Cernunnos - God of the Forest Assemblage Necklace

I found these amazing antique porcelain doll bodies, they are from ArtChix Studios. They are hollow, and perfect for assemblage work. This is my newest design using the last of my doll bodies. Back to ArtChix--I hope they have more!

I created Cernunnos, a mythical God of the Forest, Protector of the Hunt. I wanted this piece to be an example of wearable art--I designed it to be displayed when not being worn. It is also my first multi-functional piece. The headdress, created from feathers and silver-over-copper antlers set in a silver cone, is a removable pendant that can be worn alone. The sterling silver ball chain is attached and fits inside the doll body with ease. Around his neck are silk fibers and a "necklace" made from a gorgeous rubilite garnet and fine brass wire. I hand-made as much of the componants as possible--the sterling silver "branch" arms, the brass "branch" and copper leaves are all made by me. I also included a removable hand-made sterling silver antler ring attached below the doll body, held in place with a sterling silver "T" bar. A manufactured brass leaf accents here. The entire piece is connected to 18-inches of antiqued brass chain with a hammered brass "S" closure. I even made the bamboo stand for display.

So, you can wear this complete as a truly amazing statement piece, or separately for every day. I especially like the ring--it's adjustable and really fun to wear.

It was a labor of love to make this--I can't wait to wear it out!!!

New SlideShow Program...

Just discovered a great slideshow program online called Slide. Quick, easy, FREE and you can share almost anywhere. So, I created this--some of my recent and past work. Give it a try!!

More Experimenting...

Another package arrived from Objects and Elements...so love getting those! Their new line of handmade brass charms are so cool. Very ancient in appearance, so many to choose from! Can't wait to begin working with them. I did immediately pounce on the faux bone I ordered. In case you haven't heard, this stuff is really fun to work with. It's basically PVC in sheet form. You can cut, saw, heat, bend, scratch, and carve with ease. Age it with anything from shoe polish to glaze, buff it up, and you have the look of ancient bone. Robert Dancik is the genius behind this, and he is aslo a fantastic jewelry designer. Take a peek at his site and get inspired...Don't miss his tutorial on YouTube!

So, here are two new designs using some of the great stuff from O and E. The bracelet is made from a 7-inch brass bangle topped with layers of brass, faux bone, copper, sterling silver and a Michigan beach stone. I textured and aged/patina'd all the metals myself. This piece is cold-connected--held together with brass screws and nuts. The ring is a layered design using sterling silver that I impressed with a woodgrain pattern then colored with patina to bring out the design, topped with sterling silver, a text transparancey sheet, a cup of plexiglass, a copper washer, a brass bezel and sterling silver bead (again, held together with a brass screw and nut). Love them!

More to come soon....

Sunday--It was a Good Day!

Yesterday (Sunday) was a nicely productive day for me in the studio. My head was chock-full of inspiration from visiting my favorite artist's websites and blogs, and I was ready to try some new techniques and designs. I created four rings, each very different in style and appearance. One incorporates a vintage photograph and loose gemstones under a clear mineral crystal dome, one features a super-cool antique signet stone I found at a funky antique fair, the third features a hand-carved 800 year old bead from Africa, and the last is a huge stack of mixed metals hammered and heat treated with oil pastels. WHEW! Three of the rings are cold-connected, no soldering involved, and use my favorite copper and brass tube bezels in one way or another. I connected the elements using rivets and brass screws. How cool is that???

I'm most excited about working with oil pastels on metal (thank you again, Susan Lenart Kazmer). I had no idea you could work the colors into the metals (with or without patina), heat it with a torch or heat gun, then seal. The possibilities are endless, and I plan to do much, much more with this. I'll keep you posted...

In the meantime, here are a couple photos of the results. What do you think?????

All of these designs are available in my Etsy shop...

Amazing Artist...

