My Studio in the Benton Harbor Arts District

Perhaps the best thing to happen for me professionally, artistically, mentally, emotionally and a lot of other -ly's in 2010 was the relocation of my jewelry studio to the Studios at 210 in the Benton Harbor Arts District. I started the process of moving in October, and have more or less completed it in December, although it will continue to be a work in progress as I assess my needs and make changes to improve how I am able to work in the space.

Although I have had a separate studio in the past at the Box Factory for the Arts, this is the first time that I have had all of my jewelry tools and supplies in one space. I had things at my studio, in my basement, in a spare room, in the garden shed, etc. It was a hindrance to my creativity, to say the least. I was able to capitalize on my experience in my past studio to thoughtfully organize this space so it would be most beneficial to my processes. In addition, as I was moving in, I very methodically sorted through boxes of supplies and other materials that had been thrown together and left that way, in some cases for years, so that I started out more organized at the outset.

This is the bench where I do most of my work. Above the bench are a couple of corkboards; something I had always wanted and now finally have the space to utilize. Now I have a space to pin things that inspire me.

This the part of the bench where I do most of my wire working. I photographed it in a typical mid-work state: Boxes of findings open, pliers where I just laid them, spools of wire out, my Blackberry within easy reach, multiple measuring tools...

I was inspired by my studio neighbor Vicki Cook to get a stump for my forging needs. The stump is very solid and absorbs the shock of the blows very well. Since it is isolated from my bench, it doesn't rattle the items there or on the wall. It also makes me a better neighbor, as it is more quiet than hammering on my bench. The stump is maple, from a tree that was felled on our property at the time I was moving into my studio.

Around the corner of the "L" shaped bench is where I do fabrication, drilling, grinding, polishing, filing, and other processes. Two of my most valuable tools are at this bench, my trusty Micro Mark mini drill press that I have used for years, and my new Foredom flex shaft, which I just purchased this spring. I am still learning how to fully utilize all of which the Foredom is capable.

Above the bench is an original piece of artwork which I created a few years ago. The name of the piece is "Neith: The Creator Goddess in Repose." I really like to be surrounded by the things that inspire me. She is beautiful above my bench.

In a moment of inspiration, I created a space for some of my oft used tools to be accessed readily. I think at some point I would like to utilize a pegboard on which to hang my tools.

Another really great piece of art hangs by my tools; A little ceramic winged goddess. I purchased her years ago - at this point I don't even remember where.

Moving to the right of my bench is a shelving unit that holds a lot of my working supplies: Finished gemstones, books, catalogs, my jewelers scale, etc. This unit I purchased years ago when I was at the Box Factory.

I had purchased this set of drawers years ago and it had sat in my basement unused until I brought it to my studio this fall. I have filled every drawer with rocks, found objects, tumbled glass, rock slabs, etc.

The piece of artwork above is me, as done by my husband Brad Bigford. It is a painted relief, done in wood. The bust is paper mache, which I purchased from a rummage in the Arts District years ago. I frequently use it for display and photographing my work.

Here is drawer of beach glass and rocks.

Another drawer of crystals.

Various polished stones.

Another drawer of primarily coins. Like I said, all of the drawers are filled, so this is just a small representation of the treasures to feed my creativity.

When I moved into my studio, I purchased some new wire shelving units for more storage. It also functions as handy space to hang my jacket.

This is my "wet" bench. The tools here utilize water for grinding and cutting.


And lastly, moving to the right again - my new soldering bench that was a present for me for my birthday this December. It has a marble top that had been previously utilized at a bank. I just added a pickle pot at the end of the year. It is very small crockpot that had gone unused in my kitchen for years.

Above the bench is a metal picture of one of my favorite good girl gone wild icons of all time: Betty Page.

My productivity has increased exponentially since I have started to utilize my new space. When I am there, I feel very clear and focused, which is a contrast to how I felt when I was working in my cramped room at home. I am looking forward to my continued evolution as an artist in my studio.

Herringbone designs in sterling

Much of my recent work has utilized a herringbone weave. Here are a couple examples. In the above picture, I have created a simple frame for a lovely iolite gemstone. Iolite, per http://crystalsandjewelry.com, is said to bring clear psychic vision and enhance curiosity. It is also an excellent stone for meditation and astral travel. It helps one grow spiritually in a gentle fashion. Iolite is considered a very strong "Shaman" stone, and can stimulate visions. It can be very helpful when dealing with addictions, including alcoholism. Additionally, iolite is also said to help build relationships of all kinds.


I also created several different earrings in the this design. In the above picture I used rough sapphire gemstones. These are a blue-grey color; I also created a pair from purple rough sapphire. Sapphire is a stone of creative expression, intuition, and meditation, and enhances all those things.

I certainly have felt like my creative expression has been enhanced!

Labradorite "Passage for Life" Necklaces

With the move into my new studio very nearly complete, I have begun the process of digging deep into designs and projects that have been on the back burner; in some cases, for years. This series of necklaces is one of those projects. The design of the pieces are based on a tutorial by Magdalena Borejko. But the techniques of wire wrapping, and looped weaving are techniques that I have explored in other iterations.



The series utilizes one of my most favorite gemstones: Labradorite. Per the site Mineral Miners, Labradorite is said to provide quick relief from anxiety, hopelessness and depression, replacing them with enthusiasm, self-confidence and inspiration. It is said to dispell negativity and to bring clear understanding by enhancing clarity of thought and improving one's ability to cooperate with others in harmony. Labradorite is also said to give perseverance, strength and enhanced intuition when one is experiencing times of conflict and change.

In the first picture, I have paired the labradorite with sterling nuggets. In the above picture, it is paired with black spinel and tiny sterling beads on the inner layer. In the picture below, the pendant on the left features blue topaz along the right side, and iolite along the left.



The design is luxe, and both time and material intensive - especially on the large pendants. It takes a finesse and awareness, as I (re)developed during practice (pendant not shown!) to create the frame and to weave the stones onto the frame without breaking the wire.

It was the perfect series to create at the inception of my new studio in the Arts District.

Turquoise Treasure on Leather

My friend gave me a bead that she got from a music festival over the summer and asked me to do something with it. I revisited the wrapped wire frame design that has figured prominently in my previous work.


I created seven loops to attach the spike details. All of the wire and findings are sterling silver. I really rather like this side of the piece as one can see the carved detail of the bead more clearly as it is not obscured by the coloring of the stone.


I opted to use a graceful "S" clasp design to add more interest to the back. I can't wait for her to see what I have done with her bead!

My Heart - That's Amore'

A friend sent me a piece of red coral and gave me creative carte blanche to make a piece for her. It was a sizable chunk, larger on one side than the other. As I mused over its form, it seemed that on its side, the shape was evocative of a heart. So I decided to utilize some of the new skills that I had learned at Bead and Button this past spring in Susan Lenart Kazmer's class - Relics, Riveting, and Staples. I would mount the piece on a back plate with a head pin through a silver disc which would hold the coral in place and would also serve as a decorative element in the pendant. I also decided to do something totally new for me and put a word onto the pendant. I chose "amore" to reflect upon the heart shape, but also because this person is such a warm-hearted, passionate person, it just really seemed to resonate through and through.


I took a plate of sterling silver and after determining the dimensions, I used my new jewelers saw to cut the piece to its designated size.


Safety glasses are always sexy.


In this picture, I am filing the sharp edges of the metal plate and rounding the corners.


So now at this point I have my blank plate, and a head pin that I created with my torch. It was critical to get the properly sized gauge wire that fit the hole of decorative disk for a secure fit.


In keeping with the organic nature of the coral, I hand chased the surface with hammer-struck punches to create visual interest and a natural visual transition.

I didn't take pictures of the process of stamping the word "amore" onto the piece. It required my full attention to properly place the letters.

It was also an adventure getting a small drill bit to create a hole to fit the the diameter of my wire. Fortunately, I got some advice to pick up metal drill bits locally at a welding supply shop which are used in that trade for cleaning welders. They worked brilliantly! And it was totally a bonus that they were inexpensive and I could support a local business.

I then oxidized the silver part of the pendant, wire, chain, and clasp prior to putting the elements together. Liver of sulfur would have damaged the delicate coral.

After I designed and assembled the necklace, I methodically polished the surfaces to get a soft luster.


Red coral pieces really complemented the focal point of the necklace.


This is a close-up of the clasp of the necklace.


The pendant turned out beautifully. There is also a signature secret stamp on the back of the piece.


The necklace is a vibrant, completely unique piece. It was such a pleasure to have someone trust me to create this special, timeless treasure.

Skull meets Steel - A Collaboration

I am a huge fan of Christina Root-Worthington's ceramic work. I have an awesome collection of her rings. When I saw this skull pendant at her display at a downtown Benton Harbor Festival the day of the Jack Nicklaus event, it was a no-brainer. I had to have it. I figured that I could think of something cool to do with it.


I decided that it would be a natural fit to make a necklace out of steel wire. It would match the bail of the pendant and would fit the overall feel of the piece. When I looked at the floral motif on the skull, I decided to work with my old school curves and spirals. It would pick up on the organic feel of the motif and be evocative of vines and maybe a trellis.


I utilized 16 gauge steel wire. Creating all of these pieces sure ruined my manicure, and I pinched the bejesus out of myself on a few occasions when I was trying to shape the pieces after I had pounded them.


