Ancient sea lily for a special pesce

One of my last projects in 2010 was the creation of this necklace showcasing a crinoid fossil. The piece was a gift for a special friend, and it enabled me to practice a few more techniques that I just learned this year: Forming with sheet metal, utilizing riveted prongs to hold the piece to the metal, and soldering rings.

All of the silver is sterling, and the back plate of the pendant is brass, which picks up on the warm tones of the crinoid fossil and frames the piece.

The piece has a double bail that hangs from brown leather, with a hand forged clasp.

As you may see from the sketch, I decided to orient the fossil opposite of what I originally planned. That is part of the beauty of the creative process; being able to change and adapt as I move toward the final product.

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!

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.

Beach glass bracelet for the new college graduate

A customer commissioned a bracelet as a present for a young woman who will be graduating from college. She gave me her beach glass collection so that I could select pieces and design the piece. In addition to the beach glass, I knew that I wanted to incorporate a citrine crystal into the piece (2nd from right) as it promotes success, prosperity, and abundance to the wearer. This was a fitting energy for a young woman as she makes the transition from the world of academia to whatever may lay ahead.

I decided on a charm style bracelet which would highlight the unique components, textures and colors of each piece that was attached to the chain. As I was sifting through the basket of beach glass, the stone in the middle caught my attention right away. It is an unique piece and has great texture. Then as I selected the pieces of beach glass, I found the crinoid (to the right of the stone) which is a great lake find. My final flash of inspiration was to incorporate a penny into the piece, which played off the meaning of the citrine crystal. To really personalize the piece, I had the giver of the piece find out the recipient's birth year and so the penny was selected accordingly.


Each piece was drilled and I attached each securely to the sterling chain of the bracelet. It has a solid, easy to use sterling lobster claw clasp. It a very unique, personalized piece for the young woman who will be receiving it.

A trio of Blue Druzy Quartz Crystal Necklaces

Late last year I picked up a strand of Blue Druzy Quartz briolette-style pendants from a local bead store in Watervliet called Tradewind Beads. I purchase most of my gemstones from trade shows, but when I saw these beauties, I had to get them because of their luminous blue and white coloring, and twinkling crystalline structure. They are unusual. I have seen a fair amount of white Druzy quartz, but not in blue.


These are the first series of pieces that I created out of this find - From left, counter-clockwise to right: 16" sterling chain with hand-worked clasp and pendant bail, 18" sterling chain with hand-worked clasp and pendant bail (both antiqued and buffed out), and an 18" doubled leather with handworked clasp and bail.


Blue druzy comes from Chrysocolla. Chrysocolla is associated with tranquility and peace, intuition, patience, and unconditional love. It is thought to offer gentle and soothing qualities. The Cluster formation of the quartz crystal can be used to bolster group energy, enhance harmony and peace in a group, and other social/business relationships.



The pieces certainly are lovely and soothing, even if one knows nothing about their intrinsic properties.

Simplicity lets your style shine through

This is some of the latest work that is now for sale at Chartreuse. The earrings are hammered sterling wire with wrapped functional detail. From left to right, the briolettes gemstones are labradorite, African prehnite, and onyx. The earrings are perfect for summer; light, open, and full of great energy.


Here I paired the onyx earrings with a Tibetan Quartz crystal on leather necklace. The necklace is a personal favorite of mine. I love the hematite inclusions in the stone and the double terminated crystal formation.
Tibetan Quartz Crystals hold sacred energy frequencies and the wisdom of the ancient culture. This crystal can be used to enhance, amplify, and intensify transformation, releasing self-limitations, disease and disorders. Tibetan Quartz Crystals gather, hold and release a very high energy and tend to contain a very powerful "OM" vibration. It is also an excellent enhancer and activator of other crystals. {http://www.mythnlynx.com/MP.html}


Citrine and amethyst crystal necklaces were also created in this series.

Fun and naturally funky dalmatian jasper

I have been in the process of working with components that have been sitting on my bench for a long time. I tend to lay out a lot of things as I am working as they catch my attention; but then they tend to pile up because I don't necessarily work with them right away, as I tend to whatever task or whim comes along. I finally returned to this lovely piece of jasper that I had drilled who knows how long ago. The piece is hung on an 18" piece of doubled black leather.



The jasper swings freely on the sterling detail. The necklace has a real organic, free form quality about it, which fits the energy of the stone, as jasper helps us release our tendencies to over think or over analyse things.

Feeling Chipper

These necklaces are created from sterling chain, wire, and gemstone chips. The gemstones shown here are turquoise, peridot, and lapis lazuli. They skim the area just under the hollow of the throat at about 16 inches.



Although the design is simple, the execution of these pieces is relatively time consuming. Each necklace has nearly 50 small chips that are attached securely to the chain with 28 gauge sterling wire. Each necklace has a swivel lobster claw clasp, so that the necklace will not get twisted and the chips will dangle from the bottom of the chain.



