Desert Sands Challenge ~ at last

And here it is…

The long awaited Desert Sands Challenge post!

Thank you to Andrew Thornton for hosting and having patience with my tardiness.

I actually did finish my pieces while travelling to Tucson for the gem shows, but had difficulty photographing them without “busts”.

It’s always fun to get a box in the mail from Andrew. This time was no exception. I fell in love with the bronze, gold and ivory hues in this kit.

Not being a bead weaver, I tend to ignore those tiny little beads in the kit. This time I decided to meet them head on and string a multi-strand necklace. The silk strung bead strands and chain with wire-wrapped glass were gathered in Vintaj brass cones and connected with my handcrafted hook and eye clasp.

 

The irregular metallic glass bead told me it wanted to be a clasp. I used Parawire’s smokey quartz to crochet a choker. The cone-shaped etched glass bead adds a fun dangle to the clasp.

There are lots more great components left for earrings, bracelets, etc. And this great pendant crafted by Andrew.

Can’t wait to play with them!

Please check out the other challenge participants.

Alison Herrington

Tammy Bowman

Jeanne Steck

Christina Hickman

Kari Asbury

Michelle McCarthy

On Andrew Thornton's blog:

Andrew Thornton, Naama from Peculiaris, Nancy Noyes-Ward, Janice Ferrari, Lisa Mendum, Cheryl Lee Tucker

Desert Sands Delay

If you are looking for the Desert Sands Challenge, I hope to post later today. 

We left earlier than expected for our road trip to Tucson. 

Since I'm the passenger, I have plans to work. 

Here's a sneak peak ...

Into The Wild - Inspired By Reading Book Club

More than a year ago, I joined the Inspired By Reading Book Club, hosted by Andrew Thornton. After reading the selection of the month, participants are inspired to create. While most of us do create jewelry, it's definitely not a requirement. We'd love to see other artistic mediums.

I was playing along quite well until last August, when we sold our house and I moved twice. I read the books, bought or created components, and have several finished and half-finished pieces hanging around. I hope to compose a catch-up post next month.

So, now that the studio is set up and I've found most of my tools and supplies, I'm ready to play again!

This month we read Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer. It is the story of Christopher McCandless, a young man in his 20's, from an affluent family, who decided to give away all of his money and venture alone into the Alaskan wilderness. Sadly after 4 months, probably due to his inexperience and naivete, McCandless perished.

Krakauer included historical references to adventurers and mountain climbers, as well as comparisons to his own experiences. My inspiration came when I read about Krakauer's obsession with Devil's Thumb. a mountain in the Stikine Ice Cap region of south east Alaska.



The name and description immediately brought to mind an artist bead I purchased just before Christmas at the Wake Forest Farmer's Market.


I know...
It didn't really scream Alaska to me, either.
But... do you get the thumb???

And we're supposed to be inspired ~ no one said it had to be an exact representation.








The bead did scream Sleeping Beauty Turquoise. Happily, I had some left from last year's Tucson trip. That and some chocolate brown freshwater pearls ~ Wah-La

I kept it super simple this month, because I am still getting my act together.






The pendant did pose a slight design challenge as the hole was slightly off center at the base.
I flattened 18 gauge silver wire to form a loop so it wouldn't look quite as lop-sided.








Now for the freaky part ~~~
This morning, I decided to research Devil's Thumb.


Check This Out!!!

'nuff said!

Hey Y’all  (I’m a southerner now!)

Don’t forget to visit AndrewThornton’s blog to see who else was inspired this month. 

We’d love for you join us next month! Our book is Geek Love, by KatherineDunn. It’s a bit bizarre, but I can’t put it down. I actually stayed on the stationary bike at the gym for 40 minutes because I didn't want to stop reading!  

Here's a link for future titles!

New Earring Monday ~ weeks 3 & 4

How exciting is this?!

I’m posting my new earrings on time!!!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I decided to dig out my heart collection. Of course, I wasted over an hour searching for the red glass hearts I found in Portland last April. 

