Plays With Fire

Etching with Carol Webb

2011-12-21T21:43:00.082-05:00

In the beginning of November, Carol Webb arrived in Atlanta to give us an excellent, information packed three-day workshop on etching. Here are a couple of Carol's finished pieces (copper and silver laminate) in case you aren't familiar with her work:

We started off by transferring our black and white designs onto blue PnP paper, which we then transferred onto copper (with heat from a warming tray). Our first assignment was to completely etch through the metal.

Here's Carol doing a little annealing:

We then layed our plates face down in a batch of etching solution and checked them every ten minutes or so until the design had etched all the way through. You can see in the photo below where the etchant is cutting right through the metal.

Here are examples of student experiments showing how the black sections of the design will stay copper while the white will be removed. I can't tell you how many times we mixed this up.

We also did some heavy duty etching in this spray etcher. It was amazing how deep the etchings were in a fraction of the time. This technique is perfect for using etched brass plates to transfer onto sterling silver through a rolling mill.

The major reason I took this class was to learn how to make and etch copper and silver laminate (bi-metal). To accomplish this, we started with sterling or fine silver sheet (20 to 12 ga), along with a sheet of copper (26 to 24 ga) and heated it until a eutectic bond was formed, which can take some time. Often it takes more than one attempt with the torch. We then rolled the bi-metal down to the gauge we needed for our project. At this point, we simply followed the previous exercises in etching to get the results desired. Carol also showed us how to use different patinas to cause a striking contrast between the silver and the copper (see first picture above).

We somehow managed to do all of this in three days! It was an amazing amount of information to to cover in such a short time, but Carol was organized and kept us all on task throughout the entire class. She gave excellent instructions and handouts to help us along, plus provided us with pages and pages of designs to use in our projects. I learned so much my head was spinning...and that's the way I like it.

Upon returning home, I decided to enamel one of the copper pieces I etched and make a simple necklace out of it.

Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez Workshop

2011-09-01T20:57:00.010-04:00

The Georgia Goldsmith's Group had a workshop recently with Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez. Juan Carlos is an Associate Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and I first came across his work at Wildacres in North Carolina last summer. All of the students in his class carried on and on about what a wonderful learning experience they were having, and I have to admit I was a wee bit jealous. So when I heard GGG was bringing Juan-Carlos to Atlanta, I signed up immediately.

Juan Carlos

Our class was all about textures and embellishments. We started off texturing round steel blocks (in any pattern we desired), which we can now use to add texture to our metal. We also textured hammers and made numerous stamps out of steel and nails. The picture below is one of the steel blocks I textured with separating disks ground into the metal. The photo underneath shows how the texture looks after hammering a piece of silver onto the block.

We also spent a good amount of time etching. We used PnP, paint pens, sharpies, contact paper, stamps, universal etching ground, bees wax...just about anything that would resist the etching solution.

Kathy and Debby

Barbara, Cyndi and Anna

Juan Carlos demonstrated how to obtain many of the techniques used in this piece below, i.e., texturing, scoring and folding, rolling mill techniques, forging. He demonstrated flush setting tiny stones (and he made it look so easy), depletion guilding and cleaning with a DRY brass brush (great tip!).

I think we all agreed it was a wonderfully inspiring week. We'll take everything we learned back home with us and, hopefully, some of what we absorbed will come out in what we now create.

Good Grub Delicious Subs

2011-08-02T20:30:00.000-04:00

I just need to pass along another great find in the Atlanta area: Good Grub Delicious Subs. They're up in Alpharetta, and for those of you who have been dreaming of having a gluten-free submarine sandwich, this is the place to go! Their 9-inch gluten-free hoagie roll is so good I swear you can't tell it's made without wheat.

I ordered the Grub Club Melt the first time, and enjoyed it so much I went back later in the week and had another. It's excellent. (You'll be happy to know the staff is well trained in safely preparing a gluten-free sandwich.)

Here's their Menu: http://www.goodgrubsubs.com/menu

The Making of a Cuff Bracelet (Repousse/Chasing)

2011-07-08T14:53:00.001-04:00

Before I began my cuff bracelet in silver, I did a demo in copper. Even though it took hours making the demo cuff, I learned so much and it was well worth the time and effort in order to save me from making the same mistakes in silver. Gia is a wonderful teacher and was able to walk me through every step of this process.

After chasing the design on the front of the piece, this is how the design appeared after the first attempt at repousse (the pushing out of the metal from the back side.)

Here we have more definition. I've done the necessary chasing on the front and more repousse from the back, and it's just about done!

I decided to use a half round wire that will form the outside edge of the cuff. I then textured the background before cutting off the extra silver around the edge, and filing for a smooth edge.

It's now time to form the cuff on a mandrel, very, very carefully. I was nervous that I would cause a crease in the metal, so first used a wooden mandrel and then finished with a steel mandrel.

It's finished! I'm really happy with the results! Thank you, Gia!

Every Good Boy Does Fine

2011-03-05T14:09:00.001-05:00

Michael Good came to Atlanta recently to share his knowledge and skills with a group of us from the Georgia Goldsmith’s Group. He gave a five-day workshop in Anticlastic Metal Forming, which was an amazing experience.

Michael's skills as a goldsmith are well known and respected. He studied under the famous Heikki Seppa, from Finland (same as my teacher, Julia Woodman did). His jewelry forms are like small pieces of sculpture - full of fluidity and movement.

Michael gave us numerous demonstrations on how to turn metal one way, hammer it, then turn it another way and hammer some more, twist it, untwist it and form our metal into lovely, flowing designs. We were encouraged to learn and master his techniques, and to then use those tecnhiques to come up with new and interesting designs of our own.

Our first assignment was learning how to make a hyperbolic paraboloid. Do you think I spelled that right? This started from a perfect square, flat piece of copper.

Terry & Mary, hard at work.

This bracelet is a challenging project to attempt:

Of course, Michael made it all look easy, which it certainly is not.

Here is a photo of an earring I would love to be able to make someday:

Come back soon, Michael! This was an excellent workshop and I'm looking forward to being in another one with you again soon.

It's Still Rock 'n' Rubies to Me

2011-02-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

My friend Maggie and I began our adventures at the Tucson Gem Fair with a morning seminar on Thursday called, "Best Buys in Tucson," presented by Richard Drucker from GemWorld International. He discussed issues facing colored gemstone dealers, which gemstones are most popular (and most expensive), the quality and sizes available, and to prepare ourselves for higher prices.

Then we hit the AGTA show. Oh. My. Goodness. I have never seen so many exquisite stones in one place. We saw diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, rubies, aquamarine, opals, peridot, spinel, tourmaline, chrysoprase, garnet, chalcedony, pearls, morganite, moonstone, kunzite, tanzanite, topaz, citrine and more. Expensive? Very!

One of the highlights of our day at AGTA was spending a little time with the famous Bernd Munsteiner and his son, Tom. Bernd Munsteiner is one of the greatest gem carvers ever. Tom has carried on the family tradition and his wife, Jutta, is a master goldsmith who designs all of their jewelry pieces. Maggie and I tried on a couple of their bracelets, which were eye-popping gorgeous. Bernd even let us take pictures with him. : )

On the second day we shopped the GJX. Again, we found prices higher than we had expected and simliar to AGTA, but with more vendors from outside the country.

Third day: Holidome. What a difference. It felt like a gigantic flea market. The pearls dropped from thousands of dollars a strand to two dollars a strand. Certain items were of a lesser quality, but by doing some searching, we were able to find some nice stones for excellent prices. This is where I found some very unusual cabachons in peruvian opal and sugalite, which completely made my day.

What else did we do in Tucson? Ate lots and lots of Mexican food! Here is a photo of a unique entrance to one of the restaurants we tried.

We never even made it to any of the outdoor shows. Maybe next year?

Gluten Free Ebelskivers (Scandinavian Pancakes)

2010-11-29T13:52:00.004-05:00

While searching for interesting gifts for people during the holidays, I came across this Cast Iron Aebliskiver Pan (that's how it's spelled at Amazon.com - made by Lodge Pro for $19.99). I then researched what one could make with it and found a recipe at Williams-Sonoma and another one in a cookbook titled, "The Cast Iron Skillet cookbook." So I sent away for both the pan and the cookbook, thinking it would be a great gift for someone who likes to cook. But the problem was, once it arrived, I couldn't bear to give it away. (The pan arrived completely seasoned and ready to cook in. A big plus!)

Now that I've made these delicious goodies, I'm thoroughly delighted I kept the pan. Maybe next year someone will be the the lucky recipient of one, though. :)

To make them, I used most of the ingredients from the cookbook, but also added the berries & Jam and technique from the Williams-Sonoma recipe. It called for regular flour, of course, but I substituted Gluten Free flour (the gluten free pantry all purpose flour).

EBELSKIVERS

1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Pantry all purpose gluten free flour (or your own)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs, beaten
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 tsp. butter, divided

Fresh blueberries, rasberries, blackberries or a simple jar of jelly. (I used thawed frozen berries and it came out okay, as well.)

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and beat by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth. (I did it by hand.)

Heat a cast iron ebelskiver pan over medium-low heat. Place 1/2 tsp butter in each indentation. Allow to melt, and then fill each cavity with 2 tablespoons batter. Add 2 or 3 berries or a dab of jelly and top with 1 tablespoon batter. Cook until light brown on the bottom, about 2 or 3 minutes Turn gently (either with a fork or 2 wooden skewers) and brown the other side. Transfer to a platter and dust with confectioners sugar. Makes about 25.

You can also just cook them without anything in the middle and spread the jam on when they're done. They can also be served with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Bewitched by Pitch

2010-10-26T19:34:00.023-04:00

Gia has been teaching at Spruill, so I have been able to continue learning Repousse/Chasing, which I am truly loving. It has taken me a few starts and stops to get to this point. My first exposure to Repousse/Chasing was in a four-day workshop with Valentin Yotkov a few years ago (brought here by the Georgia Goldsmith's Group). I thoroughly enjoyed learning this new technique, but the class lasted only four days, and I wasn't quite sure what to do on my own after it ended. A couple of years later Victoria Lansford taught a class and I learned a few new techniques I had not learned from Valentin. But not until I started working with Gia did it all begin to come together. Gia is a true master and makes it all look easy, which, of course, it is not. Here he is showing us one of his own "works in progress."

I recently began an experimental design on copper for a cuff bracelet. I then transferred the same design (with a few modifications) onto sterling silver and am working on it presently. Doing a model in copper beforehand is extremely helpful. The mistakes are made in the copper, not in the silver. The one error I made on this copper piece was taking the design too far to the ends of the cuff, which I have corrected in the silver piece.

We often begin our designs on a "hard or medium" ROMA Plastilina before placing the metal in the pitch, but if there is not a lot of height desired on the design, using only pitch is completely acceptable. Here's is Gia's example of a project he's been teaching the beginning students, this one done totally on red pitch.

This is the design the entire class is working on. Here we have Gia's example:

This is my final design, which I sawed out of the copper when finished.

It's a Family Affair

2010-08-20T13:50:00.009-04:00

A new family member joined us in July and his name is Leo. He's the sweetest, most scrumptious little baby ever. I'll show you what I mean:

These are Leo's twinkly toes.

Finally asleep, so everyone else can rest, too.

I can't wait to see little Leo again soon. : )

YEAH! Burger

2010-07-11T19:22:00.006-04:00

I just got back from YEAH! Burger in Atlanta where I had my first completely gluten-free hamburger in YEARS. We are not counting the ones I have at home with Udi's GF bread, mind you. I'm talking about a real hamburger bun here. What is amazing is about a month ago I was telling my husband how astounded I am at all the gluten-free offerings now available at restaurants, and I said, "I can't wait until I can go into a restaurant and order a hamburger!" About a week later a note was posted on one of the celiac message boards about the opening of Yeah! Burger.

They not only have gluten free hamburgers and buns, but also have gluten free french fries and beer. Wow! I felt like it was my BIRTHDAY or something!

