Have you ever thought of something, made something, said something and then seen or heard the exact same thing only days or hours later. Worse yet (relatively speaking), since what you have seen or heard was public and what you did or said may have been private, it appears as if you are copying. However, you know it isn’t copying, but just a case of GMTA.
Well, I made a necklace a few weeks back from some new beads I bought at a wholesale show I went to at the beginning of May. One strand was Amazonite and the other was coin-shaped white freshwater pearls. I bought the pearls, because I really like using them and had planned on buying them for a long while, but the amazonite beads were a spur of the moment kind of thing. A friend of mine wanted to show me some really unusual Botswana Agate beads, which I ended up buying as well, and I happened to see the Amazonite among the multitude of beads on the seller’s table. Their shape is what got me; they looked like angular islands. I had to have them.
When I got home and cataloged my swag from the show, I had my beads layed out, and I was instantly grabbed on how well the two looked together. I just knew I had to make a necklace. (Heck… I may end up making a matching bracelet and some earrings, too.) I also knew just what to call it, “Nereids playing in Poseidon’s Domain”. To me, it was perfect looking.
Here’s where my point for this post (yes, it has a point.) comes to be apparent. The following week I was at my local mall mega-bookstore, and lo, I see a prominent beaded jewelry magazine with the same exact necklace with a few differences. Just a few that someone would think I copied the magazine and put my own twist on the necklace. To be honest, my first reaction was to laugh. My second was to pick up the magazine and take a really good look at it. It was very similar to my own. In fact, it had some things I had planned on adding to my own necklace since when I first had made it, it just didn’t lay the way I thought it should. I had planned on fixing this by adding some round sterling silver balls in between my coin pearls and the Amazonite pieces.
Now I wonder if I should even show my piece at all. I know I couldn’t have possibley copied the piece since one: I had never seen that particular issue until that day and two: I had bought the Amazonite beads strictly on instinct. Then again, how could I not. I mean the name alone is cool. (I love Greek Myths.) It deserves a showing of some kind.
Just goes to show you… Great Minds Think Awry.
Silver Clay is this awesome, relatively new medium that comes in two types: PMC and Art Clay. Both are made by Japanese companies. It is basically silver particles mixed in with a biodegradeble substance to form a clay that can be molded and shaped into whatever you want. There is also a paste form that can be painted and used as solder or glue. It is a very cool medium.
How did this come about you might be wondering? Well, I had taken a class back in November at a local Beadshow. Sadly, the pieces I made just didn’t excite me despite the fact that I bought the necessary supplies to try making pieces on my own. Maybe it was that the class was only a few hours long. I felt rushed.
Then the Bead Expo came to Charleston, and I decided to try my hand at PMC again. Needless to say I had a much, much better time of it. Everything I made, I loved. I think this was in part due to the instructor, Susan J. Lewis, and the time factor. I had an entire day of instruction and participation. I also got to use a kiln, a tumbler, and apply new techniques like using Liver of Sulfer and Silver Black to produce different looks on the silver.
It was just so much fun that I want to make more pieces. I want to make exclusive pendants and earrings. For starters, I made three pieces: a hollow bead pendant, a hollow disc pendant, and leaf pendant. Stay tuned for pictures and future pieces. I also plan to add a new category to my site.
[Future Images Here]
It certainly has been a long while since I’ve updated this blog. I’ve been busy working and creating new pieces. I even finally finished “Moonlight on the Greenmile”, but I have yet to get pictures taken. It came out almost exactly like the image in my head. I think I am getting better at producing what I have sketched out on paper or imagined in my head. No one is more surprised by this than me. And, it is not just because my ability to draw is only matched by my ability to tell a decent joke. I cannot draw a straight line without a bend and I can’t tell a joke without going off on a tangent. (Believe me, it ruins the setup and the punchline.) I may have to find a way to scan some of my work and place it along side the actual piece created. Anyways, I should be updating on new pieces soon. Thanks for listening.
You just never know when you’ll make a sale. The VTS came and went without a sale. It was fun and informative, and I got some nice hits, but no sales. 
Well, this past Thursday was my monthly gem club meeting and also our Holiday party, so I decided to bring my five VTS pieces to the party to display. It was just a small little hope that I might pique the interest of someone in the club or some unsuspecting passerby. It was the latter who bit. And guess what? I sold my Caribbean Sun Set. The gentleman bought it for his girl right there and then. I was so excited. I also got some very nice comments about my work, the whole look and the uniqueness of my pieces. It was a pretty good day.
Well, my first ever Trunk Show has come and gone. I think it went well. I hope that those who came to it thought so, as well. Of course, I was frantic beforehand. I cut out much of what I planned on bringing just because I did not have many of them photographed properly. (I can get a little obsessive about that.) I am not sure whether or not I would want to do another one, maybe if they were spaced out throughout the year.
