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This little sterling silver bow and arrow necklace was a very special surprise gift for someone who has their own special meaning for arrows and how they remind them to keep aiming.

It was fun to take on a piece that is outside of my usual style. I wanted to give this piece those little extra details that make a handmade piece of jewelry even more special.

The little feather pieces at the end of the arrow were hand cut and the feather lines were delicately marked and cut by hand to make them a little deeper. I made the arrow head piece thicker so that it would have some weight to it to help balance the piece and hold the bow and arrow straight when hanging. The ends of the bow were drawn out in a rolling mill so that they taper so that the swirls would have a more natural flow to them. The rope was hand twisted and delicately wrapped around the bow. The front of the bow and the feathers were the only parts that I carefully gave a darker patina to so that there would be contrast between them, the rope, and the rest of the arrow (which is very hard to see in the photos).

The most important thing is that the recipient loved it!

Here are some photos of my process in creating this special bow and arrow necklace:

The little pieces on my fingers will become the feathers at the end of the arrow. The silver rope was a challenge to solder on to the bow. The bow is so much thicker than the wire rope and it takes much more heat to get it to soldering temperatures. Because of this, it’s very easy to melt that wire rope before getting the pieces to solder together.

I use my drawings to help me layout my designs and remind me of qualities that I want the piece to have.

This photo was taken on my soldering pad right after the last piece was soldered on. You can really see the tapered ends of the bow well in this photo. The next step is to polish it up!

I loved the little shadow the arrow made on my jeweler’s bench.

The finished piece next to its preliminary drawing. Many of my jewelry sketches are much more utilitarian than artistic because I want to get started as soon as possible on creating the actual jewelry piece in metal.

“Keep Aiming” I was very excited when I finished the bow and arrow and it balanced perfectly on the chain.

I really love looking through my collection of jewelry making books for inspiration and to refresh my memory on techniques. I often get asked which ones are my favorite so I thought I’d share some of my favorite jewelry making books here.

 

The Workbench Guide to Jewelry Techniques by Anastasia Young:
I love this book because she lays things out in an easy to understand way and has some projects with photos that you can try out the techniques with. It’s a full color book and very well put together. If you are just learning jewelry making and get no other book, get this one! It is the book that I wish I had when I was first learning.

 

Professional Jewelry Making by Alan Revere: 
This book gets more into the professional techniques of jewelry making. This is definitely a more advanced book than Anastasia’s book. This book has a ton of projects and are all about fabrication from stock, sheet, and wire. I’d say this would be a great addition for someone who has the basics down and wants to start making more traditional type jewelry (the kind we see in the jewelry stores). This book might be a little overwhelming for someone who is just starting to learn jewelry making.

 

Gemstone Settings: The Jewelry Maker’s Guide to Styles and Techniques by Anastasia Young:
This book is gorgeous! Some of the projects are very well described for beginners and others lean toward more advanced jewelers. I definitely recommend this book in addition to taking classes because some of the techniques may seem confusing if you’ve never seen them done before. The example photos of other artists works are very inspiring and beautiful.

Those are some of my favorite books in my jewelry book library. Be inspired and make awesome art!

Recently I was asked to create a very special piece for a wonderful woman whose birthday happened to land on Mother’s Day this year! Her husband asked if I could create a piece that incorporated their two little girls and their life together. He told me that their oldest daughter is their bunny baby and their second daughter is their moon baby. The girls’ birthstones are emerald and garnet. They also live in Hawaii so I wanted to incorporate the ocean into their design as well. Hence the birth of the Hawaii Moon Rabbit Necklace.

Here’s the initial design sketch of the moon gazing rabbit. Her name starts with an ‘S’, so I created the bunny in an abstract ‘S’ shape. I love all the symbolism in this piece!

Here the rabbit is formed out of mitsuro wax. I was SOOO excited about the design when I figured it out. I ADORE that little bunny tail, it’s the cutest thing! Here the rabbit and wave have been cast in metal and the garnet has been set in its tube. I was looking at the placement, nothing was attached together yet. I always think it’s fun seeing how my pieces look next to their sketches. Here is the sketched layout of the starry background before etching the stars onto the back plate.

Here I’m checking the placement of the rabbit, moon, and wave in relationship with all the stars before etching.

Rabbit, wave, circle, and garnet all have their own unique finishes and are all attached together here. And the bunny is finally awake with its little Chatham emerald eye!

Finished piece!

The star background was etched, given a black patina, and each star was carefully polished to remove the patina and give the stars some sparkle. This was the first piece that I’ve ever created that I set a precious stone in! That tiny little Chatham emerald sure does sparkle a lot!

It was such an honor to create such a personal and special piece. She loves it and let me know that the stars and gems equaling 8 was also special because they were married on 08/08/08! She sent me this special story about her necklace and her little one: “Wearing my new necklace today (and basically every day since getting it 🙂 ) My 2 yr old pointed to the moon and said “Me?” and I said yes and then she pointed to the bunny and said “That’s sister?”. Amazing she got it from one time showing her days ago. So treasured!”

I was asked to create a custom pair of music note earrings for a special anniversary. When I met with my client, I asked him to tell me a little about what he was envisioning for the gift he wanted to make for his girlfriend. He told me he wanted a pair of earrings that would describe her. She loves music, swing dancing, and things that are different. He envisioned a pair of music note earrings that also incorporated her love of dancing.  

Initial sketch of the design for the music note earrings.

We decided on a design where the earrings aren’t the same but obviously are a set. At first, we imagined a pair of dance shoe shaped earrings, but we decided on little swing dancers and music notes being etched into the earrings. The pieces that are going to be etched have a special coating applied to them to protect the area that shouldn’t be etched. The design that we want is left unprotected so that only the exposed metal will etch. The client chose the music notes and the dancers that were etched into the pieces. Here I’m soldering together the little heart detail. Sometimes as I’m working  I’ll discover a design element that I like more than the original so I’ll adjust the design slightly. I love how this image shows each component of the music note earrings right before the final pieces are put together. This photo really shows the 3-D nature of the earring and how the concept stayed the same with a few adjustments to enhance the design.

Finished music note earrings. I love how the etchings of the dancers and the music notes enhance the earrings.

These earrings are definitely different from my usual mitsuro pieces that I’m regularly asked to create. It was fun to do a fully fabricated piece from metal again. I hadn’t done any etching since I took an intaglio printmaking class back in college! The best part of the whole thing was delivering the earrings to the client! He was so excited, I really wish I had gotten his reaction on film. It was the best! He had a huge smile, said WOW, and there was even a bit of jumping for joy! Later he told me that his girlfriend LOVES the earrings and had a similar reaction when she first saw them. These feelings and moments are why I love making jewelry and art for people. Helping to create memories and smiles for others is the best feeling and worth every moment I spend making something special.  

I had the pleasure of creating a custom lotus engagement ring for a very special client. They said they like the flowing designs and delicate textures I create with my mitsuro pieces and asked that those elements be incorporated into a lotus engagement ring. This ring is definitely different from many other pieces I’ve created in the past. The design took a great amount of experimentation to find the best way to create the lovely little lotus.

This wax model was the moment where I knew this was the design!

I made about fifteen different flower designs. Some ended up in a pile of squished wax and others were more promising and still sit on my bench as a reminder of the process. Part of what I love about being an artist is the mystery of the piece that’s going to be created. I don’t know exactly how a piece is going to look or come together until it happens.

Here is the lotus flower an the shank right after being cast in white gold and just barely cleaned up.

It’s so exciting to see a piece starting to come together! After assembling the shank, flower, and prong setting I couldn’t wait to set the stone in the ring!

I love the profile view of the lotus flower and ring! The box is handmade by another local artist I know.

After seeing the stone set and the lotus engagement ring finished, I completely fell in love with it. I didn’t want it to go!

I only had the completed ring in my possession for a few hours before the client came to pick it up. My passion, creativity, love, and soul go into each piece I create. Sometimes, when I finish a piece and there’s not much time until its delivery, there’s a moment of separation anxiety. It’s like a part of me left. It’s not a bad thing, I’m glad I love each thing I create so much and I’m sure that others will too. With this ring, the client loved it very very much. He said it was perfect for his Lotus and that she was going to love all the details. He proposed in Hawaii and she said YES! After the proposal she told me that whenever she wears it she feels even more beautiful! That, my friends, for me, is the best compliment in the world. I wish them all the happiness and aloha on continuing their adventure together!   On a side note, this weekend 4/2/16-4/3/16 I’ll be at High Hand Gallery in Loomis, CA for their annual Art Fest! For more information please click here! It’s a free event and open to the public, so please feel free to invite others through the Facebook invitation also! I hope to see you there!

I’m often asked about how I create my pieces. Usually, I only have time to share the mitsuro portion of my jewelry design process with people who I meet. Today I want to share with you some of my wave necklace process that combines traditional jewelry design elements with the mitsuro. Sometimes I’ll cast a piece of mitsuro that has a fate that is yet to be determined. These pieces sit in my studio till I create the right design for them. The wave portion of this pendant sat in my studio for months before I finally created a design that balanced the striking shape and flow of the wave. Similarly, the yellow sapphire had been waiting for just the right piece to accentuate.  Sapphires are associated with wisdom and have been worn for good fortune, protection, kindness, and wise judgment.  Maybe the sapphire had a little to do with helping to get my creative energy flowing to design this pendant!

Here’s a video of this part of my jewelry design process:

Deciding how to hang a pendant from a chain is always a challenge. There needs to be balance and you need to decide how the hanging mechanism is going to play into the pendant design. I wanted the hanging mechanism to help hold the wave at the appropriate angle since the piece is a little heavier on one side than the other. I decided on a tