Two New Pieces & A Peek at The Process

Stormy Seas Shield Ring 

in sterling silver and natural turquoise

Luna Ring

in sterling silver, natural turquoise, and yellow turquoise

Here are a few new big pieces I have been working on...I love them both very much.  (Click on the links above the photos to find them in my shop.)

I have found that the familiarity of contour, shape, and line...those friends that I made so long ago; sketching, painting, doodling, attending art school, cutting hair, sewing scraps of fabric together...find themselves comfortably working once again, beside me at my bench, as I work as a metalsmith.

Every piece starts as a line drawing.  I see it in three dimensions. I draw a pattern.  I etch its idea into the metal.

I cut, solder, and file away at the work until it is the vision I could have painted on paper..the moment I knew just what I was going to create.

I love the creating.

“Let the beauty we love be what we do. There 

are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the 

ground.”

~Rumi

Instagram In The Studio

It has been so exciting lately at the bench because I finally broke down and bought some cabachons to work with.  I made a few BIG sales last week in my shop and put the money right back into it!  :)

These pics are of the process that created my Persephone Ring in Snakeskin Agate and Sterling Silver.

Here's the final result:

Persephone Ring In Snakeskin Agate and Sterling Silver

My Infatuation With Turquoise Comes From the Desert

Junk Pile in Abiquiu, New Mexico

Sawtooth Mountains Seen From the Idaho Desert

Sundown at Anderson Ranch Reservoir, Idaho

I grew up in the west in Idaho, climbing foothills, familiar with sagebrush.  I love the openness that is the desert, with its vast blue skies and subtle wheats and yellows that paint the land in grasses and sticker bushes.  As you can see, Idaho is full of the desert's beauty.  A few summers ago when I stayed in Abiquiu, New Mexico, I fell in love with the desert all over again.  So I must be a bit of a western girl at heart (just a tiny bit) and I love wearing anything with a turquoise stone in it.  This week, I have had the pleasure of making my own turquoise jewelry, I think it carries a desert essence, don't you?

Daydreamer Ring

Wallflower Ring

Hammer, Hammer

I have been so busy with hiking and working in the studio, I have hardly been keeping up with blogs at all!  Well here is a peek at some new things in the shop, and soon I will post about the second lovely hike in Forest Park.

I am happy to report that I have made my first sales in the shop (three, yes, three!!!).  Having purchases from the shop is such a positive thing, I feel very blessed!  It is always fulfilling to create something, but when someone buys it, they are telling you your work is good, even worth paying money for.  Such a good feeling.  I will have to share the love soon and make a few handmade purchases off of Etsy myself!

Fabricated Copper Crystal Ring

Desert Jasper Pendant

Copper and Turquoise Raindrop Earrings

Bitty Studs: Halley's Comet

Bitty Studs: Little Bird

Bitty Studs: Hoot Owl

New Rings

Fun new rings are posted in my shop Tarnished & True on Etsy.  Go on over and see!