Lisa Holley is a member of the Starving Jewelry Artists Etsy Street Team. The Dora, Alabama resident is helping to promote the team by featuring other members on her webjam site.
This week, it’s my turn.
Thanks Lisa!
Interview with Jewelry Report – Part 2
Part 2 of my interview with Angela Neal of Jewelry Report is now up!
This part deals with my thoughts about making and the inspirations for my designs.
Many thanks to Angela for a wonderful article!
Enjoy!
Interview with Jewelry Report – Part 1
I was recently contacted by Angela Neal of Jewelry Report, asking to interview me for an article. I’m happy and grateful for the opportunity!
Part 1 of the article was posted today, and deals with selling jewelry tutorials online.
Part 2 will be published on Thursday, and I’ll post the link then.
About Jewelry Report (from the website) The Jewelry Report is intended to be a place to find news, reviews, tools & tips, and more miscellaneous information from the jewelry making and design world, featuring articles by jewelry enthusiasts and experts. News Science brings us new materials and designers create innovative techniques every day. We look at hot new trends in jewelry making, along with what’s hot in jewelry fashion, and other news from the jewelry industry. Read about how cutting edge designers are taking jewelry to new levels and discover what trends that could lead the way for the jewelry of tomorrow. Reviews There are literally thousands of jewelry related web pages on the net. We try to bring you the best. Our writers give their opinion on some of the best supplier sites, jewelry blogs and how-to educational sites, as well as reviewing new jewelry making books and materials. Tools & Tips In this section our contributors share their own experiences and present some solutions to common jewelry making problems as well as offer up a few clever shortcuts to save you time and hassle. More Miscellaneous Information We bring you a random assortment of articles such as ‘Why jewelry making and cats don’t mix’, ‘How to find your signature jewelry style’, ‘The problems and pitfalls of pricing your work’ and many more jewelry related topics, all served up with a dash of humor and the wry wisdom that comes from getting it right only after getting it wrong. Happy reading and beading!
YOJ09-24 Shiva’s Pomander
Fine silver, sterling silver
Pendant: L 6.1 cm x W 3.2 cm
Chain: 88 cm
Constructed, coiled, cold joined, flameworked
A little over a year ago, Perri Jackson sent me Strange Attractor, a stunning wire bead she’d made as a thank you gift for helping her with a tutorial. Looking at it, I wondered how the structural coiling technique she used could be adapted to something other than a bead. Something like a locket maybe… It got me puzzling…
An opportunity to experiment came in the form of a call for entry from Rails End Gallery. Every year the gallery hosts a show featuring work by the faculty of the Haliburton School of the Arts. This year, the theme is “Vessel”.
Originally, I had wanted to make the vessel to house this heart, but screwed up – err… made a Design Choice that ended up creating a much larger container than intended. The original design would have hung horizontally, with the chain running through the centre. With this one, the design lends itself better to a vertical orientation.
This week when I was talking to Perri, I mentioned that I was working on a locket-type piece for the show. She asked what it looked like. “Sort of like a Shivalingam,” I said.
So… the piece is heading out the door today to get sent up to Haliburton. There is, of course, the obligatory Artist Statement that goes with it:
In Hinduism, the lingam is a symbol of Shiva. Worn in a similar fashion as a Christian cross, the intent is to draw the blessings of the Higher Power to the wearer. Using structural coiling and weaving techniques developed by Perri Jackson, I decided to interpret this symbol as a pomander worn over the solar plexus. It allows the wearer to carry a prayer or fresh flowers within: a reminder to always recognize the Source of all life’s gifts.
VESSEL: HSTA Faculty Exhibition
Rails End Gallery & Arts Centre
23 York Street
Haliburton, Ontario, K0M 1S0
June 30 – July 30, 2009
www. railsendgallery.com
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YOJ09-23 Standard Form Ring (Again)
Sterling silver, jasper
Constructed, cold connected
Size 10
Yes I’m posting the same project as in Week 2. At that point I had written the instructions for the tutorial, and the carnelian ring posted was the product of the writing process. This time the ring is the product of the photography process. I have now completed two of the six tutorials I need to write for my class. Number three is written and transcribed to computer; photography for that project will happen tomorrow. With any luck, number three will be done by Wednesday.
I’m now into the most challenging part of my schedule for the year. With five weeks to go until my class, I’m multitasked up to wazoo. I’ve been taking advantage of the convenience my netbook is offering me: I can sit out on the front porch and work in the warmth of a sunny day while my children play in the yard. If they are working on an educational CD doing “homework” on the clunker laptop in the kitchen, I can also sit at the table and do “my” homework.
Life is humming along…
Next week’s project will be much more spectacular, I promise. It’s in the finishing stages now, and will be on its way to the Rails End Gallery this week for the HSTA Faculty Exhibition, “Vessel”, which opens on June 30.
YOJ09-22 Viking Knit Bracelet
Fine silver, sterling silver
Nalbinding, cold connected
L 20.5 cm x W 0.4 cm
I’m hard at work on the tutorials for my class, so this week’s project is the product of that work. I’ve been doing a lot of photography, and editing and layout. I’ve been pretty much eating, sleeping and breathing the project. The first tutorial is finished, and the second is well in hand. Four to go… and six weeks until the classes start.
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YOJ09-21 Viking Knit Torus
Sterling silver
Nalbinding
L 55 mm x W 55 mm x D 10 mm
I’m insane.
People who know me are familiar with this quirk in my personality, but every now and again I feel compelled to demonstrate it. Hence, this week I decided – despite numerous pressing deadlines – I absolutely had to attempt making a torus out of viking knitting.
