Wings to fly...

My last wings for some time due to different reasons. First and foremost: I used my last material. I still have some butterflies to finish but nothing to create new ones. Second: Rumpel and I will finally go to have some holiday!

Third: They look so small but actually they are a lot of work to make, a lot of steps to do.

These ones I made because I was asked very nicely (and she already had some of my wings :)). Also she had a lot of patience! She waited several weeks for me to finish them!

Still, seeing them before me, I have to say, I just love them! 

This time I went for a deeper etching and I changed again back to only a black patina. This creates a harder contrast (especially with the brass ones). I can't tell what kind I prefer, the more greenish imperfect organic look or this clean stark contrast. Maybe this will always depend about how I would use them :)

They will be on their way later today and I will see whether I may get some new material when I am back from holiday and also whether I may find some more motivation to make them. I need to change what I am doing quite often, otherwise I get bored ^^

On my worktable... (right now)

Summer is full of colours... just have to add ear wires to them all!

A tiny wee key I got from a friend to use in my work combined with some of my new ceramic beads...

More wings in copper and also brass this time... (I was asked soooo nicely, I couldn't say no... but now I run out of wing material... but will also have some new brass butterflies)

Embroidery yarn is perfect for everything! Wrapping old metall bracelets...

"Age-old ocean" - Earrings

I really thought I already showed these earrings on my blog a long time ago. Seems that I was wrong. Unbelievable if I think how much I love them! ;)

They are actually quite simple: Some of my own polymer clay beads combined with some numi-sticks made by Kimberly Rogers and oxidized copper wire...

...but their look isn't simple. They look old and crusty, fossils dug out from deep inside the earth, remembrances of oceans long gone...doesn't the enamel on the numi-sticks look like sea-shells and barnacles?

I am sorry that it took me so long to show them finally... because they have a beautiful story to tell :)

Yes, they are also in my shop finally! Here.

"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 :)