Okay, it's a little pricey. But it's worth every cent. : )

Hammering In My Head

2010-07-09T14:07:00.020-04:00

Another week at Wildacres up in Little Switzerland. North Carolina has come and gone again. This was my third visit and it is now right up there as one of my most favorite weeks of the year. Betty Helen Longhi was my instructor and we not only hammered ourselves silly, we bought every conceivable hammer and stake we will ever need for the rest of our lives (ya, right).

Here are some of the forms we made while learning how to hammer metal into different forms and shapes using anticlastic raising, synclastic forming, sinusodial stakes and mandrels. It'll take plenty of practice to become proficient at this particular skill. Betty made it all look easy, of course.

There were classes in chainmaking (Jean Stark), making miniature teapots (John Cogswell), blacksmithing (Zach Noble), Bi Metal (Juan Carlos Caballero-Perez), and finding one's individual style (Charles Pinckney). Below are Maggie, Jean & Julia, three women who inspire me with their wisdom, joy of life and vibrant, positive attitudes.

Here we are working in Betty Helen's class. We would work from 9:00 am until 6:30 pm. Some nights we would come back after dinner and work some more.

And talk about fun! Oh my gosh, we had had so much fun. Can you read Donnie's T-shirt? It says, "Midnight Plumber: Will work for M&M's." There is a long story behind this involving Maggie, a broken shower at midnight and Donnie to the rescue.

Part of the "Spruill Gang" below. We've all been taking classes at Spruill for a few years, and Tom is an instructor. One of the best parts of metalsmithing/jewelry making are the friends one makes along the way.

Chasing the Night Away

2010-05-09T19:08:00.016-04:00

Taking classes with Gia Gogishvili is something I look forward to every week. We meet at his studio on Saturday afternoons and spend between 4 and 5 hours learning and practicing the art of repousse/chasing. For those of you who aren't familiar with this technique, here is the definition from Wikipedia: Repousse is a metalworking technique in which a malleable metal is ornamented or shaped by hammering from the reverse side. Chasing is the opposite technique to repoussé, and the two are used in conjunction to create a finished piece. It is also known as embossing.

Below are some of the tools used in this technique. No matter how many tools you use, you always need more. That's what Gia tells us. We're also learning how to make these tools ourselves.

This is where we work. It's smart to wear earplugs, because when everyone is hammering at the same time, it can be painful.

Gia is examining Maggie's piece of copper. She's just starting her design, so is chasing the outside lines of the design on a piece of copper which sits on top of a steel plate.

Here some texture is added before moving forward.

Now it's time to start pushing the metal and developing the form.

Here we are getting more defined. We're at a point where we're now beginning to turn the piece over when needed to develop the details.

And this one is just about done. It's probably been flipped 3 times...maybe more. The lines are sharper, the differing heights more defined and all the details are becoming clear. Just a little more definition and it'll be time to remove this from the pitch pot and move on to the next project. Can't wait! I've got my design already lined and am ready to start!

Golden Gaze

2010-03-21T14:13:00.014-04:00

Harold O'Connor (www.haroldoconnor.com) came to town last week to teach three worshops, and I was fortunate enough to be in two of them: Surface Embellishments and Unconventional Stone setting.

We learned about reticulating sterling silver, forming and folding metal, laminating copper to silver, laminating gold to silver, plus a demonstration on granulation.

In the stone setting workshop we watched Harold make sterling silver cable, a silver cone shaped piece that was then attached to a small stone by pegs and wire, how to use a tap and die set, and how to make a slide mount (among other things).

Here's Charlene working on reticulation:

And this is Amy, obviously enjoying herself:

Harold brought a few of his works to show us. Here are a couple of my favorites:

It was an excellent workshop. I learned so many new skills that my head is still spinning! I especially enjoyed learning how he reticulates silver and how to fuse gold to silver.

Here is the piece I finished a couple of days ago, inspired by Harold's workshop:

It is made of sterling silver, reticulated silver, granulation, and 22k gold fused to silver. It was then oxidized with liver of sulphur, which gave it all those wonderful colors.

I'm in Heaven

2010-03-10T14:39:00.008-05:00

Oh My God! I never thought I would see the day.

Do you know how many years it has been since I had a sandwich that tasted like a real sandwich? I don't mean a gluten-free sandwich made with the gluten-free bread I've been able to purchase from the freezer section of health food stores. I mean a sandwich with bread that is similar to the bread I knew before I became a Celiac. I'm talking about bread that is soft and squishy like the kind I grew up on. I'm talking about Udi's Gluten Free Bread!

I had been hearing the "buzz" about this bread for a couple of months, and finally got around to ordering myself 4 loaves from http://udisglutenfree.elsstore.com. As I was sipping my cup of coffee this morning, FedEx rang my doorbell with my delivery.

Because of my excitement, I almost threw a couple pieces in the toaster, but then stopped myself. That is what I do with all the other brands of gluten-free breads I purchase to make them more palatable. So I waited until lunch time so I could make a real sandwich...and a real sandwich is exactly what it was.

How many years has it been? Thirteen years. I waited thirteen years to once again eat a regular sandwich...and it was heavenly.

Now I'm hoping they'll start making hamburger buns. Do you know how long it's been since I've had a real hamburger?

Don't it Make Your Brown Eyes Blue

2010-01-30T17:44:00.015-05:00

This particular chain (one of my favorites) is made to fit at the bottom of one's neck and is about 1/4" wide. I've made the aquamarine pendant removable, so the chain can be worn alone if one prefers. The chain pattern is from Jean Stark's book, "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains," which is a MUST for anyone doing metalsmithing.

Then I picked a big, bold, blue Australian Opal for my next design. I just can't tell you how much I love Australian Opals.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow...

2010-01-10T15:55:00.010-05:00

When Jess was visiting this summer, she came upon an Amber cabachon in my box of stones and asked if I would make her a necklace. After learning the setting technique I showed you a couple of posts ago, I decided to use it again for this design. But I made some major changes, and also left the back open to let the light of the amber come shining through.

Supposedly, jewelry worn on the body (touching skin), such as necklaces, bracelets or rings formed from amber nuggets, can have a strong chemical effect. Amber necklaces closely sticking to the body around the neck are said to have a beneficial effect on thyroid illness. Well, it can't hurt...and they're pretty, too.

And one more...just ONE MORE time...for this design. But now with more 18K Gold! (Did I become obsessed?)

She's making a list, checking it twice...

2009-11-30T15:21:00.006-05:00

With the holidays upon us here, I'm spending more time decorating the house, cooking holiday meals and doing online shopping than working on my jewelry projects. But I wanted to post the results of the recent design challenge I'd mentioned in an earlier post.

Doing a design challenge is a great way to force yourself to just play with different textures and sizes until you create something you like. You'll be surprised how this exercise gets your creative juices flowing! All you need to do is make 3 different textures in your metal and then cut out a number of pieces, same shape but different sizes. Then you play! What I had originally planned changed and changed again the more I messed around with my pieces. Here is a photo of the necklace before I put a patina on the metal:

The bracelet changed dramatically from my original intentions. Here it's easy to see I've taken the same shape and cut it out in different sizes and textures. I soldered and formed a cuff bracelet and then added a little gold for highlights, finishing with a patina and final buffing:

Now it's back to making holiday lists and checking them twice!

: )

Silver Threads & Gold

2009-10-11T16:45:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's time to get back to a little metalsmithing! It's drizzly outside and I'm happy to be warm and dry inside my studio, experimenting with some new ideas. I'm taking two classes this quarter with two different teachers, so am learning lots of new tricks. For example, did you know that when the stick you use to pick-solder gets all icky and gooey, you just put the torch to it and then quench it in water a couple of times? Cleans it almost back to new. I used to think I had to replace them when they got bad. Thanks, Kristin!

A couple of weeks ago, we had a great demo on how to attach a domed, circular bottom to a domed top piece with silver, balled wire (instead of soldering). The item we chose to put in the middle was completely up to us, and half the fun. I searched my stash and found this three-piece domed, gold & silver bi-metal creation I had made recently, but hadn't yet figured out what to use it for. The middle of this new pendant seemed the perfect fit. This was seriously fun to make and I'm already thinking about doing another one, domed on each side, but both with an opening, and hanging a pearl or some other pretty bead in the middle.

It's such a pleasure being back in Julia's class again with all my jewelry-making friends. Julia got me started working on these two sterling silver forged bracelets. They began as 6 gauge square wire (6.25" long), then were formed into a circle, soldered, and forged into these shapes. I'm going to make one more because I think they look good as a set of three. The reticulated bracelet that was mentioned previously is still unfinished - just giving myself a little break with that one. (I WILL finish it, I WILL...)

What is this mess of metal, you ask?

A design challenge (per Kristin's instructions)...and a perfect way to get your creative juices flowing. What we have here is a basic shape and three textures of metal. You then cut out about 15 to 20 different size pieces in sterling silver (you could use copper, as well). The challenge is to make something out of it. Here's one of my ideas in progress, but I'll show you what actually materializes when I figure it out myself. (These pieces are just laying on top of each other -- nothing here is soldered down yet.)

Here are a pair of earrings I've grown quite fond of, made with some of the pearls I purchased when I went up to Franklin, N.C. in the summer with my metalsmithing friends. Still wondering if I should patina the silver to bring out the turquoise more...

Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog

2009-10-03T19:10:00.019-04:00

Howl-O-Weenie Fest 2009

Another great day at the 2009 Howl-O-Weenie Festival, the yearly event put on by Dream Dachshund Rescue of Atlanta. Think you might want to adopt a Doxie? Look here: www.dreamrescue.org/Adopt2.

Our little wee ones actually made it into the finals for best costume this year! : ) They were Geisha girls. Here's Marci and David (with Hannah & Bella) in the final "line-up":

The "Doggie Lama" was the clear winner! : )

This little pup was the airplane on the Hudson. Sooooo cute

Cinderella...

Scary Pirates...

Our wee ones, sitting patiently to hear the contest results...

Dachsunds up for adoption:

This is always a fun day for us and the pups. The Dream Dachshund Rescue organization puts on a great event - lots of contests, raffles, music and silly dog stuff. And the craziest thing of all is how much Hannah and Bella enjoy coming to the Howl-O-Weenie every year. Their tails are wagging the whole time we're there. I guess they enjoy being with their tribe. : )

Pizza, Panini, Cake & Columbia

2009-08-02T13:37:00.015-04:00

I had the opportunity to visit one of my favorite gluten-free restaurants in New York this weekend, Risotteria, which I've written about before here in my blog. The gluten-free breadsticks they put on every table is just the beginning of the fun. Since I've had the pizza on a previous visit, this time I skipped it and went for the gluten-free panini. The waiter made sure to let me know they have an assortment of GF beers and a brand new cake with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting and a dusting of coconut, which I had him package up in a take-away box. I carried that piece of cake around with me the entire afternoon and then onto the plane with me for our return trip home. It was scrumptious. Even the flight attendant couldn't help but admire it as she passed by.

While in New York, Jess gave me a great tour of Columbia. She was even able to get me into one of her favorite libraries (I think there are something like 23 of them on campus), Butler Library, which is usually off-limits to anyone outside the school. The fella who let us in said, "I'm not supposed to do this, but since it's your Mama, I will." : ) Walking up the staircase you are greeted by a painting of a young Dwight D. Eisenhower when he was president of the university. This is the largest single library on campus and houses 1.9 million of the university's 9.2 million volumes. Very impressive!

Here is "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin in front of the Philosophy building.

And here's Jess, a proud and happy (but very busy) student!

I also made it (finally) to Metalliferous, a supply shop in Manhattan I often order from for jewelry-making supplies. It was crazy in there! SO MUCH STUFF! A couple of the sales people were friendly, but a couple of them were quite rude. It was actually funny in a strange way. Jess and I kept giving each other perplexed looks and laughing. Hard to believe people actually think it's okay to treat customers in such a condescendingly discourteous manner. It was definitely a memorable New York experience.

A Camping We Will Go

2009-06-26T12:54:00.014-04:00

I just returned from a great week up in Little Switzerland, North Carolina. This year I took an enameling class with Linda Darty, and it was the best! Linda is an excellent teacher and is a wealth of information. My head is still swimming with new ideas. I have wanted to take an enameling class for years, so to be able to finally take this class with Linda Darty was a dream come true. (Note: A special thanks to my friend, Pam, who switched classes with me to make this happen.)

