Pretty Kitty...

She's just hanging out while I take jewelry pics. 

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Polished up...

I polished up a few of the pieces I made last week.  Next stop...the assembly bench.  These are far from finished.  I love the extra cut that the copper texture sheets give the metal clay.

I'm going to lace this one up

She lost a faux rivet.  Lou told me I should "pick off" the other ones.  I just started laughing.  I had to explain that I couldn't just "pick" them off.  It is all one piece after firing.

 Tribal designs

Orange dots on this one....if only I knew what goes on during the firing to make the colors and patterns. 

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It Never Gets Old....Bronze Fresh from the Kiln

It's been crazy hot here in Cleveland.  Driving home on Thursday the car was reading 107 on the freeway.  Lou headed to Michigan on Friday for a golf weekend so I decided that this was a good weekend to just stay inside and work in the studio. 

I recently made a few (40+) etched copper sheets to use as textures for metal clay.  I had used polymer clay tear-aways in the past but the polymer clay company changed formulations so the process no longer works.  It was time to try something different.  I picked my favorite designs and nailed down acid-etching on copper. 

I tried out a number of these yesterday.  And I have to say I LOVE them.  They were easy to use and because I can control the depth of the copper etch, I can make a stronger texture on the metal clay.  It's not as much as with a rubber stamp but more than a tear away.  I haven't polished them up yet but I can't help posting pics of the pieces fresh out of the kiln. The colors are just so great.

My typical tribal designs mixed with some industrial girders and rivets.  Check out the orange spots on some of these.

These are all from nature.  Molds of drift wood from my brother's beach and part of a seed pod (heart shape) from an Amaryllis that sits in my office at work.

 

The gear was made from a shaped frame I picked up at the MCWC . It's from polymer clay express.  It's was a really easy to use.  The other two pieces.... I have no idea....they were sheets that I had cut small discs and rectangles from...but I liked them so I threw them in to fire.

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New Directions: Powder Metallurgy (Metal Clay) in a Sheet Metal World

New Directions is a book that "embraces the unique personality that metal clay brings in the form of jewelry, vessels, functional and decorative objects". It brings together some amazing metal clay artists and I'm proud to be included in this book.  A portion of each sale will go to CERF+ which is an organization that provides emergency relief to artists.

New Directions: by Susan Breen Silvy & Christine Norton | Make Your Own Book

I borrowed a picture from Christine Norton.  It is a pic of me and the book open to the page that features my work.

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Back from Metal Clay World Conference

Got back yesterday.  It was really great to catch up with friends...especially Facebook friends.  To actually see them in person and get a chance to talk was great!! The MCWC is a well run meeting, in a nice location, and there were lots of good lectures. 

I picked up some photography tips from Lisa Pavelka and my most favorite was a lecture by Lisa Barth who does amazing stone setting with silver metal clay.  She has a book out...Designing From The Stone: Design Techniques for Bezel Setting in Metal Clay Using the Stone as Inspiration

She makes beautiful pieces and the book goes through her design process and how she uses the features of the stone to guide her in designing the bezel...on both the front and the back.  If you have any interest in bezel setting stones in metal clay....you need this book.  Of course I bought it and had her sign it :)

Speaking of stones....here are a few I picked up from Joe Jelks at Horizon Mineral.  Joe doesn't have a website but he does shows.  You need to check out his stones if you ever run into him at a show. 

 Anasazi Pot Shards...very cool and after Lisa's class my mind is buzzing with thoughts of the bezels I can make.

 Fossilized Dinosaur Bone....really!!  I have a hard time grasping that I have a piece of dinosaur bone.

Agate Tubes.  Finding these were worth the trip. 

I thought they might be thousands of years old.  Joe said they are more like millions of years old.  They are the result of volcanic ash deposits on the stems of silica rich marsh plant stems in Sumatra. 

   This is a picture of the primordial place they were created.

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King Jakob....

Jakob is the cutest little guy in the world .....and he's 1 yr old............

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Scavenging Mother Earth

I was at my brother's on the 4th so I went beach combing for rocks and drift wood.  Textures and shapes and rocks to drill...what more can a girl ask for??

Summer Reading...The Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry

It's no secret that I love ethnic jewelry and artifacts.  I have quite a few books that I've bought over the years and stuffed into my bookcase.  Well I've had this book for a while...a long while...and never really read it.  So I pulled it out to finally read it and drool over the pictures.  There are over 400 pictures in this book.  It showcases the collection of Colette and Jean Pierre Ghysels.  It's a beautiful collection and book.  I'd tell you to go to Amazon to buy one but it's out of print.  If you run across this book in a used book store....pick it up.  It's worth it.
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Etching Update....

In one of these posts I think I talked about making a dozen or so etched copper plates.  Final count.....I made 43 plates.  I used copper in gauges ranges from 26-20. Why??....because I had the copper and decided to use them all to see which I like the best for making jewelry and for making textures plates. 

