here is my new "bubble gum ball" bracelet that i finished this weekend. it is a commission piece for a woman in new jersey. this could be my favorite bracelet that i have ever made....it has all my favorite (and right) colors in it......typically, i have a difficult time putting unlike colors together....but, this bracelet combo could change my tune. thanks for that carrie :O)
bubble gum ball is made with sterling silver, reflector, cabbage patch kid shoe plastic, plastic from a lego piece, a vintage ceramic tile, and a plastic vintage button.
this new single pendant is made of plastic from a cabbage patch kid shoe.....remember those days. i can't tell if this piece reminds me of my childhood so much because the pink candy color makes me think of bubble gum...hubba bubba style, or if it's because the plastic is actually from the shoe of a cabbage patch kid doll. for the life of me, i can not remember my cabbage patch doll's name, but, oh yeah, i definitely remember my sisters....."byron chuck". that's because i wanted pretty much everything she had....i'm the little sister & yes, i had the shirt to prove it. BYRON CHUCK, hahahhaaa, the name just makes me laugh and bubbles up memories off the little house tanya & i grew up in...painting our toe nails & our egg face mask parties, along with the makeup mirror and light set up we had that would become jammed up with a 1/4 " of aqua net in a matter of days. ah, those were the days....good times :O)
a new pair of earrings made with limpet shells...i just finished these to go with vel's necklace
these little babies will become the "links" for a long link necklace made of limpet shells and other misc. white shells for a customer in miami. i wanted to photgraph them before i put the necklace together so i can reference the images for further experimentation. somewhere in the middle of making this piece i realized that i was really excited to see the stones "naked". they have all the fun little soldered swirls, bubbles, dots, and spots that is continuous in my work but without a visible functional detail.......none of the fussy stuff, like bails, links, or earwires that my pendants earrings and bracelets require. i was thinking it might be fun to make some pieces like this that have a pin on the back so they can function as a brooch. these little brooches can be individual or be collaged into a family. to be continued.....
this was a special order piece for a woman in coconut grove as well. i just finished up the beadwork on the clasp. i really love the green with the orange in this piece...two of my favorite colors. it reminds me of spring, fruit salad (yummy) and our gopher plant. thanks linda :O)
new color of float earrings made from the shiny pale pale blue blow up floatee that i bought at "this and that" in coconut grove. my friend and instructor rebecca at the yoga studio bought these little babies. she loved that i called them shiny pale pale blue. she said that it reminded her of teaching yoga in singapore. they don't have superlatives in their language so if you wanted to say that something had "more" or "to a greater degree" then you would say it twice. i thought this was really funny since chris always teases me for saying the phrase "pale pale" when talking about a color....but in my mind one pale is not enough to describe a really soft color...hence, shiny pale pale blue.
a few more "float earrings". i had the metal elements finished before i left for coconut grove. so i sewed up a few pillows during the show and on the plane. yep, i have a hard time sitting still. unless i am curled up with a good book or magazine and on the couch with my "couch woobie" i have a difficult time just being still without doing something with my hands. that's why i love bikram yoga because it makes me stop and be still and quiet for a significant period of time. :O) oh yay, the earrings.......
here is my new box......yep, i know that i said i was going to make a sage green one. BUT, when i saw the orange felt i new that i wanted to make an orange box. it is made of sterling, copper, orange felt, orange plastic from a rain poncho, thread. i am just now...finally uploading the picture because it wasn't finished when i left for the show in miami. i ran out of beads with about 8 rows left to go, grrrr!!! thanks to express mail i just ordered more and had them sent to the hotel. i new i would have time to finish it on thursday while we were hanging out in the hotel that evening. i didn't have to set up until friday so i had plenty of time. all and all the show was a huge success and a rockin' time. if you would like to see other shots of the orange box just go to the website and click on the box page.
here's my new earrings that i finished last night. the sage green "float" earrings are made of plastic from a shower curtain, polyfil, thread and sterling . i am hoping to make several more pair for my show in miami. it's getting down to the wire though....we leave (me and my girlfriend trish) on thursday, february 14th. i really need to get started on my box. i want to make one of my beaded boxes to house a tiered pillow ring in sage green.
pictured is a ring i just finished and submitted for one of the SNAG (Society for North American Goldsmiths) conference exhibitions. the show is entitled: The Ring Show: Putting the Band Back Together. this show is in recognition of the "1ST National Ring Show" which began in Athens, Georgia (where the SNAG conference is this year) 30 years ago. The original participants of the National Ring Show are making a new ring to be shown with their original ring.
here is a picture of a couple of my pieces at the xen show. the white pillow choker piece is made of sterling silver, plastic from a childs cribsheet, polyfil, thread and glass beads. the orange pillow earrings were made with sterling silver, plastic from a napa valley tote bag, polyfil, and thread.
here is a peak at what my new work is like. this bracelet was made of a poncho and estee lauder bag i got at my favorite thrift store here in austin. it's called the blue hanger. it's a goodwill, but for some reason it goes by blue hanger. i was totally "busted" that day while shopping there. even though i love this place, i have only been there a few times...well, because you have to play good defense when you go there. it is always crazy busy and super noisy. the way this place operates is this: you go in and typically all the carts are taken. i usually can find a plastic crate and random ribbon and tie the ribbon to the crate....viola, "shopping cart". i am up and down the aisles which consist of rows of large wooden bins used to dump all manner of things. this place is categorized into two groups, clothes and misc. i walk into an aisle because i spot these pale blue squares that from afar appear to be plastic-y. when i get closer and i can check out the blue squares, deciding whether i think they have "jewelry potential" one of the workers hollers out to get my attention and starts shaking his head at me.......and says "not yet, no, not yet" and then i realize that there are 25-ish people standing at the end of these bins waiting to get in on the action. apparently while the bins are being stocked with the goods it is not permitted to shop that area until they blow the horn. well, i had heard this horn theory about the blue hanger, but at that point was in way over my head so i just played the dumb card. if looks could kill, i would have been a goner, 25 times over, with all the evil eyes i got from the people that were patiently lined up. the funny thing is that the blue squares were stacks of "wee wee pads" that can be used to potty train your puppy......yep, they are gross...don't ask me why there is a market for them. BUT, the point is nobody else would have wanted those things but me. as a matter of fact when the horn did blow and everyone raced into grab, dig, push and scavenge for their treasure of interest, the woman next to me took the time to hand me a stack of wee wee pads that were next to her. it took me three attempts to get out of that aisle and remove myself from the pandemonium.