Nalbinding was historically used for things like socks, mittens, bags, hats and the like. In wire, it’s been used mostly for chainwork. To the best of my knowledge, no one has tried using it for sculptural wirework, and certainly no one has tried using it to construct a torus. Loren Damewood, who I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, has made a toroid bracelet out of string, with plans to attempt it in wire, but his technique is marlinspike knotting.
Thanks to my experience making the Merry Meet necklace, I decided to make the first attempt in polymer coated wire. I have pounds of the stuff, and it’s great for experimenting. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t lend itself to annealing, which meant I could only get as far as shaping the torus. I couldn’t finish the seaming without risking wire breakage.
I’m contributing that first piece to The Metal Arts Guild of Canada’s call for Nuit Blanche 2009.
I’m completely obsessed with this idea, so decided that I would try one in silver. At the Zilberschmuck “Connection” opening a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to Charles Funnell about viking knitting. He had been trying to do some chainwork and was finding it challenging. I commented that it would work better in fine silver than in sterling, because the metal is more maleable. Unfortunately, the only fine silver wire I have on hand at the moment is 28 ga, and the idea of doing it in that fine a gauge really didn’t appeal to me. So, I decided to try 24 ga sterling in dead soft.
Well…
It was easier to work than the polymer coated copper, but I still ended up with a blister on my pinky from pulling wire. After a while, even wearing a bandage on the finger didn’t help. Yes, I suffer for my art…
Luckily the repair was easy, and I was able to finish it up. I spent far too many hours on this, but I’m very pleased with it and want to make more as time and my finger permit. The ghost of Frank Hoffmann is whispering in my ear again though: for the amount of work involved, I should be making it in gold.
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“The Vik-Knit 3000”
In preparation for my class at the Haliburton School of the Arts this summer, I asked my beloved husband to prepare some tools for the viking knitting segment. My older son, Thumper, was very keen to help.
Thumper has recently become complete fascinated with machinery. I’m not sure if this is a reaction to the movie “Wall-E”. Anyways, he’s been drawing fantasy machines and coming up with all kinds of interesting names for them, most of which end in some denomination of 1000. “This is a Cheese Grater 2000!” “This is a Hopping Frog Truck 3000!”.
I keep trying to come up with a “Ginsu Knife” type infomercial to go with the name. “The Vik-Knit 3000 will make your viking knitting a breeze! Clamp it to the desk and you’re ready to go! It will practically do the knitting for you! But wait! There’s more! Order the Vik-Knit 3000 now and you’ll get two – count ’em – TWO! different sizes of dowels!”
LOL. Anyways, it was just too cute not to share.
YOJ09-20 Viking Knit Ring
Fine silver, malachite, howlite
Nalbinding, single knit, constructed, cold joined
I finally got back to writing this week! I have six tutorials to write in preparation for my class in Haliburton in July. So far I have completed writing the draft on one of them. Photos and actually putting the tutorials together are still outstanding. I’m keenly aware of how quickly the time is going, so a few weeks ago I decided to put Tigger into daycare two days as week. That is giving me several hours of uninterrupted work time, since it co-incides with the days that Thumper is in school. What Heaven!
Usually I make the project, writing the steps as I go. Then I put the text aside for a week or so, come back to it and reconstruct it following my instructions. If I stumble on any part of it, that means a rewrite is in order. Refining continues as I take the photos and do the layout. Lots of work… which means I gotta start makin’ like a bread truck and haul buns…
This week, I was working on instructions for viking knitting. I experimented with incorporating 2 and 4 mm beads, which led to a screw up – err… “Design Choice” – when I went to draw the chain. I ended up having to take the chain apart, but salvaged enough to make this ring. It’s been an interesting experiment in timing myself as well – construction of enough chain to make a bracelet is taking a little over 2 hours. Adding the beads was just for my amusement, and won’t be part of the final instructions.
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YOJ09-17 Chalcedony Effervescence Pendant
Sterling silver, fine silver, chalcedony
L 3.0 cm x W 1.2 cm
Cold connected, flame worked
I went to the Toronto Gem Show today – and I was by myself!! Woo hoo! That meant I had the freedom to be able to browse, and chat with friends, and to shop. I was looking for some things for my upcoming classes at Haliburton, but in the end decided that what I’ve found online is still a better bargain. But… I couldn’t resist a strand of chalcedony brios I came across. In a table full of stuff that looked like it was dyed, I found one package that had a beautiful opalescent glow. So, despite being on a buying moratorium for the past three years, I decided those beads had to come home with me. Even the sales lady commented about the package, saying that if I hadn’t bought it when I did, it wouldn’t have been around later – someone would have snapped it up.
Tonight I picked out one of the beads, and made this little pendant. It looks somewhat similar to the pendant I made in Week 8, so I’ve giving it a similar name.
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YOJ09-16 Beaded Channel Ring
Sterling silver, constructed, cold worked
Size 5 1/2
My lack of energy is starting to concern me. If this keeps up I’m going to haul my carcass off to the doctor and find out what’s going on.
For now, another simple offering this week – a beaded channel ring. The tutorial for this ring was published in “Contemporary Bead & Wire Jewelry” by Nathalie Mornu and Suzanne Tourtillot, one of two projects I contributed to the book.
YOJ09-14 Lame-O Earrings
Sterling silver, Preciosa crystal
I’m feeling completely tired and shagged out. And I haven’t even squawked!
I’m working on meeting a print deadline this week, so my focus is not on jewellery. I do have an idea for my next major undertaking, and did work a bit on that over the past few days, but it’s still in the prep phase, not the construction phase.
So now it’s Sunday, and I don’t want to be late two weeks in a row. So I’m posting a pair of lame-ass earrings, constructed in about 1 minute. Don’t have the energy for anything more this week.
Photo of the Day
