HappyDayArt!

Playing with my iPad while waiting for a friend at the dentist's office

Spending a little time for myself and dreaming of trees. These were made in an app called ARTREE that let's you choose size, shape of flowers and leaves, colors of those and the background and then takes your impulses to create . . . over and over and over again . . . beautifully random.

Rocks!

So then I went crazy over drusy.  I saw some photos of some on etsy and went on a hunt in person.  I covered two gem shows and stayed all day, asking questions.  Essentially they are numerous small crystals on a rock surface, emphasis on small.  In my previous post the silvered one at the beginning is a great example and so is the ajoite further down on the right side of the photo.

I didn't find any good drusy at those shows but I did find these:

This is Stilbite on chalcedony stalactite from India.  It's a beautiful slate, steel blue.  It looks like this in my hand:

Here's an agate stalactite:

It's black like licorice gumdrops.  In my hand it looks like this:

It's going to look so good cut into pieces, properly shaped and set into a ring or a pendant.  I think I can make three pieces that can be set with this one.

And here is my variscite stash.  

When trying to look it up online I get a link to "see turquoise" but that is a misnomer, even though I also read that "The sky-blue varieties are the most valued as gems."  I also read that "it is hydrated phosphate of aluminum and is sometimes used as a substitute for turquoise".  In another entry at "GEMROCKS: Ornamental & Curio Stones" I found that it's hardness is 3.5 - 4.5 - so it's not every hard and that's why it's mostly used for cabochons and carvings.  Good, that's what I am looking for.

About turquoise:  I found out that most turquoise is treated in some way to be harder and not so porous and/or to enhance it's color.  A lot of "turquoise" in today's market has been treated or is reconstructed.  If you want to be sure that something is natural, untreated turquoise you need to get it through a jeweler you trust or someone who has the equipment to test it.  A few points seem important to note:  "Untreated turquoise is porous and possibly brittle and natural turquoise is often backed with a rigid layer of something to make it more durable.

GEMROCKS says about variscite:  "Two ... things should be kept in mind when sawing and polishing variscite rough:   1. sawing should not be done using oil because variscite and some of the other minerals in the typical nodules absorb and become discolored with oils;   2. polishing ... to a flat surface may be difficult because the variscite and other mineral constituents have different hardnesses and/or different degrees of compactness even within individual nodules.  3. caution when cleaning any variscite that has not been treated:   Do NOT use an ultrasonic cleaner,  common cleaning agents or other chemicals (e.g., alcohol or acetone), steam, or even hot water;  use only soft clean absorbent cloth to clean it;  leave it on a dry absorbent cloth until it is completely dry; [and] never let it soak in water of any temperature.

Some carvers of variscite matrix material have fashioned their works so the matrix material greatly enhances or actually provides part of the character of the resulting figures."

And that's the reason I wanted these rocks, because I don't want treated or stabilized or oiled or waxed or dyed or varnished or epoxied.  I want what it looks like and the ease of cutting in this state.  I may seal my finished stones with a little Renaissance Wax at the end.  I will play it by ear.

At one of the gem shows I bought this beautiful, highly polished variscite cabochon and started making a ring for it last week.  It's my 4th Ring a Week.

I had a blast soldering the bezel and some twist wire around it to a small piece of sterling silver sheet.  It took awhile because I was nervous I would melt it but I didn't.  (hooray!)  That rough spot on the base of the setting is some solder that flipped off the bubbling flux and landed in the middle when I was soldering.  I polished it off before I set the stone.

I also soldered small, balled bits of fine silver to the edge after I sawed out the shape of my back plate.  Here are the top, back and side of my finished ring:

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It's a big one and I am so happy with it!

SO I finished it and then the next day I was off to the 60th Anniversary party of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild.  I just became a member recently to broaden my horizons.  It was a fun party and I met some famous and interesting people wearing really great jewelry.  Of course I wore my new ring! . . . and my filigree-style heart with the little birdcage inside of it on the spiral link chain together with a 38 inch fused little blob link chain, oh, and some PMC lace earrings and 3 sterling bangles I made and another ring I made of PMC too.  I was all decked out in a pretty dress and ready to meet people.  

All the members who attended received this cute little pin commemorating the grand occasion.  There were two women there who were founding members being honored for their lifelong participation, artistry and craftsmanship.  They each wore beautiful handmade necklaces with matching earrings.  For me it was the right place at the right time!

Many of you wrote to say you liked getting a glimpse of my studio out in the yard.  Thanks for writing.  I thought you'd enjoy seeing my work bench inside the house, downstairs where it's not so organized.  I took this late one night after I was working for a while - real life!

click on it . . . yeah, there goes the fantasy . . .