You see, when I moved from NY to NC, my method of packing up my workbench was to just dump everything into a plastic box.

I gave up on the red and chose 2 sets of silver hearts that have been around for a while.

I love these faceted pink opal disks I got from Rocky's Designs at The Whole Bead Show in NYC.  

Then I decided to pair the Bali hearts with February's birthstone - amethyst.

And.....

Drum roll, please...

Guess what I found when I was all done???

That's right - 

The red lampwork glass hearts!

They're dangling from hammered silvered rings that I soldered.

All of my earrings hang on my handcrafted earwires.

Yes, these will be listed on Etsy in time for Valentine's Day. 
Please visit Sarajo's blog to see who else playing along!

Design Challenges, Book Club, Swaps and Blog Hops ~ Why Do I Do Them???

Why do I stress myself with deadlines?

 It's simple ~ there are times when I need that deadline to get my act together, to give me a reason to go into the studio and create something. The life of an independent jewelry artist can be very solitary at times. The challenges and blog hops keep me connected with the creative community.I am inspired by the talent and variety of designs that come from a single bead kit.

Check out Andrew Thornton and Lisa Lodge's blogs for information about the kits challenges they sponsor. Lisa's Facebook Group and the Allegory Gallery Design Challenge Group are great sources for info.

The swaps encourage me to think outside the box and work at the edge of my comfort zone. You never know what your partner might send you. I try to send favorite items ~ things I have a hard time giving up or components I've creating specifically for my new friend. And I know I always push myself to create something that might impress my partner and the other hoppers.

I love participating in the Inspired By Reading Book Club. There are plenty of folks lurking on the Facebook group, but usually just a handful participate. I've read books I would not have picked up on my own and met quite a few great people through the blog hops and in-person meet-ups that Andrew hosts.

So to simplify my answer ~ challenges, creative book clubs and blog hops supply and endless source of inspiration and have led to many friendships.

New Earring Monday - 2015

Since my blogging really needs a kick in the ----, I've decided to join Sarajo Spurgeon Wentling and participate in the "New Earring Monday" Challenge. My understanding is that every two weeks, I post some earrings I've recently created.

I know I’m late getting started, but at least I’m starting!

And since it is January, I put together some simple, yet elegant garnet earrings. 

This first pair has 8mm round stones and Bali silver bead caps.

For the second pair I wrapped small faceted rondelles (that I found at the Whole Bead Show in NYC) onto sterling silver chain.

I love how they sparkle!

Thanks for looking!

Check back next week to what's new on the bench!

*Don't forget to click Sarajo's link above to see what she's created and link to other participants!

Stiff - Another edition of the Inspired By Reading Book Club

I’m back!

It was an amazingly busy summer with many successful fairs and the Farmers Market in Southampton.

The most stressful event was the sale of my house and temporary move to a small cottage. We are so lucky to have neighbors offer us their summer cottage.

I’ve missed a few challenges and book club hops, but am ready to jump back in with a short post.

In August, the Inspired By Reading Book Club, hosted by Andrew Thornton, read Stiff: the Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach.  Actually, I listened to most of it. I love audio books while working.

According to Amazon “Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem.” I found the book to be very entertaining and informative. As usual, I had notes on many sections, but the discussion on the need to use cadavers in addition to crash test dummies, struck a personal note. In particular the explanation of how cars have changed over the years and how hoods are now made to just fold up like an accordion.  Friends will recall the time I literally drove my car under a school bus, and, yes, the hood crumpled up to the windshield so there was no impact.

So how I do I portray that in a piece of jewelry? ---  Fold-formed copper, of course.

Have I ever used that technique???

nah –

Thanks to Kim St. Jean’s Beauducation.com video, I came up with this bracelet, which was purchased last week!     

I love the colors from the torch!

The other members of the group have also read Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin.

 Be sure to visit Andrew’s blog for the full list of participants.