We had a few technical issues - one of them being the kilns were heating up the room to an unbearable temperature. So the solution was to move the kilns outside. But then it started to rain. This is Bev and Tom firing their work in the rain.

We ate way too much. Three full meals a day. It felt like every couple of hours, the bell was ringing to let us know it was time to eat again. And like little lemmings, we all came out of our workshops and headed to the cafeteria. This is Charlotte , Donna & Susan (Susan was my very first metalsmithing teacher and I've taken many, many classes with her.)

A photo of one of the workshop cabins:

Just a few of Julia's admirers:

We're all looking forward to doing it again next summer!

This is one of the enameled cloisonne pendants I made in Linda's class. I call it the Love Bug.

: )

A Day in the Life

2009-04-18T15:09:00.010-04:00

As soon as I had made my coffee this morning, I could not wait to go check the baby ducks! Mrs. Ducky was still sitting on her nest and a little duckling would peek it's tiny, furry head out from under her every few minutes. Then another would pop out...then another. I counted four present and figured the others had not yet finished hatching. I assumed it was probably too chilly for them to be out and about yet anyway, so went back into the house to take a shower and put my zoom lens on my camera so I'd be ready for some good shots when it warmed up in the afternoon.

When I returned to the yard a short time later, I was shocked to find the nest completely EMPTY (except for broken eggshells)! I actually stood there staring at the nest wondering where they could have gone to! They just came out of their eggs for goodness sakes! Then I heard a noise from the pool, so looked up and there they were - all 10 baby ducklings swimming in the pool already!

Soooooooo cute!!!! But there was no way for them to get out of the pool. The mother appeared to be a little stressed about this fact. She would hop out and wait for them to follow, but they were simply too small to reach the ledge. So we had to build them a way to make their way up and out of the pool. First, we tried a wooden plank. I grabbed some broccoli and chopped it up because I had read they liked vegetables. I laid it on the plank to lure them in...but they wanted nothing to do with the broccoli or the plank. Then we came up with the idea of using some bricks to make little steps for them. They had no idea that this was the only place they could safely maneuver out of the pool, so we splashed water a lot and made them move in the general direction of the bricks. I wish I had a video of the little ducks climbing up and out of the water because it was seriously adorable.

After their first swim, Mrs. Ducky took them on a stroll through the yard. They would fall, pick themselves up and then scurry after the group, trying to keep up. After a short walk, she jumped back into the pool, completely unaware of our cries, "No, no, don't do it!" Soon, the little ones followed and after a short swim, we had to lead them all back to the brick stairs again so they could get out.

After all that excitement, everyone needed a break. Mrs. Ducky returned to her warm, cozy nest with all ten babies and I left them alone for a couple of hours.

Upon my return, I found the nest empty again! But this time they weren't in the pool. I walked the backyard in it's entirety two times and could not find them anywhere. Then, as I passed the stairs leading down to where we keep our pool equipment, I spotted them at the bottom of the stairs, all cozy and sleeping on the inside of the fence. I think Mrs. Ducky took them down there (I have no idea how they made it down the stairs) to head over to the pond where she lives full-time, but they couldn't get out because the gate was closed. So we opened it up for them, and off they went - meandering off to the pond in the woods in one long line of delightful baby ducks.

We'll keep the gate open tonight, but I don't think they're going to come back. I thought they would be with us for a month, however now it appears they might be done with living in our yard. But who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky and one of them will decide to come back and nest here next spring! : )

How Much is that Ducky out the Window?

2009-04-15T14:11:00.009-04:00

One evening my husband and I discovered two ducks swimming in our swimming pool. One was brown and tan colored and the other one had an iridiscent green head with a reddish chest (which I later discovered were Wood Ducks). We've lived here for over six years, yet this was the first time we had been visited by our new feathery friends. About a week after their visit, I was in the back yard and spotted what appeared to be one of the brownish-colored ducks DYING! It was just sitting there next to a tree by the pool looking all sad and unhealthy. I called the hubby up right away (he had just left) and said, "You've got to come back! There's a duck dying in our yard!" This was about week after we had found a dead squirrel lying on our family room carpet, so to now find an almost-dead duck was not even a surprise. I always suspect the mischievious Bella in moments like this. I explained how she just laid there (instead of flying away) while Bella barked at her frantically. He asked if there were a lot of feathers around her. Surprisingly, yes - a lot of them! He told me she was nesting. We had a duck nesting in our back yard. What a relief.

There she sits, day and night. We have had a couple of powerful storms since she arrived, but none of them budged her. One day she was clobbered by huge chunks of hail pouring from the sky. A few days after that, fallen trees due to high winds caused considerable damage in the area and a large part of Georgia had no power. I'd go to the window and peek out just to make sure all was well, and there she would be, still sitting on her nest of eggs.

She's been out there about three weeks so far, so last night I decided to do a little research to find out when these chickies are going to arrive. "Anytime within 28 days," is what I read on the internet. So it looks like we'll have yard full of little baby chicks any day now. : )

And just so you know, Mrs. Ming Ming Ducky (named Ming Ming after the fearless duck on Wonder Pets by Twitter friend, Betsy, Betsy & Claude Baking Company) picked a pretty nice place to hang out for a couple of months - right under this tree:

I'm a little worried about the baby chicks toddling about and then falling into the pool by accident before they're ready to swim. If you have any suggestions, please comment. I've never done this before (obviously) so don't know what to expect.

Reticulated, Anticlastic Formed Silver Cuff Bracelet with Blue Topaz Gemstones

2009-04-13T15:37:00.010-04:00

Reticulating silver is still an ongoing adventure over here, so I'm showing you one of the cuff bracelets I recently fabricated. This is a variation of the cuff bracelet highlighted on the cover of Art Jewelry Magazine in January of 2008. I made a couple of alterations, which I'll explain.

First, when Julia, my talented teacher (and designer, master metalsmith), saw me trying to solder 10 gauge round wire all around the edges of this bracelet, she told me that half-round wire would be far easier. She was 100% correct (of course)! It was still difficult to solder, but because there were two flat surfaces touching each other, I was able to finish the soldering in probably half the time it would have taken me had I continued to struggle along with the round silver wire.

Second, not wanting my bracelet to be a carbon copy of the one in Art Jewelry Magazine, I added the two blue Topaz gemstones to the inner edges of the cuff.

More to come...

Adventures in Reticulation

2009-02-27T13:29:00.009-05:00

To begin the process of getting a piece of reticulation silver prepared, you must anneal the piece of silver several times and then clean the surface after each annealing with a brass brush (how often one uses the brass brush is highly debatable). The silver becomes ready to reticulate after somewhere between 5 to 9 times of this process. As the silver is heated, the copper oxidizes on the surface. Once the surface is pickled and cleaned, the copper is removed which leaves a surface nearly pure in silver content. This is what causes the surface to have a higher melting temperature than the alloy within. When the metal is heated one more time to bring out the texture, the surface will begin to move and form in rivers and valleys. There are no two pieces the same. The number of times you anneal and the size of the flame used to reticulate cause variations in the texture of the reticulated surface. Some people use large flames from a large torch tip, while others use a small torch tip. Both produce interesting designs, so I'm beginning to believe that there are numerous ways to experiment here.

A number of us are making a bracelet that uses reticulated silver on the outside and fine silver on the inside. They will be soldered at both the top and bottom and a box clasp and hinge added last. Here is where I am at in this process: One piece of formed silver and one piece of reticulation silver ready to be binded together with binding wire and soldered.

It's hard to believe this will all be one unit soon. It's not going to be easy. I've already seen the struggles of those who are ahead of me, so know what is coming. :)

In the meantime, I've made a simple ring with some of the leftover reticulated silver. It's holding a deep blue opal inside a 22K bezel.

Next time I'll tell you all about my week-long class in learning how to make clasps and closures.

Like a Virgin...

2008-12-16T14:49:00.010-05:00

Earlier this month I had to head up to Michigan to help my parents and family out. My father had taken a fall and was in the hospital, and we weren't sure what was going to happen. The good news is he didn't break anything and just today returned home! He is one happy man to be back in his own bed.

Even though the trip caused me to fall behind in Christmas planning and shopping, I had made a vow to myself to ENJOY the holidays this year. I am tired of being scrooge-like in my attitude towards making those lists and checking them twice. This is the year of remembering why I used to love Christmas -- the way the holiday decorations make the house look and feel warm & cozy, giving gifts, spending time with my family and my friends...and making a little time for doing what I love: making artsy-craftsy things. When the kids were wee ones, we would spend every December making ornaments out of dough...or whatever else I could find. I seem to remember putting little dough snowmen into walnut halves at one point in time and attaching a paper clip to hang them on the Christmas tree. So it's only appropriate that a few years ago this all turned into a tradition of making bookmarks for my book club friends. I just finished the new ones today!

They are sterling silver charms with photographs of paintings of Madonna and Child. I poured the resin last night and today they were dry enough to attach the red ribbons.

I wish I had taken a couple photographs of the calendar I made using IPhoto for our friends. These are the friends we always travel with and are in many of the photos I've blogged about, i.e., our latest trip to Jackson Hole. The calendar came out GREAT, so I'm just telling you all this in case you have a Mac. Might be a great idea for a future gift to someone!

Time to start wrapping!

The Golden Acorn

2008-11-16T15:24:00.007-05:00

I just had the most intense week-long jewelry workshop of my life. It was fun, scary, enlightening, nerve-wracking, frustrating and joyous all at the same time.

I started off by working three days on forming the above dome out of 22k gold and adding on those miniscule granules one at a time. Sometimes they would sit nicely where they were supposed to be, and other times they would slip down or slither over to hook up with some other granule formations they were not supposed to be a part of. But it was definitely 3 days worth of work before I reached the point of being ready to begin fusing. My brilliant teacher, Jean Stark, was at my side to watch over me as I began to fuse. My heart was actually beating faster and my palms were sweaty. I'm not kidding about this. I was SCARED. Anyway, the torch was put to the dome and heated until it was a bright, glowing red (I thought for sure it was going to just burn up and melt into one big blob). Jean gently encouraged me on how to use the torch, and little by little the granules fused to the gold. It all happens so quickly. Knowing when to stop and move the torch away before melting is a skill one develops over time I imagine. At this point in my granulation experience, which is practically zero, all I could do was try not to blink in case I missed the "flash" that told me the granules had fused.

Then it was on to making the bail, as well as re-firing the dome again and again to fuse wayward granules. I must have torched this dome at least 10 times, so you can probably imagine how happy I was to bring this baby home all in one piece.

Now I suppose I need to make a handmade gold chain to hold it. : )

Blues, Greens and In Betweens

2008-10-23T17:39:00.012-04:00

After receiving about a quart of Liver of Sulphur from Rio Grande, I've gone a little crazy with it. I'm throwing pieces of jewelry into the pot that I had never considered putting a patina on. It's always a surprise to see the results after a dip or two in the heated Liver of Sulphur, followed by a little steel wool scrub. This new pendant was made from one of the Australian Opals I bought in class a couple of weeks ago. The slightly antique look of the silver really brings out the blue of the stone, another unexpected effect.

Below is an example of my attempt to use some of those new skills I learned in the gemstone-setting workshop that took place a few months ago. : ) Practice, practice, practice.

This is Rebecca, the senior student I've been "mentoring" and teaching metalsmithing skills to. She made a lovely Egyptian spiral bracelet and just finished the pendant hanging from her neck. The picture is wacky because the camera was accidentally set on "Manual" by mistake. Whoops!

Here we have a couple photos from our trip to the Georgia Aquarium last week. Ken and Sharon, friends from Michigan, were in town and we acted like tourists with them for a couple of days.

The beginnings of my next project...such pretty stones...what shall I do with them?

Who Let The Dogs Out?

2008-10-11T14:30:00.015-04:00

Red, brown, dappled, gray, big, small and in-between dachshunds everywhere you looked! Yes, it was time for the yearly Howl-O-Weenie Festival put on by Dream Dachshund Rescue in Atlanta. David and his friends, Matt & Jacqueline, joined us in the park for a morning of dachshund mania.