Like a recipe, I'm going to start with the basic ingredients.

and one of the ingredients to making rings is metal of course and another very important ingredient are "ROCKS".  

I've been thinking about this and planning for months now and I've got almost everything set up to start making my own cabochons and carved stones.  I've been reading everything I can find on the web and I even got some great books like "Introduction to Lapidary" by Pansy D. Kraus, "American Lapidary, Designing the Carved Gemstone" by Henry Hunt and also another of his books called "Lapidary Carving for Creative Jewelry".  

I scoured ebay and lapidary sites for photos of stones so I could develop a bit of judgement about what I was getting and I've been to two rock shows and stayed almost all day asking questions and sifting through  ROCKS! 

I got this fantastic ring from Tess at dolldisasterdesign on etsy.  

It's a smashing silvered druzy agate in a setting that she made for me in a ring of size 9-1/2 (the lady with the fat little fingers!).  I haven't found anything like that druzy yet myself.  I stalk her shop and admire her quirky sense of style.

Anyway, I did take that class I mentioned From Dana Driver back in August and it was wonderful!  

Here's one of her class samples:

I learned so much.  I came with many questions about rock of all kinds and left knowing:

 a) how to tumble rocks and why

b) how to cut and carve rocks using diamond drill bits and my flexshaft

c) how to embed silver wire into recesses I carved myself

d) the process of finishing the rocks in almost any manner I choose

e) building things with the rocks

I found this ring of hers at one of the galleries in Mendocino and snatched it up!

♥♥♥♥♥

Since then I purchased a combination trim saw and lap machine for myself so I could make some cabs and attempt faceting too.  

Wanna see how my studio is shaping up?  Sure you do!

I spent a couple of days and cleaned it all out.  It looks so clean now.

That's my sink area cleaner than it's ever been and here's the "carving, tumbling and dop station" area.

This tumbler can hold 6 pounds of rock and grit at a time.  It was an anniversary present from my husband.  Sigh . . .

I also got another tumbler (one with 2-3 pound capacity barrels) so I could have dedicated tumblers for each size grit I want to use, course, medium and fine.  

Then I got those rock slabs (see them again 2 posts back here) that I've been planning out the cutting of and I'm going to get to work on them soon.  I've been reading a ton about rocks, hardness, diamond drill bits and bezels.

Check out this beautiful red reticulated quartz I found in a shop online.  It's huge!  It's peachy pink and I am going to set it into SOMETHING! (click on any photo for a larger view)

Here's my dedicated rotary drill I got just for carving rocks:

It wasn't expensive and not a name brand but I got a foredom foot pedal that makes it worth using.

Here's my carving station:

the dop station with sticks and wax ready for melting:

The tabletop convertible trim saw by Inland:

This is what a trim saw looks like and it's used to trim small slabs of rock into the smaller pieces for cabochons:

and this is the lap unit that's an interchangeable table top for the same machine and will hold discs with diamond particles on them in various grit sizes to grind stones into the shapes I want:

and the info sheet so I can refer to it when I am wondering what the hell I am doing:

I'm waiting for a warm sunny day because it's been very cold out there.

I just wanted to show you these two stone specimens I got, of all places on ebay.  The stone is called "Ajoite".

The color knocks me out!  I lllooooooove it!

I'm planning to cut the sparkly druzy looking one down and set pieces of it somehow and I'm going to fabricate a setting for the chunk of it on the left as is.

Here's a little bit about this stone I found on the web:

Ajoite was first found identified at Ajo in Arizona where it was discovered by the Papago Indians and highly valued as a bringer of purity and peace. Up until the early 1960's it was thought to be the only occurrence of this mineral. In fact it had been found, but not correctly identified, in 1947 at Messina (now called Musina) in the far North of South Africa. Only when a second pocket was discovered in 1960 was it correctly identified. The last discovery was in 1991 at the Messina mine in excess of 4000 foot below the surface. Since then the mine has been closed due to the very dangerous conditions - the mine in South Africa has become flooded. It is highly unlikely that the mine will ever be opened again. As a result of this the Ajoite crystals, which are much prized by mineral collectors, are virtually impossible to obtain. 

Ajoite is highly prized by mineral collectors for it's intense blue/green coloring and also for it's metaphysical properties.

Scientific Properties:

Mohs Hardness of 5 with a microcrystal crystal structure.

