EMJC-PR6.5 - Newspaper

I'm pretty happy with this week, although, I kind of wish I'd started on it earlier. This was my original idea and I kept procrastinating as I didn't feel it was very creative. I played around w/ some other things trying to get a different idea and when at the last minute, nothing - I went back to this one! My favorite part about it is the view from the back - how you can see the silhouetted tendrils through the paper.

EMJC-PR6.4 - "The customater"

EMJC-PR6.4
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

If you saw the post from yesterday, you got a bit of a hint of what I was supposed to be working on for my challenge this week. I was given: Ring, Aluminum, Victorian/Byzantine.

Part of my goal has been to create pieces that all work together and still look like me. When doing a little research on victorian or byzantine jewelry, I thought that my organic vine collection might work fine as 'Victorian" with the lacy and tendril-y look.

For the aluminum - we had been talking about how to treat the metal underneath clear stones and one suggestion was aluminum foil. I thought the textured effect of tightly crinkled foil would give an extra dimension to the ring. I was really happy with the effect.

I did two different photos since the one on the right focuses more on the texture underneath the moonstone (which happened to be the only stone I had that was clear enough to see the aluminum foil through!) You can see more photos on flickr.

I kind of feel like it was a little clumsy on execution (if I have to critique myself) Its kind of like a good design coming down the runway, but the hem isn't finished. Overall though I'm pretty happy with it and can see opportunities for the techniques I used in this ring. And THAT makes me really happy.

Make sure to check out the etsymetal blog later today for all the other entries. You will be blown away.

My first metalsmithed... item

This month's installation of EtsyMetal's Blog Carnival is: My First Piece of Metalsmithed Jewelry. However, my first metalsmited item wasn't a piece of jewelry, but it really shaped how I work, and I still have it. So here it is!



It was a married metal container. My very first jewelry and metalsmithing class was an Intro to Jewelry and Metals and was open to all art majors.

This piece I can honestly say, scarred me in terms of what aspects of metalsmithing I enjoy. Since I'd never done any sawing, I didn't have a concept of what might be easy or difficult. Not to mention that doing married metal for your first piercing project is no easy task. After it was all said and done, piercing and sawing were now in my list of things I liked least. And seriously, to this day - they are my least favorite things! The dislike of soldering led me to fusing - which if you ready my blog, know that a huge majority of my work is fused, not soldered. I also found ways around sawing when possible, large cutters, metal shears, using the flexshaft, etc.

Often the best learning experiences are the ones that lead you away from something, not necessarily towards! I don't remember doing any kind of practice piece - if I had, I probably wouldn't have chosen this design!

At the time, I thought it turned out pretty well, looking at it now - oh my goodness. And I do look at it just about every day - I use it as a little scrap container! When sawing off little bits of sprues or little ends of wire snips or sheet scraps, I just throw them in there. When I cast, I sprinkle some of the bits out to be recycled. I don't actually use the lid, so I had to hunt for it this morning.



So that is it! My first piece. I think you could say it was a 'doozy'. Married metal - soldered brass and copper, formed in to a sealed container. it was supposed to be water tight - though recently I found where you can see light through one little missed hole. (from the front it looks like there are more than one, but thats just b/c I didn't know how to solder well - who does on their first piece?)

Make sure to check out my other EtsyMetal friends that are participating in this month's blog carnival:

1. Sara Westermark http://sarawestermark.blogspot.com/
2. Nina Gibson http://ninagibsondesigns.blogspot.com/
3. Danielle Miller-Gilliam http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
4. Beth Cyr http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com - thats me!
5. duckduckGoose http://duckduckgoosestuff.co.uk/duckduckBLOG
6. Caitlyn Davey http://discomedusa.typepad.com
7. Laura Crawford http://tangerinetreehouse.blogspot.com
8. Tamra Gentry http://gentrydesignco.typepad.com/
9. andes cruz - http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
10. Cynthia Del Giudice: http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/
11. libby Rosas http://elizabethrosasjewelry.blogspot.com
12. Nina Dinoff http://ninadinoff.blogspot.com
13. Clare Stoker http://clarestoker.blogspot.com
14. kerin rose http://kerinrose.blogspot.com
15.Quercus SIlver http://quercussilver.blogspot.com
16. Delias Thompson http://deliasstudioinc.blogspot.com

charms all done!

charms all done!
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

yup. just as it says. Charms are all done and in the mail. bye bye! They are all a little different. Some are even more special w/ a little vine and some also have a little leaf. I don't like making the same thing over and over again. Luckily I don't have to choose who gets which one!
Thanks to Sara for doing all the hard work and getting it all together and keeping us motivated!

