Queen of The Stump: Fabricated Chain

It was a mole sort of day--too much snow to go anywhere! We were more than happy to stay in as the To Do list still needs attending to. I am gorged on a delectable pancake feast prepared by my Muffin and thrilled because... the chain is done! Hooray!
It is satisfying to see my pile of copper bits and file dust finally turn into the collar I imagined--I thought It'd never get there! The inspiration for this piece came from two places. Firstly, I'm very interested in historical costume and have always been attracted to starched lacy Elizabethan collars. The other source of inspiration was taken from the series Planet Earth. I was flipping about on the TV and there was a beautiful segment with incredible footage of sea fronds and coral. I was drawn to the almost skeletal forms of the creatures and decided I needed to incorporate them into the design.
I had also scribbled down a few ideas that had wing-like structures based on moths and other insects as well as a stylized woodgrain texture I knew needed to appear somewhere. I decided to create a hybrid of the two and ended up with this textural dragonfly-esque link which provided me with a slick shape and needed fluidity. (One of the requirements of the project was for the chain to maintain mobility both "up and down" as well as "forward and back".) I wanted it to have an organic feel. For that to happen I thought the right finish would be crucial. I didn't want something too matte, or manufactured looking or too readily identifiable. The links are finished with a liver-of-sulfur patina and a quick buff with a brass brush attachment. I was pleased with the variation that occurred naturally. Nice job metal! :) I imagine this is what armor feels like. I was worried that it might be uncomfortable or even worse--too pointy!The weight rests evenly on the collarbone, and feels very regal--this baby comes in at close to 3 pounds! I like to think it's the sort of jewelry a Queen of a stump would wear...One project to go! All the pages of the casket book have been printed and are waiting to be stitched together. I'll have pictures posted lickety-split. :) I hope everyone is riding high on a creative wave--

Wishing you Paint-Stained-Aprons and Juicy Dreams!
Many Blissings!~*

Studio Progress: Coffin Book and Copper

With chipped cherry nail polish and ink mustache on my face I am proud to announce: One exam down, two projects to go! The To Do list grows shorter and shorter as we speak and the studio is buzzing!
Swampy green--that's what color my fingers are right now. They're tinged with an attractive combination of wet-on-wet sandpaper and oxidizing copper. I've never had anything dry my hands out as badly as sandpaper. These puppies are thirsty! But all whining aside, the links are now etched and been through three grits of sandpaper. Tomorrow they go into the patina--Everyone in the pool!

I've been plugging away on the casket book. Now that I've developed a more efficient system the work is going more quickly. I received a notice today about a book arts show in the area. If all goes well, I'm going to consider entering. The worst that can happen is I don't get accepted, but I'll never know if I don't give it a shot!

I forgot how much I enjoy printing! I did some linoleum cuts a few years back and hadn't touched it since not because I didn't like it, but the opportunity just hadn't shown itself. If you haven't ever tried print making--Do it! It's easy and relatively inexpensive. (I've had the same jar of ink for 3 years.) The ink brayer makes such a succulent "shlick shlick" sound when you roll it and the ink it self is gloriously goopy when you stir it. And unlike drawing inks where you just dip and scribble, printing ink requires process, it requires ritual. I love the sensation of scooping it out of the jar, Slurp and spreading it onto the tray--it's like beautiful tarry frosting. It's sticky and slick... Just look at that perfect pitchy puddle!!

*Swoon.*

Oh! And I almost forgot! My mumsy dearest and I had a pow-wow yesterday and decided it's time to team up again! This January we'll be collaborating on some gorgey goddess inspired works! The line will include wearables, ritual goodies, and inspiring altar works. We're hoping to have a first installment of the series completed by February--I can't wait!

Anyone else cooking up ideas and hatching plans for the new year?