Mystical Properties:

It is a strengthener, healer and harmonizer of the emotional body. It has very sweet vibrations not only to soothe us but to draw out the poison of one’s subconsciously held sorrows, fears, rage and old woundings. It can help release and overcome the sorrow, anger, fear, and heal old emotional wounds. Ajoite also helps connect to the Higher Self and God/Universe/Goddess/All That Is.

Excellent for meditation, Ajoite can bring both tears and laughter as feelings arise in what is often a deep yet gentle release of inner tensions. It can awaken feelings of forgiveness and compassion- for oneself as well as others which is key in the healing process on all levels. It acts as a stone of transformation, bringing change and growth in a spirit of love.

Healing Properties:

Physically, ajoite is a very powerful healing booster, and is a great stone for healers and spiritual seekers. It can be used for preservation and rejuvenation on all levels and can stimulate total well being.  

I was never one to believe in such things but I really do like what I have read about this stone and that's why I had to have some.  The package took over a month for it to get here.  I was so glad to get it!

Today's quote:

"Anything you're good at contributes to happiness." -Bertrand Russell

I'm going to attempt to get good at exploring this new avenue.  It makes me happy already.

RAW #2

I made this second ring for the challenge by cutting a piece of flat bezel wire with pinking shears and shaped it to my stone - a teardrop blue labradorite.  Then I soldered it at the join and onto a little rectangular base that was bigger than the bezel using little cutout bits of sheet solder.  I sawed out the shape of the base after I drew it on the silver with a sharpie.  Very high tech work.  After the sawing, because the points were sticking straight up my fingers were really sore trying to keep the piece on my bench block.  But I persevered and shaped some heavy gauge 1/2 round wire and soldered it to the back.

I did saw these two little teardrops out of the back of my ring before I attached the band.  The stone was so beautifully blue I wanted it to show on the other side and I'd seen other people do this and I wanted to give it a try. 

See the little gold bits?  I cut a couple of little short lengths of 22 kt gold wire and balled the ends, drilled a couple of holes in two of the rays of my ring and riveted them from the back.  The other dots were stamped on with a marking punch that had the point hammered down by accident by a student of mine.  A fortunate accident and I'm glad I kept it.  The last things I did was add a patina to the little dots with a tiny paintbrush and polish off the top.  I gave it a satin finish with a hard brass brush.

RAW #3

I made another set of stacking rings with PMC.  

I got the rainbow colors on the one on the left by assembling parts together with thick PMC paste, sanding with medium grit sandpaper for texture, firing and adding patina with a warm solution of LOS. I think the yellows blues and reds were a result of using paste with a different level of silver particles in the binder.  These two can be worn together and one peaks out from behind the other.

See some more rings here.  It will boggle your mind!~

Completed work and RAW

The house has really quieted down since the kids went back to school last Monday.  I was happy about it because I got to have some quiet time to myself to finish some of my projects that needed more work.  I'm just going to show you the photos I took yesterday and today and I hope you enjoy them.

I'm showing this photo because I decided to do something differently than I usually do.  I didn't tumble them, only brushed them with a soft brass brush and I used a different patina solution.  I wanted more black and liver of sulphur wasn't going to give me that.  I used "Black Max" and it's a stronger chemical and contains hydrochloric acid and I only have a little and don't use it very often.  I use a small paintbrush and paint it on and I skip the back of the pieces except for the little spot where I sign each piece.

By the time I'm finished painting a piece with the Black Max it has dried but I still rinse it off in water and then drop it into a small container of water that has a couple of spoonfuls of baking soda in it and it neutralizes the hydrochloric acid.  I rinse it well again and dry each piece and then I polish with a pro-polish foam pad or a sunshine cloth.

This is what I got:

I'm very happy with them.  Here is the flip side of the biggest focal pendant on the bottom right:

You wouldn't know it if I didn't tell you but that center piece I got from  a wine glass:

The detail on the wine glass is an "innie".  I think it looks great on that pendant!  I made a mold of this next piece because it's an "outie"

 

and I am going to try making another one of these pendants with it.  Many of the other details on that pendant I carved into it.  The rose was made from a mold I got of a bone rose bead. 

This is a great thing for some detail "buttons" I call them:

It's from McDonalds!

So a couple of years ago I made two hearts with my filigree-style syringe technique, put little birdcages with birds inside them and I made a chain for one of them, sent it around and it got into the second PMC Annual.  This one:

The other one has been sitting around on my work bench for 2-1/2 years so I thought I should finish it and also that it needed a fancy chain because a plain store bought chain just wouldn't do.

So I started working on this chain:

So I made a lot of it and it's now 24 inches long.

I used 20 gauge argentium sterling silver wire and I fused it with my handheld torch.  

