Jewelry class, Jan 2011

Here I am sitting in my favorite seat in Jewelry class surrounded by my tools. I am in the process of making stack rings. I have 4 really pretty triangular shaped stones. I have been informed that making triangular bezels are a bitch. First step, though is to make the ring shanks. To make them you start with square wire and form it into a circle 2 sizes smaller than your ring size and solder it closed. I start with a size 3. Then you completely finish them. (Those are not my new eyeglasses!)

That's me at the "buff bar" I am polishing the rings. I have been told several times that this is the most dangerous piece of equipment in the entire studio. I had to pull my hair back, hence the frightful coif. (those aren't my new glasses either they are safety goggles). The next step is to hammer them on a ring mandrel with a planishing hammer until they are your size.

Now comes the challenge, rounded triangular bezels.

To be continued...

Dinner tonight was thrown together after I got home from spin class. Larry steamed cauliflower for me and mashed it up. I spooned it into a serving dish. Topped the cauliflower with browned onions, turkey pepperoni and part skim mozzarella cheese and browned it in the broiler. I had thawed and reheated pork chops and lamb...any one else would have called it mixed grill, I call it being too lazy to cook and rummaging through freezer for leftovers.

much better tasting than it looks.

Larry's said it looks like the dog's breakfast next to someone's torn out heart.

Another day, another new piece of jewelry!

As my cousin Marie would say...

Nothing cures a headache faster than a new pair of earrings!

I am very excited! I have finally finished the piece that I have been working on for about 5 months now. It started with an idea that I wanted a bangle bracelet that was a Byzantine Bezel and then I wanted it to wave. Well, I had to test the concept in copper first, to see if the design would work. I hand set 30 bezels with inner bezels to create this bracelet. I decided on amber and amethyst after seeing my friends beautiful amber jewelry.

To catch a break from the bracelet, I made this ring. I got the cameo of the Three Graces last year and it's been sitting around waiting for me to come up with a setting for it. I chose a bezel that I sweat soldered beaded wire around. I also sweat soldered 2 pieces of half round wire to the shank so it wouldn't be just a boring flat piece of silver.

I will never be a hand model as you can tell. I have the hands of Dorian Grey. They age and the rest of me stays young and beautiful. HA! I am wearing the band-aid because the bezel roller went skating across the top of the stone and scrapped my finger big-time.

I am pretty proud of my piece and at the end of the term will be handing it into the Student Art Show at the 92nd St. Y. It is a juried show and the first time I entered something it was accepted. (Nah! that didn't go to my head in the least). They are Black Diamonds and Green Amethysts. I made those tiny little bead caps you can barely see in the photo.

As you can tell, jewelry is a big part of my life. I love making it. I have always been really good a making things with my hands and I have endless patience for small repetitive tasks. I am also a perfectionist. I always worry that I am going to RUIN the work at the last stage of fabrication.

If only I had a real studio space in the house with a real torch. A micro torch has it's limits. Larry would kill me if I brought a real torch into the house. What about a small acetylene one? I'll keep the fire extinguisher near by. Huh???

hahahah

:-)

Etsy-Bitsy-Spider Climbed up the Snow Mount

I went to Fairway this morning...it was the RUSH!!!!!!!!!!! before the big storm.


I waited 10 mins just to get a parking spot. True to form people were buying milk, toilet paper, and chicken. I was buying a gift basket. Like d-uh! I let Fresh Direct deliver my emergency supplies-diet soda, beans and chicken. At 12 noon, Fairway still had rocksalt. What does that tell you about Brooklynites?

We all live in apartments.


I spent the afternoon and evening setting up my Etsy account. Now drilbu designs has a virtual store front. Go, spend money on (my) jewelry. If you buy a daisy, I will donate money to a foundation that supports health care access to women.

See it's not about me, all the time. I do make some exceptions.

The snow is finally falling, tomorrow we will wake up to a foot of the white stuff.

I have coffee, diet soda and my emergency container of coffee mate non dairy creamer and a new bag of kitty litter for the cat box.

Hey Yo!
Bring on the snow...
I can't believe I was sitting on a beach in 87 degree weather last week.