like a phoenix!

sometimes when i'm working, a piece breaks.  it is heartbreaking, but, then it becomes a test of wills, between me and the broken piece........ with me saying, "you will become something beautifull!"

i figured and i studied and i figured and i studied, and i finally figured it out!  thanks to my poppo, or was it my mother? who always said "where there's a will, there's a way!"  so....i made a third piece out of sheet copper and used it to back the broken and weak parts. then, i added some leaves to bring the two halves back to the same level, some texture to the backing copper, and viola!  

 here she is, resurrected, and stronger than ever, in all her glory!

hooray!!!!!

sometimes there's heartbreak....

i have just made the most beautiful necklace.  i worked and worked on the enameling to get it just right.  it was a repaired piece from te get-go, and the heating and reheating must have been too much for it.......

the poor thing broke in half.  don't know if i can fix it.  oh man!  it is a killer when that happens.  i had to take a picture of the broken carcass.  

it has a title, should it ever be repaired well enough to wear....a lovely title. 

 "the gift from the goddess of the night sky"

doesn't that just about make you want to cry?

did i tell you about the bracelet links????

well.  i've been roling ideas around in my mind for months for a link bracelet, thinkini i wanted something that i could eventually make into a watchband for myself.  this is the design i ended up with.

this is basicly how i did it.  i rolled out copper clay

and made a cardstock pattern the shape i wanted, and cut out enough for my bracelet.

i had a mold of a victorian button and cast that in copper

i unmolded the cast while it was still wet, and used water and paste to bond the two.

dried them and fired them according to the instructions on the package.

the next day i took them out of the kiln, rolled out bronze clay, also two cards thick, then cut it into tiny strips 3/4" long and about 1/4" wide, with one strip an inch and a half long.  i dried them flat and fired them.

next, i enameled the copper links with pink and green enamel, and put them aside to cool while i made 14mm copper jump rings.  then i pounded a little 'character' into them.

all that was left was to assemble the bracelet using the flat bronze strips with their ends curled under to make an oval link, with one end around a copper jump ring and the other around the enameled flower link, until it was long enough for my wrist, and finish with a hook made from the one long strip.  viola!  bracelet!  i can even add charms!

links to the faerie circle

here is the necklace with all it's links.....next step, add color!

starting to feel the magic

i'm so excited about this piece!  the links came out well....i'll post pics of them tomorow.  and i hope to begin enameling the pieces tomorrow.  i still have to work out the closure and there will be blance issues with the heavy front, but here it is!

designing a new piece

this is a piece that will be a process.  i've been studying on a necklace i picked up on a trip a bunch of years ago, and i have had it on my worktable, in the periphery of my vision for months.  i do this a lot with things i want to use eventually as inspiration.  i'm using it as a springboard for a new design for a 'necklace in the round'.  this is a slide show about using graph-paper to help make a symmetrical base to on which i will begin to make components for the new necklace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vdX7ycmL5w 

i still have to make the rest of the parts, figure out the closure, work on connections, balance, and the finish.  i really want to do enamel on this piece.  it will be interesting to see where it goes........ an evolutionary process.  i'll keep you posted.

    

an easy way to give new life to dry clay

this is a short demo showing an easy way to re-constitute metal clay when it dries out.  it works for bronze, copper or silver, any brand.  when clay dries out it cracks and is hard to cut, sculpt or mold, requiring the addition of water.    kneading water into clay with your hands or in plastic, is a messy process which rarely results in smooth clay.  

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKdmAkE90wM

this way the clay comes out as smooth as it is when it first comes out of the package, even if the clay dries out completely.  when that happens you just have to chop it up into tiny pieces first, then, spray with water, roll,  and fold between the plastic layers, until fully rehydrated and smooth.  it takes a little elbow grease, but it's worth it!  add a little oil along the way if you need to.