Melting metal is FUN!

Okay I set up my workstation, and started playing with fire and metal together... okay a few notes here... one is it is great fun watching metal melt, even if that was not what you were trying to do. Second melting metal is NOTHING like wrapping wire. Third-soldering is not as easy as it looks, but with time and practice I know it will get easier.

So I made a couple of pendants, nothing tooo exciting, but cool none the less. Made some head pins and ear wires also... so far that's it. I REALLY have to remember NOT to put my stainless tweezers in the pickle. Other than that... metling metal really IS FUN!

Well...

Being the impulsive and adventurous person that I am, I just could not wait to get torch in my hands, so I went ahead and got set up for soldering. Well I forgot the denatured alchohol, but other than that and setting the area up.... I got the stuff I need, so by this weekend I should be playing with fire and metal together... stay tuned for what comes out!

And it's the solstice today... soooo HAPPY SOLSTICE EVERYONE!

And on a side note, I found out that the jewelry design center that sells jewlery desinging supplies, also has some really great jewelry classes... soo maybe next year sometime I will take something there... I am interested in a couple, the lost wax casting class is one for sure! Though I am not sure about getting the money to set up shop for that... The other one is PMC... which is not too bad to get set up for. So that's a possible... I am just being pulled to learn all I can about jewelry making. And though I do admire what convetional jewelers do, I would like to learn these skills to make my own visions come to life... all in time, so far i am totally self taught, with the exception of one book I bought years ago on seed bead weaving without a loom... I have learned all i know by doing and observing what I could from other jewelry.

Soooo

So i made and delivered the order for 11 purity rings... and let me just say... this is a discipline all in itself, doing the same ring over and over.... HOWEVER... it is done... I now know all the mistakes that can go wrong with this piece... how to make them right, and I might offer a class and or tutorial on this ring in the future... we shall see, for now I got to focus on things that are guaranteed money makers... so I decided I am going to start offering the same kind of supplies I use in my jewelry and start a second store for handcrafted jewelry supplies... mostly in copper and silver. I am working on setting up for soldering also, so that I can offer things like head pins and soldered jump rings... besides I know I have spent a lot on these items in the past, now I am learning to make my own supplies, for me that's great, and I thought why not sell them also... supplies seem to be ht best selling category on etsy. And I can offer them when I have time, when I am making more finished pieces, I will sell fewer supplies. So far I am making my own ear wires, clasps, and heavy chains... the rest I will be able to offer once I get a torch and a few other supplies that go with that set up. I am working on that now... doing my research, and trying to find the best deal, figuring out what I need to buy and where to get it.

The other thing I got to figure out is where to do this hot work... I have just moved a few things out of my studio that were just "taking up room", so I am thinking I can set up a workstation in there... that way I am not going from the garage to the studio all the time, back and forth.

Of course there's also the issue of my love of wire... I still love wire wrapping, and am learning new things with that as well.... so all kind of new, and exciting things going on right now. I an just in a preparation stage right now... got to get my studio and knowledge ready for the next level.

Updates....

Okay this weekend I had the meeting with a gallery owner... it went well to say the least. They bought a few pieces and sent me home with an order to fill. Now I gotta get this done ASAP so maybe they can move a few last minute Christmas items. This is a real test for me as an artisan to have the discipline to make the things I am supposed to rather than whatever pops out, per se.

Of course after talking with them I know a little better what will sell, and what is harder to sell (I believe you can sell anything given the right buyer walks in) however I need to offer pieces that will appeal to a large amount of their customers.

Now I am tired from working a good amount today... and it is time to call it a night.

Till the next time!!!!!

I will keep you posted.

geting back to things....

Okay so I haven't been blogging here... truthfully I kind of forgot about this blog... but not now, sooooo let me bring you up to speed as to what's going on now with Higher Chakra Creations. Let's see, my obsession with wire grows DAILY... really finding myself in love with it and the versatility of it. Is it wire that I am obsessed with or the product of what wire can create?
It's likely more of the latter, cause I do not hoard wire the way I hoard beads (self professed bead whore here). I use it to make stuff, and as soon as I get that package of wire, I go into the studio and start to cut, bend, file, polish, tarnish, hammer, wrap... and whatever else my heart desires... point is, I love it because it is a medium that is only bound by your imagination. If you have the skill, know-how, and creativity, there are endless possibilities.

What have I been up to lately? Well for one I'm waiting on more wire, sterling anyway. My obsession with rings is finally paying off, I have made one's that I love... and now am experimenting with different designs and techniques... good thing they finally started working for me... it was a long road with those. The first ones were nothing short of a disaster, but as my skill and knowledge increased I finally had something click and they started to work, and look good too! Now I am making all kinds of different ones... I even made a herkimer diamond ring (it sold already!) Once my wire gets here I'll make more of them. Now I have an appointment with a gallery this weekend to show them rings.

I also have an obsession with dragonflies... they are plentiful around here, and I see them regularly out the window of my studio. I have started a line of dragonfly jewelry... there is nothing totally finished yet, but some half finished pieces are in the works. I am also in the development process of some interesting new designs focusing on dragonflies and other garden things. Some of my ideas are going to give my jewelry a more 3-d effect for certain pieces... so far this is all in the development stage, but the new year should bring some new very different pieces.

Sooo Stay tuned and I will not ignore this blog anymore.