Asymmetrical Electroplated Devil's Head Pods - Say That 10X Fast!

One of the most exciting things I discovered (and scored) at Bead & Button a couple of weeks ago, are these electroformed pods made by Hank Russ.  Can I get an oooh- ahhhh, beady peeps!?! 😼

Hank always wanted to work creatively with his wife, Lisa Peters of Lisa Peters ART, but was uninspired until he started electroforming. Hank loves to work with metal and this is a wonderful new facet to the business! Lisa makes some of the most beautiful ceramic beads, cabs, and buttons I've ever come across.  I've been working with and collecting her beads for a long time now and I am so excited about this new collaboration!

The pods, also known as “Devil’s Heads” are the fruit of Trapa natans, a plant commonly known as a Water Chestnuts. 

Although substantial in appearance, they are incredibly lightweight and perfect for earrings!  I was shocked when they were placed in my hand!  Jewelry must feel comfortable, especially on the ear and these are! 

Keeping with the rich, dark mood they possess, I paired them with some beautifully textured vintage glass pearls, twisted glass with added copper sparkle and some glittery accent beads from my stash that were gifted to me.  I felt these really enhanced the copper.

Hank sold out at Bead & Button but I was told he can take custom orders with a 2 week lead time. I've attached a link below:

 lisapetersART.dotcom


Hank and Lisa collecting seed pods on their hikes along the Palisades.  

                                                 Oh, and  Pussy Willows, too!! Yasss!

I had a blast at Bead & Button and already looking forward to next year!  There is nothing like meeting the bead makers personally and hearing the backstories - it makes the beads all the more special!

Thank you, as always, for stopping in and having a peek at what's going on on my worktable!

Until next time!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com  

Vivid!

Hi, everyone!  This past month has been a tough one, with a major household upheaval and the death of a beloved family pet.  💔   So I'll keep this short, but I'd love to show you all some recent earrings.  

The focus of the first pair (below) is a classic polymer clay design by Helena Benkoczka, pretty stylized feathers in violet, fuchsia, purple, and gold.  I paired the feathers with deep-blue lampwork glass rondelles, fuchsia Czech glass rondelles and Swarovski bicones, and gold accent beads, and tied the earrings together with fuchsia linen thread.

Kristi Bowman-Gruel's vividly colorful dotted-and-swirled painted copper charms (below) are so colorful all by themselves that I couldn't resist adding even more color and texture.  Even the little green Czech discs are dusted with gold, and Beth Mellor's rosy rondelles have subtle little dots.  A little over the top?  Well, maybe...  😉💗

Thank you so much for reading!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks.  💗

xoxo
Meridy

My Shop
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Icy Spicy Blue

I love when pastels are set against earthy browns and greys - it just makes them all the more beautiful.

Although perfectly matched, the two components I've paired together couldn't be more different!  

The large ceramic focal charms called "Circle Of Water" and were made by Nadia Terra.  They are 35mm, bold, but still lightweight. So rustic and beautiful!  I love the brush strokes showing through.

The accent beads are vintage lampwork glass circa 1950's.  They are a combination of that same brownish-grey with a glossy organic ice blue pattern.  

 Thank you for popping in today!  Hope you found a little color inspiration :))

Loralee xo

You can find these earrings in my shop below:

loralee kolton ~ artful in beads

Lush Branches

Handmade ceramic branch carvings, by Foxpaws.  Beautiful textures, facets and shading are shown in these stunning beads!

I wanted to create a bit of dramatic mood with these unique pieces, so I added lush vintage glass pearls and golden druzy beads.  

These are up there with some of my all time favorite earrings; hope you like them as well! 

Thank you for stopping by today ♡

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

Gone To Seed

Happy November, my seedy-beady friends!  Loralee here, today I'm sharing  sculptural botanical beads by Melissa Gabelle of The Clay Hen!  

