studio tour

People are always asking me how I do what I do and what my studio space looks like so when the Etsy Metal team decided to do a blog carnival about our studio spaces I thought it would be the perfect way to show everyone! Below are some photos of my studio. The photos were taken after I clean up a LOT. It usually does not look anywhere near as neat and clean as this when I am working but I had to clean for a class I was teaching so I thought it would be the perfect time to take some photos.

My jewelers bench is up against the wall (where all the magic happens) and I have a table behind it in the middle of the room where I lay out my designs, put my supplies when working and also have my students sit when teaching. The table has 2 leaves and can extend to seat 12 people.

 On the left side of my bench is I have lots of cabinets where I store all of my mess and I also have a sink. I love having a sink in my studio! In my last studio space I had to leave my studio for running water so this makes it much easier.

And to the right of my bench I have more cabinets for storage as well as my "office space". This is about as clean as that space ever gets and although its not the most organized it works! The painting over my desk was done by my sister and given to me for my birthday 2 years ago. She also has a shop on etsy where she sells her pocket monsters. To see more studio tours check out the other great jewelry artists below:

Rebecca Bogan
Shirlee Grund
Beth Cyr
Elizabeth Scott 
Cynthia Del Giudice 
Erin Austin
Nodeform
Evelyn Markasky
Kathryn Cole
2Roses
 Lauren Anabela Beaudoin/Creative Dexterity

pages from my sketchbook....

This month's topic for the Etsy Metal Blog Carnival is "pages from your sketchbook". Although I don't really have a sketchbook and I don't draw out each piece before I create it, I do jot down some ideas here and there on random sheets of paper that eventually end up all over my studio.  Here a few of my doodles that I have already made into jewelry.

The first doodle is of one of my rings for the ring a week challenge.... RAW #12 

And this sketch is a shape I have used a few times when making earrings. I have posted photos of 2 different earrings using the same shape below.

 copper teardrop earrings

sterling and tiger eye teardrop earrings (sold)



To see some of the other Etsy Metal members sketches check out the links below... 

Rebecca Bogan
Shirlee Grund 

2Roses 
Beth Cyr

Kate Jones 

Erin Austin 

Nodeform
Elizabeth Scott 

Su Trindle 

Evelyn Markasky 

ArtigianoJewelBox

Photo Etching

I have decided that for my Etsy Metal Charm Swap 8 charms I am going to try some photo etching which I haven't done in quite a few years. (You can see a "how to" article on photo etching here with more info on the process.) I have wanted to make a piece of jewelry that was in the form of a sugar skull for quite a while. But due to all of the detail on these skulls I have put it off because it would be a very time consuming to cut each piece from metal and solder all the pieces together. Since I haven't photo etched in years and have wanted to try it again I thought the sugar skull would be the perfect design. And not to mention the charms will be shipped just in time for Dia de los Muertos (Mexican Holiday of Day of the Dead).

Here's a bit of what I did yesterday....First I sketched out my design.

I then scanned it into the computer so I could shrink it down to the correct size and print it on the special transfer paper I needed. I then transfered the image from the transfer paper onto the copper. Here you can see the original sketch, the image on the blue transfer paper and the image on the copper.
 

I then put the copper into the etching solution. It is attached to a piece of tape so I can pull it out easy and check the progress.



After about 30 minutes the image was etched into the copper. But because I have not etched in a long time I forgot that the image transfers backwards onto the metal so the parts I had drawn in solid black on my sketch were not hollowed out like I wanted them to be. They were actually raised. You can see here in the prototype the eyes, nose and mouth are solid and not hollow.
 

So after all that I had to go back to step one and start all over again with a modified sketch which I edited on my computer. This is the second version.

After retracing all of my steps with my new version of my sketch I ended up with this (the one on the left), which is much better than the first one (the one on the right). You can see in this photo that the detail of the nose, mouth and eyes on the one on the left look much better than the one one the right. Especially the teeth.

Although I am not sure what I am going to do with it next, I am pretty happy with the results of this process so far.

I'm the new EtsyMetal Charm Swap Curator!

Well it's official! Myself, along with Victoria Takahashi, are the next curators of the upcoming EtsyMetal Charm Swap! For those of you who do not know what I am talking about here's a little more info....EtsyMetal is a group of over 100 jewelry artists from all over the world that work in metal. There is a sign up list for members who would like to participate. The number of participants is limited to 20 but each person has to make 22 charms. 20 of those charms are swapped among the other artists who have signed up for the charm swap (so each person on the list gets one from every other person on the list), with 2 left over. At the end of the swap not only does each participating artist have 20 new charms from people all over the world but a completed charm bracelet and extra individual charms will be available for sale in the EtsyMetal Team shop, hence the reason for extra 2 charms. Also, half of the proceeds collected upon the sale of the bracelet will go towards our EtsyMetal Youth Outreach Program. We will donate 50% to the curator’s choice of a Youth Art Organization (TBA). You can see photos and read more about past charm swaps here. This is the 8th charm swap for the group but my 1st since I have only become a member of this group in Jan 2011. I think this is the coolest idea and I am very excited to be curating this event as well as participating in it. And I can not wait to put my own charm bracelet together at the end of the swap!

Bracelet from Charm Swap 6 you can purchase it in the EtsyMetal Team Shop

Killing 2 birds with 1 stone....

EtsyMetal Monthly Challenge & RAW #13 (ring a week)
I am finally caught up on my postings of my RAW rings so this post is right on time! This week's RAW ring actually had a theme "kinetics". It just so happened that the EtsyMetal monthly challenge that is due March 31 is also the same theme so this ring does double duty! The "Rattle Ring" is made from sterling silver and filled with little stones inside made of glass. I then topped the whole thing off with a piece of acrylic to hold the stones in. Since the stones are not set in a setting they are free to move around inside the ring...hence the kinetic part! It also makes a great little rattling sound when you shake it. The stones are very small (3mm) so it was hard to capture the movement in the video below but I think you get the idea! You can see all the RAW Theme Challenge rings in a new Flickr group set up just for these challenges. I can't wait to get working on my next theme ring!

"What do you wear?" Questions from the EtsyMetal Blog Carnival

EtsyMetal is an international collective of artisans who create jewelry and works of art in metal, which I belong to. Each month a question is asked of the members and those who choose to participate write about it in a Blog Carnival. This month the focus is on "What do you wear?"

What is your favorite piece (or pieces) from your private collection? My favorite necklace is one that I made from a large piece of turquoise. I had the stone for years and was not sure what to do with it until one day it spoke to me. Although it is not an everyday necklace because of its size ( its a good 3" in diameter) it does look really great with a t shirt and jeans! It is one of my favorites because it is big, bold and chunky.

But since I feel naked if I leave the house without at least earrings and rings, the 3 pieces of jewelry I always seem to grab before walking out the door are my XL version of my rose ring, my bulls eye onyx ring and my large hoop earrings (all made by me of course!). I can put them on and I know they will go with whatever I might be wearing that day!

How many finished pieces do you keep for yourself and why? My work constists of production pieces and one of a kind pieces. I usually don't keep many pieces for myself. Years ago when I first started selling my jewelry it was hard to decide what to keep and what to sell. I ended up keeping way more than I should have. Now when I go into my studio to "work" (which is almost every day) everything is made to be sold. I do keep a few pieces from my production line that I do wear regularly and also have sold right off my body. It's a hard job but someone has to advertise/model them and since I work alone I really don't have many other options! On the rare occasion I go into the studio to "play" I might experiment a little with new techniques, tools, materials, etc and if I do come up with something totally amazing and one of a kind I might end up keeping it like I did with one of RAW rings. My "Sunburst Ring" was one of those items. I was experimenting with mixed metals and hollow forms, something I haven't done in a while, and I was really happy with my end result.

What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you didn't make? I'm going to say my favorite piece that I didn't make is probably a pair of earrings made by another jewelry artist Dawn Bergmaier. We do a lot of the same shows together and I have acquired 4 pairs of her earrings (all through trades for some of my rings, which by the way I LOVE to do! I wouldn't have some of the things I have today if it wasn't for trading with other artists!) The reason this pair of earrings is one of my favorite pieces that I didn't make is because I seem to wear these earrings ALL the time. They have a funky, industrial feel to them and I can dress them up or down because they seem to go with everything. And they look great with the jewelry I make. They are so me!

earrings by Dawn Bergmaier

To read about what other EtsyMetal members wear, check out the following blogs:

Rebecca Bogan
Nodeform
Inbar Bareket
Twigs and Heather
2Roses
Quercus Silver
Beth Cyr
Thomasin Durgin

My EtsyMetal mentor...

I recently became a member of the EtsyMetal Team . It is a group of silversmiths, goldsmiths and metalsmiths from all over the world. You have to be juried into the group and members of the team work together to promote each other, their shops and the team. Once you are a member of the team you are paired up with a mentor. Your mentor is there to answer any questions you might have and to help you get a feel for your way around the group pages, forums, etc. My mentor is Shae from citizenobjects. She makes some really cool sculptures, belt buckles and jewelry mostly from found objects. My favorite is her deer head trophy. I think it's really amazing and would love to have it hanging in my house! I also like her souvenir penny jewelry ....probably because it brings back memories of one of my favorite vacations :)

So anyway, next time you are on Etsy type in "EtsyMetal" into the handmade search and check out some of the great work by other talented artists who do some amazing things with metal!

Shae's deer head trpohy which I love!

I am now a member of EtsyMetal!

YAY! I am so excited! I just found out this morning that I have been invited to join the EtsyMetal team! EtsyMetal is a group of wonderfully talented silversmiths, goldsmiths and metalsmiths from all around the world. It will be great to meet new people and connect with others all around the globe that have the same passion for metals as I do! If you get a chance, check out the EtsyMetal website. You won't be disappointed!