Merry Christmas 2013!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Yes, it's that time--already!  Christmas is here and I'm still trying to catch up from all the busyness from the year.  I was lucky enough to be able to create a few beautiful pieces to be given as Christmas gifts this year.  One being this necklace for a special woman. It has a reticulated silver pendant with a square black onyx and strung upon a strand of faceted black spinel beads.  A lovely combination!

Another piece, a simply classic reticulated silver cuff. 

I hope everyone enjoys their new goodies! 

Studio Sale Thank You

A giant thank you to everyone who came out yesterday to the 3rd annual holiday open studio and sale.  We had a nice turnout despite the gray, rainy weather.  I'm thankful for a finish to my 2013 show schedule and looking forward to a little break and getting creative again in the studio. 

A special thank you to my mom, Andrea Peters, and my friend, Diana Kerr, who worked so hard pulling the day together--

THANK YOU!!!

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving--already!  Where has the year gone?!  I'm always amazed how quickly time passes, whether it's happy days or incredibly slow difficult days that one wishes would pass quickly.  Today is a day to enjoy family, food, and no pressure or stress.  No presents or expectations. 

This year I'm looking forward to a day with my whole family.  Chatting and relaxing and eating.  My sister and her family have traveled to Maine for the holiday and we'll gather at my parents house where the familiar smells of Thanksgiving will waft through the air.  I'm so very thankful for all of them.  And my family of friends, I will be thinking of you too--enjoying your time--I'm grateful for each and every one of you.

I'm thankful for my good health and feeling well and pass on this energy to all who need some.  I'm thankful for my craft which is turning into quite a career--I love it!  I'm thankful for warm wood stoves and my fuzzy four legged family; a roof over my head (despite the cracks) and flannel pjs. 

The list can go on and on.  I will focus on carrying this feeling with me throughout the whole year. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunday Sewing

I spent most of last weekend in my studio creating, but Sunday, I took the day off to go sewing with a good friend.  What could be better than spending a day drinking tea and chatting over biscotti?  It's hard to believe that it's the middle of November already!  And it's list making time.  Lists of who, what, where and when--prepping for holiday gifts and events, and trying to figure out what I can make for everyone on that list.   Photos of the sewing will come soon.

In the meantime, please join me Friday, November 22nd through Sunday, November 24th, for the ArtFull Gifts Show at Point Lookout in Northport, ME.  I'll be there with bells on! and lots of flowers, pearls, and reticulated jewelry!

Shows in November and December

I just participated in The Maine Crafts Guild show at the Maine State Museum.  It was a small show, but full of amazing artists.  Thank you to all who came, admired, and purchased!

Next up, The Gifted Hand show in Ellsworth:

And then after that, ArtFull Gifts show in Northport:

And perhaps most important, SAVE THE DATE: Sunday, December 1, for the third annual open studio trunk show, held at Mom's house in East Boothbay--10 am-4 pm. 
Hope to see you!

Mother of the Groom Necklace--A Summer Project

This commission started with a phone call--a woman wanted to have a special necklace made for her to wear at her son's September wedding.  She found me and my jewelry online, liked what she saw, and gave me a call.  We set up a studio visit to discuss design thoughts and ideas.  We met in July and quickly figured out the colors, stones, and basic design--blue lapis lazuli alongside reticulated silver.  I drew up a few sketches and this is what was proposed and approved. 

 

Here are the beads and stones I found to use for the actual piece. I had never made a reticulated necklace that was half beaded, so I was looking forward to seeing the results.

The frontispiece started--silver rectangles reticulated and bezels and squiggles placed.

Next the silver ball accents and the articulated joinery.

The stones are bezel set in fine silver and the whole piece is getting laid out for stringing.

The full layout of lapis beads with the reticulated silver, hollow lentil shape beads I created.

And after the initial stringing, it was time to try on the necklace for length...I emailed this photo to J. and she loved it!  Upon her next visit north, she came with her wedding clothes and we tried it all on.  The necklace being an elegant accessory to make her simply classic outfit shine.

The length was almost perfect, but we decided on one minor design change--we added a chain closure for adjustable lengths allowing more versatility for wearing after the wedding.  Simply striking!

Thank you for allowing me be a part of this beautiful collaboration and special event!  It was a pleasure to work with you!

And after the wedding, in her words:

     "I'm wearing my necklace tonight, two weeks after our son's wedding at ....  The wedding couldn't have gone any better and I received many compliments on my "bling" , as one friend termed it, made specially for the event.

     Thanks again for all of your help. I shall enjoy my wedding necklace for many years to come."

This and That--Filling in the Blanks

This week finds me working in all directions.  Maybe not the most inspired way to create, but with 3 upcoming shows in November, I'm making things to fill in the holes in my inventory.  I've laid it all out to assess--and yes, I'm in a bit of a mess. 

 

After taking a visual inventory, I realized I needed some important pieces like reticulated earrings with stones, some flower chandelier earrings, and more bauble rings.  So, I set out on my mission and here's what I've done:

New reticulated earrings with carnelian cabochons & black onyx cabochons.  