EtsyMetalJewelryChallenge - ProjectRunway 6.1 - "Red Carpet"

EMJC - PR 6.1
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

So, I probably should have posted this last week.... but EtsyMetal is starting a new challenge. After every episode of project runway, we are going to interpret the challenge in to jewelry. We will have a week to complete the item. Then time to start the next challenge! Since we are a world wide group - the next challenge won't be 'stated' until later this afternoon. So Fridays will be a busy blog day! Everyone is welcome to play along. We will be posting on the etsymetal blog as well as I'll post it here in case I have any readers that don't follow that blog as well.

As far as this particular piece.... It was the general idea I had, but definitely grew in to something much more! But I am very happy with it. It is all argentium sterling silver wire, all fused. It curves around the top of the shoulder and could probably stay there, but a thin wire comes around the back of the neck to hold it all in place. I love it. I'd wear it! Especially b/c, well, I conformed it to fit to my body. One day I'd love to do larger body conforming pieces to all sorts of bodies. Thats when I have the time and money to fly all over the country for fittings right?

charm swap progess

charm trees
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

So all of my charms turned out and i was super happy. I think one or two of the diamonds might have turned in to metal - I'll have to see when I get them all completely cleaned up. It still is a lovely effect!

Yesterday was a most productive day and it didn't necessarily feel overwhelming which I am very glad for.



I even managed to get all 4 rings finished + 2 more, and get all the charms separated and cleaned - free of investment and pickled! yippee! So I will be able to get them all in the mail on time. Today I'll work on cleaning up the sprues - I have lots of other things to do as well, so I might not be able to get them patinated and totally finished. we shall see!

flush set practice - reclaimed sterling and diamond ring - w/ patina

flush set practice - reclaimed ring - w/ patina
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

Out of need I finally did my first flush set a couple weeks ago. It turned out amazingly easier than I thought it would be. I wondered if it was a fluke though. It was a ring that I had cast the diamond in place - the diamond got a little burned, so I smashed it out and decided instead of redoing the whole ring, I would attempt to set the stone first. It worked great!.

I did a second one a couple days ago. Same situation - a ring that had two stones cast in place - one was PERFECT. The other... split down the middle and the metal cast through the stone. And the color of the stone changed. It was so weird. I smashed the damaged one out and and set another to match the one cast in place. I was extremely pleased and you can hardly tell any difference. (and if you are wondering how I am doing this smashing, a nail or chasing tool and a hammer. works great and is actually very fun)

So, after the two 'out of need' setting situations - I decided to do a few intentionally. Which meant practicing on a ring that was just hanging around - I 'reclaimed' it (filed, hammered, made it lovely and tough looking) and then decided i might as well set 3. In my attempt to unevenly space them - they ended up being a little more even than I had planned. Which I find very ironic - though its hard to photograph it so you can see all three at the same time.

I was really happy w/ how it turned out. I photographed it with a heavy patina, and w/ just a light patina - since it was practice, i figured I might as play w/ it.

Its not perfect, but thats why its called practice! I do have to say that my friends, Sara and Clare have been a big inspiration with their lovely flush settings. I've been putting it off for a long time as any time I read tutorials, it just seemed extraordinarily difficult. Once again, reminding me that just working it out on my own is a better way for me to learn that trying to actually follow instructions. Reading the instructions was good - but then forgetting half of them and just winging it is what works best for me!

I love the setting, all tucked away and kind of hidden in the metal - not sticking up or getting in the way. I love the action of the setting too, using the metal of the ring to hold the stone in. I love the look of casting them in place, like the metal grew around the stone, but these are a close second... if not a tie!

Signature Style - EtsyMetal Blog Carnival

This is the second installment of the Etsymetal blog 'carnival'. The idea is that we'll pick a topic every so often and anyone that wants to will blog about that one topic - then we'll all link to each other so you can see the answer from other EtsyMetal members.

The topic or question for this one is about our signature style and how it came about or was inspired.

Mine pretty easily came to mind as I remember the course it took. Though I feel I sort of have 2 signature styles, I'm picking just one - my Organic Vine Collection - It all started w/ this pendant.