This little "Princess" was quite the eye-catcher! She had her own well-decorated pink float to ride on in the costume contest.
This was one of the funniest! You can't see the Obama dog next to this pup, but that dog had a Biden doll sitting on it's back.
How cute is this?
The scary spider dogs!
This little pup is named Daisy.
Oh, let's not forget our own little ones. Yes, I'm aware they look rather disheveled and tousled here. Poor little Bella - the excitement of driving into the city was too much for her and she had a "foam at the mouth" seizure when we arrived. Luckily, I had brought some valium (doctor prescribed for just these types of moments) and we got a half of one in her mouth. So if she looks a little out-of-it, she is! Plus, the hippie costume thing just didn't work. Their skirts kept falling off. I must plan better next time.

Ahhhh....home at last. Sure was a fun outing hanging out with all those dachshunds, though.

Ball of Confusion

2008-10-04T21:21:00.011-04:00

This past weekend I took a class on Granulation. Getting those tiny, little spheres to fuse to the silver without melting is not an easy task. There's no random torching here! What you see below is an experiment. The spheres did adhere, but I somehow over-cooked the silver so it now has a mottled appearance. I need to find out what I'm doing wrong here because it happened on both pieces. In November I'll be taking another workshop with the lovely Jean Stark, and will have to be proficient at this by then because I'll be using gold ($835 an ounce today). Overheating will not be an option. But I've been told that if you can fuse silver, gold will be easy. I'm counting on this to be true. :)

Wide Open Spaces

2008-09-16T18:58:00.011-04:00

Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About 15 years ago I was having dinner with a group of business people and one of the women said she lived in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. At that point in my life, I was completely unfamiliar with the area. Now that I've come and gone, I understand why. Stepping off a plane in Jackson Hole is like walking into the past...back when there were huge open spaces with mountains and sky every which way you looked...cattle and horses grazing alongside the road...cowboys (real ones) with weathered skin and cowboy hats on their heads passing by on the street and taking pretty girls for a twirl on the dance floor at "Cowboys" in the evenings. Yep, it was the West I had envisioned in my head from stories and television shows and movies, but never really believed existed. It still exists, and it's stunning.

I suppose winters aren't quite as comfortable with a layer of white snow always covering everything and temperatures getting to minus 49 degrees. It makes me wonder how anyone can live there year round. About 7,500 people do live there year 'round. Good grief. Ann Arbor, Michigan has over 113,000 people in their little city so Jackson Hole residents must feel like a large family.

We had a great time hiking & rafting with our friends, B&C, who you have seen here on my blog many times before. Here's Brian tickling Connie on our way up the mountain. They are so much fun to travel with:

As we were entering the area to land our raft here was Mr. Moose, waiting for us. We were told not to get too close because he could get nasty. We kept our distance.

This is a view from Grand Teton National Park. We had hiked up to "Inspiration Point," which SOME of us found a little more difficult than others to accomplish (ME...because it was like straight UP the mountain!), and then we continued hiking along a more flat terrain (suggested by our rafting guide, Andy, who gave us so many wonderful suggestions of what to do with our time in Jackson Hole. He was a college student who had come there for one semester off, and never left. We understood why.)

I have so many photos of this trip, and plan to get them on flickr as soon as as possible. Will let you know.

: )

A New York Gluten Free Minute

2008-08-20T17:27:00.012-04:00

First, I just want to thank the "celiac chicks" who have helped me find all the wonderful gluten-free restaurants in New York that I look forward to visiting when I'm there. This past weekend I was fortunate to actually find and try some gluten free potstickers!!! It was the first time in over eleven years I was able to order them in a restaurant. Lilli and Loo's (on Lexington) have a gluten-free menu with a wide assortment of choices. I drank Thai Iced Tea, gobbled up the potstickers and a finished with a crispy fried shrimp dish. Quite good and really a treat.

On a sunny and warm Sunday afternoon we headed to the Broadway show "Wicked." I wish I had pictures to show you, but they don't allow picture-taking in the Gershwin Theater (a good idea because you wouldn't want to miss a moment of the action on stage while messing with your camera.) What an amazing show. I was mesmerized from the opening number until the standing ovation. This is a picture of the stage right before the magic began:

Here's my favorite daughter, Jess, with her adorable boyfriend, Vitaley, in Bobby Flay's restaurant "Bar Americain," where we dined after the show (my favorite son was home watching the pups). I loved being in New York and I loved being with Jess & Vitaley for 3 whole days. I love so much about New York that I had to ask my husband if he was getting irritated at me constantly saying, "You know what else I love about New York?" He kindly replied that I wasn't irritating him at all. Hmm...I don't know about that...

The big letdown was on Monday when we all decided to meet at "Risotteria," the Italian GF restaurant I always try to visit when I'm there. This time I was going to try their GF panini. But we arrived to find it was closed for the day. Yep, a bit of a bummer, but we found another nice place nearby and then spent the afternoon doing a little shopping. How can you go to New York and not spend some time shopping? I splurged on a really-cool-sweater-wrap-kind-of-thing so am looking forward to fall so I can start wearing it everywhere. It's one of those pieces of clothing you can throw over your jeans & t-shirt and look like you are dressed far better than you really are. I need more of these. Lots more.

Raindrops on Roses and Gluten-Free Smittens

2008-08-09T14:28:00.014-04:00

These are a few of my favorite things:

Those of you who follow a strict gluten-free diet must be amazed how many manufacturers are now producing gluten free foods for us. Not only that, many manufacturers are realizing that their product has always been gluten free and are now listing that fact boldly in red on the front of the package: GLUTEN FREE.

On my last two trips to Whole Foods, I was happily surprised to see big green labels hanging from the shelves everywhere there was a gluten free product, helping those of us easily find the products we need. This is just another example of how it is getting easier and easier to follow this diet.

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1997, there was very little available to us at that time. I bought Betty Hagman's cookbook and a breadmaker and had myself a little pity party for a period of time, focusing on all I had to give up and feeling sorry for poor, poor me. Today I feel like I don't have to give up anything. There is a bakery in Atlanta that makes the most delicious gluten free cakes which are perfect for birthdays. When I visit New York, I go to Risoterria, an Italian restaurant that specializes in gluten free meals (and they even have GF breadsticks on the tables)! There's even a restaurant in New York that makes gluten free POTSTICKERS (get those babies cooking 'cause I'm on my way there in just a few days)! And here at home I've come close to baking up something similar to a Dominoes Pizza. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Dominoes added a gluten free pizza to their menu? The flour mix I've shown above from the Gluten-Free Pantry (Beth's all purpose flour) is what I use for everything where a recipe asks for regular flour. Pasta? No problem! Tinkyada is wonderful (from Whole Foods) and now Trader Joe's is making GF pasta.

Also helping us along are the plethora of doctors and diets out there telling people to eliminate gluten and all "white" foods from their diet. People in the U.S. are discovering what people have known in Ireland for many years - that gluten can cause issues in the body besides celiac disease. People can have an "allergy" or "intolerance" to gluten. Those of us with Celiac Disease have an auto-immune disease which makes it necessary for us to completely eliminate it from our diet. But there are others who believe the diet can alleviate chronic intestinal complaints and boost energy; still others who believe the gluten-free diet may help in the treatment of autism and a host of other disorders, including schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis, attention deficit disorder and even migranes.

And some people are following the diet just because they've heard it's healthy. I'm just glad people are aware of gluten now and reaping the benefits of better health.

Somewhere in Atlanta with Diamonds

2008-08-01T15:21:00.011-04:00

On Thursday afternoon I finished a three-day workshop with Robert Wooding where I learned how to set gemstones. Being the novices we all were, we used brass rings and cubic zirconias to do our experimenting with, and were expected to set approximately 3 to 4 rings every day. I learned far more than I expected to and am thrilled I took the course and can now, actually, set a stone! Amazing! Cabachons are cool and all, but sometimes its exciting to add something more...something dazzling.

Since returning home, I've been stuck with my head in the Stuller catalog, the Fire Mountain Gems catalog, and the Rio Grande Catalog, trying to find some lovely gemstones. Hmmmm...far too many choices!

Here's a good video on Youtube that demonstrates how to set a stone, for anyone interested:

http://www.technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DpDiLpLgBOC4

I'd like to find a good source for gems in the near future. If anyone reading this has a suggestion, shoot me an email (Kathygrz@mac.com) or leave a message below. It would be very much appreciated! : )

Dragonfly & Fire

2008-06-15T18:12:00.012-04:00

After having to make a piece of jewelry with a turtle theme in my last class, I knew I was ready to tackle the idea of a dragonfly.

Reticulated silver (a process where you fire and quench silver over and over again until the heating forms a pattern on the silver) seemed the perfect medium for the wings of the dragonfly. After finishing that step, I formed silver balls and soldered them in the form of the body. Once that was accomplished, the wings were cut out with my handy-dandy Joyce Chen scissors, the edges were filed nice and smooth and then soldered to the body. I found some pretty ribbon in a local bead store yesterday and thought it looked nice with the dragonfly, so added a few beads and a clasp to complete it all. Here's a picture of the entire necklace so you can see what I'm talking about.

Now I'm going to go make a real southern meal for Father's Day: Gluten-free Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits & Green Beans. Yum!

Apostle's Fossils

2008-05-29T19:38:00.011-04:00

Ta-Daaaa! It's done! Thanks to HB for showing us in class how to make this bracelet. I would have never thought of using my trilobites and ammonites in this way. One important thing I learned while making this is that Argentium silver is not only brittle if you don't let it cool before putting it into the pickle, but it can also be brittle when heating with the torch. While making those tiny little "rods" between all the loops in this bracelet, they would simply snap in two as I was torching them to ball up on each end! Eventually I had to resort to using regular sterling silver for a few of the rods.

This bracelet took weeks to make. Not that I worked on it every time I sat down to make jewelry, mind you. But a little bit here, a little bit there...links, rods, bezels and then more bezels, the clasp, jump rings, cutting, polishing, etc. Once again a reminder to me that good things come with patience and perseverance.

Next time I'll show you some of the enameling I've been doing. So far there is nothing I'd want anyone to see. Still learning and all.

: )

In The Desert

2008-05-12T15:52:00.010-04:00

I just wanted to share a few photos from my recent trip to Arizona. The desert landscape is always so strange and unique to me that I find myself wanting to photograph everything in sight.

I don't even know what this is, but I thought it looked good against the deep blue sky.

It's always surprising when you find a beautiful and delicate pink flower blooming out of a prickly cactus...

or red flower, as in this case.

Here is a pile of rocks at the end of the labyrinth, laid down by people who chose a rock, walked the labyrinth pondering the issue they attached to their rock, and then laid down as a symbolic way of letting their issue go.

That's all for now!

: )

When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold

2008-04-02T22:21:00.005-04:00

Ever since the price of gold hit over $1,000 an ounce, I've had even more of a desire to use it my jewelry. Why, why, why didn't I buy some when it was $400 an ounce? We all thought it was going to go DOWN at the time.

Anyway, here are some earrings I made yesterday using a little big of 18K gold on top of textured sterling circles...I think the gold brings out the color of the hand-made glass beads nicely.

I'm taking a photography class now and am hoping it'll help me do a better job with the photographs I post here, as well as all the photos I take in general. Lighting has always been a guessing game for me, so I hope to learn a bit more about how to manipulate the camera to deal with different lighting situations. We shall see...

Workin' on the Chain Gang

2008-03-17T17:56:00.008-04:00

Last week I was fortunate enough to be a part of a workshop on chainmaking. Jean wrote the book (literally) on chains, which is called "Classical Loop-in-Loop Chains and Their Derivatives." We had time to learn five or six different types of chains, but very few of us completed any of them. It is a time consuming process, and the priority was to learn how to do these patterns to be finished later at home. The first step is cutting all the little links, sometimes one or two hundred of them, depending on the chain you are making. Then they must all be fused, one by one, so they'll stay nice and tight when you eventually form them into their pattern. I melted a LOT of links last week. There's a knack to heating the wire so it fuses just right.

Here are some silver examples Jean brought along:

And here are some gold:

One of the designs for a chain involved making what Jean calls a "Heracles knot." I liked it so much I made a pair in 22K gold with blue lapiz beads hanging from below.

