Sneaky Peeky # 2

So, I’m getting close to having most of these pieces finished, but I thought you might like to see another update before they are all wrapped up:

I’ve been waiting on a couple of shipments of antique beads to arrive so that I could finish some of the chains; they came in this week so I’m good to go,

and I’ve also got to get all the custom boxes finished so that each piece has a snazzy place to call home.

I’m hoping to get most everything photographed this weekend so that they can all be up on Etsy by sometime next week.

I was also finally able to purchase some much needed toolery from Ornamentea-

I got a jeweler’s saw which will be great for working on some of the tin boxes I’ve recently gotten,

I also got a nice pair of magnifying goggles so that I can actually see what I’m doing,

and I got a good respirator so that I don’t die from the fumes and dust I’ve been creating. Well the respirator came from Home Depot, but I had to work extra hard to find one with lovely “fuchsia” dust cartridges.

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Finally, on a completely unrelated subject- I stumbled upon this shirt the other day on Etsy and think it must be about the coolest thing ever created- definitely have to have one.

Enjoy your weekend- M

Can You Say Score?

You know every now and again, you get lucky. I’m not talking lottery-type lucky because let’s be honest- if I were that lucky I could pay somebody to write this post for me -I’m just meaning I’ve come across some really good items as of late, and cannot wait to get started turning them into new pieces.

The first two things I’ve found are these awesome vintage compact cases:

They both are just oozing potential with all their openings and parts that move

Here they are disassembled-

This one is great because it has a piece that rotates a complete 360, and it has a wonderful clasp for closing the compact

This one, however, might just be the coolest shape I have ever found- it measures 2.5″ x 4″ which is perfect for a neck piece, and it has 2 doors that open, plus a nice recessed area in the top

I was also fortunate enough to find some good items this past weekend at the fleamarket:

The keys will make great clasps

And though this piece of antique celluloid would make a great centerpiece on a necklace, I think I’ll resell it in my shop.

Last but not least, what has to be my biggest stroke of luck of all- to be the Dad of a kid who looks great in striped pajamas.

Until next time-

-M

Watermarks and Illuminations

I was fortunate enough to pick up some beautiful early 19th century receipts recently, and I was thinking of using them as pieces in my jewelry.

The details and penmanship are truly something to behold.

However, the paper is wonderfully thin, and I think my favorite part of these may actually be the watermarks.

I think I’ll scan them instead of sacrificing them for art, or perhaps I’ll use them in a lightbox.

What is a lightbox you say? Lightboxes are hand-built illuminated pieces of art that I have been making for about 15 years. What I love about them is the depth and layering the pieces have, something that isn’t quite the same on a piece on canvas or panel.

You can see a number of pieces I have created over the years here.

One other random thing-

this crow sat out on our windowsill yesterday for about 15 minutes, discussing the world situation with any other birds who would listen… then again, maybe he just liked having his picture taken.

-M

Randomness

This post is just what it sounds like- complete randomness. Well, I suppose there must be some order as I chose all of these random things to share at the same time, which I guess would make them not so random.

First a cloud- yes, it's really just a cloud- I shot it the other day looking out my studio window. Something about the way it was catching the light, out there without any of its little cloud friends, just doing its thing. I suppose I relate.

This is a shot of my booth that the Handmade Market in May; I meant to share this the other day and completely forgot about it. It was a good show and is a lot of fun to do in general, especially the November holiday show.

I'm in the middle of preparing inventory for Bele Chere, and have started on another new piece of jewelry. Here is an early look at some of the basic parts. I'll try to do a full update of it soon.

And speaking of jewelry, Virtue Adrift is now up in my Etsy Shop if you'd like to stop by.

Be back soon.

-M

Virtue Adrift

Finally after much hubbub and delay (all related to my BIG NEWS of course), I can show how VIRTUE/ADRIFT turned out.

I complimented the main pendent part of the piece with a annealed stainless steel chain that has been accented with an antique brass keyhole and and Art Deco gemstone glass button. The clasp for the piece is made from a pair of antique sewing scissors. I will not even begin to take credit for the originality of that idea; the first person I ever saw use it was Keith Lo Bue, and I thought it was a wonderful way to create a practical clasp with an unexpected object. You can see more of Keith’s fabulous work at: http://www.lobue-art.com/.

Hopefully from the close-up you can see some of the weathering I have done; I am a big believer that patinas should match in a piece- it gives a piece a much more professional finished look.