Two new pairs of sterling silver tiny daisy drop earrings.

And three new bauble rings, L to R: 

 

4mm Tsavorite garnet bezeled in fine silver; sterling silver and 18k gold; 3mm blue sapphire with overlap.

A few fun pieces are in the works too.  Be sure to check out next week's blog to see!

Silver Cuff Bracelet with Labradorite

I've had this idea to turn a ring I made into a new design for a cuff bracelet.  I finally got all the pieces to come together.  This is the ring that was the inspiration:

A sterling silver ring with rose cut labradorite stone that I made for a commission. I think this ring actually reads much larger in scale and thought it would translate beautifully to a cuff.  So I selected a stone:

This large labradorite cabochon -- 45mm (1 11/16")  high and 25mm (1") at its widest.  The blues and greens shimmer in the light.  I thought the scale set the right tone for design.  Once that was decided, I worked the silver sheet and heated and reticulated and textured and formed.  I added large sterling balls around the fine silver bezel and felt the cuff was really coming together.

I placed a few more balls for balance and the design was complete.  Set the stone and polished the bezel and baubles to a high shine and voila: 

Strength and beauty--I think it's a pretty spectacular piece! 

Autumn--Catching Up

I don't know where the summer went!  But it's fall now and it's been too much time since I last wrote.  So much has gone on--shows, sales, and events--with much more to come.  I'm back to weekly updates and goings on.  I'll share some of the commissions I was lucky enough to create this summer, as well as new directions for my jewelry. 

Here's a  selection of rings that I'm loving!  I call them bauble rings and are available with most any stone and made just for you! 

Gearing Up

I'm getting prepped for my first show of the summer season--The Maine Craft Guild's annual show in Damariscotta.  Come on by and see some amazing artists!

This is the start to a very busy show month.  Up next, Westport, Connecticut!

A Tourmaline Ring Rebirth

Here's a ring I recently gave a new design and life to.  It was inherited, and my client wanted to do something different--something that would show off the large, hot pink stone to its full advantage.  This is what we started with--yellow gold simple band with prong setting surrounded by tiny diamonds:

A shot to show the scale of the stone--LARGE!!!

We discussed some of my bauble rings and reticulated jewelry and decided to design something along those lines.  This is the approved drawing of the ring--featuring a bezel set stone, reticulated band, silver bubbles, and diamonds:

And the finished ring!  It's truly spectacular!  I LOVE it!

A few additional shots to see the whole design.  My maker's mark stamped in the band, along with the year and sterling (upside down).

The stone is set in a fine silver step bezel with an open back to allow the light to pass through and reflect on the facets. 

A couple of little diamonds from the original ring are tube set among the bubbles. 

A success story for sure!

Heart Diamond Ring Story

One of my favorite things to do with jewelry is take something you own and don't wear and turn it into something you will.  I've been fortunate to create many pieces in this way for many people.  Just recently, I was working with a client who inherited some of her mother's jewelry and had promised she'd wear the diamond ring.  Unfortunately, mother and daughter's taste in jewelry was a little different.  But that's the wonderful thing about jewelry, take stones out of their current setting and new ideas are easy to imagine. 

Here's the original ring:

Yellow gold, asymmetrical in design, diamond baguettes, and a 4.72 ct heart shaped diamond.  The client wanted simple... classic... more "her."  I felt that was an easy goal to achieve. 

We came up with the design--a classic and pretty semi-mount, cathedral style band with a prong setting to hold the heart stone.  I worked with one of my contacts and used their cad system to create the ring design.  These are the computer generated designs:

After the ring came from the caster, it was time to put it all together.  There's an added level of anxiety that comes along with using a client's stones.  Often they are fragile and not replacable.  But, it's worth my stress to transform it. 

Nine small diamonds on either side were set first.

Then came the heart stone...and WOW!!!

A new contemporary classic! 
And she loved it! 
Thank you for the opportunity to create such an important piece of jewelry with deep meaning and lasting memories. 

Another amazing ring transformation to follow. 

Reticulation with Liver-of-Sulphur Patina

I love the look of reticulated metal and the jewelry I've made with it, but lately I've felt the need to play with it a little more.  So I thought it would be fun to really work with the texture by using liver of sulphur on the metal and then highlighting the baubles with a high shine.  The effect is wonderful!

This ring was the first experiment with the oxidizing effects of liver of sulphur and it's quite striking.  The apricot sapphire glows with the shine of silver surrounding it, while the blackened background sets a real mood. 

In this pin, I experimented with using less patina--I sanded away a lot of the black from the surface with steel wool, while allowing it to stay deep in the grooves of the highly textured surface.  I'm intrigued by the watery feel to this piece.

I'm loving this cuff!  The overlap, sprinkled peridot gemstones, and shiny baubles are set off by the blackened background.  I think this combination has a lot of potential and I'm eagerly looking forward to continuing with this new direction.