The Art a Day Project 1

I decided a few days ago to expand my artistic talents by challenging myself to create something artistic a day to include anything and everything . Todays project I used some material and a pattern I already had on hand to create a pair of pj's for hanging out comfortable at home in. They were easy to make and it has been sometime since I took the time to sit down and sew anything fun so here they are, isn't the ruffled bottoms of the pants leg cute?

The great RAW

Yes I am making another commitment this time for a ring a week. So hang on and lets get started going into the studio now to find an idea check back for an update. I will be listing additional blogsites to check out for the entries as well.

A New Cuff of Mixed Metals

I am always saying I am going to do some more mix metals designs and somehow i never get to it, so here is the start of that mission. This is a cuff composed of sterling silver and copper, I have used the technique of fusing for the designs pieces using recycled silver  and some scrap pieces of silver I had saved for a purpose. So what do you think?

A New Year Begins

Ah for all of us a new yeaf begins for all of us, bringing new challenges and changes but is't that what life is all about for us. I am starting this new year with going back to school, continuing on to learning more about the techniques I have studied in the various classes I have taken over the years. Now is a time for all of us to settle back and work on ourselves our economy is going crazy all the issues everyone faces everyday to try to make ends meet and survive these times we live on. It's definetly one of those glass half full or half empty I choose to half full and work on filling up the other half.
On one of my journeys into the Saturday Market here in Jax I saw some wonderful little birds that were filled with lavender, unfortunately I could not find any info on these little birds so I go to the big internet of the world in search of them and guess what, I found something I could use see I wanted to put some of these little birds in my linen closet and through out my home so here is the info I found hopefully you can use it , now if you don't sew you can find them in I think March at the market under the bridge here in Jax or email me and I will send some info to you on them of course you still have to wait until March. Here is the site http://www.flickr.com/photos/8515428@N07/3227421439  there are lots of folks on etsy.com that sell the lavender in fact this lady may sell them on her site on the flickr info . Good Luck enjoy the new year and bring it on with  some positive attitude! 
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USING LIVER OF SULPHUR FOR A PATINA

Sometimes in life one has to take a little hiatus from the world and try to redefine their lives, this is where I have been. Often I think we have to step back and decide what in the world are we doing. The last few years of my life have been ever changing on a constant basis always some sort of drama and confusion, during this time my art  has been my savior my constant helper throughout all of it. From the age of 14 I started sewing my own clothes thanks to my Aunt Florence who showed me how along with  home ec teachers like Patsy Steagald whom shaped my life. They and my mother started my pathway to art. I then moved on to doing crafts of different kinds especially with my children during their childhood. My children are both wonderfully gifted adults secretly I have saved lots of their drawings and treasures from childhood. Now I am starting to see the artist in me come out and seek new ways to express itself. I attended silver jewelry classes in Atlanta at a wonderful school called Spruill Center for the Arts. Now I have this constant conflict of doing jewelry that I like the style I mean and the kind that sells , I question my talent constantly as most artist I think do. I am now going to concentrate on learning more about the techniques I have learned in the past and seeking new ones out to try to conquer.

TECHNIQUE ONE:  LIVER OF SULPHUR FOR PATINA


A very good friend of mine said to get really the black color I was seeking to use everything hot, the metal, the patina to mix with really hot water, the rinse you really hot cleansing water. I use the liver of sulphur that comes in a liquid already mixed so I took it and cut  a  coke can close to the bottom. which made a little container, I poured the liver of sulphur in it then placed it in a pot of water the level below the container and heated it. Then I put the earring wires in it and they turned a beautiful black color a really dark color, rinsed in hot water with soap in it and total sucess it worked wonderful for me as
a black colorant to use on silver I highly recommend it made the earwires, wore them with no problems. total sucess hurrah!

A New Week Arrives

 Tomorrow a new week will begin for all of us, hopefully everyone is fine and looking forward to Thanksgiving which is right around the corner. I have big plans for two Thanksgiving Dinners so I will be very busy with all that. I have started looking back on my life this last week and my jewelry and have decided to go in the direction of my heart and go back to doing my own personal style of jewelry and not trying to do jewelry that I don't enjoy making or stuff that is not in my heart. So that's that and so be it. I am going to design something totally new and awesome for my site and I am hoping you will like it, SO this week lets start by making some chasing tools. Now to make these tools you can use old allen wrenchs any old tools you can possibly find at yard sales or flea markets will do you can use old screw drivers nails just about anything , Find an old BASTARD FILE first off mark this file for steel use only never ever use this file on anything else again just for steel stuff.

If you tool steel ( your old tool will now be called this) is now sorta clean you will begin to anneal it.
So take the tool stell put it on a firebrick and heat it up with a torch on the end till it turns cheery red.
Remove heat and let it air cool please be careful and let it totally air cool before you mess with it;.
Now that it has cooled , take your bastard file and start filing the point of your tool flat. Remember to file in only one direction . File until end it nice and flat. This  is the time that you will need to start thinking of a SIMPLE DESIGN you would like to stamp on your silver, Maybe a square or a triangle or something else.
Okay tomorrow we will begin the making of a chasing tool , please comment on what you are thinking of making on your stamp.

Monday Nights Is not for just football

Oh it's Monday lets create something new. It is time to start to fill up the site on etsy time to move forward with new ideas, new designs taking form in the physical world and not just in my mind. Do you jewelry come to you in the middle of the night, do you notice iron work on buildings the cracks in the cement of the sidewalksomwhere. This is the little creator in your brain cells forcing its way out into the real world of your ideas. So let's start our journey this week. First stone out is a  bubble gum pink rhodinite., cut in a freeform triangular cut of course I did cut it so its bound to be a little unusual. I am thinking of components lots of cirlcles with texture, making of special tools to use in the creations , the drawing of the design I unfortunately do not own a scanner so I can't show the design. I have made the tool, a stamping tool. So the creation begins.