Back at the Jewelry Bench

Well, we are in the midst of a typical Nova Scotia winter- a bit of snow, a bit of rain, a bit of freezing rain, winds north of 100 KPH and temperatures going up and down like a toilet seat. The perfect time to be in the studio. Vickie is working on a big project for Seawall Fibres and since "where she goes, the cats go" I have plenty of company. here's a shot of the interested spectators:

I decided to finish a couple of very nice "bloodstones"I had kicking around. Bloodstones get their name from bright red patches (usually hematite) that provide a striking contrast to the rest of the stone. The first one is a little "donut" that I hung from a slim, premium black leather cord with a silver clasp. It has a brecciated (or broken) matrix so it's quite unique.

I decided to enhance the second piece by adding Czechoslovakian faceted fire polished glass beads and copper spacers and clasps along with a premium leather cord. In person, it actually glows.

Next we have two pieces that are rare and unique. They are made from mollusk shells that have been riddled by holes created by tube worms to produce intricate and dramatic patterning.

They have been hand set with copper wire and hung from premium leather cords and are something you ain't gonna see every day!

Finally, here's a really nice piece of polished amethyst set on a reddish copper metal plate to enhance the colour and then hung from a blue premium leather cord.

In upcoming sessions I'll be doing several pieces combining stone and leather so stay tuned and if you are in the area, drop by. The sign may be down (tucked away out of the wind) but all the inventory of yarn etc. is still here.

Cheers!

Latest Rock Jewelry Pieces

Well, we are in the midst of a true Nova Scotia Blizzard today. It was -10 this morning and will be +10 by tonight but in between we will get heavy snow, then a few hours of freezing rain and then heavy rain. Oh yeah did I mention the winds gusting to over 100KPH? On Digby Neck, we call a day like this ...Sunday!

I have been finishing up a few pieces including 3 from the Stone&Bone series. The first two are jasper in a silver plate bezel with a fossilized sand shark tooth attached and hung from a black buna cord.

This one is a local stone- fortification agate with a nice sparkly quartz druzy in the center- a really beautiful stone. Again it is set in a silver plate bezel with a sand shark tooth and hung from a premium black leather cord with a nice copper clasp.

And last but not least is my first piece done totally by hand in silver. Unfortunately, since I am taking these pictures with a phone that eliminates glare, you can't see the sparkling quartz druzy in the center of this really nice moss agate but it's there and it's a show stopper!

And here's a close up.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pics but "She Who MUST Be Obeyed" who normally takes them, is designing a knitwear pattern for Seawall Fibres and I have been given strict orders not to approach.

I am now going to move on and do some more combining stone and leather so keep checking the blog for more (and hopefully better) pics.

By the way, many have asked if these pieces are for sale. They are all for sale in the shop but shortly, I will be posting pics and prices on the Seawall Fibres web site in the Seawall Creations section. I'll let you know when that happens.

In the meantime, stay warm and dry (unless you are my friend Ted in Australia- you should stay cool!)

Cheers!

P.S. Here's a little tip. If you have jewelry with a sparkly druzy and you want to bring up the sparkle, use one of those little plastic dental floss picks and just put it in the cavity and twirl it around.

Latest Copper/Stone Jewelry

So I decided to try something pretty ambitious (for me anyway)!

I have some nice botryoidal jasper from a now long gone nearby locale and was trying to come up with a good setting. The edging was a little flaky so the first thing I did was wrap it in copper foil. Then I got out my copper sheeting and went nuts and here is the result.

I call it Gulliver's Treasure.

The back plate was hammered to give some texture and then holes were drilled to wrap the stone in copper wire and attach it to the hand hammered and drilled copper paddle. I hung it from a gorgeous premium Greek red leather that attaches to the paddle with hand made findings.

It was a lot of work (100% hand made except for the rock and the leather) but I think the results are awesome and plan on doing more like this in copper and, if I can screw up the courage, sterling silver.

Feedback is always appreciated, especially suggestions for improvement!

More Stuff For The Shop

As I mentioned, I have started a new series I call "Stone and Bone". I am combining polished stones with wire wrapped fossilized shark's teeth that we found while living in Florida.

Since it was very cold and snowy here today, I spent some time on the bench and here are the results.

The two on the outside are fossilized wood (jasper) from Arizona set in silver plate bezels and the one in the center is a beautiful local piece of agate showing amazing patterning and colour.. I'll probably hang them from a leather or buna cord.

Today we live in dangerous times but here's what keeps me awake at night.

If they ever learn the combination to the safe we're in real trouble!
Cheers,

New Pieces and Exciting Expansion

Been busy of late, finishing some diverse pieces in the studio. Here's a gorgeous local agate/jasper set in a silver plate bezel and hung from a delicate sterling silver chain.

It even has a little sparkling crystal druzy! This next one is called Kaleidoscope- a multicoloured piece of local jasper wire wrapped in bronze with a hand made bronze clasp and gorgeous red leather cord.

Now for a change of pace, here's a pendant fashioned from museum quality polymer clay. It's called Pinwheel and employs a technique that produces a spiral lentil bead- a real head turner!

And now, here is another piece of amazing local Ocean Jasper, prong set using bronze wire with a hand made bronze clasp.

Here is one of my favourite pieces- a pendant fashioned from the essence of Digby Neck- basalt and vein agate and shaped like The Neck itself with sterling silver wire denoting the ferry crossings. A truly unique piece!

And last but not least, a piece I absolutely love because this expandable bracelet truly represents what we are about- creating unique pieces that exhibit the mark of the artist. All the copper work is totally hand made and the beads are hand blown glass.

And if that isn't enough, we have even more exciting news. Soon, these pieces and many more including the very popular guitar picks, will be available for purchase on line. We aren't totally functional yet but when we are, it will be announced here.

So now everybody can own a "Piece of The Neck"!