Crazy Lace Agate Heart

When I first started writing this blog I took a close-up of this stone and posted it. I love unusual stones. Every stone is a miraculous work of art in it's own right. Most of the time I don't want to put anything around the stones. It takes time to think about different settings and what would be right for each stone. Sometimes I'll sketch out pages and pages of ideas before I make a decision about which setting. To me, the stone and the sketches are the start of a short journey. I only get to keep these small creations for a short time. The joy is seeing the finished piece find it's rightful owner.

Collaboration

I love it when artists collaborate on a piece of art. I was fortunate to have a portrait artist, Lynyia, bring a camera and a diamond ring into the store and ask about having a pendant made.

She brought me a copy of the wings off her logo and asked about putting it all together. I love a challenge, so of course I told her I would give it a try. You can see the logo design has many layers. Lynyia had already decided what the most important elements were and how it might look in 3D. That made my job easier.

I made the wings two-sided in fine silver, in case the pendant spun around. I wanted it to look just as good from the reverse side as it did from the front. Also, I wanted the vintage look on the wings, so I applied a patina of liver of sulphur with ammonia.

If you take a look at her portrait site, you will see why it tied in perfectly to her creations on her site, http://www.lynyia.com/

I hope to see more fun projects like this one!

Jewlery as Art vs. Craft

I have heard a few comments from a local arts commission and recently a museum auction, that views "jewelry" as a "craft" versus an "art". I will have to disagree on this generalization.

Wikipedia's descriptions:
A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a trade or particular art.

The term is often used to describe the family of artistic practices within the decorative arts that traditionally are defined by their relationship to functional or utilitarian products (such as sculptural forms in the vessel tradition) or by their use of such natural media as wood, clay, glass, textiles, and metal. Crafts practiced by independent artists working alone or in small groups are often referred to as studio craft. Studio craft includes studio pottery, metal work, weaving, wood turning and other forms of wood working, glass blowing, and glass art.

Folk art follows craft traditions, in contrast to fine art or "high art".

In contrast Wikipedia's description for "fine art"
"Fine art or the fine arts describes an art form developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery".[1]

Historically, the fine arts were limited to painting, sculpture, architecture and engraving.[2] Today, the fine arts commonly include visual and performing art forms, such as painting, sculpture, installation, Calligraphy, music, dance, theatre, architecture, photography and printmaking. However, in some institutes of learning or in museums fine art, and frequently the term fine arts (pl.) as well, are associated exclusively with the visual art forms."


I view "craft" as something you usually receive a kit or instructions to tell you how to do your "craft". Art I see as something that is created from nothing but an idea...you choose the media and decide how it all goes together and the emotion, message, design you are trying to convey. I am also thinking of other instances where painting or sculpture is considered in the fine arts, but not other medias. I think jewelry is sculpture on a smaller scale. I do not think that all jewelry is practical and there are definitely concepts behind the glass, metal, fiber, and wood art I have seen at galleries.

So, I ask for your thoughts on this discussion and wonder how to change this view by museums and art organizations? Just on my mind today.

Dragonfly Messenger

The other day I was walking out of the post office and this dragonfly was on the ground in front of me. I was amazed at the size and how perfect it was. I took this as a sign from this special messenger. I went back to my studio and started work on a new dragonfly pendant to honor this little creature. Now I just have to decide what color and shape of beads to put around this little beauty.

I hope you look today where you are walking and discover a little messenger of your own.

Happy Mother's Day to All the Mothers in the World

I look forward to Mother's Day as a time to give back a little something to my mom. Over the years, for her birthday or Mother's Day I have tried to give something very unique. I thought I would share a few of the items to also tell the story of what a unique individual she is. One year I created a Heart that opened up and it says inside "All you need is love." This was because she gave me her time, her love and her attention when I was healing from surgery a few years back.
Another year, she had seen a sculpture that she like by an artist named Robert Kerr. It was called a Woman in Bondage. I didn't like the idea of a woman in bondage, so I made a woman with wings who could fly away whenever she wanted to.
A few years back she wanted an animal totem necklace because of her affinity with animals. She has always taken in animals that someone else had cast aside. She has rescued several German Sheppards, parrots, cockatiels, stray cats and a few fish. I combined the fetishes with seraphinite because of it's angelic associations. And she is a true angel to almost everyone she meets.
So here's to all the special Moms out their and the daughters who love them.

Charm for Pet Owners

Someone recently lost their favorite pet and asked me to make a pendant for them. They also wanted to give similar pendants to the people at the clinic that helped them in their time of need. These types of gifts are definitely from the heart of the giver. I am blessed with the opportunity to co-create with the giver.