The only chain I actually completed in class was this bracelet, which is called a "foldover link." The most difficult part was heating the metal to form all the silver balls on each link exactly the same size. Mine came out a little too big, so I'll have to be more careful the next time I attempt this.

Red Velvet, If You Please

2008-01-19T20:47:00.001-05:00

Hammers pounding, drills buzzing, and torches ablaze with fire! That's how I'd describe my studio these past few weeks. Winter is bringing on a productive mode of being. The above pendant is a design from my favorite Japanese design book . These designs are so pretty I could probably make jewelry from this book for a very long time and never tire of them. I etched this particular design onto a plate of brass and then transferred it to sterling silver via the rolling mill. I lightly domed it and then soldered it onto a flat back piece before adding patina and polish.

Thinking it was about time to add some earrings to my collection, I came up with the design above. It's a cross between something I saw in a sundance catalog and a book on ancient jewelry. After cutting out the basic shapes, I added a bit of texture by chasing some designs along the bottom edge before adding the ear wires. I want to make them again, but this time edge each piece entirely in in sterling silver wire which will form the loops on each side, to which the ear wire can be attached. If successful, I'll post them here.

Book Lovers

2007-12-15T18:37:00.002-05:00

Read any good books lately? It's time for my yearly holiday book party and I've finished all the bookmarks for the girls. The one up above is yours, Jess! I saved it just for you. :)

This year the menu will be Southwestern Filled Acorn Squash, Pear, Gorgonzola & Walnut salad with Chebe bread rolls. (My local Whole foods sells the Chebe bread rolls in the frozen section so all I have to do is pop 'em in the oven for a few minutes and they're done!) For an appetizer I'll have a Brie bathed in pistachios, dried almond slices & dried cranberries with a little orange flavored liquor added. I also found some shrimp wrapped in bacon at Costco which will be served alongside some pastry appetizers (which, of couse I cannot eat since I'm celiac). I also ordered a delicious gluten free chocolate cake from Metrotainment Bakery in Atlanta, which will be our dessert for the evening. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE their gluten-free cakes!!!

We'll be discussing "Eat Pray Love" over dinner and I have about five books I'm considering choosing for the next book. They're all good, so maybe I'll just let the ladies decide. If you have a suggestion, PLEASE don't hesitate to tell me. We meet every month of the year, so even if we don't read it now, we might read it later.
: )

Mina Rakkaus Sinu, Aiti

2007-11-13T17:45:00.000-05:00

This past summer I met a woman at the Wildacres Retreat where I learned enameling from Jean Stark. This woman's name was Katri, and I found out she was 100% Finnish. My mother is 100% Finnish, as well, and once we started talking, I felt an immediate kinship with her. She knew everything about the Finnish people in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and was even familiar with my mother's family homestead, which has turned into a museum of sorts.

At the last meal we all had together, she wrote these words on a napkin and handed it to me: "Mina Rakkaus Sinu, Aiti." She said, "It means 'I love you mother' in Finnish." How sweet of her! My mother's 82nd birthday is coming up this month, so I made her this necklace with those words stamped on silver tags. I just knew I would eventually figure out a way to incorporate them into some form of jewelry for her. I even added a super big clasp so that she will be able to take it on and off herself. I hope she likes it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a new chain I whipped up last week. Can you tell autumn has finally arrived in my back yard?

This is my favorite time of year. It's so beautiful out there right now!

Until next time!

:)

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

2007-10-05T17:03:00.002-04:00

I haven't been blogging much recently due to being gone for 2 weeks helping out with the Music at the Crossroads first American tour. We picked them all up in Boston over 2 weeks ago with a Uhaul trailer and 2 extra cars, and then drove to Concord, New Hampshire. This was their first ever performance in the United States, so everyone was both excited and nervous at the same time. I knew after the first song the audience loved them. Clapping, hooting, foot stamping and a standing ovation! It was great!

The next day we drove to Woodstock, Vermont (gorgeous little town) and set up for that evening's show. Again, the audience was thrilled by their performance. Here's a little snippet from one of their shows.

After Vermont, it was a long drive with a couple of stops along the way before we got to Lousiville, Kentucky for a Performing Arts Exchange Conference. They played 12 times in 3 days. People were coming up to me saying that the word on the street was that this was the group to see! It was all quite exciting & fun. These musicians and dancers are the BEST!!! They're not only super talented, they're simply a great bunch of people - kind, sweet, funny and a joy to be with.

'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky

2007-09-12T22:21:00.000-04:00

Purple haze all in my brain
Lately things just don't seem the same
Actin' funny, but I don't know why
'scuse me while I kiss the sky

This striking purple stone screamed out, "buy me!" So I did. It was enjoyable coming up with a design a bit out of the ordinary for me in a color I usually don't work with. Lately I'm just bursting to try new things! There is simply not enough time in a day.

:)

Sara Smile

2007-09-10T21:00:00.000-04:00

I love making simple jewelry...and I especially love making it for others. I gave this to my friend, Sara, for her birthday and she seemed so happy to receive something I actually made for her. I tried to think of words to describe her and came up with beautiful, loving, friend, Sara. Yep, that's a pretty good description of her. A freshwater pearl and leather chain finished it up.

Step by Step Wire Jewelry Magazine

2007-09-06T21:28:00.000-04:00

My article is finally out! The magazine just hit the stands today, and if you see it at Barnes and Noble, pick it up and flip to page 35 (I think that's where it is) and you'll see how to make the sterling silver bookmarks I made for my book club friends last December. Since this is the first time I've ever submitted anything whatsoever to be published, I'm pretty darn excited. The article is called "Bookmarks for Bookworms." I hope you have a chance to see it.

I spent an entire day etching this past weekend. It's truly a day-long process. First I found the designs I wanted, then copied them onto blue "P&P" paper. I then transferred the design onto brass (this was the hard part) before putting them into the etching solution for about an hour...sometimes more.

Here is one of the pendants I then made from one of my etchings. You can also find it on my new Etsy site.

After all the time it took getting the brass plate prepared and etched, it's a thrill to simply roll the metal through the rolling mill against the plate and have the designed transferred to the silver. I'm planning on making more with all the fun designs I have now.

:)

Feelin' Crafty

2007-08-25T19:00:00.001-04:00

It was just by chance that I found out a neighbor of mine makes jewelry. So while walking the pups last week, I saw her outside and immediately went over to introduce myself. I said, "I heard you make jewelry...so do I!" She said she does make jewelry and she also sews. "So do I," I replied. We continued talking, got on the subject of our book clubs and she said she makes her book club friends bookmarks every year. Is this person living my life? I told her about the article I wrote for Wire Wrap Jewelry Magazine about how to make sterling silver bookmarks (on stands September 11th) and she told me she made some cute ones from old photographs and fabrics. I couldn't wait to see them.

On Wednesday she came by and I've been a busy little bee ever since. Yes, it's terribly early to be thinking of Christmas gifts already, but I don't enjoy being rushed during the holidays. By making gifts now, I'm enjoying the whole process... sifting through the fabrics, the photos and the quotes...scanning, printing, cutting and sewing. I'm wondering if I should add some embellishments. Perhaps a little ribbon, or buttons or a charm or two. Haven't decided yet about that...but hey, I've got plenty of time. These are just two of the six I've made so far.

;)

Plays with Dogs

2007-06-24T14:52:00.000-04:00

Jess left today, but not after a parting photo shoot with Bella & Hannah. I think Hannah wanted to leave with her. Jess and Hannah have always had a special bond, ever since Jess let Hannah sleep with her when she was a wee pup of only 6 or 7 weeks old. She still gets crazy excited when Jess comes for a visit and is always a bit sad when she leaves.

Check out the gorgeous necklace Jess is wearing! We went to a bead shop and she chose the lovely stones for her necklace. I taught her how to put it all together...and then I taught her how to string pearls. She's always been such a good student. :)

Summertime, continued...

2007-06-19T12:21:00.002-04:00

Once the frame was formed, the next task was to either solder or fuse it to the thin metal sheet (33 gauge). I chose to solder.

Jean then taught me how to twist wire by hand, which is far easier to control than when twisting in a flex shaft. I carefully laid the wire around the form and soldered. It was finally time to begin placing the enamel into the cells. The fun part begins!

I had tried a lot of different combinations of red transparent enamel, ruby transparent enamel and flux, and chose this color as my favorite. I also added some blue for contrast. Once I had fired on about 4 or 5 coats of enamel into the cells, it was time to sand (yucky part). When I was finished, we gold plated it in 24 karat gold. This is how it all came out:

As soon as I returned home, I ordered more enamels and cannot wait to get started on another project. It's an entirely different medium to work in and I'm lovin' it (except for the sanding part). I can't wait to return to Wildacres next year!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2007-06-13T21:51:00.001-04:00

Here I am up in Wildacres in Little Switzerland, North Carolina...just a short drive from Asheville, NC. On the left is a photo of some of the pieces my teacher, Jean Stark, has done in the past, and what we are trying to duplicate in this class by using fine silver and enamels.

This place is heavenly. The mornings and evenings are cool and the days are pleasantly warm. We wake up to a bell ringing somewhere on the grounds at 7:30. Breakfast is served family style between 8 and 9:00. Everyone then heads off to their workshops. We have an engraving class going on, a writer's workshop (science fiction writers), a form-folding workshop with John Cogswell, Intarsia, Wax Forming and even a beginning metalsmithing class. We work until the bell rings to let us know it's time to head to the dining area for lunch at noon. Then we're back to work until the dinner bell rings. After dinner, we usually go BACK to our studios and are free to work until 10:00 pm, which we all do! We're loving it. No phones ringing, no television, no interruptions. In fact, to get phone coverage, I have to walk into the woods and find a place where my phone suddenly picks up a Cingular signal and I can't budge from that spot to call home.

The pic on the left is my "sample" of different kinds of red that I made. The pic on the right is the beginning form of what I am beginning to make in this class. I am learning SO MUCH and really loving it here. Just hanging out with all these people who love doing the same thing I do is a great experience. And I got super lucky with my roommate! She's from Michigan and I couldn't ask for a nicer person to room with. Here are a couple of my classmates - Robert (Rowbear) and Karen.

More later! I'll be home soon and will show you the finished piece as soon as I can.

The Matrix Opal

2007-05-21T20:36:00.001-04:00

Here is my recently finished earthy-looking pendant and chain I had started ohhhhh soooo very long ago. The lower stone was purchased when I first began metalsmithing and now I can't remember what it's called, but I think it's a form of jasper. I made the bezel (which is textured, but you can't see it in this photo), and then put the whole thing aside for a couple of years. Recently I purchased the upper stone, which is called a Matrix Opal (from Mexico), and did not realize what a perfect match it was with the bottom stone until I brought it home and placed it in my collection of stones. I wish you could see the iridescent quality of the Mexical Opal - it looks like an alien eyeball.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but if you have an interest in making handmade chains, I highly recommend Jean Stark's book called "Classical Loop in Loop Chains." You would definitely have to know some basic metalsmithing skills...like how to use a torch, how to fuse silver, etc, before you begin.

I have to miss my last two classes with Julia Woodman because of a trip back home (need to visit the folks), and I will truly miss her and my friends in the class. I believe it is helpful to be among one's peers...people who enjoy doing the same things you enjoy...to help spur one's creative juices in whatever area one is interested in. Sometimes taking a few months off can be good, as well. Either way, it's all good.

Carolina on my mind

2007-04-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

I've been accepted into a class at Wildacres in North Carolina called "Morovingian 7 Frankish Jewels" with Jean Stark. I'm so psyched!!! Her reputation is excellent - she's a master goldsmith and I've been told I should take any class that I possibly can when she offers them. Her work is absolutely amazing. So I'll be driving up to North Carolina in June to spend a whole week snuggled up with a bunch of metalsmiths all doing what we love to do. (Keeping my fingers crossed for a good roommate). North Carolina should be heavenly in June, i.e., warm days and cool nights. I've already contacted them about my need for gluten-free meals, and they don't think it'll be a problem. Perhaps I'll whip up some Namaste muffins, and buy some gluten free bread, peanut butter & jelly just in case I need it. Better safe than sorry!

