designer(s) of the week

mary jane dodd

i noticed that we had only 2 so far for the month - and the fabulous contributions to the flickr group demanded more than one!

staci smith of stacilouise originals!

'she wore scarlet begonias' (tucked into her curls)

 ~the grateful dead

staci has an etsy shop for both finished work and components

and a website...

izzy winterhart of under a copper sky!

'have you ever seen the rain?'

~ creedence clearwater revival

you can see more of her work in her etsy shop...

and you will find this necklace listed there...

these ladies put a good deal of time and thought into their pieces... we are so grateful to have had such original and interpretive work submitted this month... being inspired by song, rather than an image left it wide open to see what you were feeling... 

thank you all so much!

Patina Adventures!

by Kelli Pope

I just LOVE a good adventure; spontaneous trips with no particular destination,
hiking with the dogs (ANYTHING with the dogs really!), attempting a new jewelry technique, forging ahead into making ceramic beads............. etc. But as I'm sure we ALL know, not EVERY adventure is smooth sailing. Luckily most of mine are, and I'm delighted every step of the way. My patina adventure, however, has been a bit of a rocky road.

Some of my very favorite components come from "MissFickleMedia", Shannon LeVart. Her pieces are grungy, rustic, earthy and ancient looking. Just my style!! I had purchased 2 patina solutions online last year, but they didn't come with instructions, and I honestly just didn't have time to do the research and mess with them. Then Shannon started selling her patinas AND a tutorial with all her patina knowledge, in her Etsy shop! WOW!!! I was THRILLED. I purchased my favorite colors right away, along with her wonderful tutorial. Then........ they sat a mocked me for months while I worked and worked to make jewelry. I just didn't have the time to play with those lovely patinas that sat and taunted me from the top shelf.

FINALLY, last week I made enough copper components that I could afford to start the patina adventure...... correction.....STEVE could start the patina adventure FOR me!! :) (he's so wonderful!) The 2 I had purchased online were "traditional" patinas, which don't need to be heated. That seemed the easiest route to start. We tried out those 2 and Shannon's verdigris (my favorite!) These were the results this morning, after overnight developing.........................

.........sigh....... not quite what I'd hoped for. They were very spotty. The far left is supposed to be brown. The center is Shannon's verdigris, which did very well, and the right is supposed to be dark red. ... .........sigh......... Per some very helpful hints from a dear, dear, wonderfully helpful friend today, I asked Steve to don a mask, sand them down, and try again.

They're actually still a little damp here......... still developing as I type. The left seems to want to be more of a muddy yellow than brown, while the right which is supposed to be red, is starting to get reddish brown. Again, the center verdigris is coming along nicely. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to pull out the best ones, and get them sealed and lacquered.


So, what lesson have I learned thus far? 1)Trust the expert. I highly recommend Shannon's patinas. If she started out experimenting, which I'm sure she did, I'm more than happy to let her experience and expertise guide me. (Her tutorial is a must, if you're new at this!!) Don't want to take the patina adventure? Her components are beautiful, and you don't have to experiment. 2) Patinas take time, and I need more patience.... :) What jewelry adventures do you have to share?

To Do List: An Update

by Patty Lakinsmith

Since I laid it all out here a few weeks ago I thought I'd share a small amount of progress I've made on my To Do list. I've finished a custom bead order, and finished this lovely Meanie ring as a belated Christmas gift for a friend. I wish Meanies grew on bushes - how fun it would be to go outside and gather a bunch!

Cyndie does such wonderful work with this ring setting, don't you think? I just love it, and it's super comfortable to wear too.

I've also finished a little repair job on some friend's earrings (soldering a very tiny catch), and am very pleased that I didn't melt them into a blob. The catch even works pretty well now.

I'm also trying to get some order in my torching area, and glass storage is a big issue. When I first started torching I used far less glass, and the system of 2" PVC pipes I used to organize it just isn't large enough any more. I really liked the system that Lori Greenberg described in this blog post, but until recently had not been able to identify any local sources for what I learned is called "ribbed rail fencing". Until last week. I found a source and bought 2-16' lengths, and cut them down into 12" lengths. While the sections aren't the same size, I think it will work just fine as there are some colors I like to keep more of than others. Now I'm on the hunt at freecycle.org and Craigslist to find a cabinet with doors (ideally glass) to hold these sections - I want my glass to stay free of dust and rodentia.

The spring garden is also coming along, with pruning and clean up of gopher snack remnants (they love the roots of bronze sedge, BTW), first batch of potatoes planted, along with radishes, cucumbers, onions, basil and beets. After a little web research I'm leaning more toward a potato bag than a potato tower, but I'm hedging my bets and putting some in big black pots too. Now if the sun would just do her part and make herself a more regular part of our days up here I'd be happier.

It's a small start, and I'm hoping for more torch time in the next few weeks. It's been too long.