I love the rough texture of the petals and the bold lines.  I wanted to carry those lines back to the top so, I added some fabric beads by Sagahus with blackened steel wire and that same yellow-green.  I originally was going to wire-wrap the petal to the fabric connector, but thought the tip was too delicate.  Instead, I tried an oversized hammered jumpring and added some larger seedbeads.  It turned out much better this way!  It protected the charm, added more variety of color, and the suggestion of seeds that I was envisioning all along.

~

Such a beautiful rich brown color with that beautiful pop of yellow - it's a favorite of mine.  To me, they are Georgia O'Keeffe-esk, but at the same time, with the use of the heavier gauge wire, look somewhat urban/industrial.  

For the seeds I used, Czech glass, teardrop Picasso beads. They are matte with soft painterly spots of yellow...I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I discovered them in my stash!  Don't you love when things fall together like that...just meant to be!  

~

I paired these open pods with some wispier fabric wrapped beads, again, by Sagahus.  The feathery fabric pieces match the gentle brush strokes of paint used on the pods. I have a tendency to oxidize most things but these are amazing in bright copper.  Eventually they may have a more subtle natural patina.   At a recent beading retreat I was gifted some fine (26g, I believe) braided copper wire.  It made the most beautiful wrapping.  *Psst...thank you, Lin Standke xo

November is always bittersweet for me, as I say goodbye to my favorite season.   However, I've started pulling some wintry things out now....it's time.

Many thanks for joining me today, it's wonderful to hear feedback especially when you work alone in a studio for so many hours...lol . Until next time!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton Jewerly

A Wise Woman Once Said...

...treat yo'self. 

Putting aside the trendiness of the phrase, there really is a lesson to be learned about knowing when to gift yourself a little something special. And I don't mean in a spoiled millennial consumer-happy "I deserve it" spending spree kind of way. You know, just a little something every now and then---maybe once a year, maybe more, maybe less. 

--- A "me-day" where you only do what you want to do, even if that means doing NOTHING. 

--- A nice bar of that fair-trade dark chocolate from Askinosie that you love. 

--- A new shift dress to show off those humble legs you've been working on shaping up.

It can be anything, and it doesn't have to have dollar signs attached to it. Sometimes the smallest, cheapest gifts can be the most meaningful.

For several years now, I've had a little box of stones that I have set aside for "me" pieces. Things that I knew I wanted to make for myself, given the time. Occasionally I'll come across a new cabochon that speaks to me and I'll gently place it in this little box. Promising that I'll get around to making myself something "some day". 

The other week I was noticing that this little box was close to overflowing---both with stones and with the best of intentions. Realizing it had been a while since I deliberately treated myself, I vowed to focus. 

These two sagenite spray agates were destined to be paired together in earrings. Mismatched but complementary, I love the movement of the spray in each. They remind me of tufts of black fox fur---primitive, animalistic, and in the dark neutral color palette that I've been loving lately. I set them both simply in sterling silver and hung them from hand-cast sterling silver studs so they can be worn as post earrings. 

When they were finished I squealed, thanked myself, and all was well in the world <3 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

I'm Late, I'm Late...

 
 ...for a very important date...

 
It's a funny thing. I never used to be the type of person who would flirt with lateness---not having enough time to do what I need to do, or get where I need to get, or meet who I need to meet. I was always so anxious about everything, so I would overprepare and usually have way too much time on my hands. As I've gotten older (and hopefully a little calmer), I find that there are some occasions where I cut it close. Like, for instance, today's post. 



On Monday a post-reminder popped up on my phone and I told myself "I've got a couple days, I'll just bounce around some ideas for a little bit." Last night I went to bed knowing I had to post this morning. "I'll take care of it when I wake up with fresh eyes," I told myself. So I woke up this morning, and, of course, it's time for me to post. And I have made no new earrings in the past couple weeks. And I have no ideas. And what did I think would end up happening?!

 
So here I am, in my pajamas, scrambling to find ear wires for a just-finished pair of earrings. Bleary eyed as I shoot pictures and try to keep Ming from cameo-ing in all of them. Pulling my hair back into a scruffy bun as I adjust my glasses and put on my writer's cap. It's a glamorous life.