I made this pendant awhile ago, but somehow neglected to put it here on my blog. The rectangular shape is something I don't normally lean towards, so it was fun coming up with a design that would compliment the two differently shaped stones.

I asked Julia during class today if she will teach Donna (classmate) & I how to string pearls next week, and she said she would be happy to! I've always wanted to learn how to tie those little knots between each pearl. The sterling silver bowl is coming along nicely, but there is a long way to go. Planishing metal is not something one can hurry.

21 And Counting

2007-04-17T20:35:00.001-04:00

Hey! Look who turned 21 recently! No, we didn't celebrate by going to the zoo (that was just for fun). Instead we celebrated by going to Medieval Times and enjoyed an evening of dancing horses and jousting knights. Happy Birthday Sir David!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amid all the festivities, I did find time to make this chain and pendant. I love the fiery colors of the opal.

While finishing this chain, I used Jax, a darkening agent, to give it a more antique look. With filigree, you really can't darken the twirled silver loops without it just coming out looking black and dirty, so the silver chains attached to filigree need to remain bright and shiny, too. But sometimes I think the bright white silver has a somewhat "cheap" look to it (even though it isn't cheap in the slightest). The darkening often gives an item a richer patina. I suppose it's all a matter of taste.

I'm now working on a sterling silver dish in Julia Woodman's class. It's going to have a bottom AND a top and some kind of little handle to take the lid off, but I haven't designed that part yet. I'll show it here when I finish (could be a good while).

I Still Get Butterflies

2007-03-28T14:26:00.000-04:00

All that forming and pounding is fun for just so long. I usually have approximately 3 or 4 different projects going on at a time so that when I get fatigued with one, I can turn to another. Eventually I'll get to them all. Like this dainty filigree butterfly & chain here (this being the same chain I used in one of my previous pendants, but I used garnet and pearls that time). This butterfly has been in my group of 3 or 4 for a couple of months at least. Every so often I would add a little filigree. Last night I finally got around to finishing and polishing, so it is now complete.

Shiny Toys

2007-03-23T17:01:00.000-04:00

Ta-Daaaaaa! My copper bowl is finished. Okay, you're probably saying, "So what?" Well, if this was as big as my round copper stew pot from William's Sonoma, you would surely be impressed. But we all have to start somewhere, right?

It's hard to believe this little bowl (which is holding dog treats now on the kitchen counter) took so long to make. It started from a flat sheet of copper. With all the hammering on that innocent piece of metal, I thought I'd kill it...or at least form a hole in it with all the banging necessary to make a bowl shape. But it just kept on changing and warping as I went along. Once the bowl was formed into the shape I was happy with, I continued to finish with a forging hammer over and over and over, around and around and around, until it was as smooth as it can possibly be. Phew! I hope I have some new muscles from this. :)

In the pendant below (more forging and forming), I used what I learned in the John Cogswell workshop to form it. It's rather plain and simplistic, but the twist in the metal gives it a little personality. It also holds my sunglasses quite nicely. :)

Hammer Time

2007-02-24T15:22:00.000-05:00

I just spent a great week in a John Cogswell Forging Workshop. John is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable teachers I've ever had. He was open for every question (no matter how silly) and treated each person there with respect and encouragement. For five days, we learned how to stretch and form metal with a hammer and an anvil. He taught us how metal moves and what we need to do to make it move the way we want it to. Easier said than done! Well, it was easy for John, but a challenge for the rest of us. Here he is demonstrating for a couple of ladies in the class.

This copper necklace was our second class project. John whipped this one out from a piece of round copper wire in about an hour. It took the rest of us an entire day...some of us it took two days.

This is how people keep their forging hammers safe from getting marked up accidentally. Hmmmm...could this be Jessica's next knitting project? Hammer socks?

If anyone reading this has an opportunity to take one of John's workshops, don't hesitate. He's excellent.

Haaaaang on Loopy, loopy hang on

2007-01-22T18:20:00.000-05:00

This past week I decided to make a chain I had never attempted before for a pendant I recently started. Because I'm supposed to be writing an article for a jewelry magazine in the next few months with photographs of each step, I decided to do a photographic practice session while making this chain. This has enabled me to see where the photographs are going to need more light, better backgrounds, etc. Meanwhile, I'll share with you all how I made the chain, just in case anyone out there might be interested in making one.

I used 14 gauge fine silver round wire and first wrapped it around an approximately 8 mm circular metal cylinder (wood would work just as well), then gently slipped off the loops while holding them tightly. The loops were cut with Joyce Chen Scissors (these are made for cutting chickens, but they're excellent for cutting metal). I cut 20 total (10 for each side).

I closed the loops so the ends were touching and fused them shut before putting them through the rolling mill to flatten just a bit.

The next step was texturing these 20 loops. I took a tool with a straight edge and pounded lines all the way around each loop, both on the front and the back.

Continuing along, I made 22 more loops (11 for each side of the chain) out of the fine silver (same size), but left these smooth. I opened one, slipped on two textured loops, then soldered the smooth one closed (the reason I decided to use an easy solder to close these loops is because I was losing too many loops by trying to fuse them). I then added a smooth one to the last textured loop, added one textured loop to that and soldered it closed, and so on, until the chain was complete. Each side ended up with 11 smooth loops and 10 textured loops.

At this point I was able to attached the ends of the two sides of the chain to the two sides of the pendant. I added a handmade toggle clasp, and then plopped the whole thing in a glass of JAX to darken and make it look "older." The very last thing I did was set the two stones made from Pietersite, and polished it up with a bit of ZAM.

I would have been glad to have given you a tutorial on making this bezel, but had already made this piece when the idea came to me to photograph the steps. Perhaps next time...

Silver and Opals and Chains, Oh My!

2007-01-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report I found some filigree solder online, so here is the result from my first experiments with the new concoction . It worked quite well, but it's different from the handmade solder I learned to cook up previously using silver, copper, bronze and zinc. Far less of the purchased solder is needed to fuse the filigree to the frame, so I overloaded it every so often, but it burned away nicely.

I am in love with this stone. I purchased it from our friendly "Opal Guy" (Gene) who mines the opals in Australia and brings them to our school for us to choose from. When he shows up and lays all all of his gorgeous stones on the table, no one can get any work done. We obviously buy a substantial amount from him because he keeps coming back...and that's a good thing!

Now I need to get to work on my copper bowl. In the new class I started this week, we are learning how to turn a flat piece of metal (copper first, then sterling silver) and pound it, little by little, into the shape of a bowl. The teacher, Julia Woodman, is wonderful. She's kindhearted, patient and considerate. I can tell already I am going to thorougly enjoy learning from her.

You Can Leave Your Mittens On

2007-01-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

What was my absolutely most favorite Christmas present of all this year? My new mittens lovingly knitted by my daughter, Jess, otherwise known as Yarnmonster. Aren't they great? She also made her brother a pair of black socks with the scull and cross bones design on each one in white (he's a pirate at heart), and whipped her dad up a gorgeous soft, green scarf! I'm amazed by her knitting ability. I look at the intricate designs and really have no idea how she does it.

Now all we need is a little cold weather over here so I can wear them! :)

Oh Come all Ye Bookworms

2006-12-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

My book club friends LOVED their sterling silver bookmarks, by the way. I had placed them in their napkins so they found them as they sat down to a dinner of "Almost No Chopping Black Bean and Salsa Soup," accompanied by a salad with butter lettuce, avocado, fresh spices and gluten free cornbread. What a wonderful evening. We sat and talked about anything and everything under the sun (except for books, of course, since this was the one time of year we allow ourselves to simply have a party and not be serious about a book). We'll discuss "Thirteen Moons" by Charles Frazier next month, but it does seem everyone is enjoying it.

My somewhat new neighborhood had a girl-gathering as well. I've been here around four years, but it's only recently that we've all started getting to know each other. This was called the "First Annual Ornament Exchange." Wow! Lots of women drinking champagne and having a happy good time.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas in case I'm not back with another post before the first of January! Enjoy the holidays!

:)

Namaste

2006-11-21T19:50:00.000-05:00

I'm referring to the Namaste Gluten Free Muffin Mix. It's fantastic! I'll serve them to my mother-in-law tomorrow morning (who is visiting for Thanksgiving) and will happily hear her say, "These are gluten free? They're so good!" She thinks I'm suffering in some way because I can't eat bread. It's kind of funny.

This is how easy these muffins are: I poured the mix into a bowl and added, as instructed on the bag, some water, oil and 2 eggs. In addition to this I threw in a handful of chocolate chips and another handful of dried, mixed berries. The dough was then plopped into a couple of muffin pans.

In about 12 minutes, there were one-and-a-half dozen fresh, delicious muffins!

They freeze well. I know this because I've made them before. See? I've already saved a bunch.

With all this holiday cooking and entertaining, I doubt I'll have much free time to spend making jewelry, so I'll show you a necklace I whipped up the the other night after I was done with the two repousse pieces I posted about last week. I felt like doing something super easy and had seen a design similar to this in a magazine, only it was made out of PMC. I think it will make a nice Christmas gift for someone. Here it is being modeled by my favorite backyard buddha.

Namaste

All Tied Up in Celtic Knots

2006-11-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

I am skipping my last Repousse class this evening because I have finished the two projects I started in that class and need a short break from all the pounding. It can be a bit rough on the neck and shoulder if one doesn't sit properly, something I need to work on. I do enjoy it, though, and find it somewhat meditative. Time flies by quickly as I sit in front of my bowl of red pitch, tapping away until the desired height and shape is achieved. Above is the celtic knot design, the first thing I made in class. Below is the bracelet, project #2.

I have learned a lot from doing this cuff bracelet. I discovered that by using 20 gauge silver, one is virtually guaranteed of never pounding hard enough to cut through the metal, but it does require a heavy hand to make the impressions. I realized too late that the tool I was using to line everything was too thick. Next time I'll know better.

When it was completely done, I formed it into a bracelet on a bracelet mandrel. Then I polished it up and it's now on my arm as I type! :) Next time I'll try doing another cuff bracelet with more variations of height in the design.

Can't Judge a Book by it's Cover

2006-11-09T13:27:00.001-05:00

A few years back I decided to give all my book club friends a handmade bookmark at our December holiday gathering. If my memory serves me correctly, that first year I made embossed cards using red and green paper, rubber stamps and embossing powder. I remember Elaine saying, "I can't believe you MADE these." Little did they all know then how much much time I spend "making things."

This year I decided to create sterling silver bookmarks with pretty little beads and charms dangling from the top. I added a rectangular piece of silver on which I stamped each of their names.

I'll give the instructions here in case anyone would like to make some for their friends. Basic metalsmithing tools are required.

1. Cut 10 gauge round sterling silver wire into approximately 4 or 5 inch pieces. Gently
shape into a long, stretched out "S" shape.
2. Roll each piece through a rolling mill until desired flatness is reached. Lightly file the
top and bottom to remove rough edges.
3. With a chasing hammer (round end), pound on each side of the wire, making chasing marks. (Don't forget to stamp your bookmark with a "sterling" stamp.
4. Drill a hole through the top.
5. Add a good sized jump ring and solder it closed (soldering is optional, but recommended).
6. Put them in the tumber and tumble to make shiny (about 30 minutes or more).
7. Add your beads.
8. To make name tags, simply stamp the names into 24 gauge silver and cut out with
Joyce Chen scissors or use a jeweler's saw. Flatten tag on steel block if it's warped at all. Drill a hole at top. File the edges to remove sharpness. If there are scratches in the silver, sand them out with sandpaper (First 220, then 320, then 400 and last 600 grit - coarse to fine). Tumble in tumbler about 30 minutes. Attach to bookmark with a jump ring.

I hope the girls like them. :)

It's Howl-O-Weenie Time

2006-10-29T18:30:00.002-05:00

Imagine a park filled with little dachshunds in all sizes and colors on a gorgeous fall day playing games with their owners...and most of them in costume! The very first contest involved the wee ones wearing all kinds of creative attire. Here are our own little chorizo dogs, as well as the one dressed as a chicken. :)

The Howling contest followed. This is Andy with his owner. Andy sang his little heart out and the crowd loved him.

