Water Worn - Sea Urchin Earrings

The theme this week for the Year of Jewelry Project 2011 is 'Water Worn'. Inspired by the theme, I've created these earrings out of red sea coral and natural river rocks. I've added some sterling silver wire decoration as seaweed. I love how playful and organic they look!

They're in my etsy shop now: Sea Urchin Dangle Earrings

Complements, Compliments!

The theme for this week's Year of Jewelry Project is "Complementary Colors" (colors opposite from each other on the color wheel). I chose to make this pendant in a red-green complementary color combination. The main stone is Cuprite Chrysocolla, more commonly called Sonora Sunset or Sonora Sunrise. It's a beautiful rusty red with green veins running through it. I've added an accent stone of green chrysocolla. I've hand made the setting of sterling silver and fine silver and added a rich patina for accent. Hopefully, this pendant with complementary colors will bring compliments to the wearer!

It's available for purchase and more photos are in my etsy shop.

Playing Catch-Up with Week 5

You probably already know I'm participating in the Year of Jewelry Project 2011. It's been quite inspiring for me and I'm really pleased with the pieces I've created using the YOJ weekly themes. But a month ago, I missed a week - week 5. I was out of town and didn't get a chance to make up the week until now.

The theme I missed was "Down and Dirty". I was actually a little glad that I wouldn't be able to make the deadline for this one because the theme just had me stumped. Down and Dirty? Huh?

Last week, as I was going through my stash of stones, I found this red plume agate that I'd purchased over a year ago. Whenever I'm working with a new stone, I do a little research on it, mainly to make sure that the stone is labeled properly and how hard or soft the stone is so that I set it properly. When researching red plume agates, I found a picture of it in its natural uncut state. It looks like a ball of hardened dirt. All the color is buried inside the rock and not revealed until the rock is broken open. The website advised rock hounds to be observant in their search for it because the dirt-like appearance makes it easy to overlook. Down and Dirty! My quest for a link to week 5's theme was fulfilled.

The stone is primarily a rusty red color with plumes of gray/blue and tan. I paired it with a holly lavender chalcedony accent stone, trying to pick up on some of the blue/gray in the focal stone. I also purchased a new texturing hammer and did a little experimenting with that to create some definition in the sterling silver back plate. I added some sterling twigs in keeping with the earthy, dirt theme and a little sunburst behind the lavender accent stone. I've added a light patina to bring out the detail in the texture.

I've listed it in my etsy shop here.

Beneath the Surface - Year of Jewelry Project - Week 8

For the Year of Jewelry Project 2011 - Week 8, I've made a pendant out of my favorite stone, Opal in Ironstone from the Koroit Mining District in Queensland, Australia. Titled "Beneath the Surface" because it's a little like people; sometimes you have to look beneath the surface to really see and appreciate its true beauty.

I've mentioned before how much I've fallen in love with stones in the past 3 years and how they move and inspire me. It seems every jewelry artist has their favorite stone; the one they are known for. One of my favorite artists uses Fordite so often that every time I see jewelry in Fordite, I think of her. Another friend uses Cuprite Chrysocolla (Sonora Sunrise) quite often. As for me, I have fallen in love with Koroit opals and have purchased several at gem shows. This is my 4th pendant using this type of stone. I love how the opal portions shine through the dark, rusty red of the iron, just beneath the surface. I love how each stone is so very different from the next one and how the colors in each stone shine differently depending on the angle of light. I ooh and aah every time I hold one of these stones as I shine light on it and discover its many shimmering bits of opal flashing through.

This particular stone is stunning with its greens and teal blues capturing your eye instantly. I've set in in a fine silver bezel and backed it with sterling silver, adding a little sterling ball as an accent. To give the pendant even more interest and movement, I've added an accent stone of teal colored chrysocolla. The little chrysocolla really brings out the teals and greens of the Koroit opal.

I have another 7 Koroit opals in my collection, so look forward to seeing a few more finished pieces this year. Eventually, I'll save one for myself!

Beneath the Surface (etsy listing)

Earthly Treasures - YOJ Project - Week 3

The theme this week for of the Year of Jewelry Project 2011 is "Mixed Media". My entry for the week is titled "Earthly Treasures" because I used organic materials such as petrified palm wood, copper and silver. Beautiful items from the earth formed into a wearable piece of art.

It's no secret among jewelry artisans that the price of silver and gold have skyrocketed in the past year. We're all searching for materials to use in lieu of silver (or gold) so that we can still be creative and keep our costs reasonable. Copper is one popular alternative, as are brass, stainless steel and bronze. I chose copper for the back plate of this piece because it compliments the colors of the petrified palm wood so nicely. It has been textured lightly by running the copper through a rolling mill while sandwiched between paper towels. A fine silver bezel adds an interesting contrast to the copper. The bail is brushed sterling silver with a ball of shiny fine silver added as an accent. I used waxed cotton cording to hang the pendant. I think the natural fiber of the cord adds to the earthy, rustic feel of the pendant. An added plus to the cording is that it is tied using 2 slip knots and the length can be easily adjusted by pulling the knots simultaneously to suit the wearer. I've given the metals an antiqued patina and then hand polished the patina off all but the lowest points. Different metals, textures, patina and finishes (satin, brushed and shiny) make this a unique, earthy pendant!

You can view the etsy listing for this piece or see the item in the YOJ 2011 blog, as well as other artists submissions using mixed media as inspiration.

I've joined the "Year of Jewelry Project - 2011"

Last week I heard about a blog called the "Year of Jewelry Project, 2011" (YOJ). It's a group of artisans who agree to create at least one piece of jewelry every week during 2011. There is a designated theme each week we can use for inspiration, although we don't have to create something using that theme if the theme isn't something that inspires us. At the end of each week we all post our creation on the YOJ blog.

The theme for week one was "New Beginnings". I created a pendant using an Ohio flint and a holly lavender chrysocolla. The flint is a beautiful tongue shaped stone that is rounded all around. It is intended to be set into a bezel from the top of the stone. The thing I love most about this piece is the amulet feel to it. A top setting was something I had never tried before. I found it challenging but fun. I call the finished pendant "A New Day".

The theme for week 2 is "Eclipse". I wondered if the intent was the solar eclipse or if it was in reference to the Twilight book series (which I've not read). I decide to use the solar eclipse as my inspiration and set out to design a pendant using a half-moon shaped labradorite stone that I have in my collection. I created the pendant and wasn't happy with the result. The stone was too deep for the design I used, so I scrapped the setting and may use the stone at a later date. Searching back through my stone collection, I found a beautiful fossilized coral stone, filled with vibrant hues of orange, yellow, red and navy. It reminded me of a fiery sun, which is perfect for my solar eclipse inspiration. It also has an internal pattern resembling fireworks. I love fireworks! For the finished pendant, I added an accent above the focal coral stone by crafting 2 textured silver discs and soldering them together in an eclipse fashion. A light oxidation brings out the texture in the discs. It isn't listed in my etsy shop yet but will be by the end of next week. I'm debating various chain options and whether to oxidize the chain or leave it shiny. Here's a preliminary photo of "Eclipse":

Eclipse

I'll be posting my YOJ creations here on occasion as well as on the YOJ blog. You can see all of the participant creations on the YOJ blog. There is a "Gallery Week by Week" tab that allows you to scroll through photos of each week jewelry pieces. I invite you to take a look from time to time.