10/31/13

Generic Halloween Greeting

It's been nothing but a slew of dark and stormy days around here. Finally today I had enough and took pictures anyway. I had a backlog- a constipation of items needing photographing.
I've been working on some neutrals to counterbalance that last batch of what Sparrow so  aptly named my "neon pastels." The above piece is like a tray type thing, found in Uruguay, that a medallion was previously set into. This little collection of bits sits in a shallow layer of resin. 
 
 This cup and carved bone flower were from Kathyhaul. All kinds of dangles beside and below it.
 Crap I just realized that since the images are head-on, you can't tell the flower's sitting in a little tea cup! Back to the camera for me.
 Anywho, look at these lovelies. It's hard to show any subtlety in badly lit pictures. And electric light always causes harsh shadows and too much contrast no matter how you try to diffuse. Unless you have like 50 diffused light sources which I don't.  Has anyone tried one of those ring lights?
 Resin and tin brooch.
'Nuther brooch. With two Kathyhaul brooch bits. (Edit: took a better photo... maybe)

It's all kinds of brooches alla sudden. This was a focal with a big crack over the center I made ages ago. I realized a faux mercury treatment would hide that crack and it did. I did have to spray sealant over it (usually I mercury the inside of the glass before putting the piece together) and since its matte, the mercury now looks sorta  frosty. It's cool though.

 Oh this is a kathyhaul buckle that I cut the center bar out of, shaped and finished with these cool rocks also from her. What are these called, anyone?
 Each stone is on its own hinged wire so they move independently and I soldered the hook which I'm unreasonably excited about.

 Here's a double-wrap bracelet made out of all kinds of odds and ends. Guys, have I addressed all of your questions? If you know of any I forgot, please let me know! I lost track a bit near the end.
 "What you do is to take the different bits of material which you have gathered and feel them all over, as it were, with the tentacles of the mind. You take one fact, turn it this way and that, look at it in different lights, and feel for the meaning of it. You bring two facts together and see how they fit. What you are seeking now is the relationship, a synthesis where everything will come together in a neat combination, like a jig-saw puzzle."
-James Webb Young

That quote is about writing. Of course it applies perfectly to what I do. I still consider myself a collage artist after all this time away from paper. A bricoleur.
 Had to make one bright thing. This focal is made by Anvil Artifacts from paper air dry clay. I cut it down from the back and shaped it into a curve for a bracelet. Painted it with interference paints then black guilder's over it since it was waaaaay too iridescent.

I even used an actual old fashioned fold over clasp cuz I had it.

I bought my first wire wrapping tute because I was so curious about this one.→
And I worked on them in front of the TV, taking my time to get it right. Before I knew it I had three. But there was something not quite finished about them to me. Then the lightbulb went off- solder!
So here's my results.
I guess you can't see any of the solder detail, it just looks black, hu?
Well, it looks pretty cool in real life. The first two will just be pendants.
Edit: took a better photo:

 This last one, duh, is a whole necklace. I'm thinking of doing a few pendants to have some at-least-approaching-reasonably-priced items for sale.
Blerg, this rain has sucked out all my energy. Can't think of anything of interest to tell you.


13 comments:

willowstudio said...

Chiastolite--the bracelet stones. Also known as
Alexandrite.

I'm not a huge wire wrap fan, but yours look pretty damn cool! Specially the full on necklace one.

beadybaby said...

gorgeous goodies! the stone is chiastolite.

dawn said...

LOVE the solder over the wire wrapping....thanks for sharing...too cool!!And Happy Haunting and All Hallows Eve :)

Beatnheart said...

I realized it would be great to have all yer info in one place rather than searching endlessly for blog posts..like how you did mercury glass.. Ect ect ect... Your are a fountain of creative energy and ideas bursting forth...i love love love the wire wrapped soldered beads...what torch do you use?

Anvil Artifacts said...

Eye candy overload. Not like that's a bad thing. Wonderful Kathy-haul bits. Your soldered wire tute transformations are impressive! Especially liking the green necklace one. Swishing tail angry cat cracks me up. The sea urchin you used in that very cool bracelet is made from air dry clay rather than paper clay. Love what you did with it!

Juliette said...

Your wire wrapped/soldered pieces are beautiful. I'm not a huge fan of wire wrapping because people tend to waaaay overdo it (often, not always). But these are beautiful.

OMG. Can't stop laughing at the gifs. Holy crap.

CraftyHope said...

Constipation huh?
I'm in love with that Daisy necklace in the teacup. However, I'm positive I don't have the funds for it. Sigh. It's beautiful though.
The new wire wrap technique is super cool. In relation to that, I'm sure someone's asked you this before, but what kind of patina do you use to get such. . .blackness on your solder and wire? Shoot, while I'm asking, what kind of wire are you using? It's such yummy crustiness.

CraftyHope said...

Oh, and I hope you had a Happy Halloween!

annamei said...

Wow,i love your wire wrap/soldered beads/pendants they are are really cool!!!!

annamei said...

I forget to take the chance for questions..
Did you ever try to darken aluminium?
I´m not a fan of heavy chemicals..
if you have any fancy advices?
Thanks!

La Fileuse said...

Your new pendants are truly beautiful... They look like pumpkin ! ^^

Maggie Zee said...

Solder on wire wrapped stuff....brilliant!!!!! I love your brain.

Tribalis said...

Gorgeous pendants, gorgeous carved flower necklace...you know, I am romantic.