Okay, so I'm cruising through Susan Lenart Kazmer's webiste--a constant source of inspiration--and I see they now have a Zine (online magazine). Wonderful stuff, you MUST take some time here. Anyway, while browsing through previous posts and images I discovered Richard Salley, my new FAVORITE ARTIST OF ALL TIME. His work is absolutely inspired. What he does with found objects, metals, wire, heat and patina will take your breath away. His tutorial for a locket pendant created from a rusted automotive flange has me digging through my husband's workshop for similar design elements. AND, he offers an online tutorial to create that very locket!! Please, please visit his site and prepare to pick your jaw up off the ground. I've included a couple images of his work here to whet your appetite...

Bye-Bye 2009....THANK HEAVENS!

Excuse me if I slam the door on 2009...not the best of times for so many of us. I now turn my attention to 2010, with the hopes that the year is prosperous and PEACEFUL for all. I've been out of my studio for a while, holiday madness put the brakes on my creativity outside of the kitchen (I cooked me up a storm this season!). The holidays brought me a few culinary firsts--my first brined, organic turkey for Thanksgiving (DELICIOUS), my first "fancy dinner" with friends (tucked fresh allspice leaves into each folded napkin--cloth napkins--at the table), and my first attempt to make homemade beer bread (eh, could take it or leave it). All in all, fun and EXHAUSTING.

Now, it's time to get creating in the studio! I'm still struggling with my conscience, debating how to create meaningful art and jewelry that doesn't take advantage of the planet's resources...my designs this year will be different--I can feel it.

I would love to hear from other artists out there who are "creating with conciousness" so to speak. How do you express yourself artistically? Please, send me your stories or images to share. We all need inspiration, right? I hope 2010 inspires us all to create with intent, share with heart, and celebrate the natural wonders all around us.

Happy New Year!

Another Social Skill Gone Extinct...The Spoken Word

First, let me say that I am totally aware of the irony of this post. Read on...

So I'm at a gallery event the other night. My jewelry is currently being shown in a new cooperative gallery--a fun, ecclectic mix of art and artists of all ages media. I'm chatting with a pretty, young potter whom I discover is also a yoga instructor. I mention that I spent close to twenty years as an aerobics instructor. With big eyes she responds, "Aerobics? Do people still do that?" It was as if I had told her that I practice medicine using leeches (which, by the way, many hospitals still do--go on, Google it). Oblivious to my obviously cool reply of "Amazing as it may seem, but yes, people still "do that"", she went on burying herself by continuing, "I mean, I remember aerobics, like, back in the day, in the 80's, right?" As if the 1980s were the equivelent to the Stone Age or any other dark, forgotten time prior to Ipods and teenage Vampires. You know, before anything IMPORTANT happened in history. She sat there smiling at me, completely oblivious to the verbal torpedos she so casually launched. If I didn't already know this girl I would believe she was intentionally commiting conversational suicide by being a total bitch. But, I do know this woman (I shouldn't call her a girl, she's in her late 20s), and it hit me that she was like most people her age--oblivious to just about everything other than whatever was in her immediate center of interest. A product of a life spent surfing the 'Net, a child of Facebook. Who needs to master the art of conversation when you can OMG, LOL, ROTGL!!!

When I got over my initial fury (mostly because I couldn't help but feel TOTALY ANCIENT in that moment) I actually felt sorry for her. She's a good artist and a lovely young woman, but I like to actually SPEAK to a person, interact, connect, all that OLD -FASHIONED stuff and to her I was the eqivalent of a living dinosaur. Interesting, but aren't they suppose to be, like, extinct or something?

I knew in that moment I would never connect with her on any level other than superficially, and that made me kind of sad. Many say that the age of the Internet has brought the world closer together, but I think it has isolated individuals more than ever. Who needs to master the subtle art of good conversation and depth of thought when you're entire verbal repertoire is confined to 140 characters or less? She may have benn "friended" a thousand times on Facebook, but how many friends does she really have?

Give me a good, long conversation over a cup of coffee with a real-live person, face to face, not Facebook, and I'm one happy camper. I want to hear you laugh, not read LOL on a computer screen. Social networking via computer is all fine and good as long as it doesn't replace the need for vocal cords and eye-to-eye contact. It's what keeps us human. It's what makes us human.

Sorry, this far exceeds 140 characters...