Coral Spike Earrings

A friend and I recently went to a gem and bead show.  I didn't really need any new beads, but I was looking forward to spending the day with my friend.  I did try to exercise some restraint, but of course I did not leave empty handed.

So for today's earrings, I wanted to use some of my newly purchased treasures.  The wooden beads were inexpensive and had nice grooves all around.  I think the beads below the wood beads are made of bone, but I'm not sure.  The minute I saw them I knew they'd be an ideal shape and size for earrings.

The fabulous textured spikes were made by Marsha Neal. The coral colored spikes really make the dots on the bone beads pop. 

I'd love to pair these earrings with this pretty outfit.  The colors would be perfect together!  The Ceramic Spike Earrings can be found in my shop, here:  https://www.LindaLandig.com

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

The New Bohemian

The new bohemian.

She is wild but not reckless.

She is strong and still vulnerable.

She is grounded and still lifts others up. 

She is PEACE.

Peace Earrings #3
Moonstone, Swarovski, Found Sea Glass, Amazonite, and handmade silver charms.

You can find these and more peace earrings at:

http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/
http://cindypack.blogspot.com/

Happiness and Peace to all!
Cindy

PS
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We appreciate it very much! 

Winter Moon

On Saturday, I had the chance to participate in a local Arts & Crafts Sale. It was wonderful to meet local women and their families, and get their feedback on my work.

I haven't had the chance to participate in such events too often in the past, but I do my best to join in the fun as often as I can. There's absolutely NOTHING more precious than receiving real-time, face-to-face feedback from potential buyers.

And inspired by their feedback, and by the beautiful Winter Moon that greeted me on Sunday morning, I have designed these pretty Tanzanite Earrings:

Tanzanite Earrings inspired by the Winter Moon

The women that I spoke with mentioned that they loved gemstone earrings, but that they preferred shorter, more delicate designs (shorter than 2" in total), and it dawned on me that a lot of the earrings I've been making lately were longer than 2". 

It really doesn't take much to get over 2" in length, counting the ear wires.... So I listened to them, and came up with these lightweight little hoops :)

Soft Lavender Tanzanite Gemstones are a beautiful go-with-anything neutral shade

Yesterday morning, when I woke up, I opened the bedroom window's blinds, and found this bright  (almost) full moon, greeting me, and the sky had beautiful painted wisps of lavender, light blue and pink. It was such a beautiful sight. 

I knew right there and then that I had to make earrings inspired by that gift from nature.

I really had a great time meeting everyone at the show on the weekend. If you don't normally do Arts & Craft Sales, I encourage you to go out and meet women and ask for feedback on your designs. Sometimes, they see something that we don't...

You can find these Tanzanite Earrings here on my website...

Thank you for your time! Have a wonderful day :)

Nathalie

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

We're All Ears :: December Inspiration

'All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ~Edgar Allen Poe
 
Last month was a whole lot of fun to see how you translated an animated short into an array of beautiful earrings. I hope you don't mind that I am inclined to bring in another little short film to inspire you!

I stumbled on this amazing art installation and just knew that it had to be our inspiration. This type of art is called anamorphic, a form of perspective. Anamorphic art uses a "distorted projection or perspective requiring the viewer to use special devices or occupy a specific vantage point to reconstitute the image. The word "anamorphosis" is derived from the Greek prefix ana-, meaning back or again, and the word morphe, meaning shape or form" (source:Wikipedia). Each anamorphic image is special and distinct and has it's own way to be looked at. You need to look and be surprised by the distortion of your expectations.

Breaking Wave is an anamorphic kinetic sculpture created for Biogen-Idec's new headquarters in Cambridge, MA. The sculpture was created by Plebian Design and Hypersonic.

Breaking Wave tells the story of the search for patterns, and the surprising results that come by changing our point of view. 804 suspended spheres move in a wave-like formation. When the wave crests and breaks, the balls hover momentarily in a cloud.

From almost anywhere in the room, this cloud is purely chaotic, but step into one of two hidden spots, and this apparent chaos shows a hidden pattern.

From the first, a labyrinth hints at the search for knowledge, and from the second, a Fibonacci spiral inspired flower reminds us of the natural order and patterns found in nature.

