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.

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!

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.

Beach glass and gold

I don't work with gold very often, because it is so expensive and I also aesthetically prefer sterling. But I had a commission request to work a piece of beach glass with gold to fit over the pictured gold necklace. I worked out the design and the fit of the pendant with copper wire.


The bail/design element is constructed from 16 gauge, 14 karat gold wire. It is shaped and hammered on the front to give it the graceful curve. Then the bail is also lightly hammered to repeat the design motif and to connect with the linear element of the necklace.

The piece worked out well and the person loved her memento of her summer lake home.

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.

Garnet Garbage

In January I completed a necklace that had been sitting on my bench for longer than I want to admit. At least the middle bar piece. I wanted to do a rough look that almost was "twiggy". I shaped then hammered a piece of sixteen gauge sterling wire. Then I wrapped it with 24 gauge dead soft sterling, creating nine loops on the underside of the bar to attach whatever was going to go there. At that point I had not decided. In fact the bar probably sat around for a year before I decided that I had the time and inspiration to work with the piece.


I finally ended up using "garbage garnets" for the bib of the necklace. I say this because if these garnets were celebrities, they would be on the D list. They are rough and misshapen. Just the way I like them. They look like they could have just been taken from the ground, polished a bit, and drilled. I definitely was going for a rough, asymmetrical, organic look.


To finish the piece, I attached heavy gauge sterling chain and created a clasp that echoed the focal point of the necklace. The piece was oxidized and lightly polished out to give it the dark look.

Garnet garbage hangs right below the hollow of my throat.

Modifying a custom bracelet to make it longer

This is a multi-strand bracelet fashioned out of sterling silver. Amethyst, lapis, rough sapphire, Tibetan quartz crystals, freshwater pearls, abalone and sterling pieces make up the "charms" of the bracelet.

This bracelet was commissioned by my brother for his girlfriend. He gave me a budget and then let me design the piece according to what I already know about her style.

It didn't take long at all for the design of the piece to come together. I knew right away that I would be working with deep blue and purple hues. She has blue eyes that seem to verge on indigo to me. She favors deep hues in her dress.

There is a very oceanic quality to the piece, deep inky water under a waning moon.

When she got the bracelet, it turned out that it was not quite long enough. A charm bracelet needs to have a little space and movement on the wrist. And Amber is a little bigger boned than I. So I had to make it longer in such a way that it would be integrated into the design of the bracelet without looking "added onto". This is the piece as it was originally designed:


I decided to to lengthen it with the same materials out of which the dangles of the bracelet had been made. The pearl had to be drilled to make the hole bigger to accommodate the 22 gauge wire. Then I put the nice Tibetan quartz crystal on the other side. Then so that the links transition well with the rest of the design of the bracelet, I added the respective rough sapphire and amethyst dangles at each side.

A profile in creative challenges

This necklace was a special commission for a friend. She had the teardrop shaped stone (amethyst, I am pretty sure) that was mounted in a very simple four-prong gold frame for a necklace. This is a piece with sentimental value to her, as it was given to her by her grandmother. But she wanted something original done with it, since it was a very standard (read boring) setting for the stone.

I took the stone out of its setting and it sat on my bench in my studio for a while (ok, a long while) as I worked on other things. Then one day as I was glancing at it, it occurred to me that the stone has a face profile carved into the side of it.

I thought that the Net Bezel Pendant design from Eni Oken (www.enioken.com) would be the best way to work with the piece. I had already done one piece with this design and really liked the results. The only thing was that I did not want to cover the profile of the stone with the wire netting. So I really had to think about how I would resolve that design issue.

I finally decided that I would wrap the netting wire around the wire of row that sits flush with the edge of the pendant on the profile edge. This would serve two purposes: Make the transition to the next row and also create an asymmetrical effect that would help to draw attention to the profile. Then when I finished the pendant, I reinforced the asymmetrical nature further by coiling the bail detail at different levels. It also makes the setting more secure.

I consulted with my friend and she decided that she wanted a long (24”) necklace out of doubled sterling chain. This really accentuates the nice vintage look of the wire pendant work.

This project is a great example of how design challenges are great opportunities for design innovation.