We're All Ears :: June Reveal :: Kaleidoscope

I am not only up to my eyeballs in colorful clay patterns, making charms and pendants and jewelry and mobiles for my upcoming exhibit (goes up in 2 weeks! Yikes!) but I am also on the road! So this will have to be short but sweet.






I brought along my treasure trove of bezels filled with clay to get busy making into jewelry this weekend. ("Time to make the donuts!")

Polymer clay creations waiting to be made into jewelry!

I started with some earring pairs that I pulled out and managed to whip up three simple pairs of earrings. Each of these is made with polymer clay in three different techniques, in different shaped bezels, in different metal tones.

Natasha Bead veneer

Mokume Gane veneer

Stroeppel Cane veneer

The colorful clay in these patterns and colors reminds me of the swirling, psychedelic transforming colors inside those little tin kaleidoscopes that I played with as a kid. And thinking of that makes me happy. I hope that people will think happy thoughts when they wear these little baubles!

What did you make inspired by kaleidoscopes? Your turn!

 

 

We're All Ears :: June Inspiration :: Kaleidoscopes

Did you ever play with one of these as a child?

Buy yours here.

The text on this item says that you twist to create millions of mosaics, which inspires creativity and imagination and is fun and safe for all ages. Indeed! Now this is the kind of handheld device that kids should have access to. I was fascinated by them. Perhaps that small toy informed my love of color and pattern to this day.

Kaleidoscope animation via Wikipedia

Kaleidoscopes were invented by Sir David Brewster in 1817. This optical instrument has two or more mirrored surfaces tilted at an angle so that objects on one end are seen as a reflected, ever-changing pattern. "Kaleidoscope" is a word from Ancient Greek meaning καλός (kalos), "beautiful, beauty", εἶδος (eidos), "that which is seen: form, shape" and σκοπέω (skopeō), "to look to, to examine",^[4] hence "observation of beautiful forms."

Brewster thought that these "perfectly beautiful and symmetrical forms" would be of great value in "all the ornamental arts" as a device that creates an "infinity of patterns." I couldn't agree more! I am hugely inspired by the shifting patterns of kaleidoscopes. Wouldn't it be cool to be in one? I found this image from an exhibition in 2012 where a child was walking through a human sized kaleidoscope at a Ripley's Believe It Or Not location. So cool!

And as I am wont to do, I fell down a rabbit-hole and discovered a type of "dancing" called finger-tutting and this group from Japan that was in the Asia's Got Talent show is clearly talented doing what they called "finger kaleidoscope." No mirrors, just three guys with very agile fingers creating mesmerizing shapes. Enjoy!

So if you happen to have a childhood kaleidoscope (or if you don't you can check out this video animation), I encourage you to pull it out and travel back to a simpler time when a handheld device meant turning a tube of colored bits of glass and marveling at the ever-shifting patterns and colors brought enjoyment for hours!

See you on Friday, June 15th for the reveal of Kaleidoscopes!

A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies

A collective name for a group of butterflies is called a 'Kaleidoscope'.

However others have called it a 'Swarm' or 'Rabble'.

I think a Kaleidoscope suits these beautiful creatures don't you?

Sold

Lampwork by Marise Den Hartog

Rainbow Wings

Rainbow Lampwork Beads by Patti Cahill.

Beautiful Wings

Lampwork Beads by Janell Nelson.

I thought it would be fun to share creations from other lovely artists with you too!!

Lara Levy Linkmeyer of 

Garden Gal Jewelry

Monice Pryor of

 Feminine Genius

Michelle Mikalski-Thompson of

Be You Beautiful

My wings are painted Copper (PMC) coated with Ice Resin.

 They have the look of enamel but they are Ice Resin.

I have a show coming up June 2-3 on the

LBA Galleria Showcase

I will have lots of Butterfly Wings and more to share!

Thanks so much for spending some time here on Earrings Everyday!

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

KristiBowmanDesign on Facebook

Kaleidoscope

 
According to Wikipedia:
A kaleidoscope is a cylinder with mirrors containing loose, colored objects such as beads or pebbles and bits of glass. As the viewer looks into one end, light entering the other end creates a colorful pattern, due to the reflection off the mirrors. Coined in 1817 by Scottish inventor Sir David Brewster, "kaleidoscope" is derived from the Ancient Greek καλός (kalos), "beautiful, beauty", εἶδος (eidos), "that which is seen: form, shape" and σκοπέω (skopeō), "to look to, to examine",[4] hence "observation of beautiful forms."

 When I was a child my parents gifted me a toy kaleidoscope for Christmas. I was mesmerized by the amazing changing colors and just could not stop looking. Pure magic.

These fun and colorful lightweight wooden art tiles made by my good friend Janice Everett of J-Lynn Jewels brought back these happy memories.I first made a couple of earrings in this style for the interview with her, as a give-away. I love the style so I made a couple more.

Combined with gemstones, Swarovski crystal and handmade ear wires from another good friend Lucy Haslam from Faerystones they make fun, lightweight and bohemian earrings.

 Which one is your favorite?

 These are now available in my shop.

Thanks for looking!

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop

My website/blog

My facebook page

We're All Ears :: August Reveal

These stunning sculptures by artist Gabriel Dawe seem so dreamlike to me. I love the linear quality of both the kaleidoscopic threads and the railings of the stairs. The overlapping colors look like they are floating in the air, like when you see those dust motes drifting in the air currents of a sunbeam.

For my earrings I found a stash of some Swarovski crystal briolettes in a rainbow of colors that were left over from a wedding I did in February. I love briolettes but finding a way to connect them always irks me. I usually resort to a thin gauge double wire wrap at the top, but that would feel too heavy for this inspiration. So I devised a new way to hang briolettes using beading wire and crimps. I like that you can see the entire top of the bead and they almost seem to float.

Here is a bonus step-by-step showing how I created the briolette connectors:

Since I wasn't making one pair of earrings in all the colors, I decided that I would make a series of them in a variety of colors. I even tried them in silver with a clear crystal. I see the beginnings of a collection happening here!

I like my earrings long with movement and texture. These certainly fit the bill and are something I would wear with every outfit every single day!

I couldn't come up with a name for them. Plum out of ideas. Any thoughts?

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