Yeah...

Well as promised last blog... here it is!!!!! The "winter" pendant I made.

It was going to just be a test piece... oh well... nice "test" although I think it warrants being finished into a necklace.


Well now there are some things moving on the music front for me. Yesterday I decided to start looking for musicians again. I posted an add and got a couple of responses I am still evaluating. Both have possible promise for totally different reasons. I went to a jam last night and got my first time being shunned most likely for being a chick with a guitar. My friend played and wanted me to play drums so I obliged him. I told them I wanted to go up front later and sing and play guitar, but they never got me back up... they got every dude in the place up, just not me. I have a feeling when I walked in with my guitar in hand, from the looks on most of the guys faces it was gonna be one of those nights. Oh well, I've written some very good songs from experiences like these. These were metal type guys anyway, not really my thing. It's OK, I got to play drums and got to talk with someone I am looking into as a possible band-mate, so all was not lost. And those guys don't know what they missed... I was by far the best singer in the house, and they never even heard me sing. Oh well no biggie, I have been through this song and dance before, and there was a time when I would have gotten really mad, but I get it. Some guys in the music business still think they work in a "mans world"... little do they know, they better move over, cause there are a lot of great female artist... and there's only going to be more and more.

I'm gonna keep this short since I had very little sleep last night and have been having some nerve issues last night and this morning already. Till next time!!!

Color??? YES PLEASE!!!

Well... unfortunately, I am not able to show the new cool bronze pieces I had drying... they fired, but apparently not all the way, because when I took them out and started to clean them, they exploded. :( Two really cool hearts down the drain (literally) Oh well. Back to firing tests when I get more clay in my hands.

Of course I don't sulk over broken pieces for long... I have plenty of other new mediums to explore! Namely enamel. So I decided to see what would happen if I enameled on fine silver. I had some little pendants I made from fine silver clay a long time ago. They were pretty, but never sparked my muse for whatever reason. Well I decided to try transparent enamels on them and OH BOY did they come to life!!! Check these out!

The last picture also shows some earrings I made with sterling silver. I used heat repeatedly to bring the fine silver to the surface, it looks beautiful!

Since I really (as much as I would not mind) can not afford to work in silver exclusively, I also have been experimenting in copper and enamel. I can form shapes out of copper and enamel them to give them color, dimension, and life.

The earrings are fun, light and eye catching... the other flowers are hand forged, and enameled. I am experimenting and learning what colors do what. Copper has a whole other range of hues from silver... esp with the transparent colors. A little disappointment in some pieces. A couple went RIGHT into the garbage. BUT weather they are successful as these are, or not so much like the trash bound pieces... I am learning a TON by just trying this and that.

SO my boyfriend says, these earrings are nice, but they are so spring, and well winter is about upon us. So as I was experimenting today, I started to do a little pendant, and was going to do flowers on it (so my natural grove)... but his words rang in my head and I decided to try and make it more "winter". I did not take a pic yet, but I will post it next blog!

Oh how I love knowledge!

I am a craver of knowledge.  I don't usually read fiction, because I always want to be learning something, so I am more of a how to book, or non fiction reader. WELL... You should see the huge stack of books I have right now from the library. MOST of those are on jewelry making, esp. metal clay, and a couple on enamel. My two newest mediums... as if fabricating and wire wrapping were not enough.... it's OK, I am a painter also, and thus I want to paint my jewelry. One book I am reading is giving me hope I can actually do that. Not the half haphazard torch coloring I've done in the past(I say haphazard, because colors are hard to control when using fire to color metal), or the inked pieces... or patina... all the other ways I've colored metal. No this, can be used like actual paints... of course like picking up watercolor after using oils... the medium has it's own properties I have to learn. BUT As much as I love painting, and I love fire... and the permanency of glass on metal... once I do master the properties so I can plan accordingly to get the affect I want... watch out!


Now my ideas in my head are certainly higher than my current ability, but I think, as with ANYTHING creative I pick up, I will find a way to make it work for me... and work well.

Now... time to get the torch out and try some things.... :) HAPPY DAY!

Reflecting

So I think now is a good time to reflect. Maybe it is a natural thing as I enter into a whole new decade of existence on this earth, in this body. I was told today thanks for sharing my talent, in reference to my jewelry. Made me think back to how I got started and how jewelry was kind of an accidental creative adventure for me. I can blame, or thank my son for that. I was pregnant, big and uncomfortable, so playing guitar was getting more and more impossible. I didn't want to paint, because of very bad morning sickness... (all day and all night sickness?) the fumes would make me sick. So I wanted something creative to do, so I bought a few seed beads, some other things needed to make very basic jewelry, and a book... "Weaving without a loom." My early pieces were all beads and maybe a clasp to close it, sewn on. But I got hooked... I quickly advanced my beadwaving skills and started making some pieces that were really amazing... but the amount of work, I knew there was no real paycheck in it.
 Creativity was not new to me at all... I had been an artist and musician for years. I wrote music and poetry, painted, sculpted once in a while... anything creative I got my hands on. Beading quickly became my new obsession. But I never would have DREAMED I would become a METAL ARTIST! That all came one thing at a time and before I knew it I had a viable business, I was making important pieces for people. Custom orders, engagement rings, alternate wedding rings... all kinds of other things I never even knew were possible to make, let alone thought I would be making them. And now here I am 10 years later... still sucking up every bit of knowledge I can to improve and expand my ability and bag-o-skills for making jewelry. I still paint, I play music a lot more than I paint... but jewelry is definitely here to stay!