There was a kissing contest (blech!) where the number of licks the pup gave it’s owner were counted in a 30-second interval. Very gross – me being never one to want doggy tongue on my face (or lips!). Then came the doggie dash. Poor Hannah was clueless about what to do and just wandered around the field. But it was such a hoot to watch!

I had never seen myself as one of those dog people who would attend such an event, but I'll now admit it was a ton of fun. Just watching these little weiner dogs in costumes kept us laughing the whole time. Especially our own. :)

Autumn

2006-10-11T20:05:00.000-04:00

It's been a beautiful fall day here in Georgia. Sunny and slightly cool with a pleasant breeze blowing the first of the leaves off the trees. It's getting dark outside earlier now, as well, which I'm always ready for. It's a true toss up between fall and spring, but I think this just may be my favorite time of year. What a perfect day to try out Karina's Black Bean & Sweet Potato Enchiladas! I would have never imagined combining sweet potatoes with black beans, so it's a good thing we have people like Karina around whose creativity knows no bounds.

When I first saw this recipe posted on her blog, "Gluten Free Goddess," it looked a little complicated. But it isn't. Once you get all the ingredients together, it's actually very simple...and quite tasty! Next time I will make a bit more of the sauce, though, and add a touch more goat cheese to each enchilada. As Karina suggested, I served this alongside a green salad with some mandarin oranges, and threw some dried cranberries and nuts on the top. This is a great meal for my vegetarian daughter. Can't wait to try it out on her when she's in town. :)

Recently I've been working on a filigree pendant while taking a break from all the pounding on metal involved with Repousse. You truly need to take time off every now and then or your neck/shoulder muscles will begin to scream. Here's a sterling silver pendant with a blue Kyanite stone and a cultured freshwater pearl I just finished. Because it is so small (about the size of a quarter), I've decided to use a purchased chain (oh, such guilt!) instead of trying to make a chain that would be small enough to look right. I truly don't think anyone will mind! :)

Eastern Repousse

2006-09-14T12:20:00.000-04:00

Yea! A new class! I've been waiting to take Victoria's Eastern Repousse class for a good long while now. She only offers it every couple of years, so Monday night when we all gathered for our first lesson, everyone was quite excited to be there.

I took a 4 day session in Chasing & Repousse last fall with Valentin Yotkov. His studio is in Brooklyn, New York, but occasionally will travel to give workshops. This photo is what I was able to accomplish in that class. It was the design given to all of us who had never attempted repousse before.

It's very rough, but gives you an idea of what chasing and repousse is. Basically, a piece of metal (usually silver or copper)is placed in what is called a pitch bowl (filled with pitch) and then a design is pounded out in the metal using forming tools and a hammer. Work is done on both sides of the metal. I remember it causing a bit of neck strain, so I'll be sure to sit properly this time around.

I'm hoping to make a cuff bracelet with some kind of design on it, but that might be a bit much for a beginner. Perhaps something smaller to start would be a better plan!

:)

The Wiener Wonder Dogs

2006-08-21T16:04:00.000-04:00

While we were off enjoying our trip in Canada, the little pups were off being trained at Atlanta Dog Trainer. They lived with a trainer, Stenelle, for 2 weeks and came back transformed! Here's a photo of them doing their "sit command:"

An added benefit of all of this training, one which I had not anticipated, is they will now stay in one place while being photographed. :)

And here's them doing their "down" command:

What good girls!

So maybe you're not as amazed as I am. In all truth, I was beginning to wonder if Bella could be trained. She seems to have a seriously short attention span. They told me she was definitely a challenge. But now, on command, they'll both sit, stay, down, come, get off people and couches with the command "off," and Hannah can even shake hands/paws! Susie, the owner of Atlanta Dog Trainer has even gotten Hannah to the point of being able to walk past other dogs without completely freaking out (barking, pulling, etc.) Plus, they worked on the barking issues, and they are both MUCH quieter since arriving home yesterday.

Of course, this is an ongoing process and we have daily work to do with these two to keep up their good behavior, as well as improve upon it. Needless to say, I'm quite pleased with the progress Susie & Stenelle made in only two weeks with our little weiner schnitzels.

A Dachshund Delightful surprise

2006-07-10T21:07:00.000-04:00

One day while stumbling around the internet I came upon a photo contest, so via the ease of digital emailing, I sent a photo of Bella as a puppy in my son's old dinosaur toy. Then I forgot all about it - until last week, that is, when I received a phone call that my photo had won in Animal Wellness magazine's photo contest for "happiest" dog and that I'd be receiving a prize soon. Woo Hoo! They were sweet enough to send me an advance copy (new issue comes out July 18th) so check her out in the green dinosaur.

A few days later a call came in from Dachshund Delights asking me for Bella's measurements for her special "harness" they were going to make for her. How much fun is this?

The new harness arrived today, so here's the weiner schnitzel wearing her newly won apparel:

This is the second photo contest I've ever won, so I still get overly excited about these types of things. Thanks for bearing with me! :)

Summertime...and the livin' is easy

2006-07-08T13:34:00.000-04:00

I was finally able to attend my Thursday night metalsmithing class after having missed the first three. Because I've been taking a little vacation from jewelry making, I felt a bit out of it and don't know what project I want to tackle next. HB gave a demonstration on granulation and there is a class starting on that subject this month, but making all those teensy little silver balls and fusing them onto metal seems like it would require concentration and focus... and I'm in summer mode. This must be the residue of feelings from that extraordinary trip I was was just fortunate enough to have been able to experience. So...I'll save granulation for something to look forward to learning in the future.

Meanwhile, the hubby and I are still on a cooking spree. We even went out yesterday and ordered a new grill!

The last night Jess was here (sniff, sniff), we made Moroccan Fish Skewers from a recipe in a book called "Grilling" by Louise Pickford. I found it at Crate and Barrel. The author added couscous, but I made a side of rice instead. Here's a photo:

To this I added and a salad with simple greens, feta cheese and arugula...along with our homemade salad dressing (which happens to be the only one we use, for the most part). If I haven't already shared this recipe, here it is: It's 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, touch of sugar and 1 chopped garlic clove.

Moroccan Fish Skewers:

1 1/2 lb. swordfish steaks
extra virgin olive oil
24 large bay leaves, soaked in cold
water for 1 hour
2 lemons, cut into 24 chunks
lemon juice
1/2 recipe Moroccan Rub
8 wooden skewers, soaked in cold water for 1 hour.

Using sharp knife, cut swordfish into 32 cubes (I actually made larger cubes and made less that that). Put into a ceramic dish. Add a sprinkle of olive oil and the Moroccan Rub and toss until the fish is evenly coated. Marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat grill. Thread the fish, bay leaves and chunks of lemon onto the soaked skewers and cook over hot coals for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway through until cooked. Serve over couscous or rice. NOTE: One hour is sufficient to flavor the fish with the rub and any longer could cause the flavors to be overpowering.

Moroccan Rub:

1 tbls. coriander seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
2 cinnamon sticks (I used a teaspoon of cinnamon instead)
1 tsp. whole allspice berries
6 cloves
a pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika

Toast the whole spices and saffron threads in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to a spice grinder (I used a mortar and pestle) and rush into a coarse powder. Mix up remaining spices and mix well (I continued to crush it all up with the mortar and pestle).

As you can see, this recipe takes a lot of preparation. I'd suggest making the Moroccan Rub earlier in the day.

Cruisin...

2006-06-23T13:20:00.000-04:00

What a fantastic trip we had! From beginning to end, we had a blast! That's our balcony, where we would spend some time each evening as the ship left shore, heading for the next destination. We would order some wine and yummy nibbles from room service and sit on the balcony talking about how lucky we were to be there. Then we would change clothes and meet up for our nightly four-course dinner in one of the ship's restaurants. The food was excellent and the staff was friendly and very accomodating with my need for gluten free selections. This was my third cruise (and BEST!) but I've always found the staff very accomodating to my need for a gluten free diet. (And, just as a side here, Lufthansa airlines provided the most spectacular gluten free meals I've ever experienced on an airplane.)

Venice, Italy. Everyone had told me I had to visit it at least once in my lifetime and they were right. It's the most unique place on the planet...over 100 small islands connected by bridges and something like 163 churches! Important art is everywhere you turn. We walked into a church and there was Titian's "The Assumption of the Virgin" hanging right before us! Amazing place.

Split, Croatia was tiny, but cute. We took a little tour and were told the people live so close together they not only know everything about everyone else's business, they even jump in and get involved when families argue. It's probably true.

Montenegro. I'll never forget the morning I woke up and opened the curtains as we were pulling into port in this country I'd never even heard of. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was still very early so the only sound was that of a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing in the distance and an occasional scooter driving along the road that followed the edge of the sea. Montenegro made me think that this was probably what California used to look like a long time ago - before it got too built up. I loved it.

I had no idea what to expect in Turkey. We booked a tour to "Ephesus," second only to the Acropolis in ancient ruins and it was mind-boggling. This is where the Ephesians lived. These were the people St. Paul sent his letters to, which can be read in the bible. Cleopatra walked these streets and spent her honeymoon there. Absolutely amazing place.

Here's Brian & Connie, and they are the friends who made this trip as fun as it was! We toured together, ate together, danced together and laughed together each and every day. I am so grateful to have them in my life.

Santorini, Greece. It's everything I thought is was going to be. We sat in a cafe overlooking the sea having a bite to eat and were mesmerized by the beauty all around us.

Speaking of food, how's this for a Greek feast? Restaurants were everywhere in Athens and each one of them had a man standing out front trying to lure us in. Sometimes they succeeded, as was the case here. It was delicious.

So now I'm home and my clothes feel a bit snug around the middle, but I'm afraid to step onto the scale. I'll give myself a few more days before facing reality. No need to rush into these things. :)

Got It Twisted

2006-06-01T19:21:00.002-04:00

When I had my adventurous day up in Franklin, NC on Mother's Day Weekend, I managed to bring back a couple of pretty tournalines. This is the setting I made for them. It was a bit of an experiment for me because instead of using the flat wire for filigree I was just taught to use in Victoria's class, I had one entire side of simple flat sheet of silver to place my filigree on. It wasn't easy, but the space to fill was small, so it was manageable. Also, I used a thinner wire to make this chain, which I have made a few times before. I think I will use thicker wire in the future. This one is a bit flimsy for my taste.

I've been working on this one along with the next piece. Yes, this is the one where my filigree loops went up in smoke. So you now see the recovered piece. You may have noticed I'm using a lot of chalcedony lately. It's because I purchased an entire string of them about a year ago and had not yet figured out how to incorporate them into any of my designs - until recently, that is. Somehow they seem to compliment the delicate filigree.

Now that I'm done with the above 2 pendants, I'm going to take a little break and start getting ready for our trip to Europe. Only a few more days to go! :)

Here we go loop de loo...

2006-05-26T21:19:00.000-04:00

Sometimes working with a torch can take you to your limits of frustration. Not with these earring here, even though I had my moments with them. But the pendant I've been working on alongside these earrings caused me to take a 2 day sabbatical. Jess compared it to when she messed up her Olympic sweater for those of you who remember THAT disaster. :)

There I was, just about completely done with the pendant. It was looking quite pretty with it's gold frame and open bezel ready for the stone. But two teensy little filigree loops were not attached as strongly as they need to be to the frame, so I began to resolder and...WHOOSH! They were gone! I had burned the loops to oblivion!

Thank goodness we discussed how to repair mangled (or missing, in my case) loops in my last class. I guess these types of mishaps happen to the best of us, which is some kind of consolation. How many times have I said how much I learn from my mistakes? So, after 2 days away, I was finally ready to re-enter the studio and begin reconstruction. It's coming along and is much improved already, but it isn't coming out EXACTLY the way I had wanted it. I'm now wondering if I should saw out some more to re-do even more filigree. I probably need a little more time and distance before I make that decision.

