More New Work!

Hope you all are surviving this heatwave. I've been keeping cool at home in my shop making lots of new jewellery.

Here are a few more pieces that are now for sale at Metalworks in downtown Kingston.

This bracelet at left is sterling silver and faux stone (polymer clay).

Sterling silver and polymer clay bangles

silver and clay pendant

Enjoy your summer and keep cool!!!!



New Work!

I have been busy in the studio this past week coming up with new designs using polymer clay and silver. Polymer clay is how I began my jewellery making adventure and it has been fun getting back to it. I can't tell you how many things went into the discard pile but I think I am well on my way to a beginning of a new line.

Hope you like what I've started with.

New Bezels!

After having been asked so many times, I am finally offering some sterling silver bezels for sale in my Etsy shop for artists working with resin, concrete, clay or felt and can't find unique bezels or are not sure how to make their own.

I will still be offering different finished jewellery of my own as well. I thought there might be some interest in them. Hope you enjoy them!

Perfect Solution

I have been making new pendants recently from the silver bezels that I made previously, however...the polymer clay that I have been inserting into the bezels has left me disappointed. Because I have to actually glue the clay in with a two-part epoxy after it has been cured, I was not happy with the final look. Not good enough for sale.

Soooo, I have decided to replace the polymer with resin and I am so pleased with the results! After finishing, it has the look of frosted glass and can be tinted into the yummiest of colors! Perfect for my handmade bezels. Still lots of sanding but not anymore than polymer.

These new pendants wil be up in my Etsy shop by this weekend hopefully.
I've also been working on a new website that will hopefully be up and running sometime in early June.
Lots to do but very exciting!

Fresh Leaves for Spring!

Don't you just love this time of year?
Besides it being my birthday month, I always breathe a sigh of relief when spring finally comes.
Here are some new leaf pendants inspired by the emerging buds outside my window.

Blog Feature!

Thanks to Jenny Comstedt for featuring one of my new pieces on her blog !

Finished Work - finally!

I am finally putting the finishing touches on some new work. I don't know why it's been taking me so long to finish them but here are a few samples to show you. I really had a great time coming up with these designs and will probably continue to make them available for sale. There are lots more in different stages of completion. Hope you enjoy them!

New Work

My new bench will sure come in handy for making these new bezels I've come up with. Hmmm...wonder what will go in them?
Is that polymer clay beside them?

New Jewelry Bench!

As an early birthday gift, my wonderful husband gave me this beautiful jeweller's bench. I cannot wait to actually use it. I have to get a taller chair because it is high. It will probably never be as organized and as neat as it is now so the pictures are for posterity.

Winter Carnival

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Montessori school Winter carnival by my friend Trish, which also was a big fundraiser for Help Tammy Help Haiti, which I have been a supporter of for the last few months. I was also asked to donate an auction piece which I painstakingly fretted over for the last few weeks and eventually came up with this:
It is my interpretation of the picture that Tammy sent me of the image that the residents of Cite' Soleil, Port-au-Prince painted on the water tower that Tammy and her colleagues built. The woman, I believe is Tammy and her hair represents the clean water they will now have to sustain themselves. It is sterling silver, hand pierced and polished. The edges are hammered to create a rustic diamond-edge effect. The lucky winner of this auction piece, Debby Doom, who was one of the leading organizers of the event, is presenting this to Tammy as a gift.
I am honored.

My sons' girlfriend, Jess, was a great help and organized my display for me. Here she is, ready to sell some work for me. Thanks so much Jess!

New Year - Fresh ideas!

A new year, a fresh start and a world full of new and exciting possibilities!

This year the focus will be branding and style and some new product lines.

I have invested in a kiln (which should arrive today, with any luck!) and have been experimenting with Silver Art Clay and it has been coming along quite nicely.

Currently my workspace is filled with polymer clay as I have been trying out a new technique (new to me) that the helpful and most talented Leila graciously shared with me. It is a faux fabric or textile technique that is loads of fun and a bit time consuming if you don't have alot of old canes on hand. I still need some practice to improve the design but I am really happy with the concept. Thanks Leila!

I also have three boxes of clay (pottery - porcelain, stoneware and paperclay) that will make it's way into the kiln in the form of jewelry at some point. Hopefully, I will have lots of exciting new things to blog about. I just haven't been very good at it in the last few months. I want to make time at least once a week to update. I must write it into my calendar or it won't happen!

Big Day!

I haven't blogged for about a week or so because I have been getting ready to show some new pieces to Sarah Hamel from Made You Look Jewellery Studio and Gallery. Not a very big deal to most, but a very big deal to me because although I've sold in boutiques around Kingston, I haven't sold in Toronto, and Made You Look is definitely one of the hottest places to be featured in for a jewelry designer in Toronto.

Sooo, I packed up my wares and off to Toronto we went, hoping every km of the way that they would like my pendants. Because my medium is polymer clay and not the traditional silver, gold or beads, it is always difficult to say whether or not it will be accepted among those circles.

To make a long story short, I met with Sarah at Made You Look and she loved my pendants! She took a whole collection to sell in her store and tripled the asking price that I had suggested for retail!!! I have never had someone appreciate the quality or the value of my work as she did. It was such a huge validation for me. I have been making this stuff for so long that I sometimes wonder if it is worth it and after yesterday, I feel completely validated. She also gave me some great pointers about selling my jewelry and approaching galleries and shops - invaluable!

As I said to my husband Scott, "everyone needs a victory" and my day at Made You Look was certainly one of mine.

Thank-you Sarah and Scott for all your support!

Outstanding Artist - Revonav

This artist has definitely given me something to aspire to. Revonav, a.k.a. David, is a genius when it comes to marrying polymer clay and sterling silver. What a match! It makes me want to work on my metalsmithing skills much, much more. His interpretations of my favorite medium are unique and innovative. Bravo!





Revonav's Flickr

New Items finished - Finally!

Some days it is difficult to get focused but finally I've been able to finish off a few things for my Etsy shop. I'm having fun trying out new techniques so bear with me if my forthcoming designs don't always mesh together. What can I say? I like variety :o)

New Stuff

I've been busy making new stuff but not necessarily finishing them. Here are a few new things I'm uploading to Etsy. There are more steps involved in the resin pendants so I try to have many of them to finish at once.

Step 1: Make the faux-dichro veneers with clay, leaf and inks
Step 2: Condition the clay and make bases for pendants
Step 3: Apply the veneers to the bases
Step 4: Cure/bake pieces for 40min
Step 5: Cool then sand with 400, 600, 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper
Step 6: Buff pieces to a soft shine
Step 7: Prepare resin and apply it to the surface of pendants
Step 8: Wait 48 hrs until the resin hardens
Step 9: Resand with 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper to get off any unwanted resin residue
Step 10: Rebuff pendants and drill holes if needed
Step 11: String pendants and admire your hard work!

That doesn't include photographing, editing, writing descriptions, pricing and loading them up to Etsy!
Very time consuming but hopefully well worth it.

Gálago

After spending a wonderful 3 days in Montreal with my husband, visiting galleries and taking in the sights, sounds and smells, I have returned renewed and inspired (and also with a terrible cold :o()!
This fabulous artist ~ Gálago ~from Madrid, has also inspired me. Her whimsical brooches and miniature eatery are so clean, well done and beautifully presented.

Check out her Flickr

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