Wednesday, July 2, 2014

The Drunken Botanist ~ Inspired By Reading

The Drunken Botanist, by Amy Stewart is one of those books that I will need to buy. Stewart combines science, history, folklore and recipes to introduce us to “the plants that create the world’s great drinks”. It’s a book that I will continue to return to just to read a small snippet.  

For the Inspired By Reading Book Club I decided to try my hand, once again, at etching. Actually, I have successfully etched since I disintegrated my copper back in March. This time, I thought I’d try a copper cuff.  I chose copper because the old stills were made of copper. I rounded the ends of a 1”x6” copper strip from Impress Art/PJTools and used a leafy rubber stamp to represent the grain.     
This is my first cuff like this, and I have to say I'm pretty excited with the results!




As far as I know, the birds have no significance. Since I was etching I thought it would be fun to practice with the rubber stamps and try out my new disc cutter by making some 1”circles.


When I learned that gin is made from juniper berries, I knew I had found a use for the vintage German glass beads left over from October's book My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me.
I’m really into dangles these days, so I made a copper circle to hang the “berries” from. As you can see, this time I created a mixed metal piece, with a soldered copper ring and sterling silver dangles and chain. The chain is about 24” long, but if the wearer prefers shorter from time to time, my handcrafted hook will slip into any of the chain links.


 








Check out the other creative folks in our group.
And do consider joining us next month as we read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.


Andrew Thornton, Laurel Ross, Alison Herrington, Constance Vale and Karen Hiatt http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com

8 comments:

  1. All three pieces are lovely, Jeanne! I'm particularly enamored with your cuff...just fabulous. And the birds do play a role... they help to spread seeds. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Really like your copper etched cuff and how it represents the still and the grain. The earring are fun, love the birds. And I like the simplicity of the "juniper berries" pendant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your cuff is wonderful as are your birds. I love the etching. Your necklace is great too. I love the idea of berries.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your copper etchings. They came out so clear and yet so poetic!! I like that you used copper because of the old stills being made of copper!! Great pieces all of them!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Can't wait to see them in person!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These are just great! I love etched metal, and tying in grain is excellent! I need to get Sj to try this method out...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Everything looks awesome! I love etched copper and I think you've done such a nice job! I love the pattern on the cuff and I love the little birdie earrings. And the dangles look like they have some fun movement! Nicely done! And I like how you've been able to use leftovers from previous books and give them new life. Thanks so much for participating in the book club! You're awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love your berries! Great job on etching, I haven't tried that yet, but it looks fun! Thanks for playing!

    ReplyDelete