldered jewelry & accessories by lisa bluhm.

excellent instructions, with lots of pictures, just what you need if you want to make some these little treasures.

charming little paintings

trying to combine my painting with my jewelery making.
i put the bottle cap in the photograph so that you could see how truly teensy they are.

each of these little acrylic paintings is just 1"x 1"

i bought a book on making soldered charms, little bits of stuff sandwiched between glass and finished like stained glass.

i have been collecting the tools i need at estate sales all summer. then finally went to a stained glass shop last week and got the copper foil, flux and silver solder. i am a firm believer that you can teach yourself anything from a good book.

this evening i will try to assemble the first one.

peach fuzz & cloud fizz

the clouds continue to amaze, day in and day out this summer the skies have been extraordinarily beautiful

i bought local peaches at the farmer's market this morning. i ate nothing but the sweetest, juciest peaches all day. no one else home, just me leaning over the sink with juice running off my chin. home cooking.

i have so many things to show you, beads and tiny new paintings for jewelry.

felix the cat

i am cat sitting this weekend.

this is a picture of felix giving me the kitty laserbeam stinkeye.

rhubarb summer

did you know that rhubarb blooms?

rhubarb is where it's at.

i torched for hours today - birds, twigs and hearts.

it's kind of late and the night air is perfect. it rained lightly around nine and everything smells so clean and alive. the dogs are behind me all a-snooze on the bed. napoleon gives me the one eyed once over to see if i am coming to bed soon. yes little bear, i am, it's an excellent night for sleeping.

hot & sticky

twig beads

these little sticks are fresh out of the annealer, each one is about an inch and half long.

i made some polymer clay stick beads ages ago, and they were, well rather, eh. then yesterday i got the idea to make some in glass. i only had a couple of minutes to torch - so a pair of twigs was it - but tomorrow expect a whole pile of kindling.

they're exactly what i hoped for and i can't wait to lightly etch them so they will look even 'stickier.'


a white rose of sharon blossom.

fluffy & sweet

it's a perfect summer day for torching -
the air is cool, crisp and clear - the clouds are x-tra fluffy.

the cherry tomatoes are coming on.

aren't they perfectly sweet round juicy "beads?"

maybe i can sneak in a little flamework this afternoon.

humming bee

i love the little pearls of pollen which he is wearing like royal jewels.



jackie's hand holding some fallen rose of sharon blossoms.
they would make such beautiful beads.

milkweed - part 6

what's this?

my milkweed is pregnant.

just look at that beautiful plump pod.

i have not been able to torch for two weeks and am feeling kind of cranky about it.
thursday nights are the only open studio hours available to me, and for the last two thursdays i have been otherwise occupied with family obligations... both fun, but i neeeed to bead.

bug beads

these spontaneous and weird little beads have lead to an idea.

don't they look like winged insects or moths?

i can't wait to pursue this at my next torch session.
my butterfly & moth books are out and i am sketching madly.

a lily in the rain.