I was still very new to etsy and it was the first thing that sold the same day I listed it. Within a couple of hours even it had sold. That said to me "This is unique and desirable and eye-catching" It was also extremely fun to make - its all about fusing - my favorite thing - using a torch AND hammering.

It evolved in to the more current style pretty quickly once I found how easily Argentium sterling silver fused. This necklace was one of the first of the recent generation of the Organic Vine Collection.



I knew that I wanted to find something that would create a style and a look that was easily recognizable, but did not involve making the same piece over and over and over again. So I developed this collection. It is always fun to make, the pieces never turn out the same and I know that all of my customers are getting something truly unique.

As far as the inspiration for the name of the collection - it reminded me of vines obviously! particularly vines that grow up and over fences, gates, walls, etc... nature taking over.



I want to continue to evolve the collection. I have visions of what sort of pieces I can create. I want to do some body formed pieces - similar to this ring. But on an even larger scale.



So that is where it came from and where I hope to be going! And make sure to check out the other EtsyMetal participants for this topic:
cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/
andescruz.ganoksin.com/blogs
andescruz.wordpress.com
daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/
sarawestermark.blogspot.com/
etsymetal.blogspot.com/
ashleyakers.blogspot.com
tangerinetreehouse.blogspot.com
ninagibsondesigns.blogspot.com/
discomedusa.typepad.com/
kerinrose.blogspot.com

EtsyMetal Group Challenge - What Inspires me in making Jewelry

morning
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

My EtsyMetal group posted a new challenge - to do a blog post on a theme. So every so often someone will come up with a question or topic and whoever wants to blog about it will! At the end of the post, I'll link to everyone else that answered this week's questions - so you can see what inspires them too!

I think most people that see my work know that nature is my biggest inspiration. Especially trees! I love trees and really know that I could not live in a location where their weren't any trees. I love being in the middle of a forest and not being able to see any manmade structure. Ever since I was little I can remember going in to the woods, really for any reason! Just for fun to play with twigs and leaves and sweet gum balls. I used to make little boats out of bark and twigs and leaves to sail down a little stream. It was fabulous. I would also go there seeking refuge from the rest of the world.

Then there is the simple fact of all the amazing textures! So if I can create a little mini slice of the feeling I get from being in the woods - it makes me happy.

Here are other EtsyMetal members who posted on what inspires them:

http://ninadinoff.blogspot.com
http://www.chris-parry.blogspot.com
http://ninagibsondesigns.blogspot.com
http://deliasstudioinc.blogspot.com
http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com

New Rings cont'd

Here are the three rings all finished and they've been listed on Etsy now.
This one is sodalite and is listed here.








This one is aventurine and is here.














and this one is blue chalcedony and is here.






I was inspired to do these rings for several reasons. I'd been feeling kind of claustrophobic (for lack of a better word). I've been going through lots of things in my life and clearing out. There are several pieces I've had listed for sale and they haven't sold. I was tired of looking at them. Some pieces are going to be melted down in to something new, others will be turned in to something else! Like these rings! Some of the organic vine rings just didn't have the pizazz on their own that they needed, but as a band accompaniment to a lovely stone - they are perfect!! I feel like they are starting to give me the depth to my work I've been looking for.
I have so many stones that I really love and they just sit there. I'm hoping that habit is going to stop now and that I continue pairing up the stones to make some fabulous pieces.

I was also inspired by my friend Christine - who does amazing work, but like a lot of artists, is pushing herself forward and coming up with new designs to keep her creativity and passion in full swing. She created three rings that were just super lovely and inspired me to get out of my own run. Check out her shop - keep an eye on her - she is always adding new and amazing items.

great minds think alike?

anniversary flowers
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

just had to do a quick post.

my friend etsymetal friend ashley (ashleyjewelry) posted a picture of flowers her sweetie got her for her birthday. It was too similar to the flowers my sweetie got me for our anniversary!

check them out on her blog!

Tennis #4 Sophie's brass monkeys

brass monkeys
Originally uploaded by duckduckgoosestuff

So I think my counting is a little off - the last one I posted said #2, but I think was indeed #3, sooo... this will be #4!

This is Sophie's volley from this piece. I'm very excited that she used some gold and I think I know what my next piece will be! Hopefully it won't take me a month like it did last time! Here is Sophie's blog about it.