This is my clasp:

I hammered that hook a little to make it good and hard.  

Finished necklace.  See that this heart is different?  It has some tiny dots on it for decoration and that's why I balled the ends of my wire when I made this chain.

Finally, I have pics of my first "Ring a Week (RAW)".  First three are the ring unfired:

Top side view:

and this last view shows that the shank isn't attached but overlaps so it can be adjusted for size:

I always fire PMC+ rings for 2 hours at 1650° so that they are fully sintered and at their strongest.  I do that because rings can distort in the firing and I like to shape them on a ring mandrel with a rawhide mallet and also because I don't want them to break.  I make my ring shanks "6 playing cards thick" and that makes a good strong ring. 

I've had my kiln for 11 years and it's operated perfectly all those years.  I started firing PMC3 pieces at that time and temperature too and I noticed lately that when I take the pieces out of the kiln they look sparkly like they are made up of crystals but they brush down shiny just fine with the brass brush.  I did an experiment this time and lowered the temperature of my firing to 1550° for 2 hours and I didn't get that quality.  I think because I've had the kiln so long, perhaps it's firing somewhat hotter than it used to.  In either case I have never broken a fired ring using these rules.

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See the way it overlaps in this photo on the top left side?  

I made another ring too while I was working on it:

I think they look great together!

Go see the other rings over on FLickr - RAW!

Hey! Is anybody out there?

THAT'S NOT STATIC, that's the fog clearing with psychedelic awareness.

I am lurking on my own blog, have been thinking about posting for a long while, hmm, actually since I stopped posting back in June.

Truthfully, I was just burnt out on all the activity.  Most of it was about needing to rest.  I had lost my sense of humor too . . . taking life way too seriously.  I had run myself to my stopping point and while I've had lots of ideas and have been jotting them down . . . on any sheet of paper I can find when the ideas hit, putting them into actual hard, reality wasn't interesting enough to get me out of my dream world.  My body needed REST! (so I have been sleeping in - yes I have - can you believe it?  Since June!)

I have pages of lists here!  I've been doing what needs to be done and thinking about the other truth that when I am excited about "it", whatever "it" is, nothing can stop me, not even my husband, my kids, and 3 dogs.  

I have compiled a short recap because to go back would make me crazy - sorry about that.  I was so tired after all the things I was into and I was done keeping all the plates spinning and dropped them all - well maybe not all.

*  I went to Europe for 3 weeks with a 16 year old - "OY!" 

*  I took 4000 photos on that trip and became overwhelmed with them.  There are now 24,624 photos in iPhoto on my laptop.  OMG!

*  I went to the Alameda Flea market 3 or 4 times and got some great loot and met up with some artsy friends - lots of friends.  It is a must do place nowadays, well not when it's raining.

*  I took the class from Dana Driver at the Mendocino Art Center and learned a ton and then I bought some more tools!  Big surprise right?

a few of my carved rocks and the silver I imbedded into the channels I learned to carve.

*  I went to a Bob Dylan concert and also saw Van Morrison.  Great times!

*  I went to 2 gem and mineral shows and a bead extravaganza and I now own rocks and slabs for making my own cabs and carved stones for setting.  Now THAT is exciting!  My favorite is variscite (looks like turquoise with brown lines and inclusions) and I will post some stones I cut and carve in the near future.  Yes, near!  I also got (l-r) moss agate, sugilite, chinese writing stone, sodalite, lapis, green aveturine, sleeping beauty turquoise and that last little chunk is larimar (Ooooooh!):

I found a particularly beautiful specimen (Don't I talk like a rock hound and gem specialist now?  Yes, I am learning all the lingo.) of a stone I learned about online, and found on ebay of all places called "ajoite" and it is gorgeous.  I will tell you more about it in another post.  It is a stunner!

*  I took a bookmaking/collage class from Kelly Kilmer and a PMC class from Christi Anderson.  I also got to go to dinner with each one.  BONUS!  I AM SO LUCKY!

*  I got through almost 24/7 of Thanksgiving week and the 2 weeks of Christmas with my family - and we are all still speaking to each other.  I think it's possible we are becoming more patient people.

*  Some of my best friendships have deepened and some I left behind.

*  My husband and I are happy we are together and loving each other at 25 years.  That's a milestone for me.  There is absolutely nothing else in my life I have ever stuck with for that long, except maybe taking showers, brushing my teeth and driving a car.  Think about that for a minute!

*I have been sleeping in until 8:30 am 80% of my days since summer began and I have no ailments - except teenagers.

