5/16/11

Fly W.I.P.s

I took down one of my new listings yesterday because it was bothering me. It was this one: 
I'm still struggling with it, something about it is off. I should put it away. Can't force it, you know. The blue and red thing seems really forced. And it was.


Anywhatsits, here's an itty-bitty pair of earrings. I shot it with the penny so you'd see how tiny they are.


Here's something coming along.
Something's off with my camera. I think it's on the wrong setting. My camera's embarrassed to have taken such sucky pictures.

Got the bone thing going on. On my 'fly WIPs'. 
[If you're not from the good ol' US of A, do you know what I'm referring to? How the rappers are always talking about their fly whips? I dunno when folks started calling cars whips- for a while, I thought they'd all gotten into S&M big time....]

This one is maybe done-ish? One of those that just came together, totally unforced. 
By the way, struggling, taking down a post, reworking things- that's all thanks to my inner critic. I hear lots of dissing of inner critics. People saying you have to shut it/him/her down. That you have to create freely and joyfully like a child does. But notice a child soon looses interest in making, as s/he grows. Maybe the child is not so delighted with what it makes? Also notice few young children making a living off their art.  And I have to say, my inner critic makes me work harder to raise my standards and make better things. In the end, having those higher standards makes me go 'eeeeeeeeee' with joy when I see what I've made.
 So there.

 My inner critic doesn't know if it likes these. Here's a tidbit: I flipped one of those 'eye' findings backwards to add a little variety. Well, that was before I had the netting over it.

Oh I'm 'eeeee'ing over these. Know what? I bought these copper ear wires on line and hammered and oxidized them myself, to complete the 'artisan finding' look. 

Did I mention these pictures suck ass?

Oh here's a spicy little number (hu?). I had that door knob backplate with the faceted ab bead under resin for forever, wanting to put it on a leather belt piece as a cuff. When I finally jerry-rigged up a connection, the damn piece obviously needed to have been hammered into an arc, it was stiff and didn't fall on the wrist naturally at all. So there goes that. But suddenly this little guy came together just like that. Well, it helps to have heaps of interesting supplies.

Since my double-wrap necklaces worked out pretty well, I made a double-wrap bracelet with some thin and pretty chain... Ok, you can't see it., just the extender chain. But there's a chain made of double-ended ball head pins made by missficklemedia. I'll take decent pics tomorrow... or the next day.... or the next. Promise.

I still need to oxidize these ear wires. They're steel. Is there any rule against steel? Cuz I never hear about people using steel ear wires. But steel is strong and, you know, cheap. So. I used it. These were made out of a little plate I cut, filed and hammered.

I continued to use glue to put this one together. E6000. It's staying set beautifully, and without any stiff glue areas on the reverse. Did I mention the base is an old award ribbon? In fact it was a long-ago abandoned bracelet project that I recently re-found.
I'm trying to work on a balance between masculine/rustic and feminine/vintage.
My most recent merging of opposing elements was my development of victorian tribal. But I realized that before that, I was working on merging 'jewelry' supplies with functional things not intended for jewelry. Like so:


I focused on that the way I recently had to consciously focus on victorian tribal. After a while it becomes second nature-ish. Next dichotomy is masculine vs. pretty. Cuz everyone's going crazy for the pieces mixing scruffy old leather and rhinestones. So. I gotta figure out a way to do that without, you know, going the way of the this kind of thing:


11 comments:

Flotsam Tide said...

Those tiny earrings are just precious, and I really like the bone incorporation. Reminds me of Papua New Guinea tribesmen. Very cool.

stregata said...

About the steel ear wires - not so sure it is a good idea, especially if you go your normal route and oxidize. Iron oxide is rust - and if someone has just a slight infection of the ear lobe or a tiny scratch from putting the wire in, rust would be very dangerous healthwise - think tetanus.

richelle said...

My favorite are the button-icon-lace-scrap earrings.
You know, I use steel more than about any other type of wire but I I never use it for earwires, precisely because of stregata's point. It is crazy easy to work with and oxidizes better than anything. I think surgical steel is the only type suitable for earwires. Not sure if you can buy it in spool form, but it does oxidize well.

Barbara Lewis said...

Wow! a full page of eye candy! my favorites are the double wrapped necklace and bracelet. I think Renate is onto something with her comment about the ear wires.

fanciful devices said...

oy vey. i guess steel earwires are out. thanks stregata, for real. <3

Numinosity said...

I just got your package and guess what is dangling from my ears! Thanks! They are going to go great with the kimono I scored at the thrift shop recently.
I'd love to send you a little something as a thank you, something that you may be able to use in your work, OK with you?
xoxo Kim

fanciful devices said...

um YEAH.

Penelope said...

HAHAHA you killed me with that last pic- what a punchline!! All that serious talk about materials and whatnot and then BOOM crap bling.

And you're killin' me with that double bracelet.

Marin said...

BoomCrapBling--I think y'all have started a new "tag"....Ha!

Marin said...

oh, and-- I've never been able to reconcile blue and red. Maybe it's the American flag thing? Just too much or something. (?) and I dunno why you think these pics suck. The bone and pinky-bead piece is bad-ass! And, I call my inner critic "the flying monkeys," they visit my studio and distract me. and, and, and...

Jennifer Valentine Morford said...

I know only YOU could find a use for that shield thing with the turquoise bits....
I love all of the new things, as always, but my dear the earings with the lace and little religious buttons made me gasp OUT LOUD. Seriously Fanci....you completely rock.