Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Obsessed with Etching



Etched German silver cross with labradorite rondelles, jade, rhinestone rondelles, and Czech fire-polished beads. Sterling and steel wire. When I first learned how to use a jeweler's saw, from my wonderful teacher Kelly Conroy at the Worcester Center for Crafts, this archetypal Southwestern cross shape seemed like an easy one to practice on. But when I started applying the etching techniques I'd picked up over the summer to my growing heap of crosses, well, somehow the whole became greater than the sum of its parts. Photos can't pick up the rich play of shine and darkness this mysterious process lends to the surface, but I'll post 'em anyway!
Posted by Picasa

And speaking of October...



Here's a little peek at what I've been up to lately down at the Flux 'n Pickle, the drafty but functional jewelry studio my sweet husband has rigged up for me in our unfinished basement. Faceted carnelian rondelles, steel and sterling wire, vintage Czech glass seed beeds, and a drop of jasper surround this bezel I made of brass and silver to frame a tiny New England landscape I painted en plein air this past summer at the Cape. I'm re-launching my etsy shop this weekend, or as soon as I can stop fiddling around with different banner designs! stay tuned!
Posted by Picasa

Not a Ghost



Alright, well, it's not a ghostly apparition, which might have been more suitable for an almost-Halloween post which attempts to bring this languishing blog back from the dead. It's the sunlight pouring through the stained glass door to my office. Today was the first time the colors and the camera were in the same place at the same time.
Posted by Picasa