Class Pictures

I didn't take near enough pictures of the classes that we taught.  The time just flew.  All of our classes involved metal etching.  The 6 hour classes used etching as a basis to make a piece of jewelry.  One class was earrings and the other two were bracelets.

Our classroom was in the convention hall floor.  We made use of every inch of that room and even pushed out the backside.

Cris on the move to her next demo.

Yiyi working on a bracelet.

Cory working on her bracelets.

 



Kath Steinbring's Zentangle design.  This is based on Betweed (see below)

 

After a long day of teaching.....we hide behind the curtains of Karen's booth.

It's been ages

Seems like it's been ages since I last blogged....and in fact it has.  In early May I squirreled myself away to work up samples for the Bead and Button classes that Cris and I taught.  The show has come and gone so quickly.  And now my schedule is filled with a couple dozen other projects that need to be completed. 

But first...the show...  During the first 4 days Cris, Yiyi and I took a Master's class with the incomparable Celie Fago. 

We worked with sterling metal clay making rings. Great class and lovely clay.  It may actually draw me back into silver.  I love rings and have always wanted to make them to round out my repertoire of jewelry...necklaces, earrings, bracelets and now rings.  Below is a sampling of the rings we made in class.

Below are the 5 rings that I made in class.

 

 

And with every Master's Class comes the graduation dinner.

Me with Erin and Celie



Annie and Katie

Yiyi and Cris

Yiyi, Jean, and Cris

Hazel and Yiyi

Marlene and Hazel
 

There were beads and buttons on the table so of course...we all made jewelry.

Hazel made a stunning bracelet

Annie's beautiful ring

We had a great time!!  These girls are all so wonderful!!

Etcing done....

Now onto fabrication.  I'll be in the studio the rest of the day.  Yay!!

Making more class samples

I'm making more class samples.  Doing this allows me to practice.  David Rankin said something at his lecture last week that was an aha moment.  He talked about professional musicians and how they practice all the time.  That made me think about how I only work at the bench when I want to make something.  When I spend an extended period of time at the bench, I can see my work evolve.  I realized that I should be working at the bench a lot more...practicing and evolving.

I spent this last week after work, prepping pieces for etching.  I played with rolling the brass bracelet blanks below across inked stamps.  They have a tendency to slip and to have areas where it didn't pick up the ink.  But I like that look and I think the etching process will make it look eroded. I also hand drew designs on them. 



Brass bracelets 

Pieces ready for earrings and a bracelet.  These were all done with PNP paper.  This is one of the techniques we will be teaching in our classes.

Copper earrings and a bracelet

Tomorrow I'll work on finishing these pieces.  Practice, practice, practice.

30 days and counting

It's only 30 days until Bead and Button.  It's mind boggling where the last few months have gone. 

There are still a few seats available in three of our classes.  Sign up soon and sign up often :)  Cris and I are getting together all the supplies and tools.  It's going to be a whirlwind week. 



Etched and Riveted Bracelet

Metal Clay Embellished Bracelet

Metal Etching 101

Class Project

One of our class projects was to create a design on the front of a canvas bag.  I'm obviously very geometric right now.  The flowery tangles are a little harder for me to draw at this point. Practice, practice, practice.  I remember when I started making jewelry everything was so symmetrical.  It took a while for me to break that habit. 

 

I think this will help me create design plates for metal clay.  Now I need to combine this techniques with tribal motifs.

 



Final pics from the museum

I took a lot of pictures at the museum.  I remember going on school field trips when I was a kid.  I always had a camera with me and always took pictures.  There were never any good....but I was always snapping pictures.



Close-up of a lions mane.  Love the pattern.  This would be a neat texture for the clay.
 

A griffin...I just imagine him saying..."MINE".

A view of the side.

Close up of the wing.
 

Stone Celtic head.  I love this piece.
 

9th century Transenna post from Italy



Visigoth belt buckle from the 6th century.



This blows me away.  3500-4000 BC.  Vinca Culture from Serbia.

More Patterns...

Patterns, patterns, patterns. I took a ton of pictures at the art museum. Here are a few more patterns and some more cool things.

Even the air grates are patterned.  I want these for my house.

An Iranian incense burner.  I want this for my house too.

It has inscriptions from the Koran around the neck and down the spine.

Textile patterns.

Part of a stained glass window.

Inscription on a medieval door.

Late 16th century Italian painting.

Close-up of the chain

Close-up of the lace.

Close-up of the jewelry.

16th century painting by Agnolo Bronzino

The lace is amazing.

16th century German painting

Close-up

Part of a 16th century French tapestry

Saint Martin of Tours.  I want this for my house too.

Patterns on a stained glass window.

Cow skulls from a stained glass window.  These were great.

Detail on wooden doors.

Floor pattern in a painting

More stained glass.

Believe it or not...I still have more photos.