I'm Hopelessly Addicted!! & A Tag

I had this all ready to post last night but Blogger had other ideas :( Every time I hit the publish post it went straight to draft. Now if you don't think that was frustrating, especially since it's still taking me twice as long to do a post. I still can't get the *%^#@ thing to scroll and drag my pictures. SO I end up posting my pictures first and last to first order before I add any text :(




It really was only a few months ago that I succumb to the siren call to putter around making jewelry. It's not that I had never, I mean I've restrung or deconstructed/reconstructed old pieces of jewelry. It's always been enjoyable but not something that could hold my interest for very long. I have a huge amount of admiration, and awe for artists that can sit down with a pile of beads, findings, and semi-precious stones to design an incredible piece of jewelry. My "Little Sis" Lulu of Coastal Sisters is so gifted and creates beautiful pieces. She is also such a wonderful friend, always encouraging and supportive when ever I post a piece I have been working on. Holly of Penniwigs is another dear Bloglandian Sister with an ETSY shop where she sells her earring designs.




With all this dabbling, I have discovered a few things about myself. I love to work with "found" pieces, and even more I love the whole process of incorporating wire wrapping. I think it's because they're such imaginative ways of telling a story. But the most awesome part is that it's not the same story for everyone. Each person that sees the story through their own perspectives, therefore it's not me telling a certain story, instead it's the observer telling it. Now when I find a broken watch, heart shaped rock, bent tarnished salt shaker, glass typewriter keys, my imagination kicks in and off I fly and can't wait make art :)




Ahhhhh but like all newbies, apprentices, and students, there are methods and concepts that my little grey cells must absorb and my hands must practice practice practice in order to bring my inspirations to life. Mixed media, repurposed, and wire wrapping as art is still a very new concept here. There is really no place I can go to ask questions or learn a concept. In fact most artists here, don't make any of their own findings much less do wire wrapping. I have set myself the task of learning to make my own ear wires, wire closures, and links. By accomplishing that my inspirations are not limited to what I can find here. :)




Months ago when I first started playing around putting pieces together I stumbled into Deryn Mentock's blog Something Sublime. She has fanned the flame of passion through her art work, support, and encouragement!! I'm afraid I'm hopelessly addicted so now all my friends and family will end up with their jewelry boxes full of my practice, practice, practice :). Her wonderful tutorials and pictures of her art pieces that have been my substitutes for classes. It has also been through her blog that I have been able to meet some extremely gifted, and helpful artists. People like Sharon of Livewire Jewelry She is so gifted at cohering wire to do the most awesome things, and so patient and supportive to me :) Oh and then there is Lynn of LLYYNN who make incredible focals of smelted pewter, along with charms and focals she calls fauxtiques!!





I can also thank these Bloglandian sisters for my addiction to Somerset's Belle Armoire Jewelry!! Along with a huge amount of new abilities to learn and hone. All LW can do is shake his head and smile whenever I've ordered 5 different gages of wire,or bought off of eBay, typewriter keys, frozen Charlotte's, and.... :) Not to mention the list of tools I've added to my birthday, Christmas wants/needs. :)





A couple of weeks ago Objects and Elements (cool cool stuff) added torn lengths of vintage saris to their website. After seeing the awesome pieces Deryn, Sharon and Lynn have make with the scraps, I really wanted to see what I could do. I don't have access to the sari pieces here. But I did have one of those import market kinda wall hangings that's made up of scrapes of sari type, middle eastern materials I picked it up at an expats yard sale. It's almost to the garbage stage of decomposing, but I was able to salvage some of the nicer silk squares.





Hmmmm maybe I can do something with the scraps and practice my wire wrapping. These earrings and bracelet is what I made. Remember when I said I was determined to learn to make my own findings?? Well no time like the present to start. I pulled up Deryn's tutorial on making ear wires, and managed to get these made, and miracle of miracles they are the same size and look alike!! :). Look down at the very bottom, see where I made a tiny curly cue??

I made 3 wrapped beads, for the bracelet, with the middle one being a bite longer. I also wrapped green glass seed beads with the wire. On the two end beads I used a coppery color bead.

Ehhmmm, now this part I'm rather proud of making.... the hook is a PW original along with all the jump rings, and the??? what do you call the wire with the eye holes that runs through the bead so that you can string them?? :) And it took only one try for the hook!! As far as the eye thingies they are needing many more practice sessions!!

So there it is my first sari/wire wrapped bead pieces. What fun they were to make and oh how they have managed to add to the craving to make more!!

My friend Sharon of Livewire Jewelry tagged me for a meme. I'm not really into the whole blog award, tag thing, but I would like to thank her for including me as one of her bloglandian sisters. Please take a minute or 5 to slip over for a visit. Oh and be sure you check out her jewelry creations. She has an ETSY shop where she sells them go have a look see :)





Have a most audacious today or tomorrow depending on where in the world you are ;)



P.S. Cross your fingers, maybe Blogger will look kindly on me tonight.