I previewed several of the pieces I made for the upcoming IJDG 2nd Trunk Show entitled Art 2 Wear ‘05 at my Trunk Show. They were met with much fanfare. Hopefully, that translates into sales. I do have pics of them and they are priced, however, my page isn’t quite ready just yet. However, I can mention names: “The Port of Atlantis“, “Black Hills Gold”, “Le Lune de La Coeur“, “Tiger Wood“, and “Caribbean Sun Set“. (Now with links)
I have designed a very ambitious project for myself. It may take a long time just to assemble the pieces needed. It is a chainmaille piece using twisted sterling silver jump rings in a 4-1 European Chain with some Peruvian Silver pendants with 18k Gold reliefs hanging from four points on the chain made of chainmaille triangles. I will mix in some Vermeil jump rings within the triangles leading to the pendants and interweave faceted rondelle Peruvian Blue Opal throughout the piece. I am thinking it will take over 2500 of the twisted sterling silver jump rings and a lot of elbow grease to create this piece. I am tentatively calling it “Incan Dreams”.
Or… it is a nice push of a high cliff.
It has been awhile since I have posted in this blog and much has happened. I am getting ready for my first Trunk Show on November 19th, which I will list in the Upcoming Events area of my website. I am also getting ready for the upcoming 2nd Annual IJDG Virtual Trunk Show 2005 on December 4th. We are allowed to have upto five pieces in the trunk show. To be honest, I was a bit worried I would not have any ready. Now, after a furious push, I have more than five, and I must narrow my choices. Two are definites. One is a piece I call “Black Hill’s Gold”, which is a necklace made of nuggets of Black Tourmaline and Pyrite with Stardust Sterling Silver Balls in between them and a toggle from the Karen Hill Tribe called the NorthStar Toggle. The other piece is a special one created around a pendant made by another IJDG member, Jenny Eustis. I feel very honored to be working with one of this lady’s pieces. The necklace is called “Le Coeur de La Lune” (The Heart of the Moon). The name will become apparent once I post pictures on my VTS page at my site. The necklace centers around Jenny’s piece and contains wireworked white coin pearls and faceted rondelle rubies with Bali silver accents links and Karen Hill Tribe Silver heart links. I hope it does her piece justice.
Of course, all of this could not be done without a little sacrifice of blood, sweat, tears, and a few choice swear words on my part. Little did I know that blood and tears would be so abundant. A few nights ago, while making one of the other contenders for the VTS, I sliced the pad of my left index finger right open with my wire cutters. Never let it be said I did not shed blood for my work. Needless to say, typing and beading are slightly awkward, but definitely doable compared to breaking a finger, which I have done in previous years.
Exciting news for those attending my first Trunk Show. I will be unveiling the five VTS pieces there in person. These pieces will not be available for purchase there, but coveting and ogling are welcome. You will just have to wait for December 4th, or, for those not at my Trunk Show, you may see pics of them starting Thanksgiving week.
For the past few months, I’ve been hearing (and reading) about the trends in fashion and jewelry. To be honest, I’ve never much cared for such things. And frankly, I still don’t, but I find it interesting information. One of the major trends of this Fall season is using wood beads in all manor of jewelry. Now, I never thought I would use wood in any of my pieces, but this past weekend I went to my local bead shop. Lo and behold, they had several different shapes of wood beads. As luck “wood” have it, they also happened to be carrying several different shapes of lovely Caribbean blue Apatite beads as well. Inspiration struck, and I decided to combine the round apatite beads with two fun shapes of wood beads. One was an oblong, tapered oval shape and the other was a simple round bead. They make a wonderful combination, if I do say so myself. I’ll be getting pics up of both the necklace and earrings I’ve made in my “What’s New” section soon enough.
Another necklace I plan on making from the wood beads, cause I must use everything, is a combination of the small wood beads and faceted rondelle mandarin garnet (one of my favorites) with a nice purple mother of pearl shell pendant. (Can’t wait for that one.) So many pieces to create, so much time spending on this blog.
Oh…. and of course I still have “Green Mile” to create and “Amber-Green Delights” (another one I am creating with amber chips and chrysophrase nuggets).
Okay…. I am done now. Back to beading.
So… I have had this strand of tsavorite chips for the longest time. I think I bought them in back in November of 2004. They’ve been sitting in my bead box just gathering stringdust. And, me not knowing what to do with them. Basically, I bought them on impulse, or rather instinct. If anything, I bought them for their magnificent color. To be truthful, most of the beads I buy are bought on instinct, without a set design. I’ll buy a strand and not really know what I plan on doing with it. Although, I’ve never avoided the whole design first method either. But yesterday, I realized what I wanted to do with it. I have finally a design that I want it to be in. The piece will be a mix of the tsavorite chips and faceted rondelle white moonstone with a beautiful rectangle green Chrysocolla pendant, another piece I bought on instinct. I think I’ll call it “The Green Mile”.
Designing jewelry is more than just a hobby or a business for me. It is a passion. As much as anything I’ve ever done in my life, making a piece of jewelry, from the design to the beads to the complete creation, is a joy. A joy I wish to impart on all who see and buy my pieces. This journal/blog is here to be a record of my process and journey. I may not write here everyday, but I will write when the mood strikes me.