Asheville Gem Show/ EtsyMetal meet up

beads asheville show
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I went to a fabulous gem show yesterday in Asheville and got to meet up with some fellow etsymetal members (Sara, Maggie and Danielle) for the first time!! We had a great time and it was just fabulous to meet them!

These are some of the beads I got and I am super excited about them. I have projects/ideas for all of them already. I also got some great cabs - you can see some on flickr - and of course, my main objective for going - Diamonds! I'm going to be expanding my natural and organic rings with more diamonds.

Not that I didn't have enough stones already, but I'm really excited about the things I got and hopefully will be using them ALL very soon!

Victoria and Janos in the Corno Project

Victoria and Janos are two of my best EtsyMetal friends and a few flickr buddies were inspired by a piece Victoria made and had posted on flickr (how can you not be inspired by her??) This led to the Corno Project which was just featured in the Storque on Etsy! Congrats!!!! All the pieces are truly amazing - but I would expect nothing less.

Wendy is a genius... and I can say she is my friend!

from wendy...
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

So yes, my friend Wendy is a genius. You can see a better shot of the pendant I got here. I love wearing it, not only because it is super cute, but because it makes me think of my dear friend allll the way across the big Atlantic. I've been so thankful to have 'met' and made such wonderful connections with metalsmith's around the world. I never used to wear anyone else's jewelry, but now I love buying and trading and wearing great fabulous pieces that I'd never think to make or couldn't make! And I love saying "A good friend of mine made this fabulous piece."


And this is her newest piece.



I am just in love w/ it. Our EtsyMetal challenge of the month is "moving parts" and/or "steel"

I am quite in love and it really doesn't need more than a photo for you to see why...

check out more lovely items in her shop and her blog.

etsymetal ad...

This is a test... only a test....

I'm trying to learn how to make animated gifs... this is my first try and I'm wondering if it will show up animated on the blog! I hope so.

Its not the final 'draft' but hopefully will include some words and I'll slow down the pace. but I was just glad I finally got it to work! Course if it doesn't work here, you can check it out on flickr by looking at 'all sizes'

The artists are:

Kathy of studiometalsmith
Elizabeth of erosasjewelry
Catherine Chandler
Sara Westermark
Cynthia Del Giudice

Ring from Kerin!!

Ring from Kerin!!
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I love it. It is a West African Adinkra symbol of "initiative, dynamism and versatility".... I figured it was the perfect ring for fall. It is a time when everything seems to be shifting one way or another. Lots of things are happening in nature and this seems to translate in to everyone's lives as well! The ring is super comfy and I haven't taken it off since I got it this morning!

Kerin has gorgeous jewelry and is just a lovely person and I was super happy to trade with her for my ring!! I love it and hope she loves her dandelion ring as much as I love mine. You can browse Kerin's wonderful pieces in her etsy shop and even this particular ring customized to your size!

Jewelry Tennis

earring tennis
Originally uploaded by duckduckgoosestuff

So I had this idea a couple weeks ago - I think partially b/c I had been watching the US Open - a lot - and have started playing tennis again in real life - its called Jewelry Tennis. I don't know that there really any rules - no out of bounds, no net, well and instead of a racket - I suppose we have hammers? or torches - or both!

I specifically thought of my dear friend Sophie who lives across the big pond in the UK. Her style is similar to mine in a way that I love everything she makes, but different from mine in that everything she does is something I wouldn't think of! Sometimes I feel like we share a creative brain. So basically the idea is that one of us will make something and the other will hit back with something inspired by, but different than, that particular piece. I think we've been playing for a long time now already, but for real, its started! And this is her first piece! There is no time frame - so It might be a week or two before I come up with mine - but I'm excited for a new fun challenge!

Victoria is the best

Victoria is the best
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

I have long admired Victoria's jewelry and as a person she is just fantastic - I am so happy to have gotten these as a gift from her!! I remember seeing her shop shortly after I joined etsy and just being completely enamored with everything she made! She is awesome and so is her jewelry. You have to check out her stuff if you haven't seen it or if you've not checked in recently, she is always coming up with fabulous unique items.Thank you!!!!!!! I love them!!

EtsyMetal Friends Front Page 9.2.08

Front Page 9.2.08
Originally uploaded by bcyrjewelry

This was too lovely of a front page with so many etsymetal friends I couldn't help but post about it!
Congrats to Sara, Gaby, Clare and Norsola!! What a gorgeous collection!