How cool is this!

I finally tried to fuse some glass this weekend. It was so simple to do. I used a schedule I found online, and it took 14 hours! Rio Grande says I can shorten it significantly, so I will try the easier way next time. There are just so many fun possibilities with fused glass!

Although I haven't posted in a while, I have been doing a variety of different creative ventures. I finally signed up for the introduction to silversmithing through Bedrock, and absolutely LOVED the course. We learned how to solder, make rings, two kinds of settings (bezel and tube), and pierced metal. It was so great and so inspiring. I signed up for an on-line newsletter called Jewelry Making Daily, and won this book!

http://www.interweavestore.com/Jewelry/Books/Silversmithing-for-Jewelry-Makers.html

This is an absolutely fabulous book. Before I took the course, it would have all seemed quite daunting and mysterious, but now that I understand some of the terms, I can see that this book has such a wealth of information that it will become one of my main references from now on. Each technique has a section providing details about what it is and what it does, and then there are little projects to follow along and try the technique. It seemed small (190 pages in soft binding), but it has an encyclopedia worth of information packed into the pages.

Definitely worth the investment at twice the price.

Fox

This little fox was in our back yard the other day. Robert looked out the back door, and there she was, lying in the sun looking perfectly content. By the time he got the camera out, she was headed off to look for food, but stopped and posed in this perfectly stacked position, so he could get a nice shot of her structure. Such a beautiful little creature!

encaustics

Now that my drawing course is done, I finally feel like I can play again, so I dug out my encaustics and painted a couple of pictures of trees. The one above is small - about 8 inches square, and the one below is about 12 inches square. Both are done on claybord.

update

I have been taking a drawing class lately, so my artwork hasn't really been anything worth sharing. I did this quick sketch of Rhaynie before the class started, because I was thinking it would be a good image for a business card. The whole thing doesn't work too well, because it isn't really the right shape, but a cropped close up of her head might work.

The pictures below are some sketches done in class. They are quite big, and didn't photograph well, but they give you an idea about what has been keeping me busy. I am glad to be done with the course, though, because now I cna get back to the many half-finished projects waiting for my attention.

Thanks for taking a look!

Silver Clay Zoi

I mentioned to someone the other day that I had purchased a silver clay kiln, and that I wanted to try a 'zoi pin. She asked if I had enough skill to do a decent job, and I must admit I did hesitate before answering. I had to try it immediately, and I think it came out OK. What do you think? It was quite a bit larger before I fired it, but this is a nice petite size. I'm not sure it is worth the $60 in materials, though. And so far it is just a flat image of a 'zoi - I still don't know how to do silver solder, so it doesn't have a pin back yet. Next lesson, silver solder!

chain mail

I have been learning to make chain mail. This is a necklace made using the byzantine weave and very large rings (14ga and .5 inch diameter). The weave kind of falls apart without being stretched, but it stays in place when it is being worn.

I have also been learning how to use my metal clay kiln. The clay is really strange texture - slippery on the outside and hard and dry inside - so it is difficult to work with. I made this ring, and as it was drying, it cracked at the join, so I syringed a bit of clay over the crack and pushed in a tiger eye bead. I thought that the clay would cover the hole in the bead, but it shrank enough that the hole shows, and the bead turned red. It needs a bit of sanding, which I should have done before firing, but I didn't know what to expect, and everything I have read suggested that the dried ring would be really delicate and would crumble if I touched it. The ring shrank one size, as expected, and fits perfectly. Not bad for an experiment!