Being where I love to be

I had to include a picture of me in my work space and at work as part of a show application so I decided to share it with my friends.  Ahhhhh, I so very much love all these toys & tools!

Defying Logic

How do I describe the month of November & December.  Stressful?  Exciting?  Stress-free?  Fun?  Challenging?  Unpredictable?  Predictable?  All of those things.

Despite the fact that I had three shows in November and two in December with travel involved, despite the fact that I lost two weeks in December with a root canal gone bad, despite the fact that I lost another week and a half with a nasty cold that popped up the night before a show, despite the fact that we hadn't really cleaned our house for 6 months but we had family coming from Washington State for a week over Thanksgiving, despite the fact that the two BIGGEST holidays over the year occur over 4 very short weeks, despite the fact that I didn't start my Christmas shopping until December 20th & with no idea of what to get anyone, & despite the fact that I was decorating my Christmas tree on Christmas EVE with a cap on my head because I finally had the time to color my hair, this holiday season was one of the better ones in my life.

I asked myself with all of the above, how can that be?  Thanksgiving and Christmas were actually stress free and sooooo much fun....how is that possible?

And then it dawned on me.  Family.  I spent an amazing week with my older son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter over Thanksgiving and I got to celebrate my granddaughter's 16th birthday WITH her.  For Christmas my younger son flew in from Louisiana and despite the fact that he arrived a day late due to flight issues and that I only got 3 days with him, it was wonderful.  Being with my children & grandchild, who live so far away, over the holidays made all that "Murphy's Law Stuff" disappear as if none of it had happened.

I know that 2013 will be a great year because 2012 ended beyond my hopes and better than I could have ever expected.

Fantastic Birthday Gift - Best of Show!!!

I couldn't believe it when I was given the top award at the Winter Garden Art Festival.  There was only 3 awards for the entire show....First, Second & Third.  I never even thought I would get an award since jewelry is not always recognized by judges as art and when they came to present the award I was excited thinking is was third place.  But when they handed me First place I thought I was going to cry because this is the equivalent of Best of Show.  There was so much beautiful art there in pottery, oil paintings, wood working, etc etc.  I will continue to tingle for a long time every time I relive being handed an award like this.

The two judges and myself.

What a pretty ribbon!!!

Tucker - Bull Duram's Great x3 Grandson

At the Historic Cocoa Village show, I had a lovely lady commission me to make a horse pendant for her daughter.  The story behind why she wanted this piece is a wonderful one.  Her daughter rescued "Tucker" who was the famous Bull Durham's many times Great Grandson.  Remember the movie Secretariat.  Apparently when her daughter acquired Tucker, he was close to death because the people who owned him were elderly and could no longer care for him.  Over time her daughter has nursed Tucker back to health and although he still needs to gain another 70 pounds, he now has a loving home.

With a story like that, how could I not take great pleasure in creating this piece.  There were challenges, however.  Because I wanted some 3-D effect (the horse's mane & the grass were individual pieces), I had to take the torch to it 10 times with each time the risk of undoing a previous join or melting the piece a possibility.  But the metalsmithing "angels" were with me the whole time.  Below is a copy of my sketches & planning and then a copy of the finished piece.

I was so happy that Patti said the piece was exactly how she envisioned it and I so hope that her daughter will be pleased with it when she opens it on Christmas day.  Having someone get joy from my work is one of the top pleasures of doing what I do.

What an Honor

I feel very honored to have received First Place in the Jewelry category at the November 2012 Clermont Art Festival.

What an Awesome Weekend

Sorry, no pics.  We were having so much fun that we forgot to take pictures.  The show this past weekend was wonderful!  Weather was perfect, vendor parking was perfect, the campground where we stayed was perfect......ok, so you get the gist......things were perfect!

The crowd attending the show were so pleasant and truly enjoyed the art.  We met some very special people and those interactions were so amazing that I have decided to create a diary to record these relationships that only last moments but when you think of them & remember them they make you smile.  I met an amazing woman who survived breast cancer only to be diagnosed several years later with stage 4 bone cancer but to talk to her and see her you would never know it.  I don't think I have ever met anyone with the kind of attitude, resolve, beauty & energy like she has.  A true inspiration.

If you have never visited Downtown Cocoa Village I highly recommend it. You won't be disappointed!

