Is Your Bowl Full?

My mother has an expression that she uses often: "Is your bowl full?". Meaning are you content, are you happy, do you have enough? And we're not talking oatmeal, here. 

Some days are rich with family, friends, smiles, laughter, hugs, good times, accomplishments---and our bowls are full. Other days we may feel a little lonely, spread too thin, inadequate, hurt, worried---and our bowls may be waxing empty. 

It's a metaphor for the soul that I've always loved. My mother's poetic sensitivity is something she may not give herself credit for, but it's one of the (many) reasons I love her so much. So it's no coincidence that we have always been partial to collecting bowls. Little bowls, squat bowls, wide bowls, cracked bowls, it doesn't matter. 

The past couple of weeks my bowl has been less than full, so I've been creating less jewelry than usual. So I thought it would be very appropriate for me to dig into the "sold" folder and revisit a pair that relate to this idea of bowls. 


This pair is very simple...yet just enough. I drilled two wee crystal-studded geode halves and fitted each one with a gnarled hand-forged sterling silver paddle that I balled up on one end. My own long sterling ear wires complete the statement. 



Incredibly lightweight and fragile looking, yet rich with depth and surprising strength---much like the soul.

Happy Wednesday!

Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

We're All Ears :: November Reveal

So what did you think about that sweet little short animation?
 
I was completely enthralled by it. I watched it over and over and paused and pressed rewind so many times. I just wanted to zoom in and see it even closer! What I took away from that film were three things: the leaves and foliage on the mountainside and in the woods; the details on the outfit of the little girl; and the diaphanous wings of the creature. I sought to do something inspired by all three of these inspirations.

I loved this recent post that Miss Gloria just shared with us on how she approaches her task of making earrings for her reveal days. Since I really only get one reveal day a month, I like to make sure that I have more than one pair of earrings created for the challenge, and the way that Miss Gloria approaches her creative sessions is one that I quite like and decided to put into action: creating in your comfort zone and taking a risk. So for this first set of earrings, I focused on a tried and true design of mine: falling articulated color-filled leaves. Leaves are everywhere in this short...from the misty treetops on the hillside to the cool green vines snaking their way around the massive boulders. There seemed to be three different colors of the leaves: white and misty, rust and copper and fresh and green. I made a pair of earrings in all three colorways using at least 4 different metal patinas to hand paint each leaf before assembling.

Clearly, I love making these, as I have made them before in all the colors of the rainbow. I love that they are lightweight and dangly. I always sell out of them at $22 and my own personal favorite pair is periwinkle blue leaves. I must have eleventy-billion of these sweet little leaves, so I am sure that I could make you a pair if you like! ;-) Just ask!

 

The outfit of the little girl is intriguing... does it hint at a rustic peasant lifestyle? a bygone era? a faraway land? It has a decidedly ethnic quality to it, from the fur trim to the brocade to the beaded tassel (did you catch that?). I wanted to make something inspired by the beaded tassel, but found myself drawn to the ornate trim on the edge of her coat. I spied a little bag of some of my favorite Vintaj components in these sweet little flower designs and kept is quite simple. Long again, as that is how I like my earrings (could easily go shorter), with a faceted merlot pearl dangling. I employed a new-to-me trick I learned of making knotted head pins. I learned it in a little online tutorial and thought I would give it a shot. Pearls always have such small holes, and this solves my dilemma of how to string them in an elegant way.

And following along with Miss Gloria, I had to take a risk. The feathers of the mystical creature seemed like the perfect way to test that out. In my printer's cabinet pearl drawer I found a small compartment of small top-drilled stick pearls. I thought they looked a lot like feathers, so I set about trying to come up with a design that would mimic the look of the wings.

I played around with a little dark annealed steel wire to make a crescent shaped form. Then using a contrasting bronze colored wire (more out of necessity than esthetic), I wire wrapped the stick pearls to the form. At the bottom I dangled a crystal briolette, reminding me of the flash that the water made as it coursed through the creature. I even made my own ear wires, something I would like to do more, but rarely have the time. These were a risk for me in the unexpected shape and the complete handcraftiness.  I quite like the way they hang and hug the curves of my jaw line. I think I will explore this shape some more!

If you were inspired to create something based on the inspiration animation, please add your link below. And be sure to come back on Friday, December 5th for our next We're All Ears inspiration!

What inspired you about the animation Nebula? Do share!

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Ode to Raku

 

Raku. Who doesn't love raku? Who doesn't drool over its unpredictable rainbow sheen, charred edges, and matte textures? And how cool is it that of all the raku artists out there, each one has his/her own techniques and "recipes" that give their raku a singular, identifiable look? It's an inconsistent and uncontrollable process, yet these artists still manage to create their own consistent aesthetic.

I've been on a raku kick all this year and have hoarded pieces from several incredible artists, including Jennifer Pottner of Urban Raku, who happens to live right here in Cincinnati! She's big into making discs and donuts that are perfect for stacking and layering. Let me tell you how much trouble I got myself into when I stopped by to see her studio...dangerous.

When I first picked up these two mismatched pieces, I didn't know what I'd do with them, but knew that they needed to be made into earrings. After hours of toggling with designs and going back and forth, I realized that the incredible spectrum of colors didn't need any ornamentation - they were stunning when allowed to shine themselves. All they needed was some snug, crazy wire wrapping and extra long ear wires. 

Dark drama, that's what these babies are all about.



Happy Mid-Week :)
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy