precious metal clay

i had so much fun with patty today, playing with pmc! it took some getting used to, but i think i got the hang of it.

i made some very simple pieces. here they are before they are fired.

this is patty's cute little kiln. they cooked for about 20 min.

here they are after cooking...

...and here they are all cleaned up, oxidized, and finished.

pmc costs almost exactly twice as much as sterling silver. this could be an expensive addition to my work.

what do you think?

taos

we had a really lovely visit to taos. it is a wonderful town. thank you, ed and kathy, for everything!

we left before sunrise,

and had a beautiful drive.

we ate ice cream,

played at the park,

went swimming at a swim park,

and ate some really good desert

(some of us felt it was so good that one fork wasn't enough.)

we also visited the taos pueblo.

it was amazing.

the people who live here have lived here, literally, forever.

they live very much as they have all along.

it is pretty remarkable, really.

the girls had such a great time with their grandparents.

and glenn and i had a lot of really awesome time together. for one thing, we had a room all to ourselves. (ooh la la.) we went for walks together, hit the consignment stores, and went out to dinner. and, the taos spa was right across the street from our hotel, so we worked out everyday. we also took full advantage of their wonderful hot tub. it was so great. it just seems that we rarely get so much time together these days.

on the way home, we stopped to check out the "earthship biotecture" headquarters. very fascinating.

sustainable living at its finest. all of the adornment here is from aluminum cans and glass bottles.

hope you are all doing very well. tomorrow, patty is teaching me how to work with pmc, something i've wanted to do since silver sparrow designs first started. i am very excited!

what you do, do that.

first i have to say that you guys are so wonderfully amazing. all of your comments, convos, and e-mails in response to yesterday's post were incredible. i've said it all before, and i don't know how to say it in any new, fresh way, but thank you so much. i love that i can just totally put myself out there and that is the kind of feedback i get from you. it truly is remarkable and i am intensely grateful for your support, especially right now.

and i did have a really good day out in the shop today. every time i felt my mind wandering over to the dark side, i gently pushed it back to focusing on what i was working on. i started and finished three pieces, and i had myself a good long cry. it was a good day.

the "do that" necklace,

with prehnite

this necklace was a true exercise in patience. it must have taken me a dozen tries before i got it right. i learned more about riveting from this piece than i have from anything else, including my workshop. but i did finally get it to work and i love it.

this prehnite is gorgeous, but i never could figure out a good way to set it because it is rounded on both sides. but with a bit of finagling, my new riveted tension setting proved to be the answer.

what you do, do that.

~buddhist proverb

i love that. and i imagine that it can mean so many different things for different people. for me, it means keep doing what you're doing, you're on the right track. what does it mean for you?

i just think it is such a cool and unique look. it has a sort of archaic feel to it, as if it is very very old.

this is the "on swallow's wings" ring,

with an incredible flowering tube agate

the stone is a perfect wing. i just added to it a bit. look at that pattern! it's amazing.

"true hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings."

~william shakespeare

like it's just going to take flight, right off your finger...

and the "breathe" ring,

with a luscious golden prehnite

high-domed, bold, and beautiful.

this stone is stunning really.

the inclusions are almost white;

i've never seen anything like it.

it just says "breathe" along the right side.

oh, and this special little piece for you know who.

she's been asking me to make her a bunny ring for a long time.

look at that sweet little hand.

i think she likes it...

we are leaving early tomorrow morning for a trip to taos, new mexico to meet up with glenn's parents. (it is his spring break.) should be a lot of fun! i will get these pieces listed in the next couple of days though.

and THANK YOU, one more time, for all of your well wishes. i adore you...