Tripled carved

My single strand of carved beads has grown. Thankfully I like to carve…

I added three dividers that keep the elastic strands in places and hide the knots while also acting as another design element. I might try adding two more in fact and incorporate the idea into the magnetic necklace thats slowly coming along too.

The bracelet is made to work with the Fragment earrings that are already in my Etsy shop. I think the line could use dangle earrings as well but I'm not quite happy with the prototype yet.

Business cards

I was clearing out some business cards I had collected, just saving the ones I like the best to hang like mini art work on the wall beside my desk.

This one won't hang well but I'll definitely keep it because its just so very clever.

Slits at either end let you bend and connect it. 

And ta da…its a ring! 

Be sure you to check her website to see Judith Kinghorn's exquisite work.

Change it up

I've been investing more time and energy into the concept of changeable jewelry, sketching, working with paper models, thinking through the engineering.

I returned to my Translate Earrings which I decided need some alternate back pieces.  Whats the good of changeable earrings if you can't really change them?

So I made a two sided back piece thats pale blue on one side and dark blue on the other and a pale pink/burgandy set. What other colors choices do you think people might like to see? I'm thinking maybe green too.

Each piece has only had a preliminary sanding - they'll some more sort of finish. Maybe some highlighting of the scratched surface. And I'll probably add some minimal carved texture to each - maybe just one of those single dots placed asymmetrically, like on the grey ones. ( The front "bell" shape can be worn alone or with one of the colored shapes which slide easily onto the back.) 

Tiny Textures

A customer, who's now become a good online friend and gracious sounding board for ideas, sent me one of her pieces - such a delightful surprise!

One of the things I love about polymer clay is its ability to take texture. Marcia capitalizes on that fact brilliantly here, with each and every small bead. She lives close to the sea and told me that most of the textures were made with seashells which makes me like the bracelet all the more.

Marcia Simpson sells her work in galleries and you can find more examples on her blog and her Facebook page.

Thank you Marcia!

Answer to a question

Buffalo Creek Gallery liked the Husk earrings I sent them so much that they asked for 10 more pairs in varying colors. It was a good idea and I think I'll start listing other colors in my shop too. I especially love to see a mass of earrings together. Maybe its visual or maybe its the satisfaction of a job completed.

You can see my work in person at the gallery in Shelby, NC (they'll have 36 pieces!) for the month of Feb. at their annual jewelry trunk show.

The outlook

Ice has melted (for the most part), electricity restored and yet another storm is headed our way. There seems to be a pattern now that about every 3-4 days something frozen falls from the sky. My husband has missed so many days of school, and his school year extended so far into June, that our summer plans have been majorly impacted. We thought we were headed back to Saint Helena again this year but thats looking less and less likely all the time.

Meanwhile, my polymer pasta roller gave up the ghost. Ok, let's be honest, I'm a little rough on tools. I got my new one in the mail in 2 days as well as a supply of wire and clay so I am good to go as long as we keep electricity.

If my husband has no school for several days this week, he'll take care of homeschool and I get to work in my studio. You always have to look for the silver lining?

Looking out the front door. 

Temporary shut down

My Etsy shop is temporarily closed and I'll be slow to answer any emails. We had a big ice storm on Tuesday and we're still without power. The wood stove is keeping things bearable and a line from the neighbors generator is keeping the frig cold. (I'm posting from a wifi hotspot in the next town over.) But alas, no polymer oven…

I hope to be back up and running by Sunday at the latest.