Maybe it's a thing? This whole getting later as you get older? I've noticed it in my ever sweet, formerly punctual parents. Maybe the same thing is happening to me? I need your wisdom and insight here, dear readers. 

These earrings are a continuation of a little series from last year that pairs wee agua nueva agate chips with unique wood beads. Blackened silver solder dots the head and tail of each bead. The webby mossiness of the stones just pairs so well with the wood--reminds me of a forest floor. I have six of these ready to post as soon as I get around to making ear wires...

"But I've got time for that, though, right...?"

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Waiting...and Waiting...and Waiting for Spring

Why, oh why, does it seem to take forever for spring to arrive?  Is it the old "a watched pot never boils" syndrome?  Maybe it's just me.

I can't complain about the cold and snow, because I live in Sacramento, California, which has pretty nice weather, actually.  It has a Mediterranean climate, rainy in the winter (no snow), hot and dry in the summer, and spectacular in the spring.  Seriously, in the spring, virtually everything blooms here.  Having moved to Sac (as we say) from Colorado, I wasn't used to that.  Colorado has its own stunning beauty, but here everything grows fast, gets large, and blooms--all sorts of flowers, bushes, and even trees, from huge magnolia trees to ornamental trees that fill the skies with beautiful blooms of red, fuchsia, baby pink, or purple.

And spring comes early here.  Our first flowers usually start peeking out of their beds in mid-February, maybe a crocus or a dwarf iris.  The warm weather usually follows along gradually, getting a little warmer each week.  This year, however, California had heavy rains caused by "atmospheric rivers" that parked themselves over the state, causing floods and mudslides.  We were happy to have the rain because California was in a five-year drought, but these heavy rains caused real problems.  The cold, heavy rain lasted for almost two months, with only a few short breaks of blue skies and sunshine here and there.  We were starting to really feel the lack of sun!

Anyway, since it's been such a cold, wet winter, I decided to make these golden-sun, grass-green, and blue-sky earrings using Cathleen Zaring's beautiful enameled copper earring charms and a pair of lovely green

These "Bringer of Spring" earrings are available here.

lampwork discs by Terry Turner.  It's only recently started to warm up here, and I'm really feeling the quiet arrival of spring, with its fresh energy.

Who knows--maybe my earrings will help move things along a bit.  After all, the Spring Equinox is only about ten days away!  ;)

As always, thanks so much for reading!  I'll see you in two weeks. 💙

xoxo
Meridy

My Etsy shop

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Waterways

It's been a disturbingly warm winter here in southern Ohio. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said we've had MAYBE three inches of snow total. I have daffodils and iris that are blooming all over the place...in February. Last week it was 70F and sunny...we had the doors and windows open, for god's sake. It's nice to not be snowed under, but it's also a little disorienting. 

While we've had very little snow, one thing we have had quite a bit of is rain. Truly, I can't remember a more soggy, rainy winter. Local rivers, including the Little Miami and the Ohio, have been swollen and angry--churning and channeling the muddy water as soon as it falls from the sky. One of my primary bike trails happens to run parallel to both of these rivers. And since it's been warmer, I've had more opportunities to go for rides. 

 









The other week I was flying along the trail on my way to downtown Cincinnati, and I had to pull over just to gawk at the near-flooded Ohio River. If you've ever observed a waterfall, a dam, angry waves, or whitewater rapids, you'll know what I mean when I say that the power of water is absolute. The roaring white noise fills your head--making it hard to think about anything else. Work anxieties, family squabbles, packed schedules--they all seem to fade into the background in these moments. 

I stood next to my bike, allowing myself to feel small, to feel humbled. All these waterways, acting like arteries and veins, transporting the planet's lifeblood. Washing, removing, renewing. It was a cathartic moment. Then I mounted back up and kept pedaling along. 

This week's earrings immediately brought rivers to mind, as they feature natural Royston ribbon turquoise mined in Nevada. Named for the bands of turquoise running through a brown matrix, this stone is incredibly natural and rustic. I picked up quite a few sets last year at the Tucson gem and mineral show and have been waiting for just the right moment to showcase them as a series. 

