Unpredictable Verdigris

I love working with patinas and painting, my favorite colors of course being the blue-greens. However.... the end result can be very unpredictable, but I think I'm getting the hang of the process to actually duplicate the colors pretty close each time. I make sure that the brass and copper bases are raw by removing any protected sealers, it seems to take the color faster with overall better coverage.

There are a number of suppliers out there, my favorite being Swellegant, they also offer a number of dyes & how to videos to help you out.

Below are a few pieces I've made using this product, as you can see the end results have been pretty close.

I used copper for the chain/leather fringe earrings and tribal triangles, the large flower pods with raw brass.

◄ this finish, I added a tad of deep blue and then dipped it again in the regular solution, I couldn't be happier with this flow over embossed copper, its just gorgeous!

These flower pods turned out a little more green, but I've made others with veins of deeper blue here and there.

Hope this sends you some inspiration for the day.  Thanks for stopping by, share a few comments if you can and we will see you again later this month.

Lynn♥

My Etsy Shop- Yucca Bloom

Violet Sparkle

Believe it or not, I don't have a lot of jewelry. Since I am a jewelry creator/designer, and it's my job... I just don't have time to make things for myself.  However, I made this set for ME!! 

I have a flowey blouse in this violet color that I just love. I bought it a few years back and the color is not a super popular one, but I adore it. I had planned to share a pic of me in the shirt with the earrings, but time seems to be slipping through my fingers this summer. Instead, I only have earrings pics to share today. 

I had also planned a shop update for tomorrow, the 10th. But that is being postponed to Aug 31st at 3PM PST. I will have these earrings available for pre-order along with another set in stormy blue (one of my favorite colors too!) Please join me then at Cindy's Art & Soul - for this set and more, then! 

Happy (what's left of the) Summer!

 

Artistic style

According to a lot of experts a visual artist should have his/her own signature style. I found an interesting blog (Artzbizblog.com) by Alyson Stanfield about this subject while browsing the internet. She states: “In order to project a professional image as an artist, you must be able to define yourself and your art in a sea of untold numbers of artists. To do this, you must first find your style”.

But what is style? According to wikipedia: “In the visual arts, style is a "...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories." or "...any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artefact made or ought to be performed and made. "It refers to the visual appearance of a work of art that relates it to other works by the same artist or one from the same period, training, location, "school", art movement or archaeological culture”. 

In other words, an artist has its own artistic style when he/she creates work that others can identify with him or her. Others can recognize the work of that artist. It has to do with consistency. I believe a signature style is important for an artist.

When I look at my designs I’m not sure I have found my artistic style yet. Not much consistency there. I design my jewellery depending on my mood. As a result I’m generally all over the place, style wise. There are so many styles, materials, colour schemes and techniques to explore that I am still learning, I am still trying out new ideas. And for me, that is ok for now.

As for these earrings. In my personal life there are a lot of issues right now with which my family and I have to deal with. To battle depression I designed my bohemian chic collection. To balance my "black" mood I need color, lots of color. To balance my frustration of not being able to chance things for the good I need movement in my jewelry.

So in my bohemian chic collection you will find lots of pastel colours, lots of charms and flowers. These earrings are an example. Cathleen Zaring just makes the perfect, perfect charms for this bohemian style. I made the tassels myself. In the past years I have amassed quite an amount of embroidery thread in lots of fun colors (my friendship bracelet period LOL). Czech glass, Swarovski crystal, brass and copper completed the design.

These will be available from August 21. If you are interested in my new collection just head over to my facebook page where you will find info how to buy these pieces. 

 

I like to know your thoughts about artistic style.
Do you think it is important for an artist?
If you are an  artist, do you have a signature style?

Thanks for looking. I will be back with new designs in two weeks. And they probably will be in a totally different style compared to these LOL.






I wish you a wonderful day with lots of joy, sunshine, happiness and flowers.

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop

My website/blog

My facebook page

We're All Ears :: August Challenge

I am the exact opposite of outdoorsy.

