• Just Talking

    Papoose Update

    Let the weaving begin! This part took patience. I have made progress on the papoose pendants. Other projects have distracted me, but hopefully I will persevere and get these finished very soon. One is farther along than the other, because I like the woven part better (below). It is made from copper wire that was textured as it passed through the rolling mill. At right is a photo of the beginning of the weaving process. Right: 18-gauge copper wire was passed through the rolling mill, with various textured plastic and metal sheets on top to vary the surfaces. Below, the “scarf” around the face displays a texture also achieved using…

  • Jewelry,  Just Talking

    Collar Tip Earrings These were my Dad’s collar tips and I love them! I wanted to be able to wear them so it made perfect sense to make them into earrings. These turquoise cabs were set with sawdust beneath them, which is how it used to be done as a matter of course. I removed the stone, used a different material to raise the stone and re-set it. I also tightened up the rest, although they weren’t rattling like that one stone was. Anyway, I’m proud to wear them. Our Dad was a silversmith, too, along with so many other artistic talents! Sure do miss him! ❤️

  • Artwork,  Just Talking

    On to other things…

    ‘PAPOOSE’ PENDANTS Since my last project I moved on to the papoose pendants–call them what you like, but they remind me of the Fayum mummies of ancient Egypt. Here is an image of my one and only, sold to my friend, Kathy White (of Posey & Fern, wonderful soaps & balms, etc.), who bought it because the face resembled her son when he was a baby. This photo shows a printed image of the pendant with some new polymer faces and one “scarf” copper cutout laid on top. I am making two of these for now. At least one will have the woven copper strips and a silver cap at…

  • Artwork,  Jewelry,  Just Talking

    On Lisa’s Bench … In addition to working with sheet metal, I still love working with metal clay. I started this on Saturday and have finally finished adding this and that to it. Waiting now for it to finish drying so I can refine it. Oh, and add a bail. Then it’s into the kiln to fire into a beautiful fine silver pendant! I will post the finished product here and on our Etsy site once the pendant is polished to perfection and a chain is crafted to go with it.

  • Artwork,  Jewelry,  Just Talking

    Hello on this Thursday evening. It has been a busy day at work and at home, part of which involved finishing the Butterfly Girl Pendant.  ↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝  Here is a look at the back:   After painting the background with washes, butterfly cutouts were glued down with glitter tossed on top. Mica sheet covers it all. As with any beauty, it has a flaw here and there, but such does not detract from the overall effect. I hope you enjoy it! ↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝↜↝ Now I can move on to the other two pendants I want to make. One will also have a polymer face, what I call “The Papoose” but the other…

  • Artwork,  Just Talking

    ….As promised

    The face is painted now but will sit overnight. Already I see changes to be made. When done, this will have a varnish of clear gloss acrylic, Varathane, the most recommended product I have seen for a protective finish for polymer clay. If I didn’t want the surface shiny I would leave it, because they acrylic paint is sufficient.

  • Just Talking

    On the Bench….again

    Greetings! This is me in my little studio. I have a guest bedroom in my house that’s been converted, much to the chagrin of the visiting members of family. Here is one side of it…                                                             I love that room.  Last post I tacked up a drawing of this pendant….here it is with the unpainted face, unsecured cab and unfinished and unpolished setting. It’s just “un” as this point. But….things are looking up! More work was accomplished on the setting, and I began the polish and the back work. Yes, I have another job that has been kicking me around lately…so despite things looking up, they are looking up…

  • Just Talking

    I Love Turquoise … Yes, it’s true that I love turquoise, but it’s more than that. I get swept away by the blues and greens that remind me of the ocean. To me they are happy colors and they just draw me in! I try hard to work with a range of colors but always seem to come back to these. These Kingman turquoise cabs are a stunning matched set! I’ve had them for a while and just yesterday they popped into my head so I went and dug them out and started drawing. I had, at that moment, decided in my head what to do with them. That’s how…

  • Artwork,  Just Talking

    On the Bench

    I like to sketch faces and also sculpt them from polymer clay. I have been working on a pendant the last few days, my usual format for presentation of faces. I thought I would share what I have been doing on this new project. I’ve been making face pendants around two years now….as time allows. I tend to sketch until I draw something interesting…then I pull out the clay. Sometimes the end result resembles the sketch, but usually it doesn’t and that may not be important. Drawing all the time is important. Here is the face that will go in the pendant, unpainted but otherwise finished. The faces take a good…

  • Just Talking

    Welcome Christmas!

    The holidays are here! Please plan to join us December 2nd and 3rd at the Mary Queen Christmas Bazaar in Friendswood! Attending the MQCB will light your holiday mood like a fireworks sparkler! Booths are always appealing to the eye; a wide range of goods is offered from holiday foods and snacks to wood-working, jewelry, hand-made books, drawings, paintings, quilts, pottery, clothing, Christmas decorations and lots more–and all made by the artists/crafters themselves! Holiday music sustains the mood, people are happy, tummies are full, and the sights and smells are nothing but Christmas! It’s sparkling, interesting, attractive, and lively. The location is Mary Queen Catholic Church at 606 Cedarwood Drive,…