I fabricated these out of solid sterling silver, framed each bezel with gnarled, twisted roots, and hung them from cratered hand-cast silver granule studs. This style of earring is great if you have lobes that are stretched or can't handle traditional ear hooks--you get to rock the dangly look with the security of posts/backs. 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

The Most Humble of Finds

Never trust a person who doesn't appreciate a good walk, hike, or meander through the woods.

My day job involves working from home, which is a huge blessing, but it can also mean that I work up a hell of a case of cabin fever every now and then. Not being a hugely social person, at these moments I tend to flee the house in search of parks instead of humans. And what does a girl like me do when she's taking these hikes? Well, she collects bits, of course. Sometimes it's just one or two things, sometimes it's a couple handfuls wrapped in the front of my shirt and weighing it down like a sagging potbelly. I'll come home with any number of natural wonders: hawk feathers, flaming red maple leaves, shards of bone, a squirrel-gnawed walnut, a rusted-out nail, or--if I'm really lucky--a trilobite fossil. 

Here in southwest Ohio we are rife with fossils from the Ordovician period---that's 450-500 millions years old! Whole cliffsides are just stratified with them. Erosion and time ensure that our creeks are always teeming with brachiopods, bryozoans, crinoids, gastropods, and horn coral. Talk about treasures!

Several weeks ago I was taking a hike at French Park, one of my favorite local parks. Being autumn, the leaves were turning and falling and the tree nuts were doing the same. I came across a grove of massive oak trees and the forest floor was littered with--you guessed it--acorns. I'm sure no one will argue that an acorn cap is quite possibly Mother Nature's perfect bead cap. Now, I've always seen jewelry makers dabble with cast metal or ceramic or polymer clay acorn caps. But what about using actual acorn caps in designs? I picked up a handful, inspected, checked for hardness and durability, and then decided to take some home to play around with. 

Back in the studio, I drilled a hole in each top and gave them a healthy coat of wax to help preserve and waterproof. It seems so elementary and so obvious, but it feels so...right. Here's the first pair I came up with, featuring a pair of deliciously grungy sawdust fired ceramic beads made by our own Claire Lockwood of somethingtodobeads. I strung everything on a couple of my fat pitted copper headpins and topped them off with wee black filigree bead caps and a dot of blackened silver solder. 


Just goes to show, art can be found in and created with just about anything, even the most humble of finds. 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

The Best Laid Plans

I had a vision. 

I was lying in bed--drifting, woozy, floating in that liminal netherworld where ideas come to us so fluidly. What I would do, see, is I would take a piece of copper and fold form it and beat it over some rocks, see, and then texture it and punch it and file strategic places and shape it just so and...

I awoke the next morning with vague recollections of my vision and headed straight to the studio to bring it to fruition. Fifteen minutes into the project when the copper buckled and snapped, I realized:

shit, this isn't going to work

See, sometimes our dreamy ideas seem perfectly logical and functional. And then we go to execute and we realize they could use a little more refinement. There is nothing wrong with this. Rome wasn't built in a day. There is beauty to be found in the process.

Today's pair of earrings features the salvaged results of this vision. I took the two snapped pieces of copper, trimmed them up, softened up the edges, oxidized, sanded, and turned them into simple lightweight earring tabs. And you know what? For being "failures", I'm really quite fond of them. Funny how that works. When life gives you lemons...well, you know.

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Bound and Twined

A couple posts ago I mentioned how I have been further exploring the use of fibers in my pieces to add textural and tactile variety. I use a lot of "hard" components---stone, metal, ceramic, glass, etc. So in the ever-present quest for balance, I like to add in some "soft" ingredients, as well. 

The problem I have with so many textile-based materials is that they wear too easily. Either that or they discolor or soil, like sari silk, and are almost impossible to wash when incorporated into a larger piece. So I've found myself turning more and more to waxed twines made of durable material, such as hemp, flax, and nylon. 