Kudos to my son Scott

When I first started taking my art to a business level I realized the need to have a logo.  Something that would identify my work like Brighton or Tiffany or IBM (don't I wish!!).  I created my own logo and of course I thought it was so cool and so obvious.  But as time went along and I heard enough of "what is THAT?" when someone would look at my stamped logo, I realized that maybe my attempt at creating this wonderful thing wasn't so good.

So I sweet talked my son Scott into creating a logo for me that was more recognizable and of course, within 5 minutes he had an amazing logo created.  I just received the custom made table covers for my booth and I just have to say THANK YOU again to my talented son for creating something that IS recognizable.

Busy Bee

My Kiln, Torch & I have been very busy spending fun time in my studio getting ready for the show Oct 20-21st in Historic Downtown Cocoa Village.  Here a just a few examples of some of my latest work.

Bronze & Copper Clay set with a Carnelian

Bronze Clay Pendant made from a live Muscadine Leaf

Copper heart that I filled with sea shells & Ice Resin.  I carved the sterling Pelican using a Jeweler's saw

Bronze clay & Magnesite

Copper Clay set with Pink CZ

3 Layers.  Back is sterling, center is textured copper & top is sterling which I created using a jeweler's saw.  Two of the stones are opal and the third is a carnelian

Copper & Sterling

I created these using real Muscadine leaves & Bronze Clay

Nature's Angel

"Nature's Angel"  That's what I think of when I see a butterfly and it's the perfect name for this piece I finished creating yesterday.

How I created this piece:
I created this piece by first using a jeweler's saw to carve out the butterfly from a sheet of 24 gauge sterling silver.  I textured the copper with a rolling mill and then shaped the circle back plate and the bail from a piece of 22 gauge sterling silver.  I took this piece to the soldering torch a total of 4 times so the planning had to be just right.  I soldered the bezel cups last and after all the polishing was done, I set two genuine Opals, two genuine Carnelians, and four genuine turquoise stones.  To create the necklace I used Lampwork beads, Sunstone, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver chain.

How to Recover from a BIG Ooopppss!!

(If you read my previous blog from Saturday, September 8th, the following story will sound familiar) I created a bezel in a specific size for a particular stone that I wanted to make into a ring.  I created the ring shank and soldered it to the bezel.  While checking how the stone would sit in the bezel my fingers fumbled and oh no!!  The beautiful stone hit my tile floor and broke.  I promptly sat my rear on the floor and tried to convince myself it wasn't the end of the world.  My fellow silversmiths will relate to the fact that unless you cut the stones yourself or the bezel was made to an exact standard measurement (such as 10mmx8mm), it is almost impossible to find a stone to fit into a custom sized bezel.

Over the last couple of weeks I have glanced at this beautiful ring with no stone wondering what could I do and then it hit me "Jeweler's Ice Resin!!"  I could put something in the bezel and fill it with resin.  And of course since I love the sea shells I have collected and made things with, it only seemed natural to use some of those.  So I put in freshwater pearls and added a small but unusual sea shell to the top and everything is held in place with wonderful ice resin.

The picture below is the end result and I have to admit I love it!  It is definitely a ring that will get attention because not only is it pretty but it is sooooo unique.

A Photographer is Reborn

Years ago my hubby Jim was a "professional-wanna-be" photographer and not only did he enjoy it, but he was actually very good at it.  Of course this was in the pre-digital camera days.  I think he lost interest when 35mm film went out of style, all you had to do was buy a point-n-shoot, and your pictures were kept on a memory stick rather than a roll of film (for those of you younger than 40, you probably have no idea what film looks like or what I'm talking about but that's ok....you won't be penalized :)

When I first started making jewelry I needed pictures of each piece.  Can't afford to hire a professional photographer and why should I?  I'm married to one even if it is albeit amateur.  At first he really seemed to enjoy taking the pictures until he kept hearing from me "that's too blurry, that's too yellow, the angle is wrong, the background is too busy....blah blah blah.  Heaven help me, I even recently threatened to take the pictures myself but I think that threat was the push point I needed.

He did a little internet research (how did we survive before it??) some simple PVC pipe, some fish line, a simple box made from simple material and a couple of inexpensive lights from Home Depot and VIOLA!!!  My photographer has been reborn!!

I couldn't be more excited!  Not only do I NOT have to take over taking the photos (which we all know would have turned out so incredibly bad), but the photos he is taking are AMAZING!  My Jim is able to create photos that truly portray my work & pieces.  If you are interested in seeing the difference, just go to my website www.uniquetreasuresbydebbie.com and then compare those to what I copied below.

