You're Invited!!

Join us for this annual event, meet several Delavan artists, enjoy wine and snacks, and catch up on your Holiday shopping.  You can find me in my studio, #219 on the second floor.  I will have many new pieces for the show.  Hope to see you there!!!

Angels and Turquoise

I thought I'd share a quick post of some earrings finished this week.  I'm really fond of these designs, and plan to replicate them, particularly the angel wings.  I hope everyone is having a lovely autumn.  It certainly has been a gorgeous one in Upstate NY!!

Giving Tree Gallery

I am very excited to announce that my work will now be available in Massachusetts on the Cape! Giving Tree Jewelry in Sandwich, MA expressed interest in my work, and after visiting their lovely gallery, I was happy to accept their invitation.  My pieces will be on view there within the next few days, and eventually will also be available on their website.  Follow the link to the right for more information about them.  If you visit don't miss a walk into their beautiful gardens as well!

It seems almost inconceivable that it is already mid-October!!!  The last few months have been so crazy busy they seem to have flown by like a gust of wind.  It occurred to me this week that it is already time to work on pieces for the Holiday season!!  Below is a collection that will be going to Gallery 54 later this week:  labradorite, azurite, and skulls for the season:) 

I also just completed a collection of tree pendants and earrings.  I've been making these for years and years, but my customers love them, and they are perfect for gift-giving, so here they are!

A Locket

Sometimes everyone needs an angel, right?  A dear loved one of mine recently faced something that could have been fatal, and we are oh so thankful that he pulled through.  I think he had a guardian angel by his side.  With him in mind, I made this angel wing locket.  It sold last weekend at the Clothesline Festival, but I plan to make more, just in case someone else needs a guardian angel along for the ride:)

 

Summer's End

Alas, all summers must come to an end, but I'm looking forward to the Clothesline Festival in September and the gorgeousness of the Upstate New York autumn.  I was recently able to attend a gem festival in Massachusetts where I purchased an awesome variety of stones, most of which are still available for customer orders.  I also wanted to share a photo of a collection of pendants recently completed. Follow the link to the right for more details about the upcoming Clothesline Festival in Rochester!

Stones for inspiration:  turquoise, azurite, malachite, ocean jasper, variscite, dendritic agates, garnets, labradorite, etc..

Sterling pendants with ocean jasper, turquoise, dendritic agate, labradorite and azurite.

Sunshine and Smiling Faces

Last weekend turned out better than I could have imagined with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and oh so many friendly and familiar faces!  I wanted to share some highlights from the weekend, and a few snapshots.

Here I am with the booth all set up, ready to rock-n-roll.

One of my very sweetest customers, Sarah, wearing "Anemone".  It was great to see her!

Leslie modeling her new bling!

 

My friend, Robbi , of Lost Girl Metalworks in her booth opposite mine.

These are just a few highlights from a great weekend.  Be sure to check out Robbi's work on her website at: http://www.lostgirlmetalworks.com.  Robbi and I met in a metalsmithing class at Syracuse University a few years ago and her work has continued to develop into a very awesome, edgy, and modern collection.

Next weekend you can find me in Rochester again at the Park Avenue Festival.  Wish me luck and visit if you can!

Argentium Silver

Today I completed a fun experiment and I'm very pleased with the result!  I made my first cuff bracelet with Argentium Sterling silver.  Argentium combines fine silver with metalloid germanium instead of the traditional alloy of fine silver and copper that is commonly referred to as "sterling silver".  Ok I realize I'm getting a bit technical here, but sometimes it's good to educate folks.  You see, silver in its pure form, like gold, is too soft to hold it's form well for most purposed.  For instance a cuff bracelet made of fine "pure" silver would become bent out of shape and scratched in no time at all.  So....as is the case with gold, alloying silver with small percentages of other metals takes care of this problem and provides the silver with work-hardening qualities that make it more durable.  Each alloy has its own qualities.  Traditional sterling has some problematic qualities, primarily fire-scale, and tarnish.  Fire-scale is a discoloring of the metal that results from heating it.  In a piece that involved multiple soldering applications, it can become almost impossible to prevent fire-scale completely.  As my work has developed and I have become a virtual soldering fiend, I have struggled with this quite a bit.  So......today I finished this piece, and was ecstatic with the finish and complete lack of fire-scale!  The silver still allows for deliberate oxidation where it is applied, but will tarnish much slower over time and retain a brighter color.  So, now that you know way more than you ever wanted to know about silver alloys, here it is!