Here’s my latest offering — a cross-woven design that can be either elegant or happy-go-lucky, depending on your choice of bead colours.
It closes with a snap clasp so it’s easy to put on and take off with one hand.
I’ll be teaching this class at the Sundre Library on June 22. Check here for more info.
If you’re a Game of Thrones fan you’ll recognize the name Daenerys. That’s the title of this piece that I’m donating to the Legacy Land Trust Society.
The rich fire opal Swarovski crystals, set with delicate Japanese seed beads, form a one-of-a-kind necklace.
Legacy Land Trust is holding its second annual fundraiser June 4 at the Eagle Hill Community Hall and Daenerys will be part of the silent auction.
The Society was set up to conserve land in and around Mountain View County —a worthwhile cause I’m happy to support. 🙂
ArtWalk — the new kid on the art scene back in 2006 — has grown into a creative, professional event featuring some of the finest artists in Central Alberta.
The season kicks off in Olds, AB on June 18 and runs to October 2. Art work is featured in five towns — Carstairs, Didsbury, Innisfail, Olds and Sundre.
Download a copy of the map from the Wellspring site and use it as a guide to plan visits to some or all of the featured locations.
I’ll be at Inspiration Ink Tattoos & Accessories in Innisfail, AB. This is a unique shop — all the tattoo artists are women. Looking forward to having my jewelry on sale there this summer.
The festive season is well under way, filled with celebration and gift-giving. What are you wishing for?
The best gift I receive each year is a box brimming with new days. They don’t come in ribbons and wrapping paper. No gift tag saying Love, Santa. No rush delivery. No last-minute knock on the door. They’re just there.
For me this gift arrives with the Winter Solstice when Old Sol brakes, changes direction and gears up for his climb back north again. Tomorrow, December 22, is the first day of a fresh year. I get to open the best present of all.
No matter what I did with last year — whether I spent it wisely or frittered it away — I get another new one. And for the most part I get to choose how I will use it.
I know this special gift is limited. I know my days will run out. But fear of losing them won’t delay the inevitable — it will simply rob me of the joy of those that remain.
Too often we face the new year as if it is a race. We vow to become a better person. Make more money. Spend “quality” time with family. We often list all the things we didn’t do last year (or didn’t do well enough).
Perhaps one resolution is all we really need. To live each day as though it matters.
Because it does.
Friend and jewelry maker Aims Abson also joined this Art Challenge. This is her first piece, featuring her colourful polymer beads, including the pendant. You can see more of her work here.
Here is my final piece in the Challenge. It took me longer than I anticipated — 7 days instead of 5 — but I’m pleased with the results.
Golden Girl is an old-meets-new necklace — combining repurposed parts from other pieces with new cord, gold beads, and my hand-forged jump rings and clasp.
The pendant came from an earring. Although it looks heavy, looks are deceiving — it’s made mostly of paper. An intriguing composition.
My next entry in Art Challenge.
This bracelet is done in triangle stitch with Swarovski crystal pearls and facetted beads from the Czech Republic. Finished with an easy-on, easy-off snap clasp.
Today’s Art Challenge entry — a necklace.
Fire on Water is a fused glass pendant by a Vancouver Island glass artist. The dichroic colours are so rich. All it needed was a simple chain to complete the look.
Here is my offering for the second day of the Art Challenge.
Some years ago I acquired a small package of abalone shell fragments. Today seemed like the right time to use them. 🙂
The word abalone actually refers to a large group of small to very large edible sea snails. Some wild forms are endangered but most abalone consumed today come from farmed sea snails.
These pieces are from the inner shell which is made of nacre (the same material that real pearls are made of). The nacre produces the amazingly iridescent colours which change depending on how the light hits them.Gorgeous!
Friend and artist Judi Martinez nominated me for the Create 5 Art Challenge. The idea is to produce a new piece of art each day for 5 days, posting it on FaceBook or your blog or website as you go.
Here’s one of the cute little fish she’s painting as part of her challenge. You can find her other Art Challenge pieces here.
Judi isn’t too sure where all this started — but I need a push right now, so I accepted. It’s sort of like a chain letter, without the dire threats of damnation if you fail to pass it on.
Here’s today’s effort — Ball & Chain.
Okay. You don’t know it, but I started this piece about 2 years ago. Since then it has sat on the shelf above my computer. I’d occasionally look at it, I mean really look at it, and think, Well, it shouldn’t be too hard to finish. I should just do it. Then of course, I wouldn’t.
Today. I. Did. Finish. It.
Now that that’s out of the way, I need to fulfill the rest of the challenge — nominating another artist to join our creative march. Hmmm …
Five intensive days. Five long days. Short nights. Steep learning curves. Meals on the run. New ideas. Surprising techniques.
By the end of the week I was exhausted. And invigorated. This is the fourth year I’ve taken a course at Red Deer College’s Summer Series and it just keeps getting better.
Our instructor, Crys Harse, is a talented metalsmith. I took Adventures in Metalsmithing from her last year. This summer she offered Surface Textures for Metals which added a new dimension to working with metals.
Who’da thunk you could be so creative with things like glue sticks, graphite (toner used for photocopiers), Sharpies. Wite-Out, spray paint, steel wool, metallic stamps, stamp pads — well, the list goes on and on. Great fun working with these.
A bonus about our class was the size — only 5 of us. It was a great group with an array of skills and lots of sharing.
Summer time and art venues are popping up like new grass. It’s wonderful!
Artist Denise Collins is running Art in the Park, an event that appeals to me. It’s happening in the Village of Cremona, AB. Starting Sunday June 7, it will run every second Sunday at the Nature Trail Park on Main Street, from 1 to 4 pm.
