Thou shalt remain unnamed...

Because it's hard coming up with suggestive titles...

Busy, busy bee, making jewelry, packing bags and tools for my travel later this week, making sure all systems are in place in the house and that I don't come back to a starving husband and kid after my 2 weeks off...

I still managed to make one piece of jewelry three times... because I'm stubborn as hell and won't let a piece of metal defeat me... (exceptions made for guns,  knifes, speeding trains... you get the picture...)

I had another beautiful slice of agate and wanted to hold it in tabs, but using 2 layers of metal underneath it, with negative space in between them. Now I had read somewhere that you can create that space by riveting the layers of metal with some paper between them, and then just getting the paper wet so it would come off.

So silly old me grabs a piece of cardboard, rivets the layers together and then.... IT WOULDN'T COME OFF! not with water, not with scalding water, not with submersing in water overnight, not with boiling in water... sigh...

So here comes my saw again, I sawed new metal layers and tabs, sanded, oxidized, stamped, made holes, and then decided using small pieces of cardboard only under the rivets, and not between the whole layers. Well, this time it did come off, but there was hardly any negative space between the layers. It looked nice, but wasn't what I wanted...

Third time: re-read all the steps in previous paragraph, minus the paper and adding small pieces of copper tubing which I sawed and used between the layers, inserting the rivets through the layers and the tubing, and then riveting together. Voila!

I made the bail as well, and used a beautiful bead by ChelleV2 and silk ribbons from Marsha Neal to complete the piece - all mimicking the colors of the stone. I love it!

So please, people! Remember - you can use paper with rivets to make moveable rivets, but be careful with the type of paper you use. And if you want to add space, use tubing instead. Lesson learnt the hard way.

Here's a better picture to show you the space between the layers.

 

Just look at the gorgeous inside of that agate... Nothing beats nature...

 

 

Then made some rings. Other than necklaces, they are the pieces of jewelry I wear more often.

The teal one is for me. The band is stamped "Temet nosce" - know thyself.

I guess this is it for now and the next 2 weeks at least. I'm off on Thursday to Paris and then on to the South of France for my jewelry workshop with Susan Lenart Kazmer and Jen Cushman. I'm hoping to learn lots and not finish a single piece of jewelry. Yes, that's right. I don't want to waste my time putting pressure on myself to finish pieces, but would rather spend my time learning as much as I can and practising. Well, that's the plan anyway.

I leave you with Lola, in what is apparently a comfortable position for a dog to be in. Go figure...

Cheers,
Carla

What's kept me busy

I spend as much time making stuff as I don't spend time blogging...

It's hard work, thinking of what you will write, if anyone will want to read it, taking pictures, editing, uploading (using a jurassic internet connection)...

I'm not even sure why I blog... I don't have an online shop, so I'm certainly not trying to attract customers; my blog isn't wildly popular so it's not like the world is suspended from my words... I guess one of the reasons I started was because I'm so physically isolated from other similar artists where I live that I hoped I could at least become part of an online community. Well, I can't say I've been very sucessfull... But I think that's my own fault as well. I guess you have to reach out first before people come to you. And I spend a lot of time reading blogs of artists I admire, but I rarely leave a comment...

So I promised myself that everyday I'll make an effort to leave at least one comment on the post that most strikes a chord with me. After all, I'm sure all bloggers love comments, and although most of the ones I read aren't short on them, and followers, etc., one more doesn't hurt.

Enough talk, let me show you what I've been up to.

I experimented with some foldforming... I don't have the proper hammers, and just used a regular ball peen one. Still love the result though and I'm looking forward to exploring this technique more.

I used beads by Radiant Mind on both earrings - they have the most gorgeous beads...

I am enjoying using tabs to hold stones. The first technique I used to hold a stone was wirewrapping, basically using tutorials by other artists. But I much prefer working with metal than the fine wire that kept getting all tangled... uffff.... plus, everything is my own design. That's essential to me!

The Raven

The Raven uses a wood tile by Skye Jewels. I love ravens because they are the symbol of my native city - Lisbon. They also abound here where I live, but they're different crows, they have a white collar around their necks. People don't like them, but with all the trash around in the city, I actually think they're providing a public service by picking up some of it!

I created the pendant by sawing two similar pieces of copper that were textured, LOS, and riveted. Didn't turn out exactly as I wanted - I wanted more height between the layers. But I think I know how to achieve that for the next piece. Hold tight!

Slick

Having more fun with the saw - but I hate sawing through these sheets of patterned brass - it's hard! Copper is like butter though - what wonderful material...

The Amazon

Some resin... can't go long without using some :) And yes, it's called the Amazon because the stone is amazonite - makes total sense, no?

A slice of agate in tabs... Notice the lovely bead by ChelleV2...

A Slice of Life

Yep, same name as Dexter's boat - I only realized it after naming the piece - I guess being a fan of the show creeps into my subconscient...

And finnally, my favorite of the lot... I love how this necklace turned out. My husband says it looks like a cross, and I can see that, which is totally fine with me, although not intentional. I picked up this amazonite a long time ago in Pilgrim's Rest - an old mining town in South Africa http://www.pilgrims-rest.co.za/ . If you're ever in that area of the world, don't miss it - it's lovely.

Nature's Bounty

Here's a closer look:

And now that I uploaded enough pictures for 5 posts all in one, I bid you farewell...