Clutsy or Proficient - what was today?

I was so excited that I was going to get a whole day in my studio.  I even gave up a bicycle ride with Jim for this.  I got my cup of coffee and turned on the lights at 6:00 am....and I mean the lights in my studio, not the bedside light.

The first thing I started on was enlarging a ring I had made.  Jim really liked the stone and the ring was manly and said he would wear it (Yea!  my first "man" jewelry piece!!)  The ring only needed to be enlarged a little bit so I wasn't worried about the stone which is actually a beautiful piece of Dichroic glass.  So I started happily pounding away, checking the size, pounding some more and OOOPPSS!!  The center portion of the glass started coming apart.  No duhhhhh.  Hammer + glass.  What WAS I thinking?  I have an idea on how to save this and get it large enough for Jim but I won't go into that now.  Stay tuned for the final chapter of that.

Next project.  I had made a beautiful pendant frame from Fine silver clay in the shape of a specific stone.  I had all the soldering done and the stone was going to be suspended in the frame.  As I am working the final steps what do I do?  I DROP the stone!!  As it fell to the floor in slow motion I found myself yelling "Don't break!  Don't break!"  And then as I heard the definite breaking sound I was then yelling "Why do I have ceramic tile floor???!"

A little choice words and a few deep breaths later I start thinking how can I salvage this beautiful frame.  I can't change the shape and I have a better chance of winning the power ball than I would finding another stone that shape.  Ah ha!!  I have some tiny perfect sea shells so I laid them out and decided I would solder a sterling back plate, insert the shells, and fill with sea blue ice resin.  BUT, I needed to get the frame to lay flat on the back plate for the solder to hold.  As I am hammering away, I break a piece of the frame.  Uggg....will this "breaking stuff" ever end??  Since I never throw anything away, I put the broken frame on my project bench and walked away.  Who knows when I will come back to that.

Hummmmm....is there a pattern here.  Maybe Debbie should stay away from hammers but Q: "How do you create jewelry without hammers?  A:  You don't!  This is Friday but it's not the 13th.  What is going on??

I did manage to finish a bracelet and a pair of earrings but I have to say, I am not as happy with the bracelet as I thought I would be.  I made it from Fine Silver clay and each disk has a dolphin on the front.  Sounds pretty but I put too much texture behind the dolphin so he doesn't stand out like I thought he would. So the end of this day's story is it was CLUTSY!!

Till next time.....

Blue Moon Inspiration

My hubby took some amazing pics of the recent Blue Moon.  Now my mind is whirling around on how I can try to recreate this amazing art of nature in a piece of jewelry.  Bronze & copper clay??  Polymer clay??  If I decide to attempt such a feat, I will definitely create a video as I work through the piece.  Only the future knows.....

My hero

My Jim....my hero.  I needed an extension to my workbench to hold my drill press, rolling mill & other tools but of course as always, there are the typical limitations of space & $$$.  After searching the web & finding what I needed but the cost was in the hundreds of dollars, I smoozed my Jim and told him, "you can make me something just as good for a fraction of the price".  It took me several weeks to convince him to even consider it but he finally gave in.  I coaxed him into going to IKEA and lo and behold we found a slab of butcher block table top that was just the right size.  I told him I would buy him lunch at IKEA (a hot dog, soda, & ice cream for $3!!) and by the time we were done munching away I had him convinced he COULD do this.  Today he spent the entire day working on this table and it is PERFECT!!  And the grand total is $25 for the material, $0 for the free labor, and $3 for the lunch.  My Jim is definitely the wind beneath my wings.

Yea Scraps!!!

While waiting for my first adventure with Rose Bronze clay to finish Phase 2 of firing in the kiln, I decided to dig through my scrap drawer and see what I could find.  I found a scrap piece of silver that I had etched and created earrings from.  Next I found a Sandhill crane I had sawed out of a piece of sterling silver sheet but had "goofed" and created a flaw so I had to set the piece aside.  I NEVER throw anything away because I know that somehow, someway I will find a way to use that piece of scrap.




As it turned out, between those two pieces of scrap I think I have created one of my most beautiful pieces yet!!!

Schnitzel vs Isaac

Home safe & sound and the show was great even though Hurricane Isaac spoiled Sunday and the show had to close after only two hours.  The people that came to this show were so wonderful & friendly and they not only appreciated the art, but they enjoy hearing how my art was created so I was in heaven.

So what's next??  My next show is October 20-21st at Historic Cocoa Village.  I am feeling adventurous so between now and then I am going to be spending my studio time creating pieces with White & Rose Bronze clays, some "hinged"  & 3-D pieces & delving into more enameling.  My St. Augustine shells have been lonely these past few months so I am planning on spending some time with them as well.  Ahhhh, all of the sudden I started thinking of a colorful enameled piece to frame one of those beautiful shells....

Stay tuned as I will be posting some work in progress!  In the meantime, everyone stay safe & dry.

(PS This picture was taken by my friend Carmen and the star is her "dog" Schnitzel. Look closely and you will see him sitting on the top shelf being snuggled by my "model" doll. Carmen takes him everywhere and is creating "The Adventures of Schnitzel".)

Caladium Festival - Day One

With Isaac out there, obviously the primary topic at the show is not Art or Caladiums but what will the weather bring.  Weather today was beautiful and it is supposed to be nice tomorrow but as we Floridians know, that can change in a moment when a tropical storm or hurricane is in the picture.  Since Jim & I are 100+ miles from home, (and only 142 miles from Miami and that much closer to Isaac I might add)  we are watching things very carefully.  The show ends on Sunday at 3pm and our plan is to stay Sunday night and drive home Monday.  So I guess we just have to see if Isaac is ok with that plan or decides he wants us to drive home Sunday or stay till Tuesday or???

Caladiums & Art - Beautiful Combo!!!

Headed out tomorrow to Lake Placid, Florida to do a 3 day show at the 21st Annual Caladium Festival.  We're taking the motorhome and adding a couple of extra "relaxing" days to the event.  Lake Placid, FL is the capital for the beautiful Caladium plants so not only does the festival have wonderful artists selling & exhibiting their art but there is live music, great food as well as bus tours to the Caladium fields.  Visitors can take home some of the most beautiful Caladium & bulbs there are!!

Last year was the first time I did this show and when we left Clermont headed south, a hurricane was headed right for the Lake Placid area.  But hubby & I both knew that hurricanes can be unpredictable and that we could always "turn around".  Luck was on our side and the hurricane turned away and the show was great.  We'll see what this year brings.....

If you are within visiting distance,  their website is http://lpfla.com/caladium.htm which will give  directions, information & festival times.  Hope to see you there!!

Sometimes things do just fall into place

Back in June, I made these cute little houses out of copper & bronze clay and they sat on my "unfinished projects" table.  Yesterday I was working on what was going to be a beautiful silver clay bracelet when I damaged the bezel beyond repair.  I salvaged what I could of the silver clay piece and decided this morning to make them into earrings.  At first I was just going to dangle some pretty semi-precious stones from the silver.  While looking around for something I glanced at my project table and the houses called out to me "Pick us!!  Pick us!!"  I so love it when things just come together like that!!

Patience can be rewarding

Item Name:  "The Lady of the Garden"
Created: 8/11/12
Materials & Techniques:  PMC Fine silver clay, 24K gold clay, Sterling Silver, Etching, Silversmithing
 
This past February, I hand carved this 2" x 1 1/4" leaf from PMC (Fine Silver Clay), added a few touches of 24K gold and then placed it on my unfinished project table.  A few months later, I had done some etching in silver so I used a portion of that and added the bail to the pendant and put the piece back on my unfinished project table.  Every now and then I would pick it up and look at it, trying to envision the completed piece and each time I would think to myself, "this needs something more.....".  A few times I would take a pretty stone or something else and lay it on top of the leaf and my thought would always be the same "this needs something more....different.....something...."

A few months ago I found this stunning Cameo that is made from natural Black Lip shell and put it in my stash of "to be used someday".  Then about a month ago somehow I had the Cameo in one hand and the silver leaf in the other, put them together and Viola!!!  This is it!! yes!  So I made a bezel from sterling wire, soldered it to the leaf and set the Cameo in place.  Ahhhhh....so lovely......BUT......what now?  What do I create to make this piece something that can be worn??

Finally this morning it all came together.  Some sterling silver chain, Black speckled Agate, Genuine Moonstone and a beautiful leaf toggle clasp and "The Lady of the Garden" is ready for her debut at the Caladium Art Festival August 24-26.

One Link at a time

 
Just spent the good portion of  two days creating this amazing bracelet.  The challenge with pieces like this one is that each individual link has to be hand created separately.  It's much more "economical" to do a pendant or a pair of earrings because you are only working with one or two pieces.  With a bracelet like this one, you are working with many multiple pieces which increases the amount of work by that number of pieces.  In other words, a bracelet like this is truly a labor of love.

As I draped this labor of love over my wrist, I  was amazed at how flexible it felt and as I wore it throughout the day, I was even more amazed at how light it felt on my arm.  This may be one piece that I decide is not for sale......but.....as the saying goes.......everything is for sale for the right price.


Just in case you are interested, here is how I created this piece:

1. I created the "back plate" of each link from PMC3 clay and put it in my dehydrater to dry.
2. I created each "flower shape" from PMC3 and used a syringe filled with PMC clay to create the squiggles and shapes on the flower. I also used a straw to cut a hole in the flower for the CZ stone.
3. I joined the back plate and flower to each other using PMC paste and then filled the hole with PMC clay and set the CZ stone.
4. Once all the links were dry and refined (love those emery boards!), I fired them in my Kiln at 1650 for 2 hours.  Once they were completely cooled, I put all the links in my tumbler for 2 hours to work harden the links.
5. Now that each link is solid .999 silver, it's time to drill the holes where I need them.  Drilling sounds so simple and easy but guess what, it's not.  Yes, Drilling is easy but it is NOT quick, you are dealing with a very small piece and the hole has to be in the right spot, the piece gets hot (yes I've burned my finger many times), and you have to be careful so drilling this many holes definitely tests my patience...fortunately my patience wins in most cases!
6. Because patina will make a CZ cloudy, I used a fine paint brush to add patina to each individual link in all the areas except where the stone was set.  Yes, I used my magnifying glasses to do this.
7. I used 3M ultra fine sand paper to remove some of the patina from each link.  Why?  because you want a contrast between the darker areas & the shiny areas of each link so you have to remove and then leave some of the patina.
8. I then used my flex shaft and the "pink" attachment (my fellow silversmiths will know what that is) to bring out the shiny silver highlights.  I had to do this on each and every one of the links.
9. I used jump rings to link each piece together and used a square toggle clasp to finish it off.

A Bracelet is born

From this:  The beginning, the before, the raw...

To This!

One project done....another started

I am very happy on how my "Moonlight Walk" pendant turned out.  I used a jeweler's saw to saw out the bird from bronze sheet and the grass from copper sheet.  I used a very rough sander on my flex shaft to give the bird "feathers" and the grass texture.  When I drew the grass onto the copper sheet I had to do it in such a way so that it would fit perfect on the sterling silver "moon" and around the bird to give the illusion that he was strolling through the grass.  I solder those pieces to the sterling silver "moon", added a handmade etched bail, and a beautiful a genuine turquoise to compliment the turquoise that I added in the necklace chain.  The patina really brings out the detail.

Now I am working on a bracelet.  I created the large links from 14 gauge sterling wire that I shaped, twisted and then soldered together.  I used 26 gauge sterling wire to add some wire wrapping around a portion of two of the links.  Now the next step is to fill the openings with colorful polymer clay and embellishments.  Check back to see the final piece!

Pretty Ribbons

The top ribbon was an award I received from the November 2011 Clermont Art Show (which I will be participating again this November).  The bottom ribbon was an award I received from June 2012 Lake Ridge Winery Art & Craft Show.  I feel very honored by both awards!!

I am very very excited!  I received 3rd place at this past weekend's Lake Ridge Winery Art Show.  There are 80-100 vendors and only 3 awards so I feel very honored.  Apparently they select the winners based on feedback from the visitors so that is really special!

Congratulations to the 22nd Annual
Harvest Festival Arts & Craft Show Winners!

Thank you for making The 22nd Annual Harvest Festival Arts & Craft Show a great success! Despite Mother Nature not cooperating at times, we received a lot of great feedback about the event AND all of you! We usually announce the show winners on Sunday, but because we were washed out, here is the official announcement:
1st Place:
#56/57 Eddie Meyers, Mixed Media Art
2nd Place:
#69 Bill Squires, Copper Art
3rd Place:
#59/60 Debbie Stillman, Silver & Clay Jewelry
Honorable Mention:
#85 Carlos Campusano, Latex Flower Arrangements

Kind of been behind on doing posts but now that the Lake Ridge show is past and I don't have another show until the Caladium Art Festival (click here! http://www.lpfla.com/caladium.htm
I have lots of time to create new pieces so check back often to see what is cooking in my kiln or being carved on my silversmith bench :-)

Courage enough to experiement

Woo Hoo!! My experiment worked! I wanted to sculpt combining copper & bronze clay but the properties & firing are so different that I wasn't sure if it was possible. So I made these cute houses with a copper backplate & then using copper paste that I made I attached the roof, chimney, door & window made from bronze. I waited impatiently for 5 hours as they sat in the Kiln during the firing process.....held my breath as I removed them from the kiln and had a Cheshire cat grin on my face when I realized it worked! Now I can create pieces combining copper & bronze without soldering. Awwww, I so love it when another door opens into the world of creating.

(Sorry the pic is sideways.  For some reason I could not get it to rotate.....dumb computer!)

New Toys!!

My world of what I can create has just exploded!! In addition to bronze clay, silver clay & copper clay, I now have added Rose Bronze clay, Pearl Grey Steel Clay, White Bronze Clay & Steel Clay to my palette.  Best of all, I can fire these clays (under certain conditions) together in addition to soldering.  Can't wait to start experimenting.....stay tuned....

From This....

An idea in my head drawn into my sketch book, then a blob of PMC silver clay that I transformed into an intricate pendant, added a beautiful man-made Opal set into a custom made bezel..then time passing while I wait for the inspiration of how to make it wearable.

To This....

A touch of Blue Sky Jasper, Swarovski Crystals & Silver chain and now my one-of-a-kind piece is born into a wearable work of art.

Discovering an amazing piece of my ancestory

We are back from Europe and it was an amazing 10 day adventure.  The highlight of the trip was visiting and seeing the church where my great-grandfather on my dad's side was married.  The church was built around 1100 A.D.!!  We were very lucky because the church is still active and was even unlocked.  I was hoping that I could get some impressions so I took cold clay mold with me and I was successful! 

The mold on the left, which looks like a chevron is from the oldest part of the church.  The mold on the lower right is from the wall behind where my great-grandparents stood to be married.  The top mold was from a very interesting structure within the church.

I'm going to take the lower right mold and make a piece for my mom, sister, & I from silver, copper, or bronze clay and my hope is that the piece will become an heirloom.

An Amazing Adventure!

Leaving tomorrow for a 10 day trip to England with my Dad, mom & hubby.  Dad, at the young age of 84, decided he wanted to go visit the place where his grandfather came from which is North Hampton, England.  Mom decided that if we are going that far we should spend a little time and see some of London, France & Ireland so we'll be including a one day trip to Paris and an overnight to Dublin.  I am so grateful that my parents decided to take Jim & I along because I would have been VERY worried about them traveling that far at their age.  (Unfortunately my baby sis can't join us since she couldn't get off work :-(...) In addition to enjoying the trip & time with them, I am VERY excited about how this trip will inspire my future art pieces.  I am taking along a product that will allow me to create - on the spot - a mold of anything interesting I see.  Stay tuned to see what pieces will come as a result to an amazing adventure!

I love PMC Clay!!

For those of you who do not know what PMC clay is, it stands for Precious Metal Clay and when fired in a Kiln the piece comes out either 92.5 sterling silver or .999FS Fine Silver.  This clay was created years ago by Mitsubishi and it is silver with organic material added to give it somewhat of a clay property.  It is literally a lump of clay that can be formed, shaped, carved etc and fired in a Kiln.  I love the fact that when I create something like the below, it is 100% my work.

The far left is the blob of PMC clay.  The middle picture is my sketching.  I then use card stock and draw the shape & idea and use that as my template to carve out the clay.  Originally I had planned to inlay some CZ's but then remembered I had an amazing Opal that would be perfect.

The below is the fired piece.  The picture doesn't really show the beautiful blue patina that picks up the colors from the inlaid Opal.  Now it's time to make this pendant into a complete necklace.  I'll get a better picture when it is complete.

Finished this ring yesterday.  I think it looks kind of "gothic".  The stone is Chinese Turquoise.  But now I have a craving to do something really different, abstract, etc using multiple mediums of metals & polymer clay.  Got my sketch book out last night and now I can't wait to make the sketches a reality.

Apopka Art Show is over. 

 

I sold my Sandhill crane piece.  Was hard to part with but a very sweet lady bought it and is someone that I know will truly enjoy wearing the piece. 

Just found out that the Cocoa Village show that was scheduled for May 5-6 was moved to May 19th.  I won't be participating because I already had plans for the 19th.  Good news is now I don't have a show until June which means I finally have some time to spend creating and building my inventory back up.  Stay tuned as I post work in progress!