Wire

I LOVE these earrings. They have everything I love about wire, which is, just wire being itself, and doing it gorgeously!
  The design has been in my sketchbook for many months but I refused to make them in 20 gauge. Now these are 16 ga frames drawn down to about 19 ga at the ears.

  The new draw plate finally arrived and it was everything I hoped for. Precision machined holes, all marked and in order and it pulls like a dream. I do not enjoy filing the wire down to fit into the draw plate. It's a pain and kind of fussy, but I do like the new design options I can have using heave gauge wire when needed.

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  Haven't been able to get much else done the past week. We have been busy shopping for a used car for my daughter and finally found one. It's a stick shift so now she needs to learn to drive it and we had to get it into the shop to be sure it was safe to drive (and spend more money on it:(  )

  The cat is in the beginning stages of kidney disease and that has taken up my time also.

  I really miss the wire and I hope I can get back to it regularly soon.

Sterling Hoops

  "What's this" you ask? Why do I post boring earrings?

  These earrings have been a long time coming. I hate 20 gauge hoop earrings. They always feel flimsy and cheesy. Am I right?  Err, maybe some would say "they're delicate and feminine".

  I just don't like them!

  But if you go any larger in wire gauge you end up with wire uncomfy to delicate ears.

  These are 16 gauge wire hoops tapered down to 20 gauge at the end. I purchased a 10$ draw plate from Etsy. But, now that I see it is possible to taper like I want, I purchased a really nice draw plate from Rio Grande. Can't wait to get it. I'm pretty confident that a well machined draw plate would have made these earrings much less traumatic to make:)

ONLINE EXHIBITION OF JEWELRY FEATURING NON-PRECIOUS MATERIALS

Ganoskin is having an online exhibition accepting rank beginners thru long time professionals. Don't miss out on a chance to have your work seen folks! I already entered this morning.


"ONLINE EXHIBITION OF JEWELRY FEATURING NON-PRECIOUS MATERIALS"


To be hosted on www.ganoksin.com



This exhibition will be held online only, and will feature jewelry

that is primarily constructed of non-precious metals and other

materials (Precious metals being defined as silver, gold, platinum,

palladium, and their alloys).The jewelry should be designed to

actually be worn, not just viewed. This exhibition is open to

everyone from master goldsmiths to rank beginners, and is not juried

- all entries with qualifying images will be accepted.



To qualify images must be "jury quality", clearly focussed, show the

jewelry clearly, and be visually pleasing to look at. All images

should be in jpg format only, under 1MB each. Images should have a

neutral background with no props, preferably gray or white. Entrants

will be notified if images are not of acceptable quality, and may

submit new images through the closing date.



Each person may submit up to three pieces.



Entries should be e-mailed to: onlineexhibition@earthlink.net Please

put the exhibition name in the e-mail subject line. In the body of

the e-mail identify each piece with title, material(s), dimensions,

price or NFS, country and name of the artist. If you have a web site

or online selling site you would like linked to your piece(s) please

include the correct address(es), or whatever contact information you

would like included. You will have two lines for contact

information. Any broken links will not be used. Sales will NOT be

conducted from the exhibition!



Entries will be accepted between April 1 and May 31.



Beth Wicker

onlineexhibition@earthlink.net

www.bethwicker.com

Caramel Pin

    This is the first time I've set an undrilled stone. I love the yummy folds of the coiled petals:)

I took a day off from work on Friday, so that is how I have managed to make two projects this week. So don't get spoiled:)  Just kidding!

  I still don't have my framing at the level I want it to be. I think I'll just practice more. What else can I do? Unless there is a teacher somewhere, I'm stuck with me:)

Leaf Pin

  It's been a challenging week in my life so I didn't want to work on frames. Making soldered frames is my least favorite wire activity, but I love how they look so I stick with it.

  It's so very soothing to take a step back and work on a design that feels well within reach of my abilities.

  For the first time, I used a brass wire brush  to remove oxidation from the pin. It was a wonderful experience! The soft brass bristles get into nooks and crannies that no polishing cloth or steel wool will ever reach!

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  Kind of funny and thought provoking article about creativity here
http://www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/

Discovered the link from a friends Facebook page. You might enjoy it too.

Caged Agate Brooch

  This was a VERY challenging project for me. I worked on it for over 4 days and had to remake components and rewrap multiple times. I almost quit in discouragement.

  I was somewhat happy with it until I saw it in the macro view of my camera and realized I have a ways to go before I'm competent with this technique.

  So that leaves only one thing to do right? That's right - DO IT AGAIN!! Only I'll use a different stone this time:)