"How to catch a firefly" - Earrings

As a first warning: There a lot of pictures in this blog entry. A lot. All of them showing just a single motiv: The same earring pair.

But to take pictures of these earrings are really a super high level challenge! Problem number 1: The copper wings. They reflect the light with their shiny surface and to really catch their patina as well as colour and shine... I already complained about this long enough ;)

 Challenge number 2: To catch all the subtle glow and colours in the gorgeous beads made by Julie Wong Sontag (uglibeads). Uhm....

There is not a single picture I wold say: Yay, that's it! So... I take the other road. I show a lot... with different light and shown from different view points (and in case that is not enough, just ask, I have more on my computer).

They glow, together with the wings (and a challenge I wanted to take part in but never managed it in time), were the inspiration for the fireflies...

...the difficulty to catch their true beauty, that was the inspiration for the name.

And it also even may shimmer and glow blueish!

In the end they have something magical in them. Their subtle glow, their pay of colours, the danglinh wings, the shiny surface and dark green patina, it all captures my imagination.

As soon as I can decide about the picture to use for etsy (only 5 allowed!), I will put them in my shop.

After a long time... ceramic clay again!

This beads are my first ceramic clay beads after a long time. I love to use different media in my work. Somehow I more see myself in the visual impact I want to create and not as a person defined by it's medium (like a painter, a silver smith, a potter). 

Mh... okay... I am also not officially trained in any of this too, still, I enjoy to create and there is a part of me in my work. So for me my creations are not about the material and but all about the person, the process and the perception of the piece!

Why did I come back to ceramic clay as medium? I just stopped because it was to stressful and often timewise not possible to go to a ceramic workshop. Now I joined the makerspace (this was my christmas present for Rumpel and myself: our membership there) and they got a kiln donated! 

A kiln I am responsible for now! Yay! They also got a lot of material and tools donated, but it all has to be sorted out (I am already nearly through and now know what is still needed or has to be replaced... the kiln shelves have some non removeable glaze because they were not goo prepared...). The glazes are all dried, but this is a solvable problem. I also bought new clay to test and play with... 

Makerspace logo... in black ;)

I bought different colour of clay with different properties but also for myself paperclay! So... can't wait to test the glazes (okay... I also bought some new ones) and a lot of techniques. My polymer clay molds already work wonderful!

I will also give some workshops in the future, about making copper earrings, polymer clay beads... and whatever else.

...and teal... very steampunkish!

If you want to have a look (but it is in german):

http://makerspace-leipzig.de/
https://www.facebook.com/makerspaceLeipzig?fref=ts

"Deep down" - Earrings

There is something so magical in the work of Kimberly (numinosity beads). It may sound simple: copper sticks combined with enamel on both sides. It may even be simple... until you get to this small step that makes a huge difference. The part where you create something with depth and beauty, something complex and fascinating, something just magical from these simple components.

To achieve this, that is not an easy task. It makes all the difference. I will always recognize a numi-stick even if there are a lot of different enameled copper sticks available. Some are boring, some are beautiful on their own... but always different.

Beads, findings, material, jewelery... it has to speak to me. Not just pretty but beautiful and this means (at least for me) some form of attachment, the piece has to stir something inside of me. 

Just a few numi-sticks left... some more on their way... but I am proud of myself that I am finally able to use them even with the danger of running out of numi-sticks! ;)

I will have to redo the earwires... so still some time before I'll put them in my shop ;)

"Hidden grove" - Rustic and organic earrings

"Hidden grove" 

Light falls through the dark ancient trees, lightens up the shadow deep down. 

Like jewels hidden around you, it reveals the rich colours of the flowers around you. 

Even if the sun is warm, you feel the cool air coming from the lake before you.

 Bringing the rich scent of earth and water, of life and decay with it.

The enamel copper are numi-sticks made by Kimberly Rogers from Numinosity. I just got some new ones yesterday! 

The earrings are in my shop here.

I also need a different kind of ruler for a better look. My hand images are sadly not enough.

"Frozen time" - Earrings

This is glass. But if you would have told me that this is frozen water, I would have believed you. 