*I've been processing, percolating, hibernating, thinking, drawing, reading, changing, evolving in my cocoon and I am almost ready to come out . . . almost.  I guess this means I am out right?

I really don't feel like the same person I was before.  

That's me at 28 years old in my wedding dress!  

I have changed.  Yes I have.  Some of the things I was so sure I wanted I no longer care about.  I can't remember things like I used to and my eyesight is changing quite a bit and that is a big inconvenience.  Thank goodness for 1.5's and 3.0's and being able to afford a pair of each in each room and/or perched on my head.

My resolutions are:

‎1. Have as much fun as possible!

2. Forget the "shoulds".

My words for this year:

"Letting go"  ❄。¨¯`*✲ ´*。. ❄¨¯`*✲。 ❄*´*

of the need to collect everything and keep everything (friends who are moving on as well), of the feeling of being overwhelmed when it comes and goes, and I am letting go of the heat of hot flashes that no one else feels but me (?), of needing to control the outcome for so many scenarios that I have imagined that maybe never even happened except in my own mind.  I am letting go . . . the hurts, the betrayed feelings, the anger I remember and play over and over for myself that makes it hurt more.  What use are these to me?  I am letting go . . .

I am who I am.  I am forgiving myself for mistakes I think I made and for the ones I really made.  I am forgiving myself for the friendships I lost that I thought I cared about and the only person I could blame was me or them.  I have been particularly hard on myself, judgmental of what I have done and not done and this is me saying that it's enough now and the future is open and I am still creating mine as I speak.  It is a glorious feast and I am going to enjoy it.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this one day while driving home from San Francisco and smiled to remember the influence and pleasure the Beatles have had on my life.  All the words!  This image!  I love the time I live in!

I'm not going back to cover my tracks.  I'm hoping that by my silence everyone will know I am forgiving us everything and if I ever get the opportunity to loop back on something or someone, I will try to clean it up as best I can.

Here's what I'm going to do:

I am going to make things.  Oh yeah!

That's how this all started in the first place.  I am going to go where the fun and my imagination takes me.  I think it might be hard to do sometimes because I am a creature who likes her comfort and her habits even if they aren't good for her and "it's easy to get lost in the drama in our head".  (read this and then cross your eyes for a second) ( oh, and then stick your tongue out and look in the mirror) Ha, ha!

I am going to journal and cut and paste MORE than ever!

Oh gosh I saw this ad one day during the Christmas email shopping frenzy and I grabbed this because it made me laugh.

Like if I don't hurry up and do what I should be doing, I will lose my chance.  Not just this chance . . . MY LAST CHANCE!  That's when I laughed out loud and got the joke, the one that was making me so mad all along.  I don't want to hurry.  What is the use of that?

That's me at a friend's Christmas party.  I was taking refuge in the bedroom when there were so many people and the heat was getting to me so I went and hid in there and spent some time greeting people when they put their coats in or picked them up.  I took pictures of myself with my friendly iPhone.  On the vanity tucked in the corner of the mirror was a little piece of paper with the quote:

"There is only one success . . . to be able to spend your life in your own creativity." -Christopher Morley

I am going to meet more people and make more friends.

little amigurumi critters I found on Etsy

I think the right things come to you when you are ready and sometimes you get all dazzled by all the shiny lights and your brain goes "tilt" and then you need a good shaking . . . my husband would say spanking, but that's a different story for another blog.

Here is my girl:

changing before my eyes into a young woman in charge of herself and yet,

still so young, 17

Here's my boy:

he'll be 16 soon enough.  Help me teach him SOMETHING!

In November I didn't feel like working much and then in December it was cold and dark and rainy and I started making gifts.  It spilled over into new ideas taking shape:

 

 

A new outlook cued by a calendar at the bookstore:

Altered for my journal in an iPhone app:

I am going to relax more and try not to get too worked up over things.

I have joined "Ring a Week" on Flickr and I am going to make at least 52 rings this year!  And see, I still stay up late, that's just me!

 

That's exciting!  Especially because I will get to virtually brush up against some very talented metalsmiths and metalclay artists and keep learning, one of my very favorite things to do.  OH NO!  I just went over there for the link and almost had a seizure.  Someone made a ring . . . I may be in over my head but that's a good challenge to have.  (goosebumps)

and I am going to have more fun with my family and doggies:

doggies in a pile - Terry, Cookie and Lucky

two in this pile - Terry and Cookie

Cookie is 1-1/2 now and she, of course, likes the sun.

Loving the ads I get in emails from places like "Free People" and "Urban Outfitters".  I found this:

I think people know about me.  Happy New 2011!