Here Come the Bridesmaids!

You know, serendipity is a funny concept.  Or maybe it’s a fate concept.  Either way, the fact that I failed to delete a page from the website when the piece sold (even though I deleted all references/links to the page within the website) was a serendipitous thing.  Nothing ever really disappears from the web and neither did the page showcasing the piece I called Stamen.

Stamen - the original

It was one of my first forged pieces – I was just learning to shape and had gotten a little bored with just rounding stuff out so I was playing around and a petal emerged.  Hmm, I said, and promptly bedecked it with a slim stack of garnet rounds.  And, tomorrow, 7 of them will be going off to a bride in New York for her bridesmaids.

Stamens for the bridesmaids

I’ve never made 7 of any piece before – I have a hard enough time making two of each earring – so it was an interesting challenge to get things relatively uniform (it is handmade, after all, perfect uniformity shouldn’t ever come into the picture – where would be the art in that?).

Here’s wishing all the best to the bride for a wonderful wedding and a long, happy, and fulfilling life with her groom!

Cheers,

K2

One More Before The Show Goes On The Road

Alrighty – yay, me!  I am hereby managing to get a couple more pieces posted before the baby arrives – whee!!

Going back to my traditional silver theme here, we’ve got some minor metalsmithing going on.  Let’s start with Orrery…

Orrery: hand-domed silver discs align their orbits gracefully at the end of a handmade silver chain

The center disc is shiny, the others satin/matte.    It adjusts from 17-19″ long and the drop is 3.25″ from there.  (In case you’re wondering about the name, an orrery is a model of the solar system.)  I am particularly proud of this one as I slogged through the making of the chain as well!

From there we move to Swoop!  Hand-hammered curves cradle a rutilated quartz round.  This is a lonnnnnnggg baby!  22″ plus another nearly 5″ in the drop.  It’d be great over a bulky sweater for fall!

Swoop: hammered sterling silver with rutilated quartz

I think this will probably be it before the baby comes and, as it turns out, the hospital I’ll be at doesn’t have wifi SO you probably won’t be hearing from me for a while.  I am hoping to make some jewelry while I’m there though – the repetitive things that I don’t usually have time for.  I owe a cousin a rosary (which are incredibly, time-consumingly tedious to make – no wonder they have to bless them afterward) and there’s a chain maille pattern I want to try.  See?  This is how you can tell a c-section veteran… we know the cable in the hospital is lousy and we plan for it!  Also, we know this is as close to a vacation as we’re likely to get for months so we’d better enjoy it!

Cheers all!

K2

Empathy

Yes, I was supposed to read contracts tonight and, yes, this means I have to read contracts Friday night instead.  So totally worth it though.  When Muse calls, I must follow (as long as there isn’t, say, a dirty diaper in the way).

So, what did I wind up with?  Lots of fun with the hammer, the dapping block, and a faceted green topaz briolette that I’ve been saving fo-re-ver.

Why “Empathy”?  Well, my favorite stone book begins the entry on topaz by saying “topaz is a mellow, empathetic stone”.  Other cool metaphysical things on topaz is that it “cuts through doubt and uncertainty” and “allows you to be not do” by promoting trust in the universe.  I’m thinking maybe I should keep this one for myself…

Without any further ado, here it is (on my all time favorite chain, btw, I just love these teeny tiny circles!).  And, for size reference, the teardrop (before I shaped it) was about an inch long.  (That was further ado, wasn’t it?)

Hand-hammered and shaped sterling silver teardrop with a faceted green topaz briolette on a sterling silver chain

The next one shows the “dish” a bit better…

Hand-hammered and shaped sterling silver teardrop with a faceted green topaz briolette on a sterling silver chain

Hope you like it!

P.S.  The book is The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall.  I highly recommend it.