The resulting piece is a delicate, graceful, modern necklace that is completely unique and looks great by itself or layered with other necklaces.



These pieces also enable the wearer to benefit from the intrinsic qualities of the gemstones.


Lapis - Overcome depression and open the door to self awareness. It can help the wearer to become an authentic individual who can openly and fearlessly state state his or her deepest thoughts to another.


Peridot - Stone of compassion. It has a friendly energy and is excellent for healing. It assists in rebirth and renewal of all kinds. Peridot also bring abundance and prosperity. It enhances the healing and harmony of relationships of all kinds, but particularly marriage. Peridot can lessen stress in relationships, anger and jealousy.


Turquoise - Associated with the sky, and bringing sky energy to earth. It can help promote honest and clear communication from the heart. It is also said to protect against pollution in the environment, and to bring abundance. It is very powerful for grounding and protection also.

Beach Glass for the Bat Mitzvah - Life's Cycles

This is a commissioned piece for a young lady's Bat Mitzvah. It features a piece of beach glass from the givers personal collection.




While the spiral detail works well as a design element, it also functions as a significant ancient feminine symbol. In ancient Britain, the spiral seems to have been associated with the feminine as the doorway to life. It has been associated with the cycles of time, the seasons, the cycle of birth, growth, death, and then rebirth. The cycles of time and nature are the cycles of life. This imbues the piece with many levels of significance for the the girl who is making the transition to young woman.

Jewels from the Lake

I completed another multi-piece beach glass necklace that is a commission piece. I took their jar of beach glass to my studio and sifted through it to find pieces that were the right size and shape, to create continuity in the design. It measures 17 1/2" in length with a toggle clasp.



The necklace is designed to hang about an inch below the hollow of the customer's throat. The design is kept simple to keep the focus on each unique piece of translucent glass.

Freshwater Pearl Lariat and Earring Set

I revisited a classic design in the warm, rich colors of fall in a set that I designed to donate to a fundraiser for the local library. Freshwater pearls and sterling silver were used to create this timelessly beautiful set.


Each pearl is attached to the necklace on a hand-hammered paddle. The pearls are arranged such so that they twist gracefully up the chain, so that they dangle gracefully on the wearer.


The heart of the earring is a cultivated freshwater pearl. They are created from the clay disc in the shape of the heart, which is inserted into the oyster. The nacre forms around the disc, so that the natural pearl has a unique shape.

Some lucky bidder walked away with a great set that evening!

Back to Black

These are just a few of the pieces that I have made in the past couple of days. I have definitely been working a black linear motif. Most of these pieces are are coral, with the exception of the third picture, which is a pendant created from lavastone. The capped pieces utilize a herringbone wire wrapping technique.

Freshwater Pearl Earrings and Simple Necklace Set

I have had these unique freshwater pearls that I picked up quite some time ago and I decided to create something with them. I am attracted to their evanescent glow and completely organic shape. I riffed on the the DaVinci series by wiring the pearls inside of the vessel-horseshoe shape. I kept the detail simple, but textural by fringing the earrings with multiple simple sterling drops. All of the sterling components had to be pre-oxidized so that the pearls did not risk being pitted or discolored in some way.


After I completed the earrings, I wanted a simple matching necklace. At first I thought that I was going to create the piece by pairing the large freshwater pearl with pale green freshwater pearl beads. But in the end, I simply wired the pearl utilizing fat wraps to a simple sterling chain that echoed the detailing of the earrings. I don't do dainty often, but I had seen a simple pearl necklace on a girl one evening and I was inspired. The pearl lends itself to this design, and is complemented so well by the deep patina of the antiqued sterling.


So this is the set. The necklace hangs just below the hollow of my throat and the earrings have great summer presence.

Now I have been utilizing the earring design paired with gemstone briolettes to create necklaces for the next series of work that is evolving.

Reclaimed and reused

This winter I broke my own rule; the one that I am always advising people who buy my earrings not to do --- I wore a pair of earrings without the rubber keepers on the back. And sure enough, I lost one of the earrings by the time I got to work, never to be recovered.

So I took the remaining earring and made it into a necklace.

I utilized small beads of turquoise, ones that I got in LA last spring. They are individually worked on sterling, interspersed with sterling nuggets in a 3-2-1 pattern.

At the clasp, I decided to finish with a smokey quartz detail.

It is good that someone's beautiful handiwork did not go to waste simply because I was a dork. Now watch, that other earring will probably turn up.

Rough, cool, ethereal kyanite on leather

This weekend I succumbed to the urge to work with the green kyanite that I had gotten in December. I was inspired by my own kyanite necklace in my collection. This is the first of several necklaces in this style that I will be showcasing in Etsy. I will make others in blue kyanite and other gemstones. But I have to say that this green kyanite is spot on with what I am feeling right now.