As with all of my jewelry, I wanted this to be a practical piece that could actually be worn, and while I wouldn’t necessarily say that it is an “everyday” piece of wear and tear jewelry, it would be great for those times when you’re looking to make a statement. Subtle it isn’t.

This piece, along with 250 regrets, The Evening Star, and several others will probably go live on Etsy in the next day or two (unless my BIG NEWS slows things- nope, I still can’t tell you what it is yet…). I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as these are up.

-M

Adrift Part 3.

The next stage of this piece is now finished- in these photos, I have included both the before and after-and I have started the work on the chain, which I should have finished by the next post.

I have assembled all of the parts; paper has been collaged over the photo of the lady (after she was embedded in a layer of casting resin-I wanted there to be a little depth between her and the paper), and I have glued small silver micro beads along the outside to hide the paper’s edges. Over top of the book page I have spread a thin layer of “snow” glitter which is actually ground up mica flakes that are semi-transparent. I like that it helps to hide some of the wording, and gives the piece some nice sparkle.

This image looks essentially the same as the last one, except now another layer of resin has been poured to cover the beads, glitter, and paper, and I have also collaged the word “virtue” over the page. The text was taken from an old 19th century book. You can also see (a little better) the shadow which has been created along the edges of paper near the woman’s eyes- this comes from the paper being raised about a 1/16th of an inch above the photo thanks to the first layer of casting resin.

This last image shows the beginnings of the chain which I am making from annealed stainless steel. I plan to add some very special additions to this chain which I won’t give away just yet. You can see it completed in the next post.

-M

The beginning of this piece can be found here.

Adrift Part 2.

Here are the next set of in progress images- I have to admit they are not much to look at- but I really do think that the piece will turn out quite nicely in the end.

I have trimmed and set the photo down into the tin, and the paper will eventually cover the image all over except for the eyes.

On the back I have attached the nameplate with copper rivets, and I have also attached two stainless steel loops for the chain. The glue around the loops will be removed once the resin has been poured on the inside.

By the time of the next post, the piece should be much further along, and I think it will make much more sense.

The beginning to this piece can be found here.

-M

Here We Go Again

As promised, and because I am feeling slightly confident after finishing “The Evening Star”, I wanted to show you the parts of the newest piece I am beginning.

What is interesting is that this piece feels very different from the last. I can almost see it already finished, and I literally just picked out these elements about an hour ago. On the right, is an antique cabinet card of a lady with a great stare, in the middle, a small antique jelly mold or cake tin, and left, a page from a vintage Danish book dated 1932.

This will again be a neck piece, but visually, I believe it will end up being much lighter and more delicate than its polar opposite predecessor. I’ll keep you updated as we go along.

-M

The Evening Star

It is amazing how, as an artist, when I am working on a piece I come to realize that I am often working on both the conscious level and relative subconscious levels simultaneously. That can truly be said for this piece, “The Evening Star.”

The evening star as we know it most often refers to the planet Venus, which consequently is named after the roman goddess of love. Upon closer examination of this piece, I noticed that I was employing references to both without making a deliberate effort to do so.

The repetitive use of both the shape and the actual letter “V” not only helps to move the eye around the piece, but it also reinforces the piece’s name.

I noticed that the calendar piece I collaged into the bottom has the word, “Virgin” typed onto it, but the number “2″ is also clearly visible, and Venus is the 2nd planet from our sun.

If all parts of the piece are opened, the section that contains the words, “The Evening Star” is in the middle position or position 2 which again corresponds with Venus’s location in our solar system. I think the love references are fairly obvious with use of the photos.

It would be great if I could say that all of these elements were intentional, but they weren’t, and yet if they weren’t there, I don’t think the piece would be nearly as successful.

I did end up choosing to use the antique black glass beads in the chain along with stainless steel, and I think these two add a nice visual balance to the piece.

Oh well, its onto another starting tomorrow.

-M

The beginning of this piece can be found here.

A Great Fleamarket Day

Every now and again, just maybe, you get lucky. Because I go to so many fleamarkets, I know that it doesn't happen often. But today was one of those days. Not only did I run into some great antiquing friends who I haven't seen in several years, but I found a lot of great items to use in my work, and great stuff that I will also be offering in my shop of vintage supplies.

Goodies, goodies, and more goodies-

Keep an eye peeled for things to begin going up sometime next week.

-M