Intentional Stones

If at first you don't succeed

I work with a torch. This should raise a big old red flag.

And every time I make something each step increases the danger that something will go wrong that will damage the last step.

Last night, I was very excited. A commission that I am so happy to have seemed like it was just about done. The patron asked for a grandmother's ring and just as I originally was about to set the stones, she had a new addition to the family and wanted to add a final stone! So awesome!

But, here's the problem. Four bands, six delicate little settings, room for one more? Yes. Heat up the ring again?

Uh oh! First a setting came loose and I had to remove them all and start over again. Then I melted a ring band.

No worries. It's just metal. And the pieces I have to work the hardest for are the ones that come out the best. Every time.

Still, I had to walk away. It was the end of the day. Maybe I pushed too hard to get done and I got too careless. Maybe my torch was up too high. (Even with a larger piece than the usual, below you can see how very small these usually are. I am working with lots of bitty bits that can melt.)

 

Y'know what I did next?

I was completely childish. I turned the whole ruined thing into a lump of silver. I'm gonna forge it out into a small piece of sheet metal. Cuz I can.

See, the thing is, I bet I can start over fresh and get the whole thing done in a few hours. All this worrying and trying to fix things and then adding things has got me all riled up. Last night I dragged my husband out to see Cloud Atlas (I highly recommend it if you liked the Matrix), and got a really good night's sleep.

And now I have a clean canvas to start with on this ring and it will be better than ever.

I am so thankful for my patient customers and that my medium is forgiving and I can just start over again without losing anything.

Happy Monday Everyone!

-Simbelmynë

 

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Learning from failure

There it is, the end of the opportunity.  I had a larger commission that I just never got done.  It started with success.  Rose quartz became a lovely set of pendant, earrings and a ring:

 

 

Great!

But then, with 6 more stones to go, I started falling apart. 

I can't really say exactly what happened.

Was I being stubborn and not confident in my designs?  Has my desire to traditionally set stones rather than wire wrap them whenever possible doomed me to failure?  Am I just uncomfortable with Sugilite?  I've never worked with it before.

I did get a pretty pair of earrings and a pendant done. 

And I like them.  But the pendant I was working on to match the earrings just never worked out.

Life got full? the design wasn't fully thought out and starting on it wasn't really reasonable? I expected too much from myself?

Clearly I need to limit taking too many pieces at once.  Clearly I need to work on communication about design.  Clearly I need to reign myself in when I get ambitious about artistic design and I'm not sure my skills will match it.  Clearly I need to manage time better.  Clearly I need to work on self discipline, since my time of late is so very precious.

But the clearest part of all is I let someone down.

And I'm really sorry.

-Simbelmynë

 

Winds of time

Nice dramatic title, eh?

The Wheel of Time books that I'm Still reading, (Yeah at just about 800pp per book and 13 books, it takes this slow reader a while.  Especially checking the Wheel of Time Wiki every time a character is mentioned, And listening to the podcasts a bunch of delightfully foul mouthed geeks are producing, spoilers abound, so if you're not up to date, don't go to either.  I'm a true geek.) start each story with the Wind.  The Wind is almost a character.  It carries the threads started in the prologue into the main part of the book.  A fun literary tool.  Especially when it clues in characters we've been wishing would get a clue.  Like a little gnat biting them.  Ok, maybe it just adds to the frustration.  But if I didn't love these characters, I wouldn't be on my 5th re-read of the series, nor would I be cheering on Brandon Sanderson to get the final book done. 

Anyway, the reason I mention all this, is that the past few months have flown by.

How does time do that?

Since starting the school year, on top of Show Season, on top of finishing the remodeling of the kitchen, on top of everything else, I haven't had time for anything.

I've been disappointed in the studio.  When ever I'm there, I can feel my skills growing and my work getting better!  But I can't spend nearly as much time down there as I'd like. 

I have a number of small commissions I picked up over the summer and fall that are nearly done, but they've been inching along!  (Thank you, if you're one of the people I owe work to.  I know you're looking forward to your pieces.  I wish I was working at any kind of decent pace.)  And I'm only barely making my deadlines.  I have been careful to explain to people that I'm severely limited in my work time, but it doesn't help me in feeling like I'm way too slow. And I have a big set I've been working on for months.  Since the beginning of the year.  That's still not done.  I work a little at a time and try to show my work when it's gotten somewhere.  And I just got a key to the biggest piece, so I hope to get a bunch done this weekend.  It's not that I'm not thinking about these things constantly, it's that I just can't find time to do everything!!!

There.

It's off my chest.

I'm terrible.

I'm not going to take any more commissions until the ones I have are done.  I'm hoping I can clear up 90% of them this weekend.  Putting them ahead of everything else. 

I'm certainly not making excuses.  Time is just moving way too fast lately.

-Simbelmynë

 

 

Getting serious

I need to work on that saying "no" thing.  I went to my last show saying I wouldn't accept any commission pieces and then took on two.  I mean, when somebody comes just to ask me to make something how on earth can I resist?  I did tell them I was in super slow mode right now, so this is good.  I'll feel better once the kitchen stuff is done tonight.

In actuality, I never ever want to say no when someone asks for a custom piece.  So I need to work on my communication.  (If I have stones of yours and it's taking me forever to get done with them, I am deeply grateful for your forbearance.  I'm trying to keep in touch.)  My plan is to have my backlog cleared by the end of the first week of September. 

If you're an artist reading this-how do you manage commissions?  I'm uncomfortable with my own level of life-involvement interfering with getting done in a timely fashion.  And people who commission artwork or artist made anything- what is the best way you've seen commissions handled? 

And yet I really want to keep going!  Artwork is really a moody thing.  I don't want to give my patrons anything less than a beautiful piece of art, but sometimes my muse will only speak to other projects.  And if I force it, things come out terribly. 

I am grateful for the shows in Homestead.  Getting to know people face to face has been wonderful and reassuring.  I find it easier to get a good idea what people want this way. 

-Simbelmynë

Catching Up To Do

Everything's been going simultaneously and it seems like it's all paused.  Woven chain was a big hit with family this holiday season and I'm about to start on project number 3!  I've been working constantly on these: 

The amazing learning experience necklace!  I love the result, it will be a special item only concept.  Azurinte malachite pendant and lapis, malachite and black tourmaline on the chain. 

This one is fairly simple, a thin chain with Botsana Agate pendant.  I just have a couple of findings to complete. 

The last will require increases in the chain, so I'll have to do a practice version.

I feel soooooo slow!

Down the Rabbit Hole

Fell into my hands this week.  Silly me clicking extra stuff as I holiday shop. 

I wanted it as part of a current commission.  But leafing through, I'm realizing that enamel may need to be part of my quest towards becoming a metal smith. I'll be doing only a very simple application for that.  Just a color inlaid into a ring.  I will wait until my instructor, who specializes in enamels, gets around to it in class to try anything fancy.

Cloissoné, Plique á jour, Painting and overlay, incorporating metal foil.... There are worlds out there that I'd love to visit.  Will I stay long?  Who knows. The stunning is unlimited.

Is there any point where I'll say I know everything I can do with metal? 

-Simbelmynë

 

Chasing my Dreams

The blog's been a little travel and jewelry and everything-sparse of late. Mostly because of our return to the States. (yes, I'm still posting our Australia time, but we're back home in Pittsburgh) And, with the kids trying out school, I have several hours a day.

I'm learning the metal and making the jewelry.

So I cleaned up my studio, made a change to make pictures easier, and I've been working for a week.

Shaping and Hammering Silver

Stringing pink opals and pearls

Nothing makes the piece look as good as the outfit and person it was designed for.

So, I apologize for the long blog-cation I've taken.  It's been well worth while.

There will be wire. There will be stones. There will be beads. Most of all there will be metal.  (And travel and food and fun too!)

-Simbelmynë

Charming

    

In crafting month, I was trying to make a charm a day. This simple goal kept me thinking on a small, nice and workable scale for my items.

But there's so much you can do with a charm!

The beauty of a charm is that simple or complex, representative or abstract, beaded or only metal, it represents a complete idea. You can make them in identical pairs, sets to tell a story, and singles that are a picture.

And I love that you can wear just one on a necklace or choose as many as you like. Tack one onto a beaded bracelet for fun.

Charms make a statement that represents you or reminds someone you care about of why they are special.

What would your charms say?

If you like these or have any ideas you'd love to see on a charm bracelet, just contact us!

Light and Airy

I've been working on an elemental series for a friend over the last couple of years.  Off and on.  I need to borrow "Water" back from her to get pictures.  I'm fairly proud of it.

Last night, I worked on "Air" in silver and citrine. 

(It's in it's little bag still, waiting for her to visit so I can fit the piece to her neck.)

Now, the problem with jewelry and air, is you don't want to feel like you're going to lose your necklace!
Tiny citrine rondelles suspended with micro crimps from very thin transite cord don't really do much for weighing down the dragonfly.  I have prepared one flower link to attach to the clasp, and I'm going to submit it for approval before I make another to match.  I have a feeling that this piece will become even more elaborate before it's completed.  That is the way this commission goes.  It's a collaborative and building process. 

It is fun, however, seeing it begin to clarify into it's final form.
-Simbelmyne

Stone carving?

And now, for something completely different.....

I had gone into this commission thinking I would be working with wood, but my friend was delighted to know that I am fully equipped to engrave stones.  Not that I've ever tried before.

She chose the rune Nauthiz.  And, upon discovering that the tool- a flex shaft loaded with a round burr- I was planning to use was very familiar from her lab days, my friend wanted to carve the rune herself.

It turned out to be nice and easy to carve the jasper.  And the shape, since the runes can be very very simple, was a great one to start with.

Then, to accentuate the carving, which kind of disappears back into the stone once the dust is washed away.  I painted inside it with silver enamel.

Once we wiped away the last of the dust and cleaned all excess paint off the stone, it was time to start wrapping.

My friend chose rose quartz and amethyst to accentuate the green of the jasper.  Working with the wire and chips, I kind of naturally found myself making a little flower at the top of the design, to go with the pale rose quartz leaf.

Definitely satisfying.  And it's always best when the person I'm working for is right there, it makes getting the design right the first time sooooo much easier.

-Simbelmyne