Resin & Rings

I feel a burning desire to make rings.
Rings have been dominating my thoughts.
I must make rings!

As I wish to incorporate new and recycled plastics into the ring designs I keep coming back to the use of resin or acrylic materials. I have some reservations regardings both of these because they have been used so extensively in recent years. I wonder if I can design something new/fresh with them?

US Jeweller Shannon Carey uses resin in a really interesting way . I would describe her resin pieces as new & fresh. Her use of the plastic is so simple as all she seems to make from it is tiny droplets. In these tiny drops she has made use of resins special properties, such as adhesiveness, colour range and lightness, to stunning effect.

Tagged

Mel Robson has tagged me, so here are six things about me not yet mentioned....


1. I can't click my fingers - never could and I guess I never will.

2. I like to watch an episode of Frasier every day. I laugh and everything is OK.

3. Once upon a time I made paper mache clocks. One is in the Wiggles movie.

4. I've been on T.V three times. Once the credits rolled down my bare stomach, although lucky at the time I had abs and screens were far smaller.

5. The scariest thing in the world to me is the Exorcist. I'd rather have a hundred spiders crawl over me than watch 2 minutes of Linda Blair in demonic possession mode.

6. I've never eaten Vegemite. My mother never gave it to me as a child, as she thought it was "too messy". Although apparently eating spaghetti (in tomato sauce) with your hands was just fine.

And the tagging continues with Margaux Lange, Nicole Vaughan and Sarah Bowe

Buy Now

At present there are three online stores that carry my designs. As each of them has different ranges I though I would list them here. It is always desirable to see an item first before you purchase it but that just isn't always possible. It is a big world after all.

Zanisa is a US based online store with a strong philosophy which believes in celebrating the HANDMADE process, the nurturing of our ENVIRONMENT and the PEOPLE behind it all. It also looks really lovely and fresh.

Modamuse sells modern creative gifts by Australian and New Zealand designers & artisans. The jewellery I have for sale here will not be repeated and new designs will follow - soon. Again this is a really great looking site with two terrific Aussie gals running the show.

Last but not least is my online store (click homepage then click shop). New work will be added at the beginning of each month. I also do my best to fill requests and do special orders. The prices are in US dollars but I am always happy to send an invoice or arrange another payment option for Australian buyers - just drop me a line.

QUT Jewellery Event

Here is a local Brisbane jewellery event that would be well worth attending. Tomorrow Jane Peacock and Tiffany Shafran will discuss their recent collaboration, which involved Jane incorporating Tiffany's delicate paintings into her jewellery designs. I know Jane and it would be very interesting to hear her speak about her popular designs and gain some insight into the collaborative process.

I would love to get along to this but may not make it, as my strong willed daughters are just not keen on jewellery events. I think it relates to some ongoing childhood trauma. Go figure!

For The Boys

Bruce sent his StyleCounsel newsletter yesterday because he thought I would get a giggle out of it. Thanks Bruce - I did.

The post was all about the resurgence of knitting not just being for the girls. There are plenty of men out there who knit and are proud of it. I can attest to that as recently I was commissioned to made a mangle (a knitting needle bangle for a man) for a gentleman who was retiring from his job. I was told that all his coworkers were female and many were enthusiastic knitters, as he was. The only thing was that his knitted creations were far superior to any of theirs.

I guess this is just another example of success being more a matter of enthusiasm and commitment than a matter of gender.

For all the knitting boys out there you may want to visit MenKnit - you are NOT alone!

P.S thanks to Sue's husband (from Pomme) for sending me the knitting needles. I don't think he is a knitter but he is definitely a thoughtful guy.

Yummy

These really do look good enough to eat, but I wouldn't recommend it as they are made out of melted Tupperware!

Laura Mitchell sent me these images of work she created for a contemporary arts project she was involved in last year. She says, "I looked at turning the functional object into something purely decorative that could be collected and admired". Laura also said she'll be "..continuing to play with Tupperware as I love its history and functionality". Well I think we're on the same page there. I for one look forward to seeing what Laura cooks up next.

Plastic Stuff

Site meters can be a terrific asset. You can gather all sorts of potentially useful information about your audience. One of my favourites is to see how people found my site. This can be terribly interesting and occasionally entertaining. I saw my favourite one so far today. A lovely Washington resident found me by doing a Google search and typing in liana the one who makes stuff out of plastic. Well I guess it isn't surprising that I was the top of that list because that is exactly what I do. So thanks for noticing.

pictured detail of twisted plastic Bubblegum necklaces

Ramon Puig Cuyàs

Spanish jeweller Ramon Puig Cuyàs is a definite favourite. There is of course colour and the use of plastics, which is so appealing, but there is also the balance between freedom and control. Every element in his pieces seems so random and yet so perfectly placed. Perhaps this is because as Ramon once said".....what really drives my work is intuition, not the thinking."(read the rest here).

Maybe this year will be about trusting myself a little more and finding balance. Not easy things but worth working towards.

View(more images here)

Green Around The Edges

I was profiled on Treehugger yesterday. Yay! But did it have to come after my first two posts for the year were all about my iPod and new mobile phone?

I guess I am pink, although perhaps just a little green around the edges too.

Dress made from recycled Tupperware.

Does It Come In Pink?

I bought myself a new mobile phone.
It's pink.
Consistency is important.

This Year...............

Hi! I'm back from a restful family holiday and feel (almost) ready to start the year. My head is swimming with new ideas for a bigger, better 2007. Although I'm trying not to think too much about this quite yet - perhaps next week.

This week I'll just spend some time answering emails, sending off a few orders and do a little restocking of stores. Perhaps I'll update my website and online shop too. I really can't avoid some much needed cleaning, sorting and filing.

I'll start to do these things this week but mostly I'll just be dancing around the house with my new iPod. 2007 has a soundtrack.

thanks to Bruce for the Heide pic