This is the clasp of the piece. I really like how everything turned out. I like the jangle of the necklace because it sounds like chains. I am ready and set for the Day of the Dead, and well, any other day when I want to rock a completely fab skull.

Simplicity

These are some quick shots of a line that I have for sale at Blue Gallery in Three Oaks and at their Annex in South Bend. They are simple, stacked designs in sterling and onyx, new jade, serpentine, and golden obsidian with hammered sterling silver.


These necklaces are lariat style. There are also some traditional, horizontal styled necklaces that are not pictured that are part of the line.


The line is simple, striking, and reasonably priced.

Gemstones round the hoop

Among my latest work, these three pairs of earrings are currently for sale at Chartreuse Art Gallery. From the left, the first pair was created with blue topaz and smokey quartz gemstones. The second pair features different shades of citrine gemstones. And the third pair has moody, dark labradorite and iolite gemstones. The earring hoops were created from sterling wire and hammered to give them strength. The gemstones were wired into place with sterling wire and the earrings were given an oxidized patina for a vintage look.

Bead and Button - Steel Wire Intensive

Another class that I took in June at the Bead and Button Show was the Steel Wire Intensive by Brenda Schweder. I like the look of the wire; it has the industrial, hard aesthetic that I love. I also like the fact that it is a fraction of the cost of sterling wire. I also think that there is the potential for more unisex styling. So said I, as I surveyed the class description. The fact is, as I am thinking about it, is that I worked with steel craft wire years ago, and I was ready to reintroduce it to my repertoire.

The first piece that I completed utilized a large piece of beach glass from my collection of innumerable found objects. Brenda gave valuable info on how to plan out the finished product and tips on how achieve the desired results. Also, I created the wire choker for the piece, utilizing her techniques, which was the first time I created this kind of thing.

The next piece that I created with a transistor tube provided by Brenda, utilizing a caged technique where the object moves freely within the wire frame. The pendant is quite a large piece but it looks good and is comfortable on a long, adjustable leather cord.

Fortunately, I had leather cord in stock that was about the same diameter as the wire, so it works well with the design of the piece.

I am ready to do some more designing with the wire and I am really glad that I took this class!

Relics, Riveting, and Staples - Bead and Button 2010

One of the classes that I took at Bead and Button was Relics, Riveting, and Staples by Susan Lenart Kazmer. I have an incredible collection of rock slices, beach glass, shells, coins and other artifacts for which I was looking for new ways of working creatively. This class was teaching techniques that I had not worked with yet, such as sawing sheet metal, riveting, and metal stapling techniques. So the above ring is the project that I made in the class, using these techniques for the very first time.


So I thought it was pretty funny that I pretty much set my space up like the controlled chaos at my home studio. Some of the tools in the foreground (from left to right include my task light, wire brushes, bag of hand tools, anvil and pillow, jewelers hammer, ruler, jewelers saw, sandpaper, Foredom bits, and Foredom flex shaft. In the background is the 15+ pounds of stones and such that I lugged in, not knowing what I would want to use.


The first step was selecting the piece and scoring the shape in the metal sheet (brass in this case). I had a nice piece of petoskey stone that appealed to my love of rough stones.


Then I followed the shape of the stone to create a "frame" for the piece. Then I carefully drew the prong shape that would hold the stone in place, making sure that they were long enough to wrap securely over the edge of the thick stone. I cut this shape out with a jewelers saw - a first for me. Angi was kind enough to coach me on my sawing technique. It was a little difficult, and I broke one blade in the process. I think that I was supposed to lubricate the blade, but I didn't, since the class was not specifically instructed in that. Next time I will and hopefully that will improve the ease of the sawing process.


I sanded the piece, then used a textured hammer to give it interest.


Honestly, in future designs I will be a bit more judicial with the use of the textured hammer. In the end, I felt that the detail was overkill next to the texture and design of the stone. But that is a common designing mistake for beginners: overdoing it on the details.


I then antiqued the piece in liver of sulfur, to give it a nice aged quality, and worked it some more to give highlights/lowlights.


I created a wide band from contrasting silver sheet metal. I carefully hammered it around a ring mandrel to shape the piece into the right size for my finger.


In this picture, I am halfway through the riveting process. First one side of each piece is drilled. Wire is hammered at the end to give it little nail-like caps. Then the wire is drawn through each piece and cut, with just enough wire to create another little cap by careful hammering. Then the process was repeated.



Then the stone is set into place by the careful bending and hammering of the sides and prongs.

So this is an interesting test piece, and I can't wait to utilize these techniques to create other rings and pendants with unique rocks, glass, and coins.