Light and Shadow

There is nothing quite like the sunshine that comes with Spring...

...it is the kind of light that makes everything seem right in the world...

The afternoon light is my favourite...

rich and soul-filling,

and gilding everything in a sheath of gold...

But I also delight in the shadows,

pockets deep and hidden that the light cannot catch...

...somehow, the darkness makes the colours seem brighter...

...more vibrant and alive...

And so, with light and shadows on my mind,

I created my *Starry Night* Earrings...

...like petals plucked from a starry night sky...

...made of silver oxidized to a shade of darkest slate...

...and gleaming moonstone cabochons filled with light.

Made for girl who loves to cast her dreams to the night sky :-)

Available here.

The studio is open...part two!

So, when we left the studio yesterday there was a ring yet to be finished,

more cups of coffee yet to be sipped,

and half an orange cake that was just begging to be devoured!

Are you ready to head back to the studio?

Come on!

Well, the tumbler has been a-rumblin',

and the ring has emerged oh-so-shiny...

...so now it's time for a bath...


...in Liver of Sulphur :-)
(you might want to hold your nose...things get rather smelly right about now)

Nice and dark,


and ready to be rubbed back to a matte finish.


Then the fun really begins,


all of the components come together,


bit by bit.


Throw in a little bit of hammering,
(here, don't forget your ear muffs!) 


and voila...she is finished!

A custom made turquoise *Desert Flower* Ring...

...perfectly pretty...

...and ready to be worn by her beautiful new owner! :-)

Thanks for visiting me in the studio,


it was really lovely to have you here.


Let's do this again soon, ok!

Sterling silver and labradorite ring

Do you remember the custom ring I was working on last Thursday?

It is now tucked safely away in its little gift box and is heading overseas to its beautiful new owner as we speak.

Here she is:

Wonderfully organic...

...and textured...

...a tactile delight...

...a ring to trail your fingertips over...

Don't you just want to reach out and touch it!


It is a pleasure to watch a ring slowly unfurl and come to life,


from that first seed of thought, 


to a wearable dream come true.


~*~


Today is the last day to enter my giveaway.  I have been overwhelmed by the response so far...thank you everyone for your amazing support!


I'm so excited!  


I cannot wait to find out who the lucky winner will be tomorrow :-)

The *Earth Mother* Necklace

A gift,

wrought of silver and stone...

An ode to Mother Earth,

for an Earth Mother...

The back of the cabochon was too beautiful to cover.


The essence of Mother Earth,


captured in stone...

So I learnt a new technique*,


to let her shine,

to let her breathe.

She is held by a whisper of silver...

A drop of natural faceted chalcedony,


magnificently milky....

...and faceted aquamarines twinkle above her,

like stars on a cloudless night...

An Earth Mother necklace...

...for my very own Earth Mother.

Merry Christmas, Mum.


B.
-xo-


*I taught myself how to create step bezel.  Rather than create a bezel using sheet metal which covers the entire back of the cabochon, I used heavy gauge wire to create a 'step' inside the bezel.  The wire is just enough to hold the stone securely, but thin enough to expose the maximum amount of stone.  Sheesh, it sounds simple when I say it like that! LOL  But to get a snug fit was, well, HOURS of work!!


Oh, and eight soldering joins went into the creation of this necklace! <:-)

Earrings, Emily...and experimenting with eggs

Isn't it great when you come across an artist who inspires you in a whole new way? A few weeks ago I first laid my eyes upon the gorgeous wirework creations of Emily Gray.

Sure, I'd seen plenty of wirework and wire wrapped creations before. But something about Emily's work struck a chord in me instantly, and my usual thought pattern of 'That's cool, I must learn how to do that some day' stepped up a notch to 'Wow, I MUST learn how to do that TODAY!'.

So I found a tute online about how to wire-wrap a briolette (the 'messy on purpose' look...clearly I nailed the 'messy' part! LOL), and flicked through an old copy of Step-by-Step Wire, and off I set on my new journey of discovery.

Whilst I'm a long way off using AAA quality gemstones and sterling silver/gold-filled wire a la Emily, my glass beads and copper wire offer an economical medium whilst I'm learning the ropes. Champagne taste on a beer budget, you know ;-)

I love the look of patinated metal, particularly the antique effect that liver of sulphur has on sterling silver. That deep, buttery gunmetal effect is a great contrast to bright beads and gems. Not having any liver of sulphur just lying around, I resorted to something from my pantry...eggs! I'd read about using a boiled egg to patinate sterling silver, and had heard it could be used on copper also. So I decided to dive in head-first, as always, and try my luck. I boiled a couple of eggs, smashed them up, threw them into a clear zip-lock bag with my newly made wire-wrapped earrings...and stuck the stinky, gooey mess outside in the sun for half a day.

Smelly? Yes! But look at the results:

Before patination:

After patination:

Quite a difference, eh! I was surprised at the result. I really just wanted to create highlights and lowlights, and I think I've achieved that. The earrings were quite dark when I eventually rescued them from the egg bag, so I scuffed them with a kitchen scourer to expose some of the shiny copper beneath.

Not a bad way of using a couple of old eggs which would have been thrown in the bin anyway. Reduce, reuse, recycle...right!

Thanks for looking and be well!