01.27.20 Something's bugging me...

While I (almost) always have a work plan when I go into the studio, it's usually about the stones I've chosen for that week - I don't set out to make a collection, or a group of pieces around a single theme...

...the realization that I have created a group of related pieces comes later, usually when I am updating my Etsy shop, or have finished all my work in progress and start thinking about what to do next.

I do a lot of things with a Southwestern theme, boots and saguaro cactus on turquoise, I've even done a couple prickly pears recently.

I've done a few birds, and as it turns out, I've also done bugs...quite a number of them.

It started in my first kinetic jewelry class, a couple of years ago, with De Pastel...when I decided to use a small monarch opal with a caterpillar on the back, because it made me think of Heimlich (who is bright green, as is the stone), from the movie A Bug's Life.




I'm not entirely sure WHY I thought of this particular bug - perhaps it was because when the movie came out (in 1998) it quickly became my daughter's favorite (she was three at the time) - and we watched it A LOT!


In any case, I wore the pendant recently, while working on some new pieces...including one with a dragonfly on the back. It occurred to me, for someone who doesn't like bugs...I sure have put them on a lot of pendants.

I made another kinetic pendant, with a small red and black stone (a bonus cab from one of my vendors) after making Heimlich, because I thought it looked like a ladybug (also one of the cast of characters in the movie).

I've done a "hunny" bee, inspired by Winnie the Pooh, and most recently the aforementioned dragonfly (which sold so quickly at a holiday trunk show, that I made another).

I purchased a couple of beautiful black mother of pearl cabs late last year, and when they arrived, I laid them side by side and thought they looked like dragonfly wings...that's generally how the cutouts evolve - it's not so much that I buy a cabochon with a specific design in mind (although that happens), more often the ideas flow once I have the stone in my hand.



Often, I'll buy a stone because I like the way it looks, with no real idea of how I will use it; with some pieces the designs pop into my head almost instantly, with others it takes a while, and there have been a few where the stone didn't speak clearly to me, and I made (and unmade) the piece more than once.

So there you have it - there's not as much method as madness in my design approach...but so far, it seems to be working.

Until next time.

01.13.20 Bad habits...

New year's posts generally focus on resolutions for change or improvement. Not for me, at least not this year.

If you are a regular - or even occasional - reader of this blog, it will come as no surprise to you that I have a bad earring habit...just go to the search bar in the upper right hand corner of the blog and type in

I probably have more posts about earrings than any other single topic, and I know I have more pairs than I do any other variety of jewelry...but does that stop me from acquiring more...

NOPE.

The most recent earring spree started late last summer, when I rediscovered a pair of turquoise earrings that I have had since high school, because they are a great match to the pendant I made my with my first foray into gold.


In the box with the turquoise drops, I found some other old jewelry (including the moonstone earrings I repaired) that I decided I'd put in my Etsy shop...so off I went to do some comparative pricing.

You'll recall that after making the moonstone earrings wearable again, I decided I was done setting small stones. Furthermore if I wanted more (because I don't need more) earrings, I would buy them.

But...I digress...

I went trolling on Etsy and eBay for prices on pieces similar to the ones I wanted to list in the Vintage section of my shop.  I found plenty of things for comparison...

I also discovered lots of inexpensive vintage silver earrings for sale that didn't need repair - just some cleaning up or new earwires (either replacing old screwbacks or the cheap ones that people had put on them to resell)...and things got a little out of control.

I found about a dozen pair that were $10-20, so I bought them all...cleaned them up, put them on new earwires (some on leverbacks, depending on the style). I even bought a few as gifts because they were such good matches to pendants I'd made.

I probably ought to stop...but that's not likely to happen, because it's become a form of entertainment for me...can I find some unloved pair of earrings to bring back to life for myself...or someone else.

So, keep an eye on my Instagram, where (most days) I post #todayearrings, and you are likely see all the old, tarnished baubles I'm giving new life for myself...or in my Etsy shop.

So, maybe that's my new year's resolution after all - to give old silver some love, new life and keep it from the scrap heap.

Happy new year!

Until next time.