snowflake obsidian – dianne karg baron

YOJ11-11 Locket Test

Posted on March 22, 2011April 3, 2011 by dianne

During the YOJ 2009, I made a beaded puffed heart as part of a planned larger work for that year’s HSTA Faculty Show “Vessel”. The piece that actually went into the show – Shiva’s Pomander – was originally intended as the container for the heart, but ended up being too large. I loved the design of Shiva’s Pomander, but wasn’t completely satisfied with the clasp.

Since that time I’ve been puzzling over an alternative solution, because I’m determined to make another attempt. Towards the end of January, I was looking at wirework on Flickr and came across Mary Tucker’s trinket boxes. I wrote to complement her on the elegant solution she had found to her hinges and closures and asked if I could borrow the idea. She graciously directed me to the tutorial she’d posted on her blog. She also recently had another version of the tutorial published in Step-by-Step Wire Jewelry.

The idea with this locket was simply to practice starting with a large hole, because my plan is to make a much more involved piece based on what I learned here. I have a wonderful stash of round snowflake obsidian cabs, so I decided to incorporate one into the lid of the locket. The weaving took a ridiculous amount of time – something I don’t really have to spare as I prepare for the studio tour – so I have stopped short of what I actually wanted to do.

Because I was distracted, I didn’t realize until too late that I hadn’t actually made a hook on the back of the locket! As a result, I had to macgyver a closure/bail.

I will likely come back to this at a later time and rework it. The result I got here is not quite as refined as I would like it to be, but given my schedule and deadlines, I can’t spend any more time on it right now. It was a very good test piece, and I’ll look forward to applying what I’ve learned to the next one.

Locket Test (2011)
Fine silver, sterling silver, snowflake obsidian, amethyst
Formed, woven, cold-joined, flameworked
L 4.7 cm x W 2.7 cm x D 1.68 cm

YOJ09-11 Snowflake Obsidian Bangle

Posted on March 15, 2009 by dianne

This has been such a physically brutal week for me, it’s a wonder I have any energy at all to post anything. I finally finished and submitted the viking knit piece I’ve been working on for the past two months. I haven’t been so stressed out about getting a piece done in ages. I developed a pinch in my shoulder, which made it difficult to turn my head. Then the pain spread across my upper back.

As I was staring down the finish, wondering whether or not all the stress was worth the effort, I developed an earworm – a song that plays over and over in your head and won’t stop. I kept hearing a Peter Gabriel lyric: “Don’t Give Up, Please don’t give up…” My spirit cheerleaders were encouraging me to keep me going, pushing me to work through the pain and the feelings of exhaustion and futility. I’m very proud of myself for pulling through. When I dropped the piece off, I commented to the organizer that getting it done was my reward: if it actually made it into the exhibition, I would consider it a bonus. (I found out tonight that the piece wasn’t accepted for exhibition, but did make it to the final round in the selection process.)

I’m paying for all the pressure now though: for days I’ve been alternating between exhaustion, nausea, heartburn, loss of appetite, and gastrointestinal distress. Throw in a runny nose and lots of sneezing, and we have a recipe for Not Wanting To Do Anything.

Snowflake Obsidian Bangle (2009)
Sterling silver, snowflake obsidian
Constructed, cold joined
20.32 cm dia.

Luckily, I had made the setting for this obsidian a few weeks ago while doing prep for my class in July. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it, so I left it sitting on the bench. Tonight, I whipped off a simple bangle to go with it. It’s about all I can manage.

I’ll post photos of the competition piece next week when I get it back.

Tag Archives: snowflake obsidian

YOJ11-11 Locket Test

YOJ09-11 Snowflake Obsidian Bangle

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