Dia de los Muertos REVEAL!!! By Karen McGovern

I have been so excited about our Dia de los Muertos design challenge! I have seen sneak peeks of works created and am blown away! Can't wait to see more. I will start by showing my most recent design.

I began with a gorgeous labradorite skull cabochon. Labradorite is one of my favorite materials to work with--it's electric! This skull is so full of fire, I wanted to make something really dramatic and over the top with it, so I created a nature inspired Sugar Skull pendant I call "Madre Espiritu" or Spirit Mother. I set the skull in sterling silver and flanked it with two cast bronze leaves on sterling stems. A steel and brass flower sits atop the skull with a brass bee. A tiny bronze dogwood blossom sits on the bronze bail above and a brass rose sits below the chin.  

I strung it on a length of flashing rainbow peacock pearls that match the flash of the labradorite. A tiny sterling silver skull hangs from a 2 inch extender. I love her! She is listed in my shop, just waiting for the perfect home....

Now, show us your designs based on Dia de los Muertos, a truly extraordinary holiday full of tradition and  meaning. THANKS FOR JOINING US!!!

Click the link below to show us your designs, link to your blog and share this blog hop. If you do not have a blog, you can still post images of your work!!

Sugar Skulls - It's the Season!

by Sherri Stokey

Some people are offended by skull art and put off by what they consider macabre, but in many cultures, skulls are viewed in quite a different light.  Revered.  Celebrated!  One of my very favorite traditions is the sugar skull, or Calavera, used to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Mexico's Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, centers around a belief that the gates of heaven open for a short time and allow the spirits of lost children and loved ones to reunite with their families for a day.  How beautiful is that! Although traditions vary from area to area, the holiday is generally not a sad, sober one; it's filled with love and color, food and flowers, and is a time for friends and family to gather and remember loved ones who have died.  It is focused not on death but on remembering life.  If you're interested in learning more about it, you can find much more information and lots of great photos here.  

I just returned from a trip to Cancun (wonderful!!!) where I spent a disproportionate amount of time ferreting out skull/skeleton art.  I found full size Catrinas:

Little bitty pets:

Even a couple at a table next to us in a restaurant:

Several of us here at Love My Art Jewelry have been inspired by sugar skulls lately.  I've been making some micro macrame pieces:

Staci has been making some awesome pendants and beads:

Heck, Karen decorated herself!

Are you inspired?

by Staci Louise Smith

I have been wanting to do some posts like this for awhile, but like always, busy busy busy!  

I have a bunch of Sugar Skull focals in the shop, as well as some other focals similar to the sugar skulls, and I wanted to give you guys some idea of what you can do with them. 

http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/store

I had a few laid out on my desk, as I am prepping for a show this weekend, not sure what to do with them.  

At first I wanted to just add chain and a dangle and keep them super simple.  But it was too simple.............so I planned to add charms to the chain.  I wasn't sure how much to do charm wise, and was sort of thinking they needed chunky charms.

I hadn't finished figuring out that part, when Linda Landig posted a necklace she had made with one of my old bronze skulls, 

(you can purchase Linda's necklace here

http://lindalandig.indiemade.com/product/sugar-skull-necklace-brass-day-dead-pendant-orange-black-purple-sari-silk-0 )

and seeing her little dangles sealed the deal for me.  That is what my plain old necklace needed.  Just some simple dangles.  It really captures the Dia de los Muertos feel I think.

So I added my double dangly charms (flower beads by Lisa Peters Art- they were the perfect match!!!)

And I added my chain, and picked out charms to accent the colors in my skull, and voila!  I love the results!

(ceramic stars by Starry Road Studio)

So here are my tips when doing a charm style necklace- not quite a tutorial, but this should help if you tend to struggle with them.

1.  pick out way more stones and beads in a variety of sizes then you will use

2.  lay them out, spacing out larger beads, and filling in the spaces between them with smaller beads

3.  when you use a cable chain, like this one, only hang charms on EVERY OTHER LINK so they lay properly.  the links alternate directions and your charms won't hang right otherwise.  Also, be sure to keep the chain from turning.  I pick it up and make sure the chain is laying correctly so the charms are always added to the bottom of the link

4.  skip a few "hangable" links for each big piece.  I like to hold the piece up to my neck and look at it each time I add a bead to make sure they hang right

5.  Fill the links you skipped with tiny beads to create movement and fill the space without them bumping into the other beads causing them to lay inccorectly.

