04.02.18 Wildflower season

Photo credit - SmartSeeds

I love spring - and not just because I hate winter. The sun comes back - the days get longer and warmer, and in Central Texas, mother nature paints virtually every patch of open space with vibrant color!

It's starts with deep purple mountain laurel, which smells like the most fragrant grape kool aid you can imagine when it blooms.

Photo credit - Emily Ling

Then come the wildflowers popping up along the sides of the road. No matter my mood, I can't help but smile when I see the bright colors - blue bonnets, yellow black eyed Susans, pink primroses and red paint brush in the medians on city streets and along the sides of the highway.



Jewelry inspired by wildflowers is certainly nothing new.  I have vintage pieces from long time Texas jewelers Jeep Collins and James Avery that belonged to my late mother.  More recently I discovered the work of fellow Austinite (and fabulous instructor) Vickie Hallmark.

Photo credit - Vickie Hallmark

When I first spotted her mountain laurel earrings, I knew I had to have them! Then, after taking a precious metal clay class with her, I asked if she would make me a pair of bluebonnet earrings - and she did.

Photo credit - Vickie Hallmark

If you follow my daily earring posts on Instagram, you know that both of these pairs are in regular rotation - especially this time of year.




Inspired by the landscape, these jewelers, and my love of the saw - I started creating my own variation on the wildflower theme -  pendants made from millefiori and vintage glass with a Texas cut out on the back.

I'm excited to report that a few of my Texas themed pieces are now available at Russell Korman Jewelers here in Austin. I have a long relationship with these folks, and was thrilled when they asked me if I would be interested in having my work in the store.

Photo credit - Russell Korman Jewelers

Spring is definitely a time of new beginnings - and I'm excited to see where things go from here.  I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me by liking, commenting on and sharing my posts, reading the blog - and, of course, buying my jewelry.

It definitely takes a village, and I love the new creative home I have found.

Until next time.

03.19.18 Soon found out, I had a heart of glass...

I've been using glass cabochons in my jewelry for a while now, and as I have said before, I've developed an increasing interest in learning more about glass fabrication.

When we were out at the Salado Glassworks last year, owner and master glass artist Gail Allard recommended that I look into classes at Blue Moon Glassworks (which, as it happens is five minutes from my house) - so that's exactly what I did.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting about my classes - and hopefully - ideas for incorporating fused glass into my jewelry.


We started with a very simple impression project - and a technique know as kilnforming -  cutting shapes out of a heat resistant fiber board, and then placing the glass over the form before firing.

I decided to stick with a motif that I am familiar with - Texas and hearts. I've learned that - especially in the beginning - it's important to keep designs simple. I cut out the Texas and a small heart, and we glued them to a piece of special paper that doesn't stick to the glass when firing, and then placed two sheets of glass - one clear and one colored - on top before fusing.  The result is an impression glass plaque - suitable for hanging in a window.

The second project was more involved - requiring cut pieces of colored glass to create a design on a six inch square.  Our instructor advised us to have a good idea of what we wanted to do before class.

I have long loved the work of Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian - so I went looking for a simple example of his work to use for my design.  With a quick Google search I found exactly what I was looking for.

To get the look I wanted, I started with a black base and colored opaque glass for the top layer. I cut and arranged the squares so that black lines would show through after the pieces fused together.



I am thoroughly delighted with the end result!

I'm also excited about learning new things - there are three more weeks in the introductory class, and I've already signed up for my first open studio.

Stay tuned as I start to experiment with ideas for incorporating glass projects into my jewelry.

Until next time.

10.16.17 A Thousand Flowers

Murrine frits (pieces)
Photo credit - TahitiNights on Etsy

The term millefiori means "a thousand flowers" - and describes a particular type of glass made in an ancient tradition.

Millefiori is created using murrine - canes of glass which show intricate patterns when they are cut through.  There is evidence of murrine use as far back as 4,000 years ago - and it has been incorporated into the work of Venetian glassmakers for over 500 years.

The pieces - called frit - can be combined in a number of ways to create either finished pieces (such as paperweights or other decorative glass), cabochons to be used in jewelery, or slabs - which can then be cut by a lapidary artist.

When I made my first Texas Wildflower pendant with a millefiori glass heart, I knew I was on to something...but I had no idea how wildly popular these pendants would be.

I've made several, and they've been flying off the bench - with people claiming them even before they are finished...which is fine with me (because I can't keep everything - and I have to pay for my materials somehow!). Eventually, I do hope to keep one.

However, because they are so popular, I have been going on regular Etsy scavenger hunts trying to find more glass. So far I've been successful - I currently have about a dozen hearts.

As I've said before - I would love to try my hand at glass work - and creating fused millefiori cabochons might be a good place to start.

In the mean time, I'm working with what I can find for sale.  Most recently, I sold three small hearts - all to the same customer - as part of my effort to help with the hurricane Harvey recovery in south Texas.





If you are interested in seeing how millefiori glass is created, take a look at this 5 minute video from "How It's Made".

Until next time.

01.23.17 Lady Bird

LBJ School Class of 87 with Mrs. Johnson at the Ranch

Being a metalsmith is my newly found alter-ego.  For most of my adult life, I've been a policy wonk. 

At 22, I relocated to Austin to attend the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.  Never expected to stay here - but it was the best move I ever made.  I found my professional calling in education policy, I made friendships that are now in their third decade, I met my husband, and I had the pleasure and privilege of multiple interactions with Lady Bird Johnson.

Photo Credit: Wildflower Center

Every year, Mrs. Johnson invited the first year class out to the LBJ Ranch for a "get to know you" event.  She was warm, and gracious, and funny - and she had memorized something about each of us. In advance of the visit, we were asked to provide personal information for security reasons, and one thing we wanted Mrs. Johnson to know about us - I shared that I had worked for her son in law, Chuck Robb, on one of his campaigns, and had come to Texas from the University of Virginia, where her granddaughter was a student.  She worked these details into the conversation when we were introduced.  

Over the course of the next several years while I was still in school, and then out and about in Austin, I would run into her occasionally - and even if she couldn't remember my name - she recognized me and always said hello.  She is the only First Lady I have ever met, and to this day, she remains an inspiration.

Photo credit: Vickie Hallmark

Her focus as First Lady was the beautification of America, and her legacy is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.   Texas is famous for its wildflowers - and I look forward to them every spring.  As corny as it sounds, my heart leaps a little bit when I see the first few bluebonnets blooming in the green spaces throughout the city.

Wildflowers have been cropping up in my jewelry recently, too.  First it was the pair of bluebonnet earrings I commissioned from Vickie Hallmark, after taking her metal clay and argentium class.  

Then I bought a millefiori glass heart from an auction on the Cabs and Slabs Facebook page.  The pattern in the glass made me think of wildflowers, so I cut a Texas out of the backplate, and called it my "Lady Bird" Love Note.

Within minutes of posting photos of the pendant, I had a message from a bride who is getting married later this year at the Wildflower Center - she bought it as a wedding gift for her mom.  My heart just about exploded!  This is the second time someone has chosen one of my Love Note pendants as a gift for a member of their wedding party, and I am so honored that my work is going to be part of such a special day.

I'm starting my year with a regular schedule of being in the studio two days a week, and not only am I finding the work therapeutic and fulfilling, but it's making other people happy, too.

That's the best part of metalsmithing.

Until next time.