Now it's time to play with the etched plates.

I writting down instructions as I go so one of these days I will have a tutorial.
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God I'm Obsessive....

These are all plates that I have prepped for etching.  I think I've got this thing down :)  It's all about getting the metal up to temp and burnishing until you can see the image come through.  Smaller pieces are easier becasue they come up to temp faster.  Larger pieces have to be worked...especially on a small craft iron. 

Tomorrow I will etch...and etch...and etch.........
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Christmas in.....June??

Lou came home tonight and told me there were Christmas lights on just down the street....I love my neighbors...don't know who they are....but I love them. 

We have a lot of pine trees in the back yard and I've always wanted to cover them in little white lights, especially in the summer.  It would be so magical.  We all need a little magic in our lives.

Still Etching....

I have some obsessive tendencies when it comes to doing things....or maybe it's just that I don't want to pull out the supplies and equipment again....but I'm still etching.  I've done 17 plates so far and will probably do a dozen more before I'm done. 

I'm trying to figure out the best method for transferring the image on the PNP paper to the copper.  In class it worked perfectly but then again I was working with little 2" squares.  I've had some issues with the transfers....but I don't think I was using enough heat or using it long enough. Today I altered my technique a little and got better results. And sharpies work miracles in filling in spaces that don't transfer. 

So I'll be etching all week...and then some. 

Trouble is...once I get all the etching done....I'm going to be obessive about trying them all out with the bronze clay. 
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Etching...

Doing some etching this weekend.  I'm converting some of my tear-away sheets into something a little more permanent and with a deeper cut. 

I made the entwined fish from an old tapestry design that I found.  The picture below this one...the medallion is actual this same image put into a kaleidoscope feature I have in photoshop.

The next two are from photos of ancient tablets. 

Mudcloth designs

I an anxious to roll out some clay on these and see how the designs come out compared to the tear aways.
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Happy Father's Day!!

My Dad.....

He married Mom before being sent to fight in World War II in Europe.  I asked her once how she was able to endure having Dad so far away fighting a war.  She said it's just what you did....what everyone did.

This is a picture of my Dad and me at my wedding.  I was 19.  No wonder my Mom freaked out....I was just a baby.  But I was determined to get married.  It lasted 10 years.  We divorced.  But I love this picture.  I remember him walking me down the aisle.  I think he was more nervous than I was.  It was September.  Dad was so tan compared to me.  He was a farmer and was outside all day long. 

He also worked a factory job at night so he could afford to send my brothers, sister and me to college. Who does that??? How many people do you know these days that work 2 jobs so they can give their kids a better life? 

He raised cattle.  He rode horses.  He was a pilot.  I never had a chance to tell him what a amazing, heroic man he was to me.  He did it all so quietly.  He was a quiet man....something I did not inherit from him...LOL. 

But I have his ears.  When I look in the mirror I see his ears and it makes me smile.  He may be gone from this earth but he is always in my heart.
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Godzilla....at Bead and Button....

and he's chewing on a sea gull bone.  The waitress at the Hyatt was a bit surprised when she came over to see if we wanted more drinks. We had covered the entire table with beach glass that Karen brought.  Godzilla was part of the stash she found on the beach....along with feathers and the bones. 

I think he makes a good mascot.  I like him better then Keishi.
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More from Bead and Button

I went back to work today.  My boss stuck his head in the office this morning and wanted to know if I was grumpy because I had to come back to work....LOL.  I'm used to a very structured day so it was good to get back and it only took 8 hours for me to get pissed off. 

But then all I have to do is look at this pic and I'm better.....  LOL.....Cris and I were visiting Susan Lenart Kazmer's classroom and while she was giving her class a demo....we were trying on her jewelry.  This actually is a neck cuff but makes quite the crown for Cris.  She looks like she belongs at a Renaissance Festival.

We shopped Thursday night and all day Friday.  Boy did we shop.  We got in early and went straight to Gary Wilson's booth.  We've decided that he is a very dangerous man!!!  If you've ever seen his booth you know why. Here are some of the things I picked up...some cabs and some pendants.

The other dangerous booth is Ruth and Ebrima from Bead Paradise.  They always have fabulous stuff.  Ruth has great things on-line so if you can't make it to a show or her shop you can buy on-line.

We also stop to see Abe at Afghan Tribal Arts/Sturee Tribal Village.  He's such a flirt!!...and he has great beads.

And some cool beads from Joanne Zekowski....

and this was all on Thursday.  Friday we roamed the floor for tools....and a few more stops to Gary's booth to see if we had missed anything cool.  We stopped at Karen's booth for a rest.

LOL....there were 4 of us sitting on the floor of the booth just resting out tired bones. 

I can't believe it is over.  I was ready to come home but I already miss all my friends. 
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