The Unexpected Earrings

I took some of those sweet little stretched circles from yesterday and nipped out a section at the top.

Did a bit of reshaping, filing, and sanding with a smidgen of drilling and fusing and came up with these...

All-in-all a good days work.
Another good day.

Something Unexpected....

Today I wanted to experiment more with domed shapes with openings in them. I started by cutting out a circle of copper and cut another circle out of that then my plan was to dome it and join 2 together to make a round clam-shaped sort of thing with a hole all the way through it.

I positioned the hole off center and because I cut out the hole before I domed it, the perfect circle stretched into a teardrop shape. I wasn't thinking that would happen but as soon as it did I thought "of course!" ~~Metal always follows the path of least resistance. Always.

So I wound up making several of these to play with tomorrow.
Earrings....? Pendants...?
Hmmmmmm.

What will you be?

The shape after dapping

It came to me today... when they are rounded out (dapped or domed) they're like mangoes.

These are destined to be earrings....maybe.....

"the shape"

Oh how I love open studios at Krasl.
I'm playing with "the shape" again.
Varying the size, there are 4 sizes here, I'll probably settle on 3....
or maybe 5....heh-heh.



These hammered out beautifully, lush and round, I lost my light this eve or I'd show them to you. The shape is like something....just can't place my finger on it... It will come to me....
Prototype sets of the phase one earrings are in the hands (lobes) of reviewers and so far so good.

New Tool Alert:: Dust Collector/air cleaner

Introducing VCMetalworks' first major purchase.
It arrived on Wednesday. Isn't it cuuuuuuute?!

A good deep breath.
Number one on my what-is-truly-important-to-my-future list.

Open Artist Studios @210

HOURS*: Fridays 3 - 7pm and Saturdays 10 - 3pm
thru Christmas

The Studios @ 210:
12 working artist studios housed in an old warehouse with public
areas, classroom and gallery space. Art on display and for sale.
*also by chance or appointment


I'll be hanging out down at my studio, 210 Water Street, Benton Harbor 10-3 this Saturday. Several of the artists have decided to host open studio days, where folks can come wondering in to take a look at what we all do.

There will also be some artwork for sale.

So come on by and say hi, I'll be happy to show you what I'm working on or let you peek into the other artists studios.

Hope to see you there!

The artists participating are:

VCMetalworks Jewelry- Vicki Cook

Pam Harper - Glass, Illustration Artist

Your Bohemian Life - Unique Handcrafted Gifts
Teri Robinson + Sandi Kalin

Angela Caldwell Designs - Jewelry

The Ceramic House - Janet Hurlbert

Just leave me a comment here if you would like more details or to set an appointment.

Prototype Shape Earrings

Just off the sketchbook...

Slightly sharper shots than yesterday, still tinkering with these. They have to be as close to perfect as I can make them before I send them to friends for prototype reviews.

Should have a couple pairs good to go out next week....
*does a little nervous bounce*
Then, after getting some technical feedback from my reviewers I plan to tweak the design accordingly and make 10 pairs. *phew*
What a process.

Prototype Shape: The Story Continues

So far, so good. Well, except for the lack of light.
I decided to take the shape and use it just as is, very little alteration. Lost the pink/orange/red heat patination while I did the earwire, but the copper will fix that in the long run.

I left the wires long so I could find the best balance point when actually dangling from a lobe.

Now I'm imagining piercing this shape...or doing some light repousse and chasing....or soldering little yummy bits to the face...or...or...or...yup Toni, you are right- These are things that make me go 'hmmmmmmm'

Prototype shape

I made these yesterday during open studio at Krasl. It's an idea I dug out of a year old sketch book. The idea has been poking and prodding my mind lately so I'm setting it loose. They almost curl, almost, like if they were leaves or pods and you were keeping an eye on them, on your morning walks, tomorrow they would have that curl and you could slide one on your finger....

When I got home I tossed them on the table, they would make nice chimes.

During dinner I moved them around, stacked them, nested them, imagined wires stringing them together.

These are going to be big fun.

What will they be in the end....?

I can't wait to get them to the studio.

*pokes them*

*they chime back*

Leaf with Raindrops

What if I set a transparent domed stone over textured metal?
Hmmmmmmm.

Leaf with Rain Drops

Sweet.

Warning: New Tool Alert

So you know those weeks when you just keep moving along, working hard, wondering "WHAT have I gotten myself into...WHY am I working so hard at this?"

Well, today I got an answer to that question.



And she has five speeds.
*purrrrs*

For the tools baby, it's all for the tools.

Happy Hour Martini

My kind of martini, near equal parts gin and vermouth.
Many, many olives.
Too many?*

*No such thing as too many olives.

A ring for Nancy

Ring-a-ding-ding.

I hope she likes it.

Delivered Fresh

Delivered fresh to Chartreuse Co-Op Art Gallery

New works by all artists are showing up daily.