I have been so busy creating these last few weeks. I have created a piece from a first attempt. I always love it when these turn out! I have created a piece in my customary design. This is where I feel the most in tune with myself. Swirls and twirls of wire just let me express that part of me that is so Victorian, so Renaissance, so....me. I have also created a piece that I have been designing in my head for months. The stone is so beautiful. The kind of stone that you want to pay
tribute to, not just wrap and call it good. It is a stone that is
deserving of that artistic style that begs to come out and play. I can only hope that I did it justice.
Would you like to see these creations? Would you like to hear a little bit about each piece, what I was thinking when I did them, what I think of them now~as "finished" finery? Well come along and I will share.
The first piece is a 14mm round stone wire wrapped in sterling silver. It is a prong design that I have wanted to attempt for a while but with me, I have to build up the nerve, I have to study the pattern, I have to get the guts to take a chance on the unknown. Will I
mess it up? What if it doesn't turn out? What if I waste all that wire?
These are all things that enter my mind before I create something from a
pattern.
Once I build up the courage, then it is ahead full force, guns blazing, never succumbing to failure. A drive to succeed takes over and whatever doubts or apprehension I had at the start of the project disappear~left in the dust on the trail with the unknown that now is in the distance behind me.
This is how I approach things in my life, not just creating pieces of jewelry, but everything that I do. I believe that the
Fighter may be a part of it, but I always push forward no matter what the challenge is. It has served me pretty well so far, so why fix something that isn't broken? Words for thought, if nothing more.
Would you like to see what happens when I let my guard down, when I finally get the nerve to 'do it anyway'?
This...
This pattern just happens to be by my hero;
Dale 'Cougar' Armstrong. Not too shabby for a 'first attempt', wouldn't you agree?
I love it when I can actually look at a pattern and accomplish what it is telling me to do. Dale, with her ability to teach and her kind mannered way about her, has never let me down. She is a fabulous teacher! She just has a way of helping you to understand, even if it is only on DVD or video. She is AMAZING! Truly my hero. She led me from the dark into the light and she continues to do so. She unleashed my inner passion that I had no idea lingered there, under the surface, just begging to come forth and create these pieces that have always been there. That passion to create, like this, with so much satisfaction to the soul, just never had an avenue of escape~until now.
I had to add my own personal touch to this piece. I love the look of the outer wire and I had to add it to the design. It is somewhat of a trademark these days. I love it when people see my pieces and know that I am the one that created them. That is happening more and more each day, and it truly makes my heart leap with joy! Maybe one day I will get to be the jewelry artist that my heart longs to be. Creating jewelry for a living is my longing hearts' desire...
Well now, do you want to see a piece that I created 'out of the blue' so to speak? A piece that didn't really have a thought behind it? A piece that I created because I found the beads in one of my boxes and I hadn't done anything with them for so long, but they are my favorite color and I just had the urge?
This is it...
Simple, wire swirling and twirling, whispy....oh how I love whispy designs. A large puffy heart coiled in copper. I love these two colors together. It gives the piece that Irish feel. I think of rolling grass lands and Celtic music (my favorite) when I create a piece like this.
My heart and soul are definitely at peace. That part of me that always felt as if I was not doing something that I was supposed to be doing, before I found this amazing release, is finally at rest. What a feeling...peaceful and tranquil.
My next design was created from a cabochon made by Ralph Sieler at
Cabochon. He and his wife, Maryann, create amazing stones. I actually got to meet these two wonderful people this summer when they began a trip across the country from their home in Mesa, AZ. I feel so fortunate to have met them and talked with them in person. It was a tremendous treat, one that I will never forget.
This piece was created using my customary swirls and twirls and my combination of weaving and wrapping. I really love the way the pieces are 'framed'. Oh yeah, Victorian Renaissance all over this design!
The stone is a
Mexican Fire Opal. The fire colors did not show up very well in this picture but believe me, this stone is a beauty! I will definitely be returning for more!
This next piece I created last night. I have had this stone for many months, trying to decide what exactly I should do with it. There are so many things that can be seen in this stone. Some say a pizza oven, some say a warm fireplace. I saw a storm on the horizon in the ocean. I saw the clouds churning and the tell tale signs of raging water and dark skies. I chose to wrap this piece as such, a raging storm in the ocean currents with the sun giving way in the distance. This stone was cut by Clint Gardner of
Stoneviews.
I wanted to give justice to this stone by not decorating the top with a lot of design. I wanted the 'sky' to be free of anything that would divert the attention. I chose to put 'clouds' off to the sides and adorn 'raindrops' at the corner. I made this piece into a brooch instead of a necklace. I wanted the stone to be the entire focal piece, nothing else drawing the attention away from it.
This is what it looks like...
What do you think? The two white places in the center are actually blue. This stone is so beautiful! The surface is so smooth and the glean could almost blind you.
Clint has a deep rooted love for the stones he creates and it is so evident in his work. I guess passion is what it is about for all of us...The passion to create things with our hands that no one else can. The passion for others that will become the owners of these creations... Passion, that is what we all carry with us.
I have another passion in my heart that is called compassion and it makes my heart very heavy today. I started this morning out with tears as I read my Facebook status. The posts, one right after the other, of the tragedy that this day brought 11 years ago. I remember exactly where I was on that day. I remember every last detail including the clothes I had on. I remember looking into the eyes of my then 6 month old baby wondering what was going to happen next...wondering if he was going to have the chance to grow up. Not just grow up in a world that was safe, but a chance to grow up at all...This scared the life out of me. I remember the image of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center playing over and over again in my mind. I remember those rescue personnel running back into the building as others were running out. I remember the shadowy images of the people jumping from so many stories up...I remember...
I am sure so many of you remember as well. You remember where you were, what yo were feeling. Such a tragic day with no real meaning. A day forever seared into the lives of so many.
Today's
Daily Wire Transfer is added for remembrance of all that lost their lives on that horrific day. It is added so that the young people growing up will have the advantage of knowing what happened. The first paragraph in the news clipping posted with the videos says it all...
God Bless all of you as we remember this day.
Jenna, take care of yourself as you fight in Afghanistan. I love you with all of my heart and soul. Family is the most important and I am so thankful that you are part of mine. You have nerves of steel and you approach things with laughter and humor. It is one thing that so many love about you. I will be thinking of that vivacious laugh of yours today...My Sweet Niece. Take care and be safe.
Semi-precious gemstone necklace in a variety of gemstones with a large round druzy agate as the focal piece. Very prominent crystal formation in the center and teal green in color, this necklace is sure to capture attention. The large toggle clasp at the back has a unique design.
