Day 26

day 26, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

It took me the entire day to do this mostly-copper mock-up of my Charm Necklace for Judy. That said, I think it was time well spent. I learned a lot!

• working on a dressmaker's dummy is a great way to see how a necklace looks
• working a short-ish bit of chain into a necklace such at this isn't necessarily easy
• there is such a thing as too asymmetrical
• there is no better school than that of trial-and-error

Tomorrow I start making the fine silver components needed and begin re-wrapping the beads, in silver this time.  

If I am lucky, I might actually finish this in time for her to receive it prior to my mother's birthday!!

Day 25

Day 25, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

In StudioMojo, number 12, Cynthia Tinapple ends her entry with some sage advice for the end of summer:

"To do great work one must be very idle as well as very industrious."
— Samuel Butler

Just what I was thinking! I gloried in idleness on day 25.

Thanks, Cynthia!

Days 23 and 24

Day 23 I tried my hand at creating the focal bead for the necklace I am making for my mother's birthday.  The pastel, water-color-ish disk beads in the top photo were my first attempt.  They are pretty beads, but not what I was aiming for.  The bead in the mosaic is much more like what I was aiming for.

Day 24 I buffed and waxed the dish of beads.

I have a lot to learn about photography!

Day 22

Today's "art" was a Julia Cameron-style artist's date.  KE and I went to the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern to see the two current exhibitions.  Though we both felt somewhat put off by a rather helter-skelter organisation of the displays, I came away greatly inspired by Klee's use of color and line.  I would happily go there again and I certainly want to go deeper with my understanding of Klee as an artist.

Day 21

Day 21, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.

Today's work involved finishing a soccer inspired cane for my husband's granddaughter whose birthday is at the end of the month. She is quite the player and hopefully will enjoy having a custom-made bracelet celebrating her team. Mind you, reducing it is going to be a challenge and a half!!

Day 20

Day 20, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Today's work involved lots of buffing and waxing of beads.  I think I have also finally decided on the color palette for mom's necklace. Additionally, I want to use Janice Abarbanel's bead done for a July color challenge as the inspiration for the focal bead for the piece.  I am waiting for more Pardo Professional Art Clay to arrive as I ran out.  Fingers crossed I can come up with a bead as spectacular as hers!!


Also on the docket for today, I did a color scale, à la Maggio, using Pardo Professional Art Clay yellow, red and blue.   Really liking this clay by Pardo!

Day 19: Buffing and serging and dying -- oh my!

Day 19, a photo by Annclinations on Flickr.


Thank heavens for my dremel and my homemade buffing wheel!  I buffed and waxed lots  of beads today.  Their luster makes me happy.  Having completed that stage of the project, I decided to put the charm bracelet in amongst the beads to see what the effect was.  The beads I liked the best in the steps up to now don't look very nice with the sterling silver.  Giant head slap!  Of course they don't!  Out of the then obvious need to rethink my palette, I decided to sand, buff and polish the dark teal beads and the pink ones that I rejected the other day.  They are in the tumbler now, along with various and sundry other beads I made some time ago but never prepped.


While waiting for the tumbler to work its magic, I decided to get back to the ribbon trials that I started on day 14.  I managed to coax the serger into creating three more ribbons.  Happily, they are looking more professional than I thought they might.  In order to tint these new ribbons, I pulled out a silk painting kit I bought for one of the grandchildren a few years ago.  At the time, it didn't really seem appropriate for her, so I kept it.  Among the colors in the kit were a cyan blue, magenta and lemon yellow.  I decided that it would be a good place to start.  The photo shows the two trial ribbons and two undyed ones.  I look forward to learning more about dying.  It seems that gravity and capillary action can both play an interesting role in the final outcome.  Though these ribbons are clearly not for my mother's birthday necklace, the work I did today will be very useful for future endeavors.


When I put the silver charm bracelet next to the beads, not only did I find my original color ideas weren't going to work, I also learned that the focal bead(s) I made aren't going to work for this piece either.  Not to worry, I have some ideas for solving that predicament cooking on the back burner......


Happy Swiss national day!!