She’s inviting artists in all mediums to join her. There is no charge to set up your display and sell your work. Bring your own table, chair, tent — whatever you need. You may also want to do demonstrations — always a good way of connecting with potential buyers.
“If you feel more comfortable with a tent, please feel free to bring one,” says Denise. “The event typically will not run if it’s raining, as people tend to avoid the park on rainy days. But if you would like one for shade, I ask that you bring your own.
“We are currently in the process of building a gazebo for the park, which should be finished in the next couple weeks. That will be open for artists to put their tables in as well once it’s completed.”
Denise says Art in the Park is pretty relaxed. You can set up at 1 pm but slightly before is preferable. As far as take down, it’s preferable if you can stay until 4 but if you have to leave early that is just fine.
If you’d like to take part, let Denise know so she can include you in the advertising. (Click on poster for details.) She’ll be set up on each of those Sundays doing drawing demonstrations.
“There should be info on the Village of Cremona’s website. And on the Cremona Buy and Sell FB page. Depending on how this year goes, I will consider starting up a website for next year.
“You don’t have to attend all the dates either. It runs into August and you can attend as many or as few days as you like. The village and all the people who stopped last year were thrilled with the event!”
Sterling silver jewelry is beautiful. It can also be kinda yucky when tarnish sets in, as it will eventually.
Some people like the dark patina. In fact you can actually use certain chemicals to speed up the tarnish.
But what if you want that shiny look?
You can buy special polishing cloths that do a pretty good job of bringing back the sparkle — but if you’re dealing with something small, like ear wires, those cloths don’t work quite as well.
I needed to clean up several pairs of heavily tarnished ear wires. I looked online for answers and found one that used tinfoil and baking soda.
Huh?
It sounded weird but several people swore it worked. I gave it a try.
You know the saying: When something seems to good to be true, it usually is.
Not this time.
This stuff works. Really. This little chemistry lesson in a bowl gave me back a pair of shiny ear wires. Wow.
As for using crinkled or flat tinfoil, I couldn’t see the difference. Wait time? You can see the reaction take place so when things are shiny, take them out. Lightly tarnished pieces will be ready sooner than ones with a heavy layer.
Magic aside, I wanted to know why this worked. If you’re curious about the answer check out this explanation.
Spoiler Alert: If you have sterling silver jewelry with gemstones, pearls or beads you’ll need to do further research before trying this technique.
I’m teaching a new class on earring making and needed a way to display samples so that prospective students could see firsthand what they might make.
I tried several ideas but none of them showed the earrings off to advantage — they looked crammed together and uninviting.
Styrofoam to the rescue!
I have several pieces of styrofoam that I use under display cloth at my show booth. Also in my stash of why-did-I-ever-buy-these things were some pins I’d bought years ago and never used.
I covered the styrofoam with a large sheet of white paper. I did a neat, taped down fold to finish it off so that I could pin earring samples to all 4 sides.
The tricky part was getting the display to stand upright without falling over. I thought about making a base around the foam but didn’t have time.
Instead I made foldover loops of masking tape, stuck them on the bottom of the foam and then stuck that into the bottom of a pretty glass plate. I filled the plate with dried beans to add more support and to finish off the display.
This turned out to be a quick and easy display and it didn’t cost me anything (always a nice benefit).
While I’ve used it to show off individual earrings, it could be used to display earring pairs. Although I put most of my earrings on individual cards, I also have some discounted and sale earrings that sit in a small basket. This upright display would show them all at a glance.
Since these forms are easy to make you could create a nice tiered effect by adding 1 or 2 more of different heights. When earrings sell and you want to add another pair, use the same pinholes to keep it looking neat.
Earrings are fun to wear — and even more so when you’ve made them yourself. If you’d like create your own earrings you might want to sign up for my new class Earring Bling!
The class is designed for beginners (more experienced jewelry makers are also welcome). I’ll take you step by step through the process from idea to finished piece. At the end of the evening you’ll have 3 pairs of lovely earrings.
I bring all the supplies — beads, crystals, pearls, charms and more — and the tools. I’ll have earring samples you can use for inspiration or you can create your own designs. If you have beads or charms at home you’d like use, be sure to bring them along.
The class runs Wednesday June 10 at the Sundre Library. Registration is limited to 8 people. Please call the Library to register (403) 638-4000.
Do you ever long for a bigger stash of beads? More wire? Better tools? Do you dream of all the things you could create if only … ?
I do.
But something weird happened lately that changed my mind.
My first show of the season was quickly approaching when a dreadful truth hit: I don’t have enough new pieces.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
I had only a skimpy supply of materials with me: wire, a few pieces of old jewelry, some glass beads, and a couple of Swarovski pearls. A gloomy prospect.
Why, oh why, I whined, hadn’t I brought more stuff?
Like Mother Hubbard, I gazed at my almost-empty cupboard. Impending doom settled on me.
I needed new work. And I needed it now.
Out came the hammers and pliers and wire cutters. I hammered and texturized. I twisted and bent. I strung beads and coiled wire.
It took awhile, but after several mistakes I got into a creative vibe. Where I’d seen limitations I began to see designs. Lots of them. It was like someone sprinkled magic dust in the air.
By the time I finished I had 10 different pairs of earrings. Amazing. Who’da thunk all those pieces could have come from so little?
Best of all? At the show last weekend those earrings got the most attention — and brought the most sales.
Go figure. Sometimes less really is more. 🙂
Beau Dangles 