Oceana

 
  It's very freeing to my mind to go into my work space and know in advance what I am to be working on. Anything Oceana! All sorts of materials from high to low end and techniques can be used as long as they all follow the ocean theme. It's really quite fun to explore just how many ways I can express our bountiful seas.

Sterling and fine silver, pearls, hematite, and silk

   This necklace uses bronze wire purchased from Nancy Wickman's etsy store. http://www.etsy.com/shop/wickwirejewelry?ref=pr_shop_more  This is terrific wire and the photo doesn't do it justice. It's everything I ever wished brass would be but wasn't. It's very warmly toned and when left unoxidized has the appearance of gold. When heavily oxidized it turns a deep rich brown rather than black. What you see here is an oxidized version that has been polished with steel wool and tumbled.

   It's pleasurable to work with too, more malleable than brass but stronger than copper. It behaves well and does what it's told.

   I captured a glass marble to give the appearance of a glass float from the ocean. The necklace consists of bronze, glass marble, pearl, amethyst, and silk

  The only problem I am having is that I like everything I'm making and want to keep it all:)

Wire Starfish

  I've noticed something new happening in my 'design mind'. I've noticed that many elements I once considered separate ideas are beginning to flow together into one design pool. For example, architectural forms mixing with floral work. The work I did with Crayon Designs (mixing all sorts of materials together) http://www.theangstyartist.blogspot.com/2011/09/crayon-designs.html is now getting mixed with architectural forms and the ocean theme, as seen in the above necklace. It's not something I ever planned, it just seems to be happening on it's own. It's really neat to see these elements mixing and I'm excited about what I might produce in the near future.

  Above necklace is agate, vintage glass, millifiori, steel, seed beads, coral and hemp

  Another change for me, is that I think it is time I focused a bit more on the business side of wire. I would like to have some work available in a gallery. I'm trying to come up with a small collection I can haul around and proudly show off. I'm going to focus on making an ocean theme collection with different price ranges from high to low, depending on materials used and time spent on complexity of work. This is an entirely new pursuit for me and it feels a bit scary.

  I noticed to my surprised as I was going through my supplies that I have quite a lot of materials that work well for an ocean theme. It should keep me busy for a while:)


Here is a pile of 4-5 inch starfish all worked in steel. One has goldplate over brass beads, and the other showcases white beach glass.

Black Gold Hoops

  I couldn't be more pleased with myself this week. Finally after all these years, I am making some decent earrings:)

  I feel like I'm on the right track. Working designs that really express me; with the right amount of architectural forms and details to make me happy.

  Sterling and fine silver, gold fill, gold plate over sterling, gold plate over brass. 2 inches.

Ruby Floral Earrings

   I took a day off from work today and these earrings are what I did. They took me all day and some of last night.

  I like that my blog shows how I arrived at these earrings...working on florals all month... then a week of play and play with forms, and then ah ha!  Floral forms:))

  They are probably the best earrings I've ever made.

Sterling and fine silver, ruby, pearl and garnet

Playdoh Studio

  It's been a weird week in my studio.... errr.. I mean dining room. Like a kid with playdoh I have been playing with beads and wire with no real focus. I've made a really big mess which someone has to clean up:(

  Last week I made these sterling and fine silver earrings with sapphire:

  I started making a red agate necklace that turned into a turquoise necklace. How does it happen that there is no agate in it when I am done?
  I call it the Rock Stack necklace: a trail marker for those who've lost their way.
Steel, silverfill, dyed howlite I think, and peruvian opal stack.

  I reworked a bad old design into some earrings:

  It used to look like this atrocious thing:

  I reworked an old silver wire pendant and placed a vintage glass bead into it. I'm working on a steel and pearl necklace that doesn't know what it wants to be. I made various steel frames for more floral work.

  I began another floral vintage frame. See how tiny it is!

  Last week I had made a wire bead that I don't like. I am interested in making wire beads, especially if I can make them the same shape as whatever bead is used in the necklace. Still working on this concept. The wire bead looks better in photo than in real life. It's getting scrapped.

  I made forms with steel. Then I started to get excited. Mmmm I love forms:))

So then I got more serious about it, and made a very Kathy Frey looking pod. It's not neat enough for me, I need to work on this. Does anyone have her book Elegant Wire Jewelry? Does she teach how to make pods?

  I purchased a Bell Armoire Jewelry magazine this week and also pulled out a bunch of vintage jewelry components, but I wasn't very strong in that area. Here is my messy work desk:

The toothbrush is used for cleaning jewelry and also it's a useful way to apply renaissance wax to woven steel with alot of holes in it.

  Definitely some little kid has been running loose in the studio..err I mean the dining room:) I hope she's a mastermind! I love the pod she made:)

Vintage Floral Brooch

  This was one of those projects I started a year ago. Yeah, that long ago! But it had issues and I didn't stick with it.

  This is an old vintage brooch finding. Perhaps it once held a cameo. I've filled it with wirework:)

Vintage brass brooch finding, steel wire, fine silver, pearl, sapphire, and rhinestones.

Floral Ring

  Finally finished the floral ring. Every time I do this type of detail work in a small space I struggle with it. The ring is only 2 inches high, so each side has only a 1 inch space to work in. Very challenging to make it look attractive and I had to rework this ring 4-5 times. Each time I tried out different stones and colors and shapes until I found the right combo.

I was so sick of looking at it!

Copper, amazonite, and pearl

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   Also I have pictures of my client, Wanda Wen, wearing the Violet Armband. She also sent me some links that describe the event that she curates and is named after her.

http://www.fox17online.com/videogallery/68489364/News/KTLA-A-Soolip-Wedding-5am

http://www.ktla.com/videogallery/68489625/News/KTLA-A-Soolip-Wedding-6am

http://www.fox40.com/videogallery/68490349/News/KTLA-A-Soolip-Wedding-7am

  Normally I would never expose or brag about a client in this way but I do have Wanda's permission and she herself sent me these links. The videos are all talking about the Los Angeles event, but there was a similar event in San Francisco where she wore the armband. I don't think she is wearing the same thing to Los Angeles event; 
not as artsy I think;)

  It was incredibly exciting that she let me be a part of this event:) She was a really kind and down to earth woman; and that is not something I say often.