specimens

after quite a long period of low inspiration, i am delighted to say that i have once again been feeling very much inspired. i wouldn't even argue with you if you were to call me, say, prolific as of late. i don't know if the cleaning out of the shop prompted this new wave of productivity. but i'm not going to question it; i'm going with it and it's wonderful. i am amazed at how therapeutic beading has been for me recently as well. i know i mentioned it before, but it is so soothing and comforting and mediatative to me, and, as you can see there are beads incorporated into most of my new pieces. from simple stringing to wire-wrapping to hand-knotting, i have been truly loving beading again.

when the beads are all layed out on my tray i feel like a painter with a palette, choosing the next bead for its' various qualities- stone, size, shape, color, texture. the flow of design just makes its own way.

i've also been really enjoying working with pmc again. these new specimen pieces are really speaking to me. the organic patterns, textures and imprints are very grounding. specimens are collected as samples, for further study, to examine to determine genetic make up, classification, genre, etc. they are used to further knowledge, to better understand. information is extrapolated from them to answer questions or determine further study. collected specimens are more than mere keepsakes; they have a purpose and a value beyond the sentimental. they tell us something of origin, place, roots. these specimens do the same. they are earthly remnants represented in silver. they symbolize inner study and definition, collection, classification. i've been asking myself a lot of these questions lately, looking at my thoughts and feelings in new ways, trying to see patterns in my mind, my thinking, tracing my thoughts, seeing where they come from and where they go and what feelings they triggger. as someone very dear to me put it, "who are we and why we are, in the moment, how we are?" who are you and what does it mean? how do you classify yourself?

specimen necklace no. 1, moonstone

my usual photographer (the amazing hazelnut) was otherwise detained, so i've got these strange selfie photos happening here.

specimen necklace no. 2, prehnite

with a prehnite, labradorite, green garnet, smoky quartz, and pearl wire-wrapped chain

specimen necklace no. 3, amethyst

with a moonstone, iolite, prehnite, and amethyst wire-wrapped chain

the prehnite trio necklace,

with a large chunk of prehnite, a wire-wrapped labradorite briolette, and a tab charm that says "intend", suspended from a handmade silver ring.

the necklace chain is in three parts. on one side is a conglomerate of large wire-wrapped beads- prehnite, labradorite, kyanite, aquamarine, iolite, and moonstone. on the other side is one strand of hand-knotted beads- prehnite on brown string- and a strand of wire-wrapped iolite rectangles with one of my rectangular charms mixed in. because prehnite is a stone for dreaming and remembering, it says "dream" on one side and "remember" on the other.

the iolite star necklace,

with iolite, moonstone, and london blue topaz

"if the stars should appear but one night every thousand years, how man would marvel and stare." -ralph waldo emerson

your very own little shining marvel here, a fine silver heart with a tiny little faceted iolite set into it, suspended from a textured square with a london blue topaz and rainbow moonstone floating on it. the necklace is made of gorgeous faceted iolite rondelle beads, with a few moonstones mixed in for good measure.

the garnet heart necklace,

a small fine silver heart with garnet beads

the harmony heart necklace,

a very large pmc heart is surrounded by a beautiful chorus of color. on one side of the heart, tiny garnet beads are wire-wrapped alongside hand-knotted lepidolite, peridot, turquoise, garnet, kyanite, aquamarine, labradorite, and amethyst. on the other side, green garnets, chrysoprase, apatite, and rhodolite garnet sit beside wire-wrapped turquoise, rainbow moonstone, carnelian, garnet, and amethyst. a wire-wrapped green garnet briolette dangles from a small ring. the back of the heart says "harmony".

the knowing she has wings necklace,

with a gorgeous pale pink and purple banded laguna agate

the chain is made up of wire-wrapped pale pink and purple beads- rose quartz, lepidolite, and chalcedony- that coordinate perfectly with the stone.

be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she has wings. -victor hugo

i also made a couple of pairs of gemstone lantern earrings.

prehnite

and amethyst

all of these pieces are in the etsy shop now, my friends.

i hope you all are well.

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spring cleaning and new designs

 

last weekend hazel and june helped me to do a very thorough spring cleaning of my shop. this may not seem like a very big deal, but there is a reason why i am not posting any before pictures here. for some reason over this winter, which really wasn't much of a winter at all, my shop got messier than ever. and at the same time, perhaps in part because of all the clutter, my inspiration dwindled. i felt that a really good cleaning of the clutter and the energy and dust would perhaps rekindle some inspiration.

 

after cleaning and organizing all of my dusty cabochons, the girls helped me to clean and organize all of my letter and image stamps. june especially liked this job, each wipe with w-d 40 punctuated by her singsong rendition of the alphabet to determine precisely which hole to return the stamp to.

 

it felt so good to organize everything and wipe down (okay, scrub) all of the surfaces.

 

i cleaned and oiled all of my tools as well.

 

and it turns out, it worked! as i cleared away the mess and the stagnant energy i felt a weight lift and some inspiration return. when i uncovered boxes of old gemstone and silver beads that i had forgotten all about, i felt a burning desire to make some bracelets in the old style that i used to use for making jewelry before i started silversmithing, along with the motivation to try some new stone setting techniques for a line of engagement rings i've been wanting to make for a while now.

 

so i made a bunch of silver charms, and created intention bracelets with them. each bracelet is made using stones with properties specific to certain characteristics.

 

communication,

with peruvian opal, apatite, chalcedony, labradorite, moonstone, swarovski austrian crystals, and thai &bali silver

 

relaxation,

with lepidolite, amethyst, pink tourmaline, rhodolite garnet beads, and bali silver

 

love,

with moonstone, aquamarine, prehnite, labradorite, peruvian opal, iolite, and thai & bali silver

 

joy,

with ruby, peridot, turquoise, amethyst, citrine, carnelian, iolite, and thai & bali silver

 

compassion,

with spinel, rhodolite garnet, seed pearls, moonstone, iolite, green tourmaline, and thai silver

 

and creativity,

with apatire, turquoise, peridot, peruvian opal, chalcedony, and green garnet

 

it felt truly wonderful to be making beaded jewelry again. i'd forgotten how soothing and therapeutic the stringing of beads was for me. i loved the crimping of the tiny silver tubes, the closing of the crimp covers, and especially the forming of pattern and design using the various colors, shapes, and sizes. it's an entirely different type of work than smithing, and one i still very much adore. i love the way these bracelets turned out and i intend to make many more, probably some similar necklaces as well. these are now available in my etsy shop.

 

then i set to work making some engagement rings with faceted high grade gemstones. lately many people have been asking me to make engagement rings to accompany my wedding bands. i have continually told them no, i do not work with diamonds or faceted stones. however, i recently realized that before i made gold wedding rings, i had many people ask me if i could make the rustic hammered wedding ring in gold. and i continually told them, no, i do not work with gold. but i eventually took the plunge and learned the neccesary skills to make work with gold. and i recently realized that the time has come to learn the neccesary skills to work with faceted stones. these are the designs for engagement rings i have so far, with their matching wedding bands.

with 4 mm AA grade faceted aquamarine,

 

and 4 mm AA grade faceted white sapphire

 

 

i am now trying to work out how to do a flush setting, which is quite challenging. if any of you folks out there have any advice on the subject, i'd love to hear it!

 

in other news, spring is in fact here in southwest colorado, which means beautiful blue skies, warmer weather, and, well, wind.

but fun hiking nevertheless.

 

i hope that you are enjoying spring in whatever corner of the world you are in, and finding joy in the places you hope to find it.

 

p.s. it was finally announced that the new felice brothers album will be out june 17th. very exciting!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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