I'm such a fangirl of the magical and talented Rey at greybirdstudio and have always appreciated the way she wraps, weaves, and melts fibers into her intricate, organic pieces. So when she started offering her hand-waxed, dyed Belgian flax twine for sale to other makers such as myself, I squealed with excitement. The process she goes through to create the soft leathery finish is painstaking yet without a doubt worth it. I had the good fortune of snapping up a bundle of it one day---if you follow her work, you'll know how quickly things fly out the door! 

The twine is very fine and has a nicely tacky quality to it, allowing it to stick nicely to itself when overwrapped, as I did on the "bead caps" in today's pair. Bonus points that the fibers will not discolor with wear and contact with our skins' natural oils. I took a matched set of beautiful blush chohua jasper---one of my favorites---and knotted and wrapped and knotted and wrapped and knotted and wrapped and...well, you get the picture. 

I was at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago last week and was amazed at the ancient jewelry from many of the native tribes of North America. OK, amazed is an understatement. My husband had to restrain me at certain points. But the underlying technique and overall aesthetic of today's earrings remind me of some of those pieces. Art influences art, always!

Happy Wednesday, 
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Repeat Offender

For those of us who gravitate toward art beads---and who doesn't, really?---we tend to have favorite bead artists that we keep going back to, time and time again. Can't seem to shake em. And just when you think that 1.5 trays of their beads are going to satisfy your hunger, they list new components and you find yourself going back again for another fix, like a zombie in the endless pursuit of BRAAAAAAAINS. 

One of the bead artists on my short list is Marsha Neal. I remember buying from her years ago when I first started designing jewelry and I still buy from her to this day. Her abstract, organic shapes and earthy glazes have captured and held my fascination through quite a lot of creative growth on my part--through it all, her beads have always played a note in my cumulative song.

Some of my favorite beads are her twisted horns. It's clear that she takes great care in forming them but still lets them take on their own unique, evocative shape. I have yet to find two that match perfectly--that's part of the magic, for me.

For this pair, I used a slate blue-gray matte glazed pair of horns, stacked them with vintage German pressed wood beads, and capped them with rusty petal bead caps. Throw in some blackened soldering to fill the gaps, hang them from some of my extra long ear wires, and you've got two edgy pieces of art for your ears.


Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

On the Edge

I'm on the edge. The edge of a vacation, that is. 

That delicious pre-vacation period where you're ALMOST THERE and are filled with the anticipation of having time to step away, breathe, clear your mind, get yourself out of the workweek rut.  My mom always said that the pre-vacation is better than the vacation itself. Part of me doesn't want to believe that, but there certainly is something to be said for it. 

Next week my other half and I are headed to the mountains of West Virginia. We stayed in a cabin for one day last year as we were passing through, and it struck such a chord with us that we vowed to come back this year and stay for more than just a day. The cabins are nestled at the foot of a towering cliff, and a clear, clean river winds its way past the base. Last year we saw a bald eagle soaring right above our heads. I was even able to convince my husband (who is not afraid of heights, definitely not afraid of heights, no, never) to climb the nearby mountain with me. We got to the top with a mixture of exhilaration and sheer white-knuckled terror. Quite a memorable combination!

We toured one of the region's many caves and experienced TD, or "total darkness"---where the guide leads you deep into the cave, gives you fair warning, and then turns out all the lights. If you've never experienced that kind of sensory deprivation, it's incredible. That is, unless you're claustrophobic or scared of the dark or have a fear of being trapped underground. Yeah, probably not so good for that.

We also spent a couple hours walking next to the river, which was filled with tons of perfectly rounded, water-smoothed rocks. Each rock was glazed with a soft, slippery layer of mossy-green algae. And when I say slippery, I mean, "Nikki fell on her ass while trying to cross the river". Hey, I at least had to give it a try. That's just me. 

The green lushness of those memories from last year remind me of this pair of polybells I made a while ago. I took polymer clay, formed it into two rough poddy bells, textured them against some piece of random organic matter, cured them in the oven, hand painted them with acrylics, and then sealed them. The mossy green pockets, slate blue peaks, and silver-kissed highlights bring to mind a deep craggy forest.

Hope you have a wonderful week while I'm off playing mountain woman!

Happy Wednesday,
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy