I'm a jeweller without a studio, for this reason I've been focusing on materials that don't require a lot of equipment lately. I have been working with resin for a few years now, a material which I love for the way it accepts colour and embedded objects and pictures. I'm also very interested in acrylic plastic and I plan to work more with that in the near future as well. My designs are bold and colourful.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Third Semeseter

Once again I have found myself way too focused on school work over the last few months to think about any projects outside of my assigned work. Since I don’t have many new things to first talk about, I would like to take this opportunity to share this older piece, it was a one-off "experiment" (from sometime in 2006). It’s a brooch that was cast from epoxy resin. It features a 4mm purple cubic zirconia suspended in the clear material, as well as imitation gold leaf. I wasn't sure how I felt about this piece at first, but it has grown on me over time and now I love it. I’m thinking about continuing this idea in a smaller, more polished form (this one is 45mm in diameter and the finding on the back is a cheap craft store finding) and in different 2D shapes.

This is one school project that I managed to get a photo of from this semester that really shows the contrast of the things I find myself working on in my free time and the thing I have to work on at school. Correctly fitting the gemstone to the setting and evenly spacing the silver components is of utmost importance. I find gemsetting to be very challenging, and was surprised with myself for doing as well as I did on this 4 claw construction and setting.

I hope to share more photos of my school work once the year is over, and my projects are returned to me. Please also take note of the new link to the left that shows photos of the majority of the work that I've done over the last three years.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Makers' Market

This past Saturday, along with my sister Jill, I registered a table at Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamilton to sell some of my jewellery and Jill's marbled clutch purses. Makers' Market is an "Outdoor Art & Organic Food Market" which showcases artists from this area. There was some locally grown, organic fruits and veggies available and a few vendors selling vintage items. Unfortunately I wasn't able to bring as much jewellery as I would have liked to, but I did manage to sell a couple of my smaller resin pins. This was a really good opportunity to show off my work to a new audience. I was given some advice about what people would like to see from me in the future, and of course the whole experience of running a table at a craft show in invaluable. I can't wait until the next one! It will be on September 15th. Christ's Church Cathedral is on 252 James St. N. right next to the armory. It's a huge courtyard... you can't miss it!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

First Year Projects

Over the past year, I haven't had much chance to post any of the projects that I made during my full-time studies at GBC. We mainly made and polished practice pieces in copper and brass to get a feel for the jewellery making process with less expensive materials, but nearer to the end of the year we were able to work with sterling silver as well as 10 karat gold (something that most first years don't get to do apparently!). I also had my first experience with stone setting.

The first image to the left is a sterling silver brooch that has leaves slowly emerging from the background. The second is a synthetic amethyst cabochon, set in sterling silver. Unfortunately I used the wrong tool and the area around the stone isn't as neat and smooth as it should be.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Copy Editor's "Delete" Badge

This is a custom piece that I recently made. It's a brooch made out of silver clay. I made it by first carving a stamp into a piece of linoleum, pressing that image into some clay, and then further refining it and carving in the centre symbol with a metal scribe. I'm quite please with this method and was honestly a little bit surprised at how well the brooch turned out.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Intersession Week

Two weeks back, I had a week off from school. Of course I managed to spend just as much time on campus as I do when my regular classes are in session. I spent a lot of time catching up on work and I also took a mind opening workshop on acrylic plastic taught by the internationally recognized jeweller, Adam Paxon.

The workshop consisted of a little bit of demonstration and a lot of experimentation. Adam taught us about the properties of acrylic and the way it can be shaped and manipulated into interesting forms. I have only ever seen acrylic (in jewellery) as 2D shapes cut out from the material. The idea that it can be bent, stretched, and laminated to create beautiful works of art really excites me and I can't wait to work with it again. The image to the left is an example of some of Adam's work.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Since I don't have much of my own stuff happening right now, I thought I'd show off a few of my favourite items from etsy.com that have been posted by other sellers.

a) nervoussytem's radiolaria lines pendant (white)
I love plastic and can't help but be impressed by everything that the creators of this shop have done. They laser cut polystyrene plastic into interesting shapes. "The pattern displays shifts in direction and scale, creating a sense of movement and tension. These complex forms recall those of radiolarians, plant cells and even the familiar honey comb." This shop also has another similar necklace made up of ellipses in black, but there's something about the crispness of this white piece that appeals to me.

b) ninetailfox's Everybody has to work Sterling Silver Giraffe Ring
This definitely isn't any conventional ring. It rises approximately 1 inch above the wearer's hand, and may not be the most comfortable thing to wear, but it's just too much fun to pass up. I know that if I was having a hard day at work, this giraffe sitting on my finger would cheer me up... after all, "Everyone has work, apparently even giraffes." And the best part, he's wearing a tie.

c) showpony's Bugs - blue purse
This seemingly innocent looking pattern of birds and flowers has a surprise, when you open the folds of the fabric there are bugs and spiders creeping underneath! Many people may also be interested to know that shadowpony uses organic, fair-trade and natural products wherever possible in her shop.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Well, I made it through my first semester at school. I learned a lot and am happy to say that my skills at things like soldering, sawing, and finishing have improved quite a bit (although I still have a long way to go). The work was always very challenging and there was never a shortage of it. There were times when things got very stressful and I thought that I wasn't doing very well, but I made it through with all B's! (including some B pluses, and minuses). I also made a lot of good friends, which was a nice added bonus. Semester 2 starts for me next week, hopefully I can use some of my free time this week and work on some creative pieces at home.