Just a moment frozen in time. The light breaking through the glass. Caught inside. They seem to glow.

Like vines are the copper headpins growing around the glass headpins. 

How can something so hard, just pure glass and metall, look so organic and alive?

They are also in my etsy shop here :)

...also the double lampwork headpins are numi-baubles made by Kimberly Rogers from numinosity beads (I need more!). 

Temple ruins - Earrings

Actually the metal connectors are ready made bronze pieces. I liked the swirls and baroque-like shape but not the perfect surface. Sometimes I just sand the pieces down but this time I played with my vintaj patinas (Kathy's fault that I have them! I just couldn't resist ;)). 

The remind me now of moos and vines, of old overgrown stone temples. Broken resemblances of ancient cultures now recaptured by nature overflowing with life. 

And some lampwork beads... you now how addictions are!

You can find them in my shop here :)

"Suavely" - Earrings

Hammered metal provides such a rich and organic surface to work with! The contrast between dark oxidized areas and the raised sanded light areas is just beautiful and reminds me of rough overgron stones or coral reefs deep on the ocean.

The tiny lampwork beads have a beautiful subtle grayish blue colour and of course, they have movement! Dangling is definitely an important feature for earrings for me ;)

I thought I add a picture where you see how warm sunlight will be reflected even if the raised areas are not supershiny (I wanted something more subtle to go with the beads). 

They are in my etsy shop here :)

"Drop of blue" - Earrings

If you are following my blog, you may already know that I got a big amount of old jewelery to upcycle/recycle from Rumpel's mom. I used a lot of the chains and beads, but also got a tiny wee bit of leather.

Not a lot of leather but in perfect condition. So what to do with it? I tried a lot of small shapes until I made these loops and wrapped them with copper wire. The dangling lampwork beads are a lovely contrast in their light blue to the black.

A sweet and simple design that was surprisingly complicated to come up with ;)

Oh, of course they move and dangle beautifully!

And also to be found here :)

"Sparkling purple" - Earrings

Sometimes all it takes is a simple idea. These earrings are not complicated. But they have an interesting shape and play of colours... and they dangle! Movement is one of the most important features of earrings for me!

The swirls are stamped brass pieces I heated and oxidized. Later I just wrapped them around to create a kind of charm. During wrapping I made a hole at the top where the jump ring can go through. 

The lampwork bead was made by Sue Reynolds, full of sparkles and glitter! I tried to capture the sparkle!

A little bit modern goth, playful swirls combined with clear lines ;)

You can find them here :)

"Fire inside" - Earrings

They glow with an inner fire just as the light is caught inside the glass. 

The dark copper seems to grow and entwine around like it was alive. 

There is movement inside the hard metal.

It is hard at this moment to find the right words. But there is something inside, growing, alive, intense, that speaks to me.

The lampwork headpins are numi-baubles made by Kimberly Rogers from Numinosity Beads. I just have one pair (the have the beads on both sides) left and two single ones. I hope she will make more in the future! I wrapped copper headpins I made around.

Also to be found here ;)

"Roman gold" - Rustic, dark earrings

The organic, rustic surface of the hammered brass looks old and worn. Like an ancient piece found after being forgotten for hundreds or even thousand years ago. A different time, a different empire...

The dark red of the glass, the glimmer of gold from the brass, it brings so many ideas and stories into my mind.

The earrings are made from hammered and oxidized/darkened brass with copper ear wires combined with artisan tiny lampwork beads. The earrings move beautifully. You may find a "dangling" quality in most of my earrings.

I am not sure why but jewelery is something more than just pure adornment for me. It is a reflection of who I am and also what speaks to me. I can understand how jewelery had a deeper meaning in a lot of older cultures. There is jewelery that I can see and it is pretty but in the end just that. I am also not tempted to buy anymore (I was being younger). Now there has to be more, a story, a feeling, a tribal vibe just for me. It can be organic, rustic, worn, ancient... not pretty. But beautiful.

These earrings reminded me of old roman jewelery. Yes, it is more rustic than they would have used for their quite often more delicate style. But it was the story and images that came to my mind, so be it! :)

"Roman gold"

There are also here in my shop :)