Barbara S Fernald Jewelry

7 responses so far ↓

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  Sherry Rasmussen // March 11, 2009 at 3:03 pm | Reply

  Hi Barbara,
  I love your blog/website. Have always loved your photos so it was good to see some of your winter shots. Ivan and I have gotten a few nice shots here this winter on MDI.
  Great new box for shooting your jewelry…
  and your heart shaped rocks!! Yeah, beats the old
  milkjug. Sometimes we have to treat ourselves.
  My recent treat was an 18″ paper cutter to
  supplement the old 12″ one. Why didn’t I buy it before??
  See you in the spring….it is almost here.
  Sher

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  Beth Ann // December 19, 2009 at 11:06 am | Reply

  Just discovered your name in the new issue of Fusion from the guild. WOW, thanks for your lovely site. I’m in northern Maine and fairly new to the world of PMC. Do you ever share your knowledge in workshops in Maine? Love to hear about them, if you do. I’m an art teacher and always looking for summer art opportunities.

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    fernald244 // January 1, 2010 at 1:34 pm | Reply

    Hi Beth Ann,
    Sorry it took so late to respond. Christmas week, etc. Our kids were home early from Baltimore and Boston. Where are you in northern Maine? I have not taught any workshops yet. Its one of those…”maybe…someday…” thoughts. But I have taken some very helpful workshops from Fred Woell on Deer Isle. He teaches a PMC certification class at his home sometimes. It is usually listed through Rio Grande. Lynda McCann Olsen has also taught some workshops in southern Maine. Check the PMC guild website for workshop opportunities. If you have some $ saved up, you might want to consider going to the PMC conference in Indiana this July. Info also on the guild website. I went for the first time 4 years ago and found it very helpful and inspiring. Today may be the day I finally start a list of people who have asked me about workshops. So if I ever decide to do one, I will have a mailing list. I can put your name at the top.
    Happy New Year!
    Barb

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  cathy knox // January 1, 2010 at 12:25 pm | Reply

  I love your blog, jewelry, openness about your process in making beautiful jewelry, photos, etc. My favorite necklace of yours was the one offered on the MPBN auction. It disappeared so early on. What happened? the blue stones set off the silver. have you made others similar to that one?

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    fernald244 // January 1, 2010 at 1:40 pm | Reply

    Hi Cathy,
    Thanks for checking out my blog! One of my goals for January is to get an Etsy shop going so I can post jewelry for sale. I make the hollow silver rock-shaped beads a lot and combine them with lots of different stones. The blue ones you are referring to are actually tumbled glass. With your feed back about the MPBN necklace, I would probably be making one for the Etsy site this winter. If you are not familiar with Etsy, it is a commerce site for handmade items. There’s a great example of the site through the Holly Kellogg link on this blog.
    Happy new year!

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  Beth Ann // January 23, 2010 at 9:37 am | Reply

  I’m in the process of purchasing a kiln and wanted some input from someone who’s “been there, done that.” Having been certified by Rio Grande, I thought I might order their PMC kiln. Discovering Cool Tools shows me other options. My queries:
  Would you have any specific recommendations?
  Have you ever found yourself desiring the option of a bead door or the viewport?
  Any experience with top loads?
  I know that everyone has different experiences and needs, but just wanted some input. I am grateful for any comments you could make.
  To answer your question above, I am in Caribou, Maine. I appreciate being added to your list of possible future workshops.
  Thanks!

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    fernald244 // January 24, 2010 at 7:04 pm | Reply

    Hi Beth Ann,
    I have a Rio Grande kiln, the programable PMC kiln with a bead door. I’ve never made glass beads, but I wanted to have that option for the future…
    I just bought this kiln last year so I could start firing bronze and copper clay. (My old kiln was really old. There was no computerized option available, but it worked fine for PMC, using a thermocouple to keep track of the temperature.)
    The Rio Grande kiln I have looks comparable to the SC2 digital kiln at Cool Tools. It looks like the Cool Tools version is about $100 cheaper and they offer free shipping, though, it would be good to check what the Rio Reward’s price is, to compare.

    I find the kiln a little small. Especially for firing bronze and copper clay. I’ve made it work for me, but if I were to do it again I would consider something bigger, since those steel boxes of activated charcoal take up more room, when firing copper and bronze, and if I ever were to teach a workshop I would want more room to fire students’ work.
    I have had no experience with top loads. But whenever I look at Hadar Jacobson’s blog about her work and her students’ work I am envious of her top loading kiln!
    I’ll be interested to know which kiln you choose. Aside from the rewards discount, from being certified by Rio Grande, I also had put together a lot of silver scrap from years of doing pierced work with sterling silver sheet. Last winter I actually had enough to turn in to Rio to pay for my kiln!
    Good luck!