Christian Cross and Charms

This week my father is retiring from the ministry after more than 30 years. The vestry at his church asked me to make retirement gifts for my mother and father. I recommended making a reminder of their time at the church to take with them. So, I took photos of all the stained glass windows and designed jewelry and a plaque for a wooden cross to give them. It was nice to work on something that is so close to our hearts. I have always loved the hand-painted windows in the church. The church is researching the history of the windows and I hope to have this to share with others in the future. One of the windows is from Tiffany's.

Cactus in the Fireplace

I wanted to take a photo of this fireplace for a long time. It is sitting off the road with cactus growing in the fireplace. I was always driving by when the light was behind it until yesterday. I noticed the sun going down, so I went to the spot and took a photo. When I looked at the photo I noticed a heart shaped cactus at the top of the clump off to the side of the fireplace. Heart shaped cactus seem to draw me to them. I painted this painting "Love is Like Cactus" after seeing a heart shaped cactus with spikes and pups on it.
It just shows that God has a sense of humor and shows us his love in many ways. Be open to receiving the love...

Crucifix Photo

There is a trail in Liberty Hill that has many fine trees to look at while you are walking. I used to take my camera along and take photos of the old trees. I usually see faces or body shapes in the trees before I take them.

I took this photo and didn't see the crucifix in the tree's bark until after I downloaded my images. I was truly amazed at the image and thought Easter would be a good time to share it with everyone.

It does cause one to reflect on the pain and suffering that exists and the healing power of love that is available to all who seek it. The image in the clouds was also taken in the sky over Liberty Hill.

Have a Glorious Easter Weekend.

Spring is Here or Is it

Trees are starting to bud and the birds are singing. I've been seeing a few robins around this past week, but it seems too early to plant. In anticipation of Spring, I decided to make a PMC fine silver butterfly this week. It was a busy week for wire wrap jewelry classes, I will be posting some of the student's work on my web site. It's fun to see what people do. Some people are naturally good wrappers and very creative with wire. With the Beginner's PMC class on Saturday, I plan to use some of the photos of nature to inspire textures on their work.

Tactile Power of Weaving

Woven paper has such a lovely texture and tactile feeling. I've seen so many different artists weave textures using different media - paper, wire, cloth, glass, clay and so on. I'm sure there are people who have wonderful woven art to share. I'd love to see other artists share their woven art. And if you are a weaver, but have never made jewelry, I'm offering a new class on woven precious metal clay (PMC) paper earrings. I'm thinking about other media to throw into the mix.

Daily Sunsets

We have the most awesome sunsets out in the country. You can never quite capture the transparency in the light shining in the sky. Maybe one day we will have canvases that light up from the back and paints that shimmer in the light and respond to changing light. Now wouldn't that be something.

Hearts and Lace

Tuesday's trek through the snow reminded me of a Mexican Crazy Lace Agate Heart that was sitting on my work bench. I am constantly amazed at the beauty in rocks. This stone probably formed in a crevice in volcanic rock thousands of years ago and some how a slab of this rock ended up in a stone cutter's hand. The stone cutter brings it to life by cropping and cutting it a certain way to bring it's beauty to the forefront. So now the task of the jeweler is to set the stone to enhance it's beauty even more. What a daunting task when it is already beautiful. I thought of making a pendant or pin, and then thought this would make an awesome big ring. Stay tuned for the bling ring.

Thinking of Painting Some More Cactus

My walk in the snow yesterday yielded some new photos of chickens, lambs, snow-covered landscapes and cactus. One or two of these made me think of painting some more cactus. So I may get out the paints this week. It's been way too long.

Bright White Snow

Everything is blanketed with white. It gives the country side a crisp new look. The flakes are giant and spin in spirals out of the sky. We don't get this beauty in Texas very often. So today is a day of quiet reflection and gratitude.

Inspiration from Nature

I was getting into my car yesterday and the way the wisteria vines were wrapped around the tree struck me as something I could use in a precious metal clay or wire wrap design someday. I love the way the vines twist and wind around each other. As they get thicker they meld into one another.

Updating the Studio Space

There's nothing like having more light pour into your studio space. At least if you paint and want to see what the color really is on the canvas.

Yesterday my husband helped me install a new stained glass window and door in the studio. The window had been boarded up by the previous owner more than 5 years ago. The old door on the side of the studio was starting to come apart at the bottom. To replace it, we found another door with windows at the top and an old brass door knocker on the outside.

I don't know what took us so long to do it. I guess we thought it would be a major project. It ended up taking only about 6 hours to do it.

Now I'm thinking about making the outside of the door reflect the art and creativity that goes on inside the studio. My head is spinning with thoughts of covering the whole door in metal, but I think I will start with the panels and see where that takes me. I don't want it to rust, but would love a nice patina to evolve out of the coppers as it ages or maybe I will intentionally color it with blues and greens and see what it becomes.