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

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


   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.

Interview In Russian

  A new wire friend has done an interview about me in Russian. I'm very grateful to Oksana Truhan for taking my work somewhere I could not go on my own.

If you want to read it, you can find it here. You'll need to use the translator though;)

http://www.livemaster.ru/topic/95651-meri-taker-tvorchestvo-srodni-volshebstvu?&inside=0&wf

Violet Arm Band

 

   I took on a custom order this week and revisited my floral series. I've been meaning to develop that series, but I get distracted easily by other design ideas.

  So finally back on the series, the client and I developed this concept together. I enjoyed the collaboration and I think the final design is better for it.

  These faceted gemstones, amethsyt, spinel, and sapphire really sparkle and catch the light beautifully, bringing the band to life.

  While I was working on this upper arm band, I realized it would make an excellent ring if I could miniaturize it. The ring would be a perfectly sellable design due to the fact that it would be adjustable and built just like this band. Woohoo!!

  So the ring post should follow as soon as I can make up my mind about the tiny beads to weave on.