Showing posts with label wire sculpture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wire sculpture. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

ATTACK of the FAIRY FLIES!!!!

Yes I know it has been awhile since I "blogged" (one of these days I am going to set my ongoing spell checker to accept the word Blog, without beeping at me!) and, well I get busy, and actually typing is not the easiest thing in the world for me to do...so I tend to look at a LARGE blank screen with misgivings, but I endure, I endure. The other day though I was going thru my pretty darn large cache of completed jewelry pieces and I spied some tumbled gemstone material and got totally inspired to create, though I *had* sat down at my workbench on the pretense of Cleaning it up!! I have often told people that even on a good day my bench area looks like a bomb went off and then a troop of rabid drunken squirrels had an impromptu orgy amidst the rubble. So, the need to create was probably more of a procrastinatory gambit on my part, and it certainly worked because said area still looks uhhhm, well lived in! I will get back to straightening and rearranging .. hopefully :) What I saw that interested me was a tumble stone of Rhodonite that I had picked up probably in a little bagged collection parcel. Looking at it I saw a tiny little gnat or bug perched on it.. it was one of the very small house plant gnats that a lot of people call "Fairy Flies" as I brushed my hand quickly near it, trying to drive it away, it just sat there on the stone.. calmly cleaning his antenna. I blew on him ( just a guess here on it's gender) and he decided the winds of change had come and he was gone.
Picking up my wire and stone, falling into the zone of creating for a few minutes I became aware that the little Fairy Fly was back, running back and forth across my overhead adjustable light shade. In little zig zaggy patterns he seemed to be watching what I was doing. So I stopped and watched him.. all of a sudden he flies and then lands back on the Rhodonite stone that was partially set in the wires.. Little Bugger! Be Off with ya! For the next hour he showed up and flitted off several times, even landing on my finger and dancing his way down to the stone and back up and then away. I have no idea why this little thing was attracted to this particular stone, it looked clean, there was nothing I could smell or see on it.. Eventually I just ignored him and finished the initial wire sculpted wrap and wove the bail. Cleaning and tumbling it to work harden and polish, then antiquing it and the last step wiring in the one small pearl in the top swirl. At last, the photography. I set up my light box and lights, tripod and got ready.. set my stage and,, there he was again!! Sitting in the middle of the stone as it lay on the White Board. I NOW wanted to get this little critters Picture!! He had been dogging me for at least 4 hours.. zoooming in the viewfinder ... and poof he was gone. I waited and waited and after 1/2 hour just took the picures.. and I have not seen him since. Very strange. And here is what he was so obsessed with. Rhodonite free form flatish tumble stone, antiqued and darkened copper wire and a pearl. Listed at my Etsy store www.atabbycatarts.etsy.com

Saturday, August 23, 2008

My New Etsy Shop AtabbycatArts

I have recently made the step and opened up an Etsy Store, I have so much stuff that I make and I have to create things... I seriously am compelled to not remain idle.. lol. My Etsy shop is

http://www.atabbycatarts.etsy.com/

I will be putting scads of things in there over the coming weeks,, but the main focus I have been undertaking is getting lots of new pictures of all my jewelry that I will be offering and of my painted rock critters... so far I have about 18 items of jewelry in the shop and want to add some painted rocks soon.. I know times are hard and the economy has not made it easy on handcrafters .. but Please in the up coming Holiday season,, Won't you think about buying local handcrafted items for gifts this year... The big outlet stores are great for bargains but most of the items in these mega stores and you *know* who I am talking about.. are imported and that takes away jobs and income from Americans. Make a pledge to support the citizens in our country and buy local and or Handmade items... Good for our economy and our Country.



Above is a picture of a Viking Knit chain and pendant that I am offering for sale on http://www.atabbycatarts.etsy.com/

The chain is handmade from copper wire in 24 ga the Pendant in copper 20ga wire is a piece of beach glass I found and a little blue bead in the top swirl, I did a wire woven bail and the whole piece is meticulously handcrafted from start to finish... I even took the brass end cones and turned the edges over to make them smooth rounded and pokey free!

Please feel free to take a peek at my shop and convo me if you have any questions about anything I offer.

Regards :)

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Summer





Gosh it's been quite awhile since I posted, one thing after another and life in general... I have been working a few pieces of jewelry and a quilt, the jewelry I'm pretty pleased with! The quilting less so..