6.  Try to use beads of a consistent thickness.  if you use beads that are tooooo round they will stick out when you wear it and roll around.

And there you have it.  A simple necklace that is not too plain, not too much!  I haven't taken this one off yet and I cannot wait to design the others on my table.

Remember, you too can make some "charming" necklaces using the components in my shop.  Lots of sugar skulls left.  I love taking the form of a skull and making it pretty.  So fun!

http://www.stacilouiseoriginals.com/store

October - Beyond Pumpkins and Ghosts...by Karen McGovern

October is a great month.  The weather, for most of us, is finally getting interesting.  Trees change color.  The air is crisp, and so are the apples.  Events like hay rides and visits to orchards compete with corn mazes and beer fests--AND my birthday is in October so, yes, the month ROCKS.

 

October's leading lady is, for me, Halloween.  I've always loved Halloween.  The opportunity to dress in costume is an artist's dream.  I also love the history, folklore and mythology surrounding events in October/November.  It's more than just carved pumpkins and bed sheet ghosts, you know.

 

One of my favorite events of this season is Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos.  This traditionally Mexican holiday is celebrated just after our American Halloween, on November first and second.  The holiday is a celebration honoring family and friends that have died.  One of the central figures of the holiday is the sugar skull.  A highly stylized skull decorated with lavish embellishments, flowers and more.  They are beautiful!  I have several artist friends in all media that have created amazing interpretations of the sugar skull theme, one of my favorites is by my good friend Georgette Pressler of Devious Body Art.  Georgette is an amazingly talented body painter.  She turns the human body into stunning works of art.  Her Muertos works are just breathtaking--as you can see here.

 

 

Another favorite artist who specializes in Day of the Dead works is an American gal named Krisztianna.  She creates jaw-dropping sculptural works she calls Muertitas.  She makes them for every season, sculpted from Styrofoam, hand painted, embellished and simply STUNNING!  Check her out and get ready to be amazed.

 

 

For jewelry designers, October is a buffet of inspiration.  Fall colors in glorious peak, so we reach for agates and amber, amethyst and tourmaline.  Copper, brass, all those rich colors--yum.  I have never been one to create "holiday" jewelry, but this year I decided to try my hand at designing a sugar skull inspired series of work.  First, I created a necklace for Nunn Design--I'm part of their Innovation Team--and I used a hand cut skull I created from etched copper, embellished with Nunn's brass floral stampings, crosses, twig connectors, charm and beaded chain.  LOVE IT. 

 

Next I created a matching over-the-top cuff for Plum Gallery in St. Augustine, FL.  I created it from textured aluminum overlayed with a brass dragonfly wing.  In the center is a hand cut skull in etched copper, embellished with brass, sterling silver, steel leaves and more.  I rather like it, in all it's dramatic glory.

 

 

Finally, I wanted to create a more subtle design, so I made a jasper necklace in copper, sterling and aluminum.  A tiny sterling silver skull is held in place with a dimensional brass flower.  I really like this design.  Finally, I've made a bracelet that features a brass cup holding one of MaryAnn Carroll's gorgeous enamel copper discs, the tiny sterling skull and the brass flower, with a white stick pearl accent.  Definitely a favorite.

 

Red creek jasper pendant, brass and enamel copper bracelet with pearl accent. 
These designs are available NOW, so contact me if interested!!

For those of you that do create "holiday" work, what themes have you explored outside the "normal" holiday imagery?  I'm considering expanding on this theme, perhaps to try a winter solstice series.  There are so many wonderful seasonal themes that go artistically beyond snowmen and candy canes...that really interests me.  How about you??? 

Seasonal Fun

by Staci Louise Smith

It is beginning to feel like fall on the east coast, which happens to be my favorite time of year.  Ever since I was a kid, I have enjoyed the crisp cool that comes on the breeze, the leaves crunching as you walk, and the excitement of getting ready for Halloween (I LOVE to dress up!)

 

So, I find myself drooling over fall beads, and reaching for fall colors in my own creations. 

 

Here are a few of my favorites for the season.

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/163596145/petipumpkin-pendant?ref=af_shop_listed_item

 (click picture to go to listing)

 (click picture to go to listing)
 

  

AND if you love Halloween and want to have some fall fun, you can sign up here to participate in Diana's (Suburban Girl Studio) Halloween / Day of the Dead Blog hop. 

Details are on her blog.  Only one more day to sign up, so check it out!