a wrapturous blog

YOJ09-17 Chalcedony Effervescence Pendant

Chalcedony Effervescence Pendant (2009)
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.

More photos:

Tags: bead, briolette, cold connections, cold joining, fine silver, jewellery, jewelry, jewelry making, pendant, sterling silver, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project

The Retro Show

I attended the opening of Zilberschmuck Art Jewellery’s National Juried Exhibition “Connection” on Thursday evening.  Running concurrently with that exhibition (see the outstanding work here) is “The Retro Show”, a retrospective of past shows organized by Zilberschmuck.

It was standing room only at Shao Design, which was hosting the event.  Cheryl Fraser, owner of Zilberschmuck, gave an emotion filled speech welcoming everyone, and thanking Shao Pin Chu for opening his studio for the show.  It was great to see lots of familiar faces and to meet a few new friends.

Two of my pieces from the Karen Kelly Fashion Show (2004) are included in The Retro Show, and I was able to snap this photo of the case:

The exhibitions continue until May 30, 2009.  Directions here.

Tags: cold connections, cold joining, cold worked, distillery district, Karen Kelly Designs, necklace, shao design, The Retro Show, tiara, Toronto, zilberschmuck art jewellery

Etsy SATeam Mother’s Day Sale – April 24-26, 2009

The Starving Jewelry Artists Etsy Street Team is having a Mother’s Day Sale, starting at 16:00 EDT Friday, April 24 until midnight Sunday, April 26.  Participating shops are offering free worldwide shipping on all purchases.  For a list of shops joining the sale, check out the SATeam Blog.

Also keep your eyes peeled for Treasuries featuring SATeam items on Etsy.com, like this one:

Buy your mother something handmade for Mother’s Day!

Tags: dianne karg baron, etsy, mother's day, sale, sateam, starving jewelry artists

YOJ09-16 Beaded Channel Ring

Beaded Channel Ring (2009)
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.

Tags: bead, cold worked, constructed, dianne karg baron, jewelry making, ring, rings, sterling silver, Tutorials, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-15 Beaded Puff Heart Pendant

Beaded Puff Heart Pendant (2009)
Sterling silver & gold-filled beads, fishline
L 2.8 cm x W 2.5 cm x D 1.0 cm
Beaded, right angle weave

This week’s project is part one of a larger piece I’m working on for an HSTA faculty exhibition to be held at the Rails End Gallery in July.

This is the first time I’ve ever tried my hand at straight beading, and I have to say that I’ve developed a very healthy respect for the people who do this type of work.  This heart was created using a pattern by “Laura” published on the 3DBeading.com site.  I initially had the foolish idea to try it using wire, but gave up after about 5 steps.  Fishline is definitely the way to go. I would love to repeat this pattern using rubies, but there’s no way to thread the fishline into the itty-bitty holes the multiple times the pattern requires.

It turned out a little bigger than I originally wanted, but the impact on the overall design will be minimal, and may actually make the final piece more interesting.

More photos:

Tags: bead, beading, cold connections, cold joining, cold worked, constructed, dianne karg baron, jewellery, jewelry, pattern, RAW, right angle weave, tutorial, Year of Jewelry Project

YOJ09-14 Lame-O Earrings

Lame-O Earrings (2009)
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.

Tags: bead, cold connections, cold joining, cold worked, constructed, dianne karg baron, earring, earrings, jewellery, jewelry, silver, sterling silver, wire, wire jewellery, wire jewelry, wirework, wireworking, Year of Jewelry Project