Learn by Doing

So, I've spent the morning cruising the net, trying to promote our Etsy store and generally wasting time.

I did, however, have a learning experience.  Yesterday, I purchased a coil of copper wire to experiement with (since it's sooo much cheaper than sterling) and try out some designs.  After a wasted hour, I broke it out along with a couple jewelry pliers.  I started twisting, wrapping, and bending wire.  I came up with some cool spirals that I think I want to use in a pair of earrings.  I looked at them and thought to myself, "Self.  These earrings would be REALLY cool with some hammered copper!"  I don't have a jewelers anvil or an appropriate hammer.  So, I broke out the carpenters hammer and a pry-bar to hammer on.

It didn't work.  I finally ended up hammering the copper wire into the concrete of the patio.  It takes a lot of fine hammering to get a good look, yet you've got to know when to stop.  I was trying to flatten out the whole piece, eyering included.  The wire wrapped around the eyering cut the post and cut the eyering right off!  Oops.  Well, now I know not to do that again.

It was a wonderful experience, simply because, had I not attempted to do it, I wouldn't have learned that it doesn't work!  Now, I know, and 'Knowing is Half the Battle!'

Working with Wire

Since I've started making jewelry with my wife, I've been drawn to working with wire.  There is something that makes it a very satisfying pursuit.  I'm not quite sure what it is.  It may be taking something and using my hands to form it into something that looks (or tries to!) beautiful. 

As I was pondering what to write about tonight, I was browsing through Etsy and found this shop:  WireYourWorld

The work there is absolutely beautiful!  I especially love this piece!

It also appears to be a very successful shop.  Which is a good thing!  It means, if we do it right, we can reach that level as well.  We just need to figure out how.

I'm a big Stargate fan and have had an idea for a few weeks now to do some wirework based on the symbols of the different Goa'uld.  I think it would be great fun, but I'm not sure how well the pieces would be received!

No Sleep!

I'm not going to sleep tonight until I sell something! Or, until it's 1am, whichever comes first, but I want it to be a sale!

Help me out, peeps! If it's not going to be you, IM or text a friend and have them check the shop out! If the person who makes a purchase was referred by someone else, I'll even try to do something special for that someone! Who knows!

I'm feeling silly this evening and this is likely to be ONLY THE FIRST crazy thing I do all night!

So, come check out the store!  Give us a hand...

Headpin Tutorial

So, I finally finished the tutorial for making headpins.  It's in .pdf format and hosted on Google Documents, so you can read it directly from the net or download it to read it later. 

Making Headpins

If you'd like to see a finished piece where I used this technique, see this ring.

How to Balance Art and Life

If you're an artist, struggling to make a living off of your art, it can be really, really hard to dedicate enough time to your art while not neglecting the other facets of your life.  I suppose that can happen with any field of interest that takes time, but I'm going to concentrate on art, because that's what I love.

For Karla and I, it has gotten really tough to dedicate the necessary time to promoting the site, creating new pieces, keeping a regular posting schedule on the blog and store... ugh!  It is a nightmare of a balancing act.  Between the little boy, my day job, cleaning, cooking, going out... we've only got a few hours each night to work on this stuff.  But you know what: we work on it!  That's the only way to get it balanced.  Do everything you need to do to make life livable and confortable.  Then, take your spare time and go at it!  If art is what you love, do it, practice it. 

I, personally, think it's better to branch out, as well.  Let's say you don't want to do any jewelry tonight.  Pick up a sketch pad and draw out your next cool design.  Grab some polymer clay and work with that for an evening, instead of crystals and wire.  It helps clear the mind and, a lot of times, provides inspiration that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. 

Another source for inspiration, at least for me, is always being observant during my day job.  It's always funny the ideas that come to me as I watch someone walk down the sidewalk, or push a cart in the supermarket or whatever! 

I think that art should permeate life.  Art is inspired by life and it imitates life.  Embrace it, think about it and you may be surprised what you come up with.

Polyclay Cuff Bracelets

So, I've worn the cuff off and on over the past couple weeks.  I've got to say, it turned out better than I expected.  That being said, I say there's room for improvement!  Polymer clay is a very versatile, and that's one of the reasons I love it.  But... it's not very comfortable!  Having that hard plastic press against my wrist for several hours a day got to be painful.  It felt like I had a bruise on my wrist. 

If I wouldn't like wearing it, I'm certainly not going to make it for other people!  That would just be... well, wrong.

So, I'm modifying the design.  I'm going to make large polyclay squares with stamped designs and I'll lace it all together with leather lace.  I think it'll be awesome.  I really do.

Well, that's that for the experiment.  It was fun and I learned quite a bit from it. 

A Brand New Item

We've just posted a brand new bracelet! It's a lot of fun. If you like ruby colored crystals, this one's got'em!


On a side note, we've been very busy these past couple weeks. Or however long it's been. I've had a bunch of work to do in my day job and Karla's been working in every bit of free-time she's had to create new pieces. She has a jewelry party scheduled for later this month. A lady from church is setting it up. And I'll get to stay home and take care of the little guy. I'm sure she'll have a lot of fun!

And, I still have those photos for the tutorial, I just haven't made time to write anything yet. Hopefully soon!