An amazing estate sale find!

One Sunday morning we were reading the paper and enjoying our first cup of coffee when we scanned the local estate sales and found a listing for the entire contents of the former home of a miniature collector.  I don't think I've ever gotten dressed so quickly or dashed off so fast in my life!

I was lucky enough to find this handcrafted 1/12th scale pastry shop at the sale.  The sign over the door was instantly recognizable to me -- it was handpainted by the late George Schlosser, an extraordinarily talented miniaturist whose paintings and painted signs fetch high prices at auctions and on the secondary market.  There's a second, much smaller sign inside the shop also painted by George which reads "Fresh Bread Daily".  :)

 Although I emptied the contents of the house as soon as I got home and replaced everything inside with items from my own collection -- from beautiful little cakes, cookies and breads and a table set for high tea to a tiny handcrafted cappuccino maker and a baker's rack made by former IGMA Fellow Al Masch -- I have plans to completely renovate the interior with wood flooring and fresh wallpaper and 'plant' my own miniature geraniums in the windowbox.  Hmmm.  Or maybe hydrangeas.

What a serendipitous and thrilling find!

What's been on my workbench ...

With my first show of the season less than a week away, these are the projects I've been working on.  Above, photos of the charms I made for the 2010 Etsy MetalClay Team charm swap.  I created frames of fine silver with individually-applied hand-cut rectangles, then drilled holes at either end and fired.  Once the charms had been fired, oxidized and polished, I glued tiny squares of textured colored paper within the frames and randomly placed tiny watch gears inside each frame.  Over these I applied resin which cures under a UV lamp. I attached jump rings at both ends and dangled tiny round chrysocolla beads from the bottoms.  Here's a photo of the finished charms, two of which will become part of bracelets that will be donated to charities:

This was a really enjoyable project for me, especially since each charm is unique and slightly different.  And the charms I received in turn were incredibly beautiful and made for a delightful and unique charm bracelet that I love to wear!  Go, Etsy MetalClay Team!  It's a pleasure to work with such an amazingly gifted group of women, and I salute them!

Next, I began creating some fresh pieces for the upcoming show season:

There's no question that the charms I made for the swap influenced strongly my next project.  I so enjoyed working with resin and so love the steampunk look that I had to create a focal utilizing the same features.  I then suspended a Caribbean blue faceted chalcedony drop from the focal piece and fashioned a necklace of borosilicate beads, textured sterling silver chain, a sterling lobster claw clasp, and hand-hammered and forged links to craft a necklace worthy of the focal.

One thing seems to lead to another for me, so coordinating earrings were the next logical step.  I turned the same links into drop earrings by dangling tiny semi-precious gemstone beads (in this case, chrysocolla), adding hand-forged sterling spirals and hammered sterling earwires to create my new Tango earrings -- a somewhat fun and whimsical departure for me.

 

Finally, I returned to the heart of my work, Washed Ashore II:  A new version of my borosilicate focal-based pendant with a sea theme, featuring my own original molded fine silver seashells and hand-fabricated links and tube beads:

  

After my show next weekend, I'll post an update!

A new obsession with bead embroidery ...

It began with buying a cabochon that I thought was really pretty, thinking I'd decide later how to place it in an appropriate setting.  Then I bought a book about bead embroidery, fell madly in love, and now I'm working on my first piece ... which is going to be way more complicated that anyone's first try at anything ought to be.

But ... now I can't resist planning ahead.  So here are some of the wonderful little cabochon treasures ... everything from Bird's Eye Rhyolite to Ocean Jasper to Morgan Poppy Jasper to Sonora Sunrise Cuprite ... that I've lined up for projects number two through 90, give or take ... it's going to be a wonderful, relaxing summer on Cape Cod, inventing complicated projects to embroider with beads. 

A little diversification never hurt anyone ... did it?

Spoiler Alert! My Etsy Metal Clay Team Swap Charms ...

Okay, so maybe this isn't a total spoiler ... more of a sneak preview, really.  Here are my charms in progress.  I'll throw out a little hint:  Although you'd never guess it by looking at them in this state, each of the finished charms is slightly different.

There are 24 charms in all; 22 are for my participating Etsy MetalClay Team members and the other two will become part of a charm bracelet to be donated to charities.  These charms are already in the hands of the very lovely Jane Font, who has volunteered to collate and distribute the charms this time around.

Entirely too much fun!

Things I miss about home

At this point in the season down here in Florida, when most of the snowbirds have flown north again but we still linger for a while, my thoughts turn to all the things I love and miss the most about our home on Cape Cod.

The wooden stairway and its maze of landings through the pines leading down to the lake ... the 93 steps to reach the water are exhilating on the way down, as you can see the water sparkling between the trees ... but the climb back up is a real workout!

The unexpected and very surprising wildlife that shows up in our back yard from time to time (I took this picture through the window of my studio one morning ...)

The outside shower and the hosta growing so wild in the damp shade that it threatens to block the entrance.

And the blue wave hydrangeas that bloom during the summer months that need constant trimming so they don't block the view of the lake from my studio ...

Anatomy of a Cloisonne Piece

This series of photos shows my first cloisonne piece in various stages of construction.

The first is of the domed fine silver disc after its second firing.  The first firing was to apply clear enamel to the disc.  Once the cloisonne wire has been adhered to the disc using Klyr-Fire, the second firing re-melts the clear coat and fuses the wire to the disc.  The excess wire which overhangs the disc may safely be clipped off after two or more enamel applications, once you're certain they've been fused completely in place.

In the next photo, the first layer of colored enamels has been wet-packed into the cloisonne cells and dried, giving it the appearance of sugar crystals.  For the sun, I began with an opaque yellow color.  After fusing, I added shreds of gold foil with several subsequent layers and firings of a transparent orangey color.  I apologize for the quality of this photo ... it was taken during class with my cell phone.  :(

After several additional layers of enamel application, subsequent firings, polishing 'til my arms were ready to fall off and a final fire-polish ... the finished piece.

More Cat Art!

As my collection of Barb Plevan's handpainted miniature cat plates grows, I've framed a second set.

I found a pretty distressed wooden frame in muted peaches and sage greens and removed the easel back.  I solved the problem of the glass having been glued into the frame by mounting some pretty embossed gold scrapbooking paper behind the glass to form an attractive textured background.  Then I glued the plates directly onto the glass.  The effect, to me, is very pleasing. The plates now pop and the display has extra depth.

I love Barb's work ... so whimsical, colorful, and filled with feline adoration!  Barb's paintings are available for purchase in her Etsy shop:

http://BarbPlevan.etsy.com

Time flies ...

... whether you're having fun or not!  :D

Just realized it's been nearly a month since I last blogged.  So much has happened -- we moved into a new home, began renovating in earnest, and added a beautiful new member to our family!  This is Ivy, a seal point Ragdoll kitten.  This photo was taken last week when Ivy was 11 weeks old.  I can already see the difference in the length of her hair (especially her tail!) and she's growing like a weed.  She and Bailey, our 16-year-old Maine Coon, are working toward peaceful coexistence.  She wants to play and he's a grumpy old man ... but it gets better every day!

Now THAT'S a starfish! :D

I found this puppy on my morning beach walk and just had to snap a picture of it with my iPhone.  This particular variety of starfish is known to disconnect an arm or two (they grow back) when threatened.  Unfortunately this poor guy never got a chance to lose any appendages in time.  I placed my fingers in the photo to demonstrate scale.  This was one B-I-G guy!

Mercato Fine Art Festival

I'm very pleased to say I've successfully juried into a brand new show sponsored by the Naples Art Association.  Their shows are consistently the best-quality art festivals held in Naples and draw thousands upon thousands of visitors:

Mercato Fine Arts Festival
March 6 and 7, 2010
U.S. 41 and Vanderbilt Beach Rd., North Naples

The official press release for the show:

The Naples Art Association at The von Liebig Art Center is pleased to announce the inaugural Mercato Fine Arts Festival at the Mercato lifestyle center, located at the intersection of Vanderbilt Beach Road and U.S. 41 in North Naples.  The juried festival will showcase works in all media by 125 artists from across the country.


Anchored by businesses including Whole Foods Market and The Capital Grille, Mercato offers a trend setting, ultra convenient mixed-use lifestyle that combines luxury condo living, high-end retailers, restaurants and a premium movie theater all on one prime site, just minutes from the beach. Festival guests will enjoy not only fine art but fine shopping and dining as well.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Entertainment will be provided, and refreshments will be available. A $3 donation benefits the art education and related programs at the art center.