A Little Birdie Told Me...

Hot off the solder station...just made today

BkLyN

There is something endearing about williamsburg.

graffiti covered edifices and handlebar mustaches...
peculiar piercings and vintage furnishings...
haute couture and indie ambiance galore...

I think some of it may be rubbing off on me in a subtle way. My sewing machine arrived and I am soon en route to sign up for studio space to start making my bling again.

Oh Dear

So I am in California for a little rest and relaxation...I've been pampered and spoiled and am loving the foggy mornings & hot afternoons. Earlier today I happened to mention something about purchasing leather scraps to incorporate into my jewelry and my dad informed me that there is a leather store conveniently located on the other side of town. Not needing to add any more stuff to my jewelry making supplies, but curious to see the store, I hesitantly asked my mom if she'd be interested in accompanying me to visit said mercantile. She quickly said yes and we drove off in search of scraps I could add to my collection of goodies. Lucky me, they had boxes and boxes of leather leftovers and I found some beautifully colored pieces. One large, gorgeous, pearly swatch in particular screamed out *clutch* to me and I had to get it...oh dear. I don't even know how to sew. I've spent the last 2 hours searching the web for patterns and an inexpensive sewing machine. I think I've found another hobby. Oops. Stay tuned for the progress...I think I am going to try and make something simple to start...similar to this:

..

MassArt

Yesterday was the first day of metals at MassArt...Very excited to have the opportunity to hone my skills over the next couple of months. I felt like a kid in a candy store seeing all of the equipment I'll have access to...first project is to make a 2"x2" sawn self-portrait...this should be interesting. Stay tuned for a photo of the finished piece.

...in other news...

I had a creative spurt over the weekend and made some new pieces. This time, per the recommendations of several people, I am incorporating color in the form of malachite, irregular beads of unknown origin and colored shell.

Deep Freeze

So it is. It's the middle of winter and we're snowed in ... again. Perfect time for me to upload a pic of my latest commissioned piece...and now, back to work.

Logo

I am currently in the process of ironing out what I am going to do with this website of mine. A new logo is in the works and hopefully along with that will come a fresh new online space for Mezze pieces. Stay tuned...

Split Seams

All day I've been working on two projects - the first was a continuation of last week's spinning rings. I split the project into two parts, earlier in the week I made the ring components and saved the sanding, polishing and forming for today. The second project consisted of two pairs of cuff links for a friend. The cuff links are tedious to say the least, but I love the design and imagine how classy they will look on the lucky man who will get to wear them.

The rings have caused me a big headache...after forming, sanding and tumbling them, I started the flaring process. This part is my favorite step because it's when the ring really starts to take shape and look like something other than a simple tube. I began to flare the first ring and as I hit the dapper with my hammer, the solder seam cracked, splitting halfway down the length of the shank. I set it aside, annoyed, picked up another ring and repeated the process. That seam split as well. And on the third try when I noticed a crack beginning to form, I decided it was time for me to put the hammer down and step away from the bench for awhile. I repaired the splits and decided I was done for the day. So tomorrow, I hit the bench again and we'll see if I can get through the forming process without any further mishaps.