Stella's Ring

I always have a list of things to do. It is a list that grows and grows. Things are crossed off the list, and new things are added. Just when I think I can cross the last thing of the list it seems like one, two or ten more things are added.

This is all fine and dandy because it means that I am busy. I like being busy. Although in all the busyness sometimes a few things slip through the cracks. A few things find themselves at the bottom of the list week and week. One of those things was Stella's ring. I had promised to make her a ring for longer than I care to remember. Really I owed her this ring. Today I finally gave her the ring, and I must say that it looked rather good on her. I am now happy to remove one of those things at the bottom of my list. There are more things there, but they will have to wait for another day.

Inked

I have never denied that I like TV. I will say it again, I really do like TV. I use it to relax and unwind, as background noise when I make repetitive pieces that may otherwise drive me insane(?) and I even watch certain shows (such as Fashion TV) to draw inspiration from. Maybe not everything I know I have learnt was from TV, but lots sure was.

My current obsessive TV viewing is Miami Ink. It is a reality TV show about a Miami tattoo parlour. I just can't seem to get enough of it! Maybe I like it because it's blokey. Let's face it the jewellery/craft world isn't filled with men. We do now have a man in the studio, so that's great, but still the women to men ratio is severely out of whack. Maybe I like it because about it offers something so different to my major obsession - the plastic and the jewellery. Although tattoos aren't completely unrelated to jewellery. There is the body adornment thing and the art aspect. The show is also a lot about people and the stories behind their tattoos, and I DO like people. But for whatever reasons I watch it, I like it and it helps me have a happier day!

Also, just in case you were interested, I have no tattoos nor do I want any tattoos. Although if I was going to get one I'd get a pink wrapped lolly on my shoulder. That might be cool, and really only if Garver could do it.

Perhaps all this will lead to some tattoo inspired jewellery in the future? Who knows......maybe?

Curio Images

As promised, for more exhibition images go here.

Curio

Curio opens tomorrow and continues until 23 September. Click on the invite for all the details!

Red is so hard to photograph, or perhaps it is just this red in particular because it is so bright! I've popped up an image (terribly over exposed) of my necklaces just hanging on my wall, piled up and almost ready to go. I'll take some nicer pics when I get them back. This was just to give you a little sneak peek.

Red?

When you buy jewellery is there a colour that you tend to go for?

I do think that red sells best, but I haven't really tallied the numbers so I'm not 100% sure. Anyway I was just wondering because I seem to be making a lot of red jewellery lately.

I guess it is rather obvious that I love colour - and lots of it. So my studio buddies seemed a bit surprised when I mentioned wanting to make a whole series of grey pieces. Maybe I was feeling a little glum that day. Although I wonder if I could actually bring myself to do that? I also wonder if I did how it would make me feel, because colour always cheers me up?

Just some questions and thoughts on colour today.....

Double Time

I really have no time to blog. Well, perhaps I have just enough time to tell you that I have no time to blog! Daughter no.1 comes back from her European adventure tonight and over the past 2 week I have been working double time to finish orders and exhibition pieces. Ahhh!!! Nearly there though. A trip to the post office and a quick tidy up should do it.

There is lots of news to tell you but that will just have to wait until next week. The August newsletter will go out on Monday too. O.K enough time spent blogging, now back to it.....

Times What I Said Below By 100!

OMG I just found the best jewellery ever! OK maybe that was an overstatement but I never buy other people's jewellery and I just purchased (since yesterday) six of Tessa Rickard's pieces. This feels significant!

Before children, in a time when I had the time to think about fashion and pulling together a coordinated look, I bought heaps of jewellery. I always thought accessories really made an outfit and helped to pull it all together. The only real criteria I had then was that I liked a piece, and I was just as happy to buy a $2 string of beads at a charity shop as I was to pay significantly more for an artist piece at a gallery store.

I won't blame the fact that I no longer bought jewellery, except for vintage plastic, all on the children. The main reason really was more the fact that I only wear my own jewellery, or vintage plastic. I just don't wear other jewellers work. This situation came about when I first started making my own jewellery. I just thought that the first and easiest way I had of promoting myself was to wear my pieces. My reasoning was that if someone commented on a piece I was wearing and it wasn't my own that became a wasted opportunity to promote myself. The other reason I wore new designs was of course the more practical one of testing and making sure a piece really worked.

I think the fact that I just purchased another jeweller's work marks some sort of turning point for me. Maybe I will start wearing others (plastic) work too because it is true that I don't feel now like I have to grab every opportunity for myself. It feels like I have made some strides in promoting myself and maybe I can relax a little, (although not too much!) at least in that regard.

Enough about me. Let's talk about Tessa. This is what she says about herself on her profile page:

I am a part time professor at a community college. I have taught jewelry classes for 9 years. I maintain my own studio where I create all my work for myself, Etsy, commissions, and shows. I have a BFA in drawing and also in metalsmithing. I received my masters in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Everything I make is unique and one of a kind handmade by me. I love making things!

The most I paid for my six pieces was $45 US (bunny neckpiece) and the least was $10 US for a red plastic doll face brooch with crystal eyes and sterling silver features! As I said below this work deserves to sell for so much more and mark my words - it soon will. If you want to see more I suggest you run to dolldisasterdesign.