And now... what new blingy thing shall I give myself tomorrow as I enter into my next decade of life. :) Yeah turning 40 is not the most welcome thing, but it is not the worst... I feel like I learned a LOT over the last decade.... not only in jewelry, metalwork, stones, etc... but in life. And of course my son has been here for this decade... and he is a gift in himself. So even though I had some extremely hard years during this time, the joy deffinately shines brigher than the heartache and pain I suffered. And now that those lessons are learned, I look forward to what the next years will bring (well maybe not looking forward to more grey hair and lines on my face, but ANY WAY!)...

Medical testing AGAIN!?!?!?!

Wow, I feel like one big health crap sandwich lately. I was not blogging back then, but I had a hysterectomy about 2 1/2 months ago. I had it done for a ton of reasons, and when they got in my belly they found more issues. Fibroids, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, enlarged uterus. The road to surgery was not easy... they did quite a bit of testing, poking, and prodding. The worst was by far having 5 biopsies done during one visit. Well those missed something because when they checked my cervix after taking it out, there were cellular changes, so although it was not cancer, it was developing. Well at least we got that taken care of before it became a real issue.

Now, since surgery I have been having pain issues again in my hands, arms, shoulders, neck, back(this happened before about 2 years ago for a few months, but went away on it's own)... and a couple of times in my legs. The Dr sent me for an x-ray and it showed a narrower space between two of my neck vertebrae, indicating a problem with the discs (?). So next test was MRI which I had done yesterday. It was loud and I was hurting, but I managed to stay still anyway.  Today I go for a nerve test, apparently they have to stick needles in my arms. Let me tell you, the pain, the surgery... this is not the worst part of it all. The worst part is the mental aspect. I have always been mostly healthy, other than hurting myself once in a while thinking that I am superwoman, I really have not had any chronic issues. I am tired of being stuck with needles. I hate them... I felt so incredibly violated when they did the biopsies and stuff, so I am a bit fearful for todays test. However... living like this is not fun.

I went to the music store the other day to look at acoustics... I am thinking of getting one, for a different sound than my strats or hollowbody. I tried a few, they all hurt my hands immediately. Even the one with the lowest action in the place.. there was no way I could have played it. Talk about disappointment. EVERYTHING I love to do, involves the use of my hands... the ONLY thing that does not is singing.

It hurts to make jewelry, to play guitar... although that same night I did play my strat, and something about the weight of the guitar on my shoulder, it must have pulled the pinched nerves and relieved them a bit or something. I won't know the results of these tests till next week when I go see my Dr again.... I am really hoping that it is just a disc issue, or something that can be fixed easily.  I do not really want this test... it involves sticking needles into my muscles.... and that part I HATE!

I am really becoming emotionally spent. I will feel better, start planning things... then out of no where a pain comes and sometimes it literally makes my legs go weak. I want to work, but I never know when I'll be feeling well enough, or when I won't be able to work due to pain. A job outside the house right now seems impossible. Gig's I'd LOVE to be playing out, but if I book a gig and then that day I can't function... how long before no one wants to hire me again? Being good is only part of it, if you are unreliable you won't keep getting work. I'd take a job at a gym again training people, but same problem. At this point... I feel like a prisoner in my own body. And now I am starting to hurt and need to lay down. Hopefully this testing is the beginning of my getting better...

Cyber monday musings

So my birthday is coming up and my boyfriend got me an early birthday present of some enamels. I picked a few colors up, with the needed tools to torch fire enamel. I am not using the kiln for firing yet, however since I do have this tool, that will be used in the future. For now my torch is working well.  So the night I got them I was up till 11pm or so torching in wonder, disappointment, and pride... differing amounts of each. Most of what I made was successful in my eyes anyway.


Here is the very first piece I did...

As you can see, it's not exactly amazing, but not totally ugly. It's actually OK.


Some little beadcaps I enameled with Orient Red. Very cute!

A sweet little pendant... this one has some nice things going on with the layer of golden clear I put on before the colors... makes them seem as if they are floating!

This one was going well, till the tweezers I had it in sweezed it after the metal had annealed.. I tried to hammer it back flat (as you do with metal)... well the glass cracked off in places, so I attempted to cover it up... not totally successfully, but it's still cute.

So I saw someone on youtube doing this type of technique... had to try it! Next time I will be a little more liberal with the white, since it seems to end up looking like less when fired. Learning learning!

Handmade heart toggle, enameled in black and red.... this one actually looks really good!

 

 

These earring are half success half fail... the little enameled headpins, the enamel chipped a bit as they cooled, but I think I have the fix for that.

My first pair of finished enameled earrings... these actually worked out well!

So that is what I made the first 24 hrs or so with my new enamels.... stay tuned to see what I do next!

*Hint- I got some bronze clay pieces drying ;)*

Well well.... things have changed so very much in the last couple of years. It seems I abandoned this blog a long time ago, and now it is time to revive it. My new name as a company as it's own dot com, I have learned a ton more about metal working, about my vision, and what has taken me off track at times.  Soo my vision for this now, is to post on whatever is on my mind, but esp give you a glimpse inside my creative world and mind. Trust me, it's been on overdrive, so there will be no lack of things to blog about.

I will keep it short for now, because as I said my creative mind is on overdrive and I got a design I need to sketch before it fleets it's way right out of my mind.

Till next time... stay creative!!!!