Someone tells me it's all happening at the zoo

2006-05-23T20:44:00.000-04:00

Well, nothing much was happening when David and I went on our traditional yearly trek to Zoo Atlanta. All the animals were either sleeping or hiding in caves or somewhere else. The first stop: Elephants. None to be seen. Second stop: Giraffes. Couldn't find one! Where the heck were they hiding (how do you hide a giraffe?) We finally gave up and just went to the gorilla exhibit, which is really why we go in the first place. Atlanta has an excellent gorilla habitat and David and I have been visiting them for years. We were there when little Kudzu was just a babe, frolicking in front of us and making us laugh many, many years ago (Kudzu is a mother now). On this particular day our big thrill was the Mama ape who had little baby twin gorillas hanging on her. I had somehow missed the fact that twin gorillas had been born at Zoo Atlanta recently. These little ones, born in October, are the only twins in a captive population to be entirely mother reared. They've been named Kali and Kazi (male and female) via a naming contest by the Atlanta Journal Constitution Newspaper. We also saw Ivan, who is HUGE, and a few other interesting guys, but I think we should go at feeding time in the future to see more activity. Here's David taking photographs:
And here's a photo he took of the flamingos:And of the crazy snake who seemed to love to has his picture taken:
And one more...

WHOOPS! Those are MY animals! :) Sleeping peacefully on the chair they are no longer allowed on because the puppy decided to chew up the cording on the chair cushion. Grrrrrrr....

She's got a ring in his nose and a ring on her hand

2006-05-17T18:32:00.000-04:00

I don't even remember what song that line came from, but it's there, stuck in my brain forever. It was between that and "I'm so excited, I just can't hide it" because as I was finishing my ring today I was EXCITED! I rarely ever make rings, so as I began to see that this one was going to actually come out okay, I found myself feeling...well...ecstatic! :) Making rings can be difficult. You might start out trying to make a size 6, but by the time it's done, it can morph into a size 7. So I made an effort to make this one smaller than I needed. Sure enough, after polishing it all up, it fit perfectly. I wish I had made the opal's bezel in gold, though. It would have been prettier. But seeing as it was my first ring in well over a year, I didn't think it appropriate to be overly confident.

Last night was my very last filigree class. Oh oh...now I'm on my own. I'm still obsessed with it and have a pair of earrings in the pickle pot, a newly finished pair sitting in my jewelry box and a pendant waiting for a chain and a stone to be set into it. New ideas keep flooding in daily, which I'm drawing on some graph paper for future reference. My new designs, combined with my new acquisitions will keep me happy for a good long time!

Para Bailar La Bamba

2006-05-05T13:44:00.000-04:00

On May 5th, 1862 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French (and traitor Mexicans) at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City. Hey, those french need to be put in their place every so often! Reason enough to celebrate for me! Happy Cinco De Mayo! We got lucky and came upon our friends, Jim & Sandy, at a nearby restaurant called "Pure Taqueria" so joined them for a lively dinner. The band playing was LOUD, but I still felt we were lucky not having to listen to singing Mexican men wandering around the restaurant forcing people to listen their rendition of La Bamba over and over. ; )

This means Mother's day is next Sunday already. I made my mother these rose quartz and freshwater pearl earrings. I didn't want them to be as big as the previous ones with the chalcedony, but something she would actually wear (she just turned 80 in November). I hope she will be happy with these.

Quilt it. Quilt it good.

2006-04-29T20:36:00.000-04:00

Elaine is an incredible quilter (and she has most organized quilting room I've ever seen). Yesterday was Amy Strickland's wedding shower and Elaine presented her with a pillow she had made from the photo on Amy's wedding website. How cute is that? Made me want to pull out my sewing machine and start quilting again! Ed better keep an eye on me because I could take over all the upstairs bedrooms and he wouldn't even know it. This room for quilting, this room for jewelrymaking, this room for...

Upon returning home, I decided to finish up the earrings I'd started on Friday afternoon. The original plan had pearls hanging from the bottom, but I decided blue chalcedony beads would be better.
They are quite long - measuring a whopping 4 inches from the very tip top of the ear wire to the bottom of the bead, but are very light and delicate. I'm happy with how they turned out.

Just watching Amy open the quilted pillow reminded me that it's time for me to make something for my mother, who has been waiting patiently for a handmade gift from me for far too long. These earrings would be too large for her, but I think I can design something more appropriate and get it to her by Mother's Day. I better get busy!

Here we go 'round in circles...

2006-04-25T16:33:00.000-04:00

A circle is a shape found repeatedly throughout the world and is a symbol of perfection. It is acknowledged as an archetype of wholeness and integration, with the center symbolizing spirit...or essence. In Buddhist Mandalas, the circumference is "the grasping", i.e., grasping the essence.

This is a circular pendant I made using the filigree techniques I'm learning in class. It is made of 14K gold and fine silver. I had an exciting discovery while making the attached chain. Instead of using 22 gauge fine silver to make the round loops, I used Argentium 22 gauge sterling silver and was pleasantly surprised to find out they fuse beautifully. I did not melt one single loop as I fused them, which is unheard of in my studio! This is fantastic because I can now make chains that are both easier, stronger and highly tarnish-resistant. What could be better?

Come on baby light my fire...

2006-04-06T19:22:00.000-04:00

...but not TOO hot, or it will melt the filigree! We need a low, brushy flame here to solder those teensy weensy twisted little buggers into the frame. Otherwise, POOF, they will turn into a pool of liquid silver sitting on the charcoal block.

When I first began the delicate task of inserting the twisted wire into the frame, they would not stay in. If they did stay in, I would then take them off to be soldered and they would then fall out. This went on for over an hour, at which point I had to just get up and walk away from it all because I was beginning to think something was seriously wrong with me! But I kept remembering Victoria saying something about there being a "knack" to this and that it sometimes takes awhile to catch on. Good advice, which turned out to be true, because upon returning to my piece few minutes later, everything started to do what it was supposed to do. Here's where I'm at right now on my very first attempt at filigree. I know it's far from perfect...the loops aren't the exact same size and the the spaces are uneven, but I'm okay with all of that right now. Just learning, you know...

On the left side I've left a small space to put a little garnet...or green peridot. But I'll wait until the next class to see what to do next before I go forward with that. I have a tendency to rush forward with things before I know the proper order.

Oh, did I forget to mention I had to go to a chiropractor today because of the pain in my neck? I've been unable to move my head normally for 3 days now...most likely a result of all the time I've spent hunched over my workspace making all those shawl pins!!! ;)

Latest Bloomin' Creation

2006-04-02T20:44:00.000-04:00

Phew! The pin took longer than anticipated. Anytime you add bezels and stones to a piece, it's going to take a bit longer...at least in my opinion. Here's the finished pin for Jessica's shawl (Sterling Silver with Amber, Jade & Garnet):

I can't imagine how it's going to stay in the shawl without falling out, even though I made the sterling silver straight pin part kind of squiggly for that very purpose. Susan suggested I make another one similar to the hair clips used in the past - the kind with a little stick that grabs the hair and slips through a rectangular base. It would be cute to attach the stick to the main clip with a little chain, as well. Holy Canoli! How many of these darn shawl pins can one person make???

Come on Babeeeey, Twist & Shout!

2006-03-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first Russian Filigree class at Spruill. We actually had to make our own solder by melting silver, bronze, zink & copper into a big blob. Now we have to file it and use the shavings as solder. Don't ask me why we we can't use regular solder because I don't know. All I know is this is the ONLY way to do it, according to my teacher - and I believe her. :)

Then we took 26 gauge round fine silver wire and twisted it so tight it almost broke...or did break. Mine broke 3 times. Whoops! Oh well. After that, we sent it through the rolling mill to flatten. This is what it all looks like before we transform it into something beautiful! (That's the blob of solder in the middle.)

Next week, we'll begin learning how to actually make something really cool out of all of this. I can't wait!

Pins and Needles

2006-03-26T19:41:00.001-05:00

Jessica asked me to make her a pin for one of her knitted scarves to hold it together in the front. Susan gave me the idea to make a penandular brooch, and sent me home with one of her designs. So I made one this afternoon:

But I wondered if she would prefer more of a "pin" type of style, so then made this one:

Hmmmm...I still haven't made the straight pin design. It would be similar to a hat pin, but larger. My worry is it might fall easily out of the scarf. I think I'll give it a try anyway and see what happens.

Double Trouble

2006-03-21T19:04:00.001-05:00

Earrings. I wear them just about every day, but they happen to be one of the things I make least often. Why? Because you have to make two of them. I need to get over that problem.

Here's a pair I made recently, experimenting with making tiny links out of 22 gauge sterling silver wire. It worked. I only melted maybe 1/4 of the links as I fused them. Not a bad start. :) The blue lapis beads add some color.

Did someone say double trouble?

Little do they know as they innocently lay there soaking up the sun that I am planning a little vacation for them at The Ruff House for a couple of days while I head to New York to visit Jess. Wait...they're looking at me funny...like they suspect me of something. They probably saw me putting their sleepover supplies in the car today.

I am SO excited about Thursday night in New York. Jess and I are going to have dinner at Risoterria , a restaurant in New York that makes gluten free Pizza!!! I haven't had pizza in a restaurant since the year 2000. The last time I was in New York, we went went to Happy, Happy, Happy, a gluten free bakery and stocked up on goodies. What a treat!

Split me baby one more time...

2006-03-20T16:19:00.000-05:00

The "Kicked Up Split Pea Soup" from the Gluten Free Goddess' blog was DEE-licious! For those of you who can't handle things too spicy, I'd suggest skipping the jalapenos altogether because it was HOT. Also, I added some chopped ham to the recipe, but it was really quite tasty without it. Click on her blog for the easy recipe.

Today I went to a bead shop called Colorstones in Roswell, Georgia and looked for something that might be a good addition to a chain I'm making. I don't usually use beads, but I'm thinking of making a sterling silver chain with a bead every couple of links and then a pendant of some sort in the front. The pretty round garnets I bought might be just perfect!

Chicken Dance

2006-03-18T13:06:00.001-05:00

I can't recall ever making a meal that had Ed exclaiming, "This is DELICIOUS!" every time I served it to him. Until now that is. I found this recipe in a book called "Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue" and it's full of easy meals a person can accomplish with a rotisserie chicken. Here's what it looks like:

Almost-No-Chopping Black Bean & Salsa Soup

3 (14 ounce cans) chicken broth (or unchicken broth)
1 16 oz jar chunky salsa (I used Muir Glen Cilantro Salsa)
1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed.
2/3 cup instant rice
1 cup frozen corn kernels
3 green onions, thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups chicken, chopped or shredded from a rotisserie chicken (or vegetarian substitute if you prefer)

Topping:
Sour Cream
Grated Cheddar Cheese
Tortilla Chips

1. Bring Broth and Salsa to a boil in a pot over medium heat (I used a 6 qt. pot)
2. Add the chicken or the vegetarian equivalent.
3. Also add the can of beans the 2/3 cup rice. Stir well, and turn the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 10 minutes, stirring occassionally.
4. Stir in the corn and cook another 3 to 5 minutes or so (or longer).
5. Remove from heat and add the onions.
6. Ladle into soup bowls. Add a dollop of sour cream, some grated cheddar cheese and a couple of tortilla chips crushed over all of it. (These last ingredients are very important!)

Cornbread would go with this nicely...but anything will do.

Instead of using "instant rice" I threw in a pouch of Lundberg's Rice Express, which I bought at Whole Foods. It probably helped with the flavor. This makes a big pot of soup -- good for a couple of days or more. We just had a bowl for lunch, which was met with sounds of delight from you-know-who!

I love the smell of acetylene in the morning

2006-03-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

This obsession with making jewelry happened FAST. After my very first metalsmithing class at Spruill Arts with Susan Saul, I think I was already making plans to buy a torch. When I did, I had to ask Dallas at JFF if he would please attach the torch to the tank for me because I didn't have a clue how to do it! He was very kind, thank goodness. Here's where I make stuff:

The problem lately is I can't find the time to design or work on new projects. Bella needs a lot of attention. In and out, in and out, all day long. She's only 5 months old, so it's expected, I guess. Here's the little bugger.
Oh oh -- Hannah will be jealous if I don't put her picture in here, too (they're SO competitive!)

Since I'm talking about jewelrymaking, here's photo of my latest pendant and chain. It's an Australian Opal and Garnet done in 18K gold and sterling silver.

I'm in a creative slump right now. Why else would I be spending this much time learning how to make a blog instead of upstairs making things? I need inspiration!