Much Peace, Many Blissings!~*

Studio Work + The Sunset

I feel like a musketeer! I'm brandishing a red marker like a fencing foil: "Take THAT To Do List! And THAT! And THAT!" I am making progress:

I'm getting started on my final project for book arts. I making a casket shaped book! The casket will house about 12 accordion fold pages of hand stamped poetry that my good friend translated for me. I found an excellent handmade paper that I'm in love with--I almost hate to cut it up! It will be several leaflets with transparent illustrations that over lap it--if all goes according to plan!
As you can see here I am making a pile of copper bits. ;) Well--eventually it will become a fabricated chain. For this project I decided to create an Elizabethan inspired stand up collar. Each one of the pieces (25 of them) is a link in the chain. They are all cut out and filed, so the worst is over. (The grinding sound from my hand jeweler saw is enough to drive a girl walnuts!) Now I'm off to sand, etch, patina and assemble! On a different note, while I was grinding away in my studio last night, I looked out the window to see this absolutely SUBLIME sunset. I took these pictures over the span of a couple minutes:Don't those colors just supercharge you? The fuschia! The tangerine! And those trees silhouettes read like ink drawings dripping out of a fountain pen. The light was making all the snow that had settled on roofs around us turn an absolutely enchanting lavender. That's one of the reasons I love snow--it has the ability to absorb and reflect colors to create a truly bewitching landscape. Incredible.

Has anyone else noticed any beauteous happenings?
Blissings!~*

Cicada Ring Completed!

The flurries are drifting down like frozen fireflies from street lamps and the Cicada Ring is finished! Only after much panic and buffing (the patina turned out to be foul and needed to be sanded off...) I managed to get out of the studio in time for supper. Huzzah! Originally I had planned to make the ring a bright chartreuse, but the patina just refused to oxidize correctly leaving me with a weird spotty aqua surface that just wouldn't do. So I sanded it off and tried an antique black finish that was just as bad if not worse. (Nickle is far more finicky than I had bargained for.) I ended up eliminating the patina all together and opting for a plain, clean shiny surface over some mottled mess. The wings are cold forged with a hammered finish. The legs are sterling silver and have a similar treatment to the wings. Unfortunately, photographing a tiny object is difficult--so you loose the surface embellishment. I used an acid bath to etch a detailed scaly relief on the cicada's body that gets lost in the photographs.

I'm considering adding rhinestone eyes after I turn in the project. (No found objects were allowed.) I want it to be an insect Grace Kelly would wear! I'm not looking forward to critique tomorrow--I have it with my grouchy tool-y metals professor. He hated the design from the get go...he went as far as to "edit" my drawings with a sharpie. I'm a big girl and have no issue with constructive criticism but marring someones drawing with black marker without permission is Studio Taboo!

The parameters for the assignment were to create a character ring designed for someone specific. (It could be yourself or a fictitious character.) He was looking over my design said matter of factly, "I'd never wear that thing..." And I thought, Erm--I would hope not as you're not a twenty-one-year-old woman. (I hope he turns into a toad!) But I'm not going to let his jackassery ruin it! I've got a killer momentum going! I'm gleefully crossing off tasks with red ink--I'm off to my To Do List!

Blissings!~*

There is a strange wind howling outside and with it came a gust of productivity! It’s been a flurry of activity in Apartment #5 today with brushes and blades a-flying! My studio is a disaster area—but I prefer not to think of it as Complete Chaos, but as Creative Clutter.

I’ve been busy working on prepping surfaces for new etsy wares…

Continuing work on the “She Portrait” series for a client…

Managing to get my waning altar assembled…

Putting finishing touches on a Christmas present commission…

And I’ve been wailing on my fabricated ring project for metal smithing. I have a professor that prides himself on being a Bearer of Bad News—this man has a permanent “Smug Cloud” that sticks to him. You’ll never finish that. I don’t want you to fall behind. See, I do it right because I’m a teacher. You do know you only have until next class, right? He seems to take pleasure in other peoples panic and was put out when I refused to play along. I was particularly frustrated due to an acid bath incident that was SUPPOSED to distress my cicada ring, not destroy it. I needed to start over, and not surprisingly Mr. Prof laughed his usual snide laugh, and offered no real assistance. So, I clamped down and went to it: pasting, cutting, cold forging, filing and testing patinas. He looked at my project this morning and raised his eyebrows—“Holy crap…How did you get so far?” I laughed and said half-kidding,

“I’m a witch.”

WELL, not only did I make major progress (and will finish early because of it) it’s turning out kind of neat! Oh how I LOVE gaudy jewelry! I can’t wait to wear it. There is something so delicious about things falling into place and going swimmingly according to plan! Here’s hoping the momentum continues!

Are everyone's plans falling into place? How do you deal with the Smug Mugs and Nay Sayers?