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.

Dill-sexia.

So if you ever make a blog post in which you mention there's a subconscious part of you that thinks it's a badass boy, you too might experience the pleasure of a concerned call from your mom asking if you want a sex-change now. Yeah, Mom, someone's gonna have to tell Mr. Devices. Then again, she is a doctor, maybe she was offering to do the operation?

 Like I said last post, I'm just doing a mess of over-the-tops. I just have too much goodies to restrain myself.

 Actually, my eyes kind of hurt from the brightness, I'll have to make something dark and grungy next time.

"Do you ever throw anything away, supplies wise? Do you have stuff you just think 'this ain't gonna work on NUTHIN' and throw it at the bin?" Sparrow

Iz you kidding? I'm constantly tossing shit. Well, usually I just destash it on someone else, if it's something I know another person might use. What do you think all those Kathystash giveaway boxes were? And while I was at it, I stuffed a bunch of my own destash in there. Though there are things I've gotten where I'm like, passing this along would be like mailing someone my trash. Selecting what NOT to use is as important as selecting what to use. 

"Do you oxidize your chain, headpins, and other metals before or after you have assembled the piece you are working on? and what product do you suggest using? or could this possibly be your own home brew concoction? keep on creating...i tell my customers crazy can be marketable! many thanks," bobbi reinert. 

After is best because when you bend and manipulate stuff, the ox comes off. I use Jax Pewter Black. You can learn all about it in my tutorial "A Practical Guide to Oxidizing," which you've now won. Send me an etsy convo.

"You are a cutie-pa-tooty - who knew!" Sharon Driscoll
Aw, shit, girl, I knew. I kid, I kid.

 My dad said something about Americans like that potato shnoz because its something Latinos have that Americans don't. ???????? Yeah, who doesn't want a bigger, rounder nose? And since when do Hispanics have potato shnoz? But he was all, "Yeah we do. Like Mayans have eagle noses, like eagle beaks." Sure, cuz I'm ever so related to Mayans. Look at that Mayan-ness mayonnaise.
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Sometimes I don't think he hears himself talking. Sorry, had to rant.

"I notice lots of lovely chipped, distressed, distorted, maimed and altered beads and was wondering if you bought them like that or have you used brute force, ignorance and the inappropriate use of tools and other items to achieve the effect." Vintajia Adornments

I think it's just that my beads are old and stuff. Unless you show me one in particular. I have broken beads, but that's not my aim. I have painted and oxidized them, sure. Not much purposeful chipping. Convo me for tute/giftcertif.

 Like see that blue beaded bead above? It originally looked super cheap. I swished a dry brush around my black guilder's paste and just went at that bead. I'm not sure how or why but that darkening really helped it tons.

See this cuff? Can you even tell it's a little asian house under a tree? It has interference acrylic paint in violet and green over it. Lots of the plainer beads of carved wood or ceramic that were in Katyhaul, I've painted with these. Cuz I didn't think my necklaces had enough going on! But yeah, all the pieces from today's batch have something painted with this, except the earrings. 

Did you know the US leads the world in Nobel Laureates and getting killed by lawn mowers? My little Uruguay leads the world in eating beef. This map has been appearing all over the web and it's fascinating, go look at the original for close ups.
Angola leads at speaking Umbundu. And even with that as a thing, nothing for poor Paraguay?

Das all.

BASS IN YA FACE!!

sorry, im listening to some music and it's got me all
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That's just what I look like when I'm dancing. but also.➘
Cuz GET IT?








But I was asked for a selfie with make up on so here.        

           
 Here's the shimmer trick.                                                              And there's my potato shnoz.
Yr welcome very much.

The Stars that Shudder.
I showed y'all some crap pix of these so I thought I'd show some decent pix.

I think I'll just be making these over-the-top necklaces for a while. The sort of just happen when I'm not looking. Because of all the gorgeous stuff I have lying around it's actually easier to make these than to make earrings where I have to not throw every possible thing into them.

Nothing contains me.

gretchen said...When you made the Kathy's thing bracelet or other large curved shaped pieces, do you use a bracelet mandrel? I've been using an old wood baseball bat, mostly because it was handy, but I need to get something that will let me enlarge curves more easily. Do I need to get one of the 'for reals' tools or can you think of another option? Thank you, oh great and knowledgable one!

Neah. (That's the opposite of Yeah.) No fancy mandrels. Just my hands, like I said. Maybe I'll bend something around a bottle if it's stiff. A baseball bat sounds awesome! OK, that's a good one, you get a tute or gift certificate, convo me.
Shadow Veil.

anvilartifacts

17 hours ago

You're a riot and you do elicit hilarious questions from people. Ok so I missed your official question scenario, but please riddle me this....
So do you start working right after waking up or does it take you awhile to get going? Just wondering.

fancifuldevices

Just now

OMG- it takes me forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm stuck on the computer right now, aint i? then again today i woke up at the crack of 3:30pm. ugh, kill me. kill me dead. You get tute.

__________________________________________

Marcie Abney Carroll said...
I'm guessin' from your last comments, you were in ESL. I taught Spanish to high school students for three years and figured out about halfway through my first semester why I was going home so dog tired. Turns out it was like being on Broadway for five hours, but it's completely improve, the audience did not choose to see this show, there is no intermission, and they don't give you a mic. So yeah, I needed Rockettes something awful as well...

OMG, just reading your comment gave me flash back stress dreams! Literally. Last night.
 Lela said... You warped an acrylic sheet with heat - very cool. Seems like that's where so many people get stuck. (Me included) We need to think outside the box. And I hate cliches like the plague!
Er, but I didn't do it on purpose. I was heating up some UTEE on the reverse side of the tin, lol. Did you get your tute?

13 said...Do you ever think you will  (a) Write your own jewellery book (b) Own a bricks and mortar shop? It's great reading the other questions : )
(a) Aw, hell no. (b) Aw hell no. But especially no to (b). Why would I ever wanna wrestle with that mess? Wanna tute?

R. Morgan said... Question: What technique in jewelry making have you never tried but want to eventually experience?
Always meant to try metal etching. But I'm always so busy making things I have no time to make things, you know? You get tute.

I wanna share some things from awesomephilia.com now.

"When you try to tell someone a joke but you punch up the fuckline"

 ← "yet another unrealistic expectation for women"


"a little girl asked my friend about her religion today and said “are you jewish or christmas’"


Finally, the funniest quote I've encountered in ages:
"i put the sex in dylsexia"    
 No. Stop. Re-read this with me.

I PUT THE SEX IN DYLSEXIA.

I can't breathe!