Make Shift Classes spring 2014

I will be teaching three more classes at the Schwienfurth this spring in the Makeshift series.  in the first one, we will make canes with polymer clay. Those canes will then be sliced and become earrings and a candle holder.  Participants will need to bring a glass or bottle to be covered. That class is on March 6th from 6-8.

 The second class will be a mosaic class.  Bring a cool object like a fish bowl, an aluminum tract.y or ice bucket to cover.  Bring chards and broken dishes to use.  During the first class on April 3rd we will apply the broken pottery to the object which the participant has brought.  Two weeks later, April 17th,
we will grout the project.  Definitely a great way to recycle broken plates and cups!

Come join the fun and learn new skills!

Found Object Necklace Series

I love the winter in that it gives me some time to experiment and play with collected objects.  I found some little tin tart or candy molds recently and they have become the basis for a new series of found object necklaces.

In the first necklace, I  added a bottle cap to the tin tart dish, a brass flower cut from a hair ornament, tin from a vintage box and brass pull chain.

In the second necklace, I stated with another tin tart dish, added an image of a bird from a vintage tin, 

two small brass flower pieces,  the loose circles from another hair ornament, a super brass button, brass chain and steel links.  

I assembled them into a side closing necklace as opposed to one with the clasp on the back of the neck.

Had to share.  Back to the studio.

Make Shift Class

For the next Make Shift class at the Schweinfurth, we will gather up broken jewelry and magically turn it into a beautiful bracelet. So grab the pieces you have been hoarding and bring them to the Schweinfurth Feb 6. 6-8 pm

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Raw Materials

A good shopping trip of second hand shops yesterday netted these great finds: an old wooden folding ruler, lots of small tin molds from France, and three great tins: great patina, patterns and colors.

What will these become?

Lovely Gifts

Paula from LuckDuck sent me this great tin and it just screamed Valentine's Day to me.  So the Queen of Hearts became the focal point and joined other tin and 2 paintbrush beads in this necklace.

Book Credits

My jewelry, a bracelet and a  pair of earrings, have been included in a book:  Metalsmithing by Jinks McGrath.

http://www.amazon.com/Metalsmithing-Jewelry-Makers-Contemporary-Inspirational/dp/0764165844/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1389027508&sr=8-2&keywords=metalsmithing

Wohoo!

2014 Rock Concert Charm Bracelet

While doing the Mayday Underground Craft Show at the Rochester Armory in November, I picked up bottle caps from the parking lot.  Since the venue has many rock concerts, that is what I imagined the bottle caps coming from and named the bracelet for those events.  I backed each bottle cap with a piece of tin to provide a nicer view through the window on the back side.  The bottle caps are attached to  textured brass with tiny brass rivets. The chain is made out of steel and brass.

Happy New Year!