New Work and Keeping It Simple...

by Barbara Bechtel


I've had sort of a hard time getting back to jewelry making after 2014's holiday shows. Then for me, procrastination sets in, along with loss of momentum, and it becomes even HARDER to start again. When I work, I tend to get hyper-focused on details, often to the detriment of the big picture. I'll fuss and fuss over little things without looking at the big picture, either in the piece or the whole big picture of jewelry.

In some ways, I enjoy this process. In example, it's led me into the foray of just making components, but I found then I make tons of finished components and NO JEWELRY!

In the last month, I set out to get my jewelry mojo back. For me, this often takes several days sort of sorting things around, playing with elements, and making (and destroying) work....you know, noodling over a piece like I mentioned above only to spend hours on it and find I HATE IT when I'm finished.

This time around, I started out in the same old way, and became disgusted with myself. So my mental dialogue went something like this:

"You're thinking too hard."

"Think outside the box."

"Work SMARTER, not HARDER."

.......wait, that's the problem.......

"You're thinking OUTSIDE the box. You just need to make some jewelry. It's not that hard.....Keep it simple!"

Ahhhhhh, SIMPLE! That was just the kick in the pants I needed to get myself back into gear. The outside-the-box-thing can come later....I just needed to jump the first hurdle.

I started out with going through my stash of vintage findings. I love to peruse estate sales, craigslist, eBay, and flea markets for old components and vintage stampings.

I started out making some bracelet focals from some vintage brass post earrings.

Next, I had these awesome thunderbird stampings that had a bezel tray. They needed cleaning and patina as well as some holes.

Then I filled the bezels with polymer clay and stamped some words. (y'all know I'm a word girl!)

Here you can see the first two finished ones. I wanted to leave a few to fill after I finished a couple to see how the design would work out and maybe get inspired by some different color choices later.

Here's a shot of some of the focals I finished.

And here's a shot of some of the simple finished bracelets. These are just basic simple bracelets. I wanted to have a mixed metal look to the more squarish ones on the top and bottom and so I took bits of leftover matching (but different colored chain) and alternated the links.

You can see that the approach in designing each of the elements is quite simple and used lots of repeating elements, but by changing my mindset and going with simple designs, I was able to cross that first hurdle!

Getting Back Into It....

by Staci Louise Smith

Thank you Barb for a great post yesterday.  I have definitely been having a tough time getting back into the creative groove.  I just don't know where to start sometimes after a long break.

Since I will be staying on at the Bethlehem House Gallery for a second show (yay!!!) I decided to start out by making some new things to add.  

I allowed myself some playtime, since there was no real items I had to make.  

I ended up up making earrings to go with my more sculptural chokers that I show you the other week, in my new years post that touches on my extensive procrastination.............

I had fun with them and really liked how they turned out!  Sort of scribble looking, or twig like, either way, I sort of like the randomness of them.  They look great on.....I wish I could get better pics of them being worn.  Too hard to do on my own ears!  I tried anyhow!

I also wanted to make some heart necklaces in polymer, that are similar to these sugar skull ones (that I will be teaching in August at Beadfest).  

That allowed me to play with some polymer clay- since I had to make the hearts.  While I had it out, I made these REALLY fun to wear and bold polymer earrings.  They feel so great on, with the chain allowing them to move and dangle.  Both sides are textured so you don't lose any interest as they move.  Being polymer, they are light and allow a big earring without all the weight.

fronts

backs

I also thought I would try out Claire Maunsell's hollow beads.  She has a great tutorial on it, and I thought they also would be good for earrings....being lighter.  I really enjoyed making them, and think I am going to make some large ones, using my own shape templates.  we will see how that goes.

It felt good to play.  I need to finish up some jewelry today for the gallery- and then I plan to jump into bead making again for a bit.  I miss it, and I need new stuff in the shop.  The sketch book is full of ideas, and I have two fun polymer tutorials I want to try out.  The first one I got is a faux turquoise one from Lynda Moseley, and the other is the faux glass tutorial from Ginger Davis Allman.

I really cannot wait to try out some of these new techniques with my polymer beads this year.  I am chomping at the bit!

So that is it, I need to get to it and finish some jewelry to drop off tomorrow.  Nothing like coming down to the wire to spark creativity.  I hope that you are all finding your creative spirit for 2015!

fear and resin

mary jane dodd

'play is the beginning of knowledge.'

~ unknown

just like you, i would often cringe at the thought of trying something new... the past two years have brought a change in that thinking though... in the scope of life's experiences, trying something new here pales in comparison to some of the things that we might have to adapt to... 

and so as serious as i am about my work, i try to view my new ventures as play... experimentation... in fact, in the times of greatest chaos in my life, i will often leap towards a new technique or medium to try... it is grounding, makes me feel alive and is confidence building if for only having done something unknown... 

resin is fun! do i groan because i like to be able to use most of the 1/2 ounce? yes... so i try to have lots of things to do with it when i sit down... if i am making paper drops or paddles, i want to have a lot of them - i despise throwing out unused product (that is how i hold myself up)... 

if i do a big batch i also have pieces ready to work with in the future - which is nice... 

this is the perfect medium if you love paper, words, old books... 

a 'dr. seuss' challenge inspired this piece:

a calder challenge pushed me to try tinting it because i wanted to be able to evoke the colors and movement found in his 'blue feather' stabile... 

you can fill pre made bezels or make them yourself... what i absolutely love about this product is how much you can do with it... make it shiny and colorful, use it with patterned papers, try it in molds... 

here are some examples i found on etsy... 

lil smile pendant by jade scott

drops of color earrings by ajc design

in my reading around in the blogosphere, i notice that resin is often mentioned as something that people have purchased but not tried... if this applies to you, i encourage you to give it a go... visit www.iceresin.com to learn about it... go to youtube and look for instructional videos by susan lenart kazmer and her team... it runs about $24 for the kit... 

so go ahead and play! 

and don't forget to enter april's call to create - inspired by your favorite song... 

the concrete jungle of zen

'move and the way will open.'

~ zen proverb

the weather is getting nicer, the kids are getting outside... and that now means trips to the skate park... and when one arrives, they do not want to leave... 

watching the kids, many doing the same moves over and over again, i came to a great appreciation of what was going on here... mind - body balance... overcoming fears and trying new things... pushing themselves forward... 

being... 

the rhythmic sounds of wheels rolling, decks grinding, boards jumping... 

as the hours passed, my mind got to wander... both settled and energized by the young people out there who were making efforts - going home with personal triumphs and lessons learned... i got to coach nick through a new move - understanding the physics of skateboarding, i always lamely think that the kids will just be so interested to know that they are applying science at their play... (they like 'mythbusters', i try)... 

we all have things we are afraid of - things that might be looming... but just remember, it is in the practice of doing that we conquer our fears... i don't tell my kids not to be afraid - that is ludicrous... i suggest that they own it - and overcome it... and then rejoice... 

find something you fear - be it a technique or medium - and go for it... and if it all goes amiss, you learned something from that... if there is a tutorial you might want to see, let us know... in fact, you can do so now... 

skateboards and sweatshirts and pads, metal working tools, your mind, whatever you exercise - here's wishing for you something to look back upon with pride at the end of the day... 


and some days it's ok to be pleased with the fact that you just got through it...