We're All Ears :: Encapsulated Potential

I hope you found something intriguing about the graceful curving forms of Ruth Asawa's beautiful wire work. For me the challenge was trying to miniaturize these forms and to get the sense of the shape within the shape that her wire sculptures depicted.

I found this short video about the experience of seeing one of these forms on display and how we are meant to interact with these sculptures in a way that was different than what most had known about sculpture up to the mid-century when she was creating them. The brief video only shows one piece, but she intended for them to be shown together, like the picture above, where the shapes play off one another and the shadows they create are part of a sort of living exhibit. The biomorphic designs were built with very common materials - copper, brass, steel wire - that she elevated to something staggeringly beautiful. Asawa also believed that art should be accessible, which is why the permanent exhibition of her work is in a space that does not charge people to see them, and also that art is something that you do every single day. I love this sensibility and try to bring that to my own art projects.

So I started with the wire. I was using 16 gauge steel wire for the base and made a couple of contenders to replicate her shapes. I also pulled out some metal beads that I thought would work for the enveloped orbs that are common to her work. I think that I would go back and try to do this with other metal colors, as that is the only color in her work.

Now I don't know how to crochet with wire, but that would be something. Ruth learned these techniques in Mexico when she worked with local craftspeople who made baskets like this, but she came back and transformed the craft into art. Can you imagine some crochet orb earrings like this? I think that would be incredibly dramatic! What I decided to do was cage a bead with simple wire wrapping. I found these fluted beads that worked well because the grooves could be used to trap the bead in the wiring, giving it a sense of floating inside the shape. I like a little bit of movement, and just a hint of bling to catch the light, so I added some smalller fluted beads and just a little Swarovski crystal that helped to reinforce the cascading, morphing shapes.

There is a lot of mystery with Ruth Asawa's art. I can't fathom how she did all of these, especially getting those bubbles suspended within. So I called these "Mystery Within" as her art hints at seed pods and all the encapsulated potential.

I am curious to see how this art influenced your design.

Twisted

Twisted Copper and Steel wire with beautiful Jasper Points hanging below.

I adore the look of these 2 metals twisted together and the Jasper look so with it!

I must say it is challenging to twist small lengths of this wire together so that they match but I'm getting the hang of it the more I work on them. They are worth the effort in my opinion.

These have beautiful Lampwork Headpins by Leese Mahoney dangling from them!

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

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(Please) Forget to Wash Your Hands

I'm sure we all heard this at least once during our childhood: "don't forget to wash your hands". As a tomboy and serial creek-hopper, I probably heard that at least once a day. My grubby little paws were always busy and exploring---catching crawdads for the boys who were afraid of getting pinched (come on, guys!), playing on the swingset, picking bouquets of flowers for mom, netting butterflies in the garden, romping through the woods behind our house. 

We assume that dirt and the accumulation of "stuff" is a bad thing. Now, to be fair, in many cases, it is. Germs are not fun. Smelly stuff is not fun. Grody stuff is not fun. However, when it comes to dirty beads with a history, I'm all for it. 

When I'm at a show or am trolling Etsy for new components and I see a strand of beads that have grime, I usually pounce. And once I get them on my bench, the thought of WASHING the beads to remove that beautiful patina of time...well, it never even enters my mind. Some people prefer their beads and jewelry to be new, pristine, shiny, and spotless. That's fine, no problem with that. But there's also something very sterile about it to me.  


Take, for example, the collections of old antique beads found in my earrings for today. Just look at the macro shot on those babies! Pitted, caked with decades and centuries of grime---people rolling the beads around in their hands, wearing them, treasuring them, trading them for goods. Different cultures, different continents, different purposes. In other words, these beads have LIVED. They've outlived generations of humans. And they live on today in their current incarnation as earrings. If that doesn't get your juices flowing as an artist, then I don't know what will.

These earrings feature lime green ancient glass beads, clear "dogon" glass beads, and pale robin's egg blue amazonite stone beads---all from Africa. I added in small vintage wood beads and little bead caps to complete each quintet. The wirework is all hand-wrapped steel, because you know how much I love organic gnarled vining forms. Hooped, lightweight, and fluid.

Happy Wednesday...and have fun getting dirty!

Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

En Tiempos Antiguos

Our color palette for today: blush, cream, pearl, coal. 

I'm not the type of girl who gets dolled up often. It's been more than 10 years since I wore makeup. It takes me just a few short minutes to fix my hair out of the shower. Manicures? How about serial nail-biter? Although, I do admit to loving dresses. So what is it about wearing pearls that automatically adds elegance to a look?

I don't design often with pearls because so many of them are too "clean" to suit my preferred aesthetic: grungy, organic, old-looking. So when I came across this strand of wonky etched Tibetan pearls in Tucson this year, I snatched them up. They have the perfect mix of soft pearliness and aged texture---yum! 


When designing around these, I wanted to utilize beads with a matte finish to balance out the smoothness of the pearl. I went with barrels of fossilized stegadon bone (I know!) and two wee ivory colored lampwork glass beads from Karen Elmquist, fashioned to resemble old bone beads. Add in some pitchy black filigree bead caps and cheeky little wire spirals at the bottoms, and I don't think you'd ever miss the fact that the design is so simple. 

They dangle, swing, and sing from your lobes. And they BEG to be worn with your favorite little black dress: you've got class, but you've also got grit. Git em, girl...

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Stacked

It seems so simple - making a stack of something. We make piles and stacks of things all the time in our everyday lives - bills, shoes, sandwiches, dishes, folded clothes, the list goes on. Yawn. Boring.

Now talk about making jewelry stacks and you've got my attention. I've been loving stacked earrings lately, both vertical and front-facing. It's an exercise in graduated size, texture, color, and medium. I love to mix ceramics, glass, stone, textiles, shells...you name it.

 

Here's an sweet little pair I listed last week that plays with all of these different elements. Two reptilian ceramic discs from Petra at ScorchedEarthonEtsy serve as the base, and I've layered them with art nouveau steel PMC washers from Kiyoi Design as well as crusty little shards of violet Roman glass and flashy raw moonstone nuggets. 

I love how the garish chartreuse olive yellow-green of the ceramic base contrasts with the eggplant purple of the Roman glass and the ultraviolet flashes in the moonstones. Olive and violet - a weird color combo I've been stuck on lately. 


OK girls, now get stackin'!

Happy Wednesday :)

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

A New Attitude

{A New Attitude- available on Etsy}

 When I was young, skinny and into driving 40 minutes to the nearest mall, I would head straight for The Limited. They had all the trendiest fashions for a girl in the 80s. A lot has changed since I was 16 but The Limited is still around. Unfortunately, I don't feel that I can fit in there, figuratively and literally. I am not a size that can easily walk into a store like that and find something off the rack. But this past week I discovered that The Limited has launched an online website called Eloquii by The Limited that features beautiful fashions in plus sizes. 

I am usually one who wears very monochromatic looks, no pattern whatsoever. I am more of a jeans and t-shirt girl on most days. But I am strangely attracted to the bright colors, shorter skirts, graphic prints and very polished accessories that Eloquii is offering. (And I just took advantage of their sale to pick up 5 sweaters for under $60! Fashionable and frugal!) 

While poking around I found this one outfit that could use some awesome earrings. So I created my A New Attitude earrings (above) inspired by this look to bring a bit more funk to this already rocking ensemble. These long 4 1/2" earrings are made from steel and rhinestones. I am trying some new techniques and materials and I love that these give me a whole new way of looking at things. A bit of rocker chic to rock out at the next board meeting, don't you think?

 

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her new line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.

Hibiscus Earrings

These earrings remind me of a walk I took on a tropical island last year. 

There were straw huts, palm trees and delicate hibiscus surrounding our path.

We wondered through the jungle, carrying drinks in pineapples, as our guide shared the history and culture of the island with us.

I like to remember that field trip on these grey, slushy days and I'm counting down the days until my next tropical vacation.

These earrings are a fun mix of Czech glass, lucite flowers and handcrafted disk beads set off by a ring of blackened steel. 

  

Steel Tree Earring Holder

Now this is decorating a tree!

Check out the modern metal jewelry holders from Timothy Adam Designs.  

Each piece is hand-constructed from steel.  

Visit Timothy's shop to see his unique line of jewelry holders.