Thursday, April 12, 2012

torch firing enamels

I have been playing with enamels and my torch lately. After having some health issues that threw me off the creative track for a few months, I am stepping back into the studio and taking on some colorful challenges to get the artistic energy flowing again.

Here is what I have been doing this week:

Mandala
$23 plus shipping


Sundial
$25 plus shipping


A Little Rustic Faux Typewriter Key Charm
$20 each plus shipping

Monday, April 02, 2012

Nobody's Perfcet... oops, I mean Perfect.

EtsyMetal Blog Carnival April 2, 2012


This month's topic:

Nobody's Perfect!



This month's EtsyMetal Blog Carnival is all about the lack of perfection. Blog about a piece you screwed up on... a piece? How about pieces... 100's of them. Try and try again. Practice makes perfect... NOT. But it does help to teach the student, that is for sure!

Most of what I have learned in working with metal has come from trial and error. I would read about a technique in a book or see a design that gave me inspiration to try something new and I would get to my bench and dive in. And waste a WHOLE lot of metal. Luckily back when I was really learning the basics, sterling was a mere $7 and change per ounce. Screw ups were not nearly as costly as they are today.

But that doesn't mean that I don't have them. I can spend hours hammering out a new design to only have the stone not fit perfect or the edges not align just right. Or I put too much heat on a delicate fancy bezel (see photo above). But the way I see it , it is all part of the process. Each day teaches me something new, even now, 20 years after that first night I sat in my beginning jewelry making class.

And honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Keep reading! Find out who else isn't perfect by visiting these EtsyMetal members blogs:
2Roses
Michele Grady Designs
TK Metal Arts
Anne Walker Jewelry
Evelyn Markasky
Gracebourne
Inbar Bareket
Beth Cyr
wildflowerdesigns