a wrapturous blog

YOJ09-05 The Caged Heart Grows Cold

The Caged Heart Grows Cold or Portrait of the Artist circa 1998 (2009)
Bare copper, polymer coated copper, wool
Constructed, needle-felted
Pendant:  L 7.5 cm x W 4.2 cm; Neckwire:  L 45 cm

I’ve been debating with myself for three weeks about what and how much to write about this week’s entry.  I made the felted heart in week 2, but then discovered that studio gremlins had made off with my copper wire…  I finally found a small spool of it last week, so was able to start work on the project.  The gremlins are refusing to let go of the rest, though, so this is the last copper piece I’m going to be making for the time being.

I spent a lot of time during my hiatus meditating on the direction I should go with my jewellery.  Time and time again I’ve gotten the message that my jewellery needs to connect with the spirit, and express more of my inner voice.

So, my piece this week speaks from a very personal perspective.  The very long story behind it is one that only my very closest friends have known about before now.

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Tags: abuse, artistic wire, barbed wire, cage, cold connections, cold joining, cold worked, commitment, constructed, copper, dianne karg baron, felt, felting, healing, heart, inner voice, jewellery, jewelry, jewelry making, key, Matthew 16:26, narrative, needle felting, pendant, polymer coated copper, soul, spiritualism, wire, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, wool, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-04 Swarovski Pendant

This has been a busy week.  I’ve been juggling a bunch of different projects, trying to wrap some up, get ahead on others.  I’ve made some progress in my quest to figure out how to incorporate felting for a bonsai.  Unfortunately, the avenue I’m following at the moment is very labour intensive.

Years ago, an acquaintance at the Gem & Mineral Club of Scarborough named Frank Hoffman commented that if you’re going to go to the effort of making a piece of jewellery, you should make it out of karat gold.  His reasoning was that for the same labour you would be able to charge a much higher price, because of the perceived value of the gold.  For this felted bonsai, I’m starting to think he made a good point.

Anyways… I made a pair of earrings this week, which are being given away as a birthday present, but I didn’t want to post those.  So… here it is, Sunday night, and I need to post something.

About a year ago, a lady on CWJ, Nancy Van Tassell, was selling off some Swarovski gems.  I bought a bunch.  They’ve been sitting in my stash ever since.  Recently, when I was cleaning up my bench, I discovered them again.  So… with the clock ticking down, I decided to try my hand at a pendant.  Since the gem has a deep back, I had to figure out how to set it without ending up with the point sticking out too much.  I also didn’t want the pendant to look really heavy.  So, the solution was to make an openworked bezel.  It turned out okay, but I think it would have looked better in a thinner gauge of wire.

My eyesight is going…  *gloom*… and I’m tired… and the pendant took forever to make… but hey, at least I got a piece done.

Tags: dianne karg baron, gem, gems, green, jewellery, jewelry, pendant, silver, sterling silver, Swarovski, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-03 The Bird Ring

The Bird Ring (2009)
Sterling silver, wool
Needle-felted, constructed
Size 7

Alright, I admit: this looks a bit odd, but trust me, it’s part of the process of figuring out if felting will work for a bonsai ring.  This week, I was needle-felting onto an armature.  I’m working with wool roving, which is very fiddly on a small scale.  This was worked dry, but I’m going to have to try it wet to see if it gives me more control.  I’m also thinking that I may need to buy some felt sheets and see how that works.

Here are some other views:

Tags: bonsai, dianne karg baron, needle felting, ring, silver, sterling silver, wire, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-02 Standard Form Ring

Standard Form Ring (2009)
Sterling silver, carnelian
Size 10

I wasn’t intending to post this as my second entry for the YOJ, but it’s now Sunday, the due date for this week, and the piece I actually wanted to post isn’t finished.  I’m “tweaking”.  It feels very much like I’m doing a science experiment.

So… in the meantime…

I’m going to be teaching at Haliburton again this summer, and I have a bunch of tutorials I need to write in preparation for the class.  Last fall I proposed a second level wire jewelry course, which was accepted.  One of the projects is going to be the Standard Form Ring, aka Pharaoh’s Ring.  (Why it’s called the “Pharaoh’s Ring” is a mystery:  I haven’t been able to find any historical examples using wire.  References to cast versions, yes, wire, no…).  It’s called the “Standard Form Ring” because it’s one of the all-time classic wireworking ring patterns.  A version of this ring was published in Moods in Wire by Ellsworth Sinclair, Beginning Wirecraft by Jessie Donnan, and in the Wire Artist Jeweller Magazine (June 2003).  It’s a substantial ring, usually worn by men.  I started writing my version this week, in between printing off “printing sheets” for Number 2 Son, who likes to do “homework”.

(Edit Jun. 25/09:  Thanks to some excellent detective work by Helen Goga, a historical reference for the Standard Form Ring has been found!  Mr. Thomas Vincent Phelan received a patent for the ring design (US Des. 150,726) in August 1948.  The patent lasted for 14 years, and the design went into the public domain in 1962.)

My own personal artistic proclivities don’t lean towards classical wirework, so I haven’t made this type of ring before.  I followed the WAJ instructions for my first two attempts.  I often tell my students that they shouldn’t worry about what their first attempt looks like:  usually with the first one, you’re just trying to get your head around the steps, so clumsiness is part of the process.  It’s no different for me.  This ring was attempt number 3… and I’ll likely make at least two more in the process of refining, writing and photographing the steps for the instructions.

There are useful wireworking skills to be learned from doing this project.  There are definitely some “tricks” to getting it to look nice.  Notes are being scribbled…

Some other views:

Tags: Classes, DIY, Haliburton, Haliburton School of the Arts, jewelry making, men, pattern, rings, silver, standard form ring, sterling silver, teaching, tutorial, Tutorials, wire, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-01 Needle Felted Circle Pendant

Needle Felted Circle Pendant (2009)
Sterling silver, wool
Needle-felted, flame-worked, cold connected
L 5.2 cm x W 4 cm

Back in 2006, when I was working with the Bonsai Rings one of the challenges I faced was to create realistic looking foliage.  A technique I thought might work well was felting.  I signed up for a felting course, but unfortunately various circumstances prevented me from taking it.

So recently, when I was putting together a Treasury on Etsy.com, I came across a shop that sold needle felting kits.  The price was good, so I took the plunge and bought one.

I decided to experiment first with the least appealing colour for foliage:  pink.

The technique is quite simple and fun.  On the first night, I made two little balls.  The next night I had a meeting with Maegen Black, a colleague who works with me on MAGazine.  She was wearing three felted bangles made by a BC artist whose name I didn’t catch.  (Edit: Maegen let me know the artist’s name is Deb Dumka). Intrigued, I tried a version of my own the next night.

Since I’m now working on my YOJ projects, I decided to use this little circle for my week 1 submission.  To jazz it up, I broke out the torch and made a bunch of sterling silver studs to decorate the circle.  Remembering the mess I got myself into during the previous YOJ, I did all of the finishing prior to assembling the pendant.

Tags: cold connections, cold joining, felt, felting, flameworking, Metal Arts Guild, needle felting, pink, silver, sterling silver, wire, wool, Year of Jewelry Project, yoj