So, yeah, there is no camping in my life. Sleeping on the hard ground, battling bugs, no facilities. Not for me.

But I do enjoy nature. And I love a good campfire. That is about the only thing that I would be able to get behind with the whole camping thing.

My new fire pit....Isn't she a beauty?!

This spring, in anticipation of my son's graduation party in my backyard, I decided that we needed to retire the old rusty fire pit and upgrade. So I made my largest Amazon purchase ever and bought a beautiful extruded aluminum fire pit table. I also purchased 25# of glowing golden fire pit glass (made with real gold!) for an exceptionally beautiful look. Of course, I haven't used it as much as I would like (often the night I want to use it, I will find my son out there with his friends), but this fall I am hoping to really fire it up (he will be leaving for college soon so it will be all mine!). Oh, and did I mention it is propane powered? Just flip a switch and you are ready to go! (See...even with a fire pit I am not so "camp-y"!).

[Photo credit :: Tirza van Dijk :: Unsplash]

The one thing that I miss from our old rusty crusty fire pit is the way it would light up my senses.

[Photo credit :: Luke Porter :: Unsplash]

Yes, I get the beautiful dancing fire and the heat, but that smoky woody haze that hangs in the air and lingers in your nose, or the crackle of the flames, and the way it looks in all its many stages from the hottest leaping tongues of fire to the slowly deepening dying embers.

[Photo Credit :: Alex Holt :: Unsplash]

I do miss some of those things. But I still get my s'mores...with my retractable telescoping marshmallow forks! (And, hey! Flip of the switch! No clean up! I do love my firepit!)

[Photo credit :: Autumn Mott :: Unsplash]

So for August, as the summer winds down and the stars are shining, our theme is campfires. The wood, the fire, the colors, the s'mores....whatever you think of as evoking this summertime tradition.

[Photo credit :: Wil Stewart :: Unsplash]

Join me back here on Friday, August 19th to get your campfire on!

Marvelous Mookaite Earrings

I assisted Earrings Everyday team member, Kristi Bowman Gruel, at a show last weekend.  She spent two nights at my house, as we live about halfway between her house and the bay side town where the show took place. We always have such a good time together.  I love spending time with my beady friends!

A mutual friend and lampwork artist, Sheila Davis, was also at the show.  Kristi cracked me up; entering Sheila's booth, with hands around her eyes, like blinkers.  "I'm not looking", she declared, "I'm just here to say hello".  I totally get this, because to enter Sheila's booth, is to want to buy every bead and pendant she has made.  This is a seriously skilled lampworker!  I wasn't nearly as self controlled as Kristi was.  I walked in wide eyed and walked out with 2 pairs of marvelous lampwork head pins.

 I was attracted to these head pins because the color combination was so unusual.  Once I got them home, I realized that they would go perfectly with Mookaite jasper. Mookaite jasper is found only in Australia.  It has a wide range of colors, most often it is dark red and ochre yellow, but it can also shade toward mauve, white, tan and even purple.

 I placed dark red recycled African glass above the head pins, then gold colored Mookaite nested in copper bead caps. I topped the earrings with small, dark red Mookaite beads.  Then I made a double loop of the head pin wire and wrapped it down, around the red Mookaite.  I wrapped more wire between the glass beads and the bead caps.

I love how these turned out!  Its a good thing I got 2 pair of these head pins, because I may need to keep one pair for myself!

Linda Landig Jewelry

Tangled Up In...Sinew?

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Sinew? Errrrrrrr...ewww?" 

Yes, I agree. 

Next fall will mark 15 years that I've been a devoted vegetarian. So rest assured when I promise you that the sinew used in these earrings is completely faux, imitation, no animals harmed. It consists of polyester fibers which have been spun together and waxed, making it tacky to the touch yet pliable and knottable. Good buddy Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads fame turned me on to this material a bit ago. 

 
My crude knotting pales in comparison to some of the intricate, exacting work seen in many cultures, both old and modern. But I really dig the native primitive vibe that it adds to pieces. Plus I'm always looking for ways to incorporate textiles and fibers that will hold up to the test of time and wear. 