A pair of copper wire hammer textured spiral heart earrings with pearls. The inspiration for them was Sherry Dancing Feather who is probably my all time favorite jewelry Heros. I wish wish wish I could someday take a class from her but until I get rich (hystercal laughter) so I can travel to TX. I will have to merely be wistful and emulate her genius.

Another piece I completed was this copper wire sculpture pendent with a pretty dyed howlite or magnesite free form cab like nugget... my dear husband brought this back to me from a trip to the Oregon coast when he went with his mom and siblings on a family outing several years ago, I loved the color and just had it laying around until early one morning I picked it up and started wrapping it, it flowed into shape almost unconciously and I think it might be one of my better creations. I wove the bale with 24gauge copper and then tumble hardened, and applied a patina.
I hope that I can someday find other nuggets of this, I would love to make some earrings that could go with it. You can buy this piece at www. AtabbycatArts.Etsy.com

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Leo Handpainted Wireworked Pendant

This is the first post in a bit for me, lots to do and not enough time to get things done, just like the majority of folks out there I assume.. :) This pendant I have been working at on and for some time. The lion is painted in acrylics on a flattish stone.. I did this way back in 2003, had it on a necklace with a glued bail and one day I noticed the bail was loose. So I carefully pried it off and then kept looking at the loose stone for months.. started a Toodles wire weave wrap on it and made some mistakes in measurement so had to start it over again not once but twice!

Everyone I am sure has heard The Lion, King of the Jungle! well lions are really animals of the savannas.. preferring flat grasslands to jungles in most cases... but the term has been so ingrained that I thought a good way to display Leo was to have him peeking through some foliage ... A friend of mine saw this yesterday and did get the concept,,, "Oh it's like he is coming through jungle vines!" YES!!!!! I did manage to convey my concept... HURRAH!!! Whew!

Leo, or The Lion is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop at www.atabbycatarts.com
I will have him listed for 100.00 dollars, he is wearable art and the combined time to create not just the painting but the pendant setting was over 12 hours. The Lion can also be displayed as a small miniature painting or is of a good size to display in a vintage pocket watch stand. An interesting gift idea for a loved one who may be a Leo. :)

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Snowflake Obsidian and Goldfill Wire

SOLD
And another pendant from several years ago, a snowflake obsidian cabochon in a wire sculpture gold fill setting... Gold fill wire is very very durable and a lot more gold then plated gold wire.. a inner core of base metal, of an alloy, usually fine grade brass, it bonded with heat and pressure to an outside skin of 14 kt Gold... the skin is 100 times thicker then electroplated gold wire which is just microns thick... many items that were made 100 year ago from Gold fill wire survive to this day in fine shape. This is a smallish pendant and would look nice either on a cord or a gold chain. Swirly and twisted wire! I have quite a few of these, smallish cabochon pendants in different stones. SOLD

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Painted White Kitten aka Little Miss Blue Eyes

It has been such a long time since I have done really anything with this blog, one I really dislike to type,, Geee I think I have said that before.. similar to the phrase my Husband hears from me alot.. "Have I ever told you I really dislike cooking?" LOL... anyhoo.. in getting the spring cleaning bug I have been going through many of my things that were done awhile ago and assesing them and I will be including some of them in the blog along with new pieces I have been working on,.. this pendant is a hand painted stone, which I had used my sweet kitty as inspiration for, she has been gone for several years now. Wiresculpted goldfill wire with white freshwater pearls and hematite rice beads... NFS. I love painting animals and I am going to get back into it I think.

Wire Sculpted Copper and Shell Button Cameo


I did this one several years ago, I mounted a small resin fashion cameo on an old antique shell button and then worked a copper 20 ga wire sculpted setting for it. She has been sitting in a drawer for a very long time... but I just recently oxidized the wire, I like the way it came out, softly polishing the wire took off some of the darker color and gave this pendant a nice antique feel to it.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Glass "Faux" Lapis Cabachon Pendent

I got some neat faux Lapis Lazuli glass cabochons a few years ago and used 19 gauge sterling silver round wire to make a wire sculpted setting I call Fandango, reminded me of a Flaminco Dancer flipping her skirt!