at the Islesford Dock Restaurant on Little Cranberry Island. The halibut was perfect!
And now begins the summer sunset series…
Fun at Pearl River
(The department store in Chinatown.) These June 6 photos of Bruce and Dan, and Cynthia and I, from our quick dash to NYC for the Ubuntu Education Fund gala.
Not jewelry-related or island-related. But definitely related to good times.
Filed under Uncategorized
A weird thing happens…
…when I neglect my blog. The longer I go without posting something, the harder it is to think I have something to post. I start second guessing anything I might want to say, or any photos I might want to post and then more time goes by. I get out of practice. Then I feel like I should justify how I spent my time in the last month when I didn’t blog. Sheesh. I am my own worst critic.
Life on this tiny island in Maine is crazy busy in May and June as we get ready for the summer rush of business, activities, friends, and family. I’ve been working in the studio, getting jewelry into galleries, weeding the perennial garden, planting some vegetables, spending time with my Mom, painting the bathroom, taking a two-day trip to NYC, and catching up with friends who have arrived for the summer. Who knows where the time goes. It just does. So, I’m jumping back into the blog pool and letting go of why I did or didn’t do it for over a month.
Part of my process in making jewelry is to make up a batch of components to mix and match in earring and necklace designs. I cut, hammered, and tumbled some brass discs to get them ready for applying patina. I also soldered some 14 gauge (it might be 16) copper wire rings and hammered them flat.
Next I applied some patina solutions.
When they are sanded, sealed with lacquer, and finished with a preservation wax, they will be ready to use in earring designs like the one below.
So that’s a little bit of what I’ve been up to. And, I’ve missed telling you about it.
Filed under Uncategorized
Get over to Gardiner!
West Gardiner, Maine that is.
Center for Maine Craft: Annual Mother’s Day SALE!
May 4-12th
The Center’s Annual Mother’s Day Sale will be back bigger and better. Purchase a unique handmade gift this year for your one and only Mother, Mommy, Mama or Mum.
Receive 25% OFF JEWELRY, CERAMICS & FIBER!
It just so happens I am heading through there tomorrow on my way to Portland for a birthday celebration. Mine! The big 60! And I am pretty darn excited about it. Before I celebrate, though, I’ll be dropping some necklaces off at the Center for Maine Craft. Here are some of the pieces that will be there by early afternoon:
Filed under Uncategorized
How DOES she DO it?
Our Bead Soup Blog Party hostess Lori Anderson somehow manages to read about everyone’s bead soup and leave a personal comment. She may not be all the way through yet, but she will get there. I’m still not done with looking at the 200+ participants in just the third reveal, the one I was in.
I figured if I looked at 10 a day, and left comments, it would take me almost 3 weeks to finish seeing what everyone made. The whole party is so inspiring, if time consuming, and I am determined to see at least all of the third reveal blogs and leave a comment.
Too much for you oh humble blog reader? Luckily, our hostess extraordinaire has set up another way for you to see everything in one spot. Pinterest!
If you want to see the work, but don’t have time to hop around to all of the blogs, check out the Pinterest board for the party, and scroll your way through a wealth of creativity.
Filed under Uncategorized
Bead Soup Blog Party is here! The third reveal.
Kudos to my resilient partner and Bead Soup Blog Party hostess, Lori Anderson. I don’t know how she managed to survive organizing over 540 of us, with three different reveal dates, and a host of unanticipated medical issues. Lori, you’re seriously amazing!
The Bead Soup Blog Party (BSBP) happens only once a year. By signing up in January, all participants agreed to have Lori pair us with another jewelry designer; to have the partners exchange a quality package of beads; to make one or more pieces of jewelry with those beads adding in whatever we needed or wanted from our own stash; to use both the focal piece and the clasp we were sent; and to post our creations on the assigned reveal date.
Here are the beads I received from Lori at the end of February:
The whole idea of receiving beads chosen by someone else is to embrace the challenge. The selection I received from Lori was full of fun pieces. But I admit to being way out of my comfort zone as I pondered how I would be using them. The ceramic piece by Elaine Ray was very cool looking with beautiful shades of blue and purple, and very much bigger than what I am used to working with. (2 +3/8″ in diameter.) I didn’t even think about what I was going to do with the rest of the soup until I had a plan for that focal piece. No matter how hard I listened for it, it was not saying “necklace” to me. Instead it said, “brooch!”
The back story:
I’ve been experimenting a little with fold forming, so I knew I wanted to fold some silver sheet, enhance it, and find a way to attach it to the ceramic piece. I drilled three holes in the ceramic. (Yes, it made me very nervous! But I thought, “hey, I’m used to drilling rocks and glass, so I should be able to drill this too…”) I folded, hammered and stamped the silver piece. I soldered two lengths of 16 gauge wire to the back of the silver piece to use as rivets. Before riveting the piece on place, I punched 4 holes in it so I could attach 2 short strands of beads. A nod to necklace I didn’t make. I pushed the wires through the holes in the ceramic, and coiled them to finish the back of the rivet. I did not take the time to engineer a pin catch with rivets. (That would have been a great plan, and I wish I had done it.) Instead I had a plastic pin back, that I covered with the sari silk that was part of my soup. It’s held in place with a chemical bond. (That’s the fancy way of saying epoxy.) The last little bit on the back, that looks like a belly button, is a purple rubber washer with a bead inside. It covers the third hole I never used.
I wish these photos did a better job in showing the pretty periwinkle color of the glass beads that Lori made herself. I knew right away I wanted to use them with the dyed jade beads (center of necklace) she sent. The darker beads are actually patina-ted copper in a purplish blue. The smaller light beads are amethyst. I was so sure I would be making an asymmetrical necklace with my soup. Surprise. I must have needed symmetry when I put this together!
The jade beads below really challenged me too. I liked the potential of the two holes, and had a lot of ideas for them, none of which panned out. I kept trying to mix the color with complimentary colors, getting out the color wheel, trying all manner of combinations. I ended up having better luck bringing out their greener side. Even with the pearls and chain, the holes looked out of proportion with the finer wire until I added the green leather. I spent much more time with these than I thought I would, but I really enjoyed the challenge and the result.
Lori’s own lampwork beads (above) and the silver shell beads from Bali (below) were my most favorite parts of the soup she sent. I love the ease and comfort of an elastic bracelet. I haven’t taken this one off since I made it. It looks great next to my watch and I get to admire the silver shells and smile whenever I check the time! Thanks Lori. This bead soup party has been such a fun experience, and I learned a lot.
That’s my reveal, but there is SO much more to see. You simply must start with my partner, Lori Anderson, the Bead Soup hostess herself! Then continue to hop through as many of the participants in the list below as you would like. Just click on the link next to their name.
Here’s the soup I sent to Lori:
Start hopping my little bunnies! Here’s the list:
Filed under Uncategorized