 


I've had a leisurely summer in the studio but am on the cusp of releasing a new batch of earrings that feature grungy, earthy neutrals, since that's where my head has been lately. This taupe and fawn hued pair fit the bill nicely. The stones are Polish flint, otherwise known as banded flint or striped flint. Mined in Poland, this stone is famous for its swirling, mesmerizing banding. At first glance the color may seem rather boring, but relax your eyes and let the patterning lure you in...peaceful magic.

To create these, I knotted faux sinew around the tops of each stone to form "caps" of a sort and then hung each from my extra long oxidized copper ear wires. Simple, versatile, soothing, neutral, unique.

Happy Wednesday!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

The Weight. . .

of the world earrings on your shoulders ears ;)

A while back Kim of Numinosity and Numinosity Beads, mentioned some of her more senior customers have difficulty with heavier earrings. Me too. But I wasn't able to wear heavier earrings when I was younger. They're just not comfortable for me. 

I noticed my friend, Chris Kaitlyn of ChrisKaitlynJewelry, was showing the weight of earrings in listings. I talked to her about it, she shared info, and I decided it was a good idea. At some point I realized that, okay, the weights are there but they're in a vacuum. What do they mean? I know what they mean to me but there isn't a "chart" to help customers decipher what they mean. Honestly, it's not possible. Weight is relative, and involves too many factors. I do, however, have customers ask me from time to time, "are these heavy?" There will never be a hard and fast rule, but I'm going to share with you the guidelines I use for myself.

 My earrings today are designed with beautiful, slim and lightweight ceramic leaves by Petra Carpreau of ScorchedEarthOnEtsy. These pieces are fired with leaves embedded, given this gorgeous glazing and fired again. I paired each with three 6mm, Natural Apatite stones. Apatite has become my favorite stone. The color is a rich, muted teal. Purchased from TheFickleBead. There are copper and copper-plated beads up top, along with handcrafted ceramic beads by Barbara Hanselman of BHClaysmith, another unique and talented ceramic artist. I used 22 gauge wire, not my first choice, but I knew it would help to keep them lighter and I'd be able to wrap it the way I wanted to. 

Very few components are "too heavy" to use. It depends what you do with them. It's wonderful to create without thought! It's art! It's what I love to do! But then I often end up with a wall hanging, not an earring. (I think I heard that saying here before) I'll keep going and going and going until they weigh an ounce! Well, what's an ounce you say? Here we get to what the weights mean. One of today's earrings weighs 0.23 oz, 6.68 grams. Less than a quarter of an ounce. A good weight for most women, I think, but it is not featherweight. Lightweight for most, in my opinion, but it won't be long until it creeps up into an area that will be too heavy for me. If I want to wear something all day and not think about it, I won't go much higher than this, around a quarter of an ounce. When I let something get to 0.30 oz. . . . that is getting out of the comfortable range for me, certainly not all-day wearable, and maybe not wearable at all. For Me!

My MIL split her lobe all the way down in her 60s with a gold hoop, so it does happen, even though she'd worn those for decades. 

You are not going to find weights in most shops and websites; It's not a necessary thing for a large part of the population. My customers run the gamut from very young adults to women in their 60s and beyond. It was the questions about the weight that encouraged me to try to find a way to give them a meaningful answer. For designers, if women in the AARP age group (that's 55 and up ;) are in your target market, you might want to think about weight with them in mind.

I see many listings that give the earrings a featherweight, lightweight, or medium weight. If you aren't offered a weight, and IF this is an issue for you, ask the seller for their opinion. On a weight scale of one to ten, where would they put the earrings. Remember, though, that it's an opinion, likely based on what is light, medium or heavy to them. 

If you would like to have a little more detail regarding weights and what they mean to me, please just let me know. I will always address a comment/question left here, and you can always message me through She Flies Again, my Etsy shop, or Facebook.

Thank you for stopping in today! We appreciate it!
Norbel