Above the sculpture lies the mechanism that drives its motion. A motor drives a large rotating stainless steel cam. Thirty-six rollers follow the contour of the cam, which traces out the overall waveform. Each roller slides on a linear track, pulling a cable that spins one of the 36 output shafts. Distributed along each shaft are different sized drums from which the wooden sphere (coated in zinc and steel, and then rusted chemically) are hung. As the shafts rotate, the drums pull the balls up and down – larger drums pull balls higher. In this way, the size of the 804 drums mechanically programs the images hidden in the cloud of balls. The piece was built with many hands, and several miles of wire rope (source: Hypersonic).

Breaking Wave from PLEBIAN DESIGN on Vimeo.

Watch the short video if you can (make it full screen by clicking the little X shape in the bottom right corner for maximum impact!). I love seeing the undulating waves that these little wooden spheres create. And even more fascinating to me is watching the gears and cogs of the mechanism that makes the sculpture come to life.

Earrings are, by their very nature, little kinetic sculptures. They move and dangle and can be different when viewed from alternate angles. More than any other jewelry, earrings are easy to play with motion and patterns and illusion. Keeping color to a minimum, will help you emphasize the structure and the movement.
I hope you will explore this with your earrings this month!

What inspires you about this the motion in this sculpture?

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To participate in the We're All Ears creative challenge:

Make earrings inspired by this inspiration.

Write a post on your blog.

Add your exact blog post URL link to the
InLinkz code right here on 

Friday, December 19th.

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Polar Bears

I have a hectic time on my hands this week.  I have a big Christmas craft fair on Sunday, for which I still want to make some pieces.  I also still have all that tedious prep to do - price tags, table plans, etc., etc... I also intend to get three firings done this week (along with a lot of glazing). I then have to try to get a heap of beads photographed and listed as soon as I can after the fair.  So, this is going to be a super brief post. Making these earrings is becoming something of an annual tradition.

These marvellous lampwork polar bears are made by Madeline Bunyan. I've paired them with some ice-like crackled quartz.

I sold a couple of pairs at the weekend and don't have any available at the moment but I'm hoping to get some more made in time for Christmas shoppers. So, that's another task on my list! 

Bye for now, Claire

www.somethingtodowithyourhands.com

Layers Upon Layers

 
I've always been fascinated by the layers in things. Nothing is ever black and white, most things are gray...meaning there are nuances, multiple factors, different sides. Maybe that's why I have such a hard time making decisions sometimes! 


Lately I've been on a big layering/stacking kick with my earrings. Taking lots of little bits and stacking them together haphazardly yet melodiously and then using wire to accentuate. 


It's been fun to experiment with stacking things both vertically and flipping them on their sides horizontally. Quite the challenge to dig through +20 bead boxes to find that one PERFECT missing element. But then again, that's the fun of assemblage jewelry. 


One of my latest pairs features several elements that I've really been digging on: muddy ceramic discs from Marsha Neal and blackened pewter charms from Inviciti. Married together with my beloved Roman glass, rustic wood bicones, and some pyrite. I love the browns and robin's egg blues of this pair. Very soothing and natural. And they have such fun swing to em!


Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Minnehaha Falls

The frigid wonders of winter were my inspiration for these icy cold water colored chandelier earrings with Sterling silver. I chose aqua Roman glass, apatite nuggets, rondelles of green prase, apatite and more Roman glass to echo the watery hues of the frozen falls. Combined with exquisite Sterling silver chandelier components, the wire linked glass and stones are intended to capture the feeling of rushing water, stopped suddenly forming the ice crystals.


"With what deep murmurs through time’s silent stealth

Doth thy transparent, cool, and wat’ry wealth

Here flowing fall,

And chide, and call,

As if his liquid, loose retinue stay’d

Ling’ring, and were of this steep place afraid;

The common pass

Where, clear as glass,

All must descend

Not to an end,

But quicken’d by this deep and rocky grave,

Rise to a longer course more bright and brave. " . . . The Waterfall by Henry Vaughn


The beauty and wonder of a spectacular waterfall will draw people any time of year, but Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis may attract even more people in winter than it does through the rest of the year.

If you live in Minnesota, you learn to appreciate outdoor activities as much in winter as you do in summer. Creative people in Minnesota think up all kinds of events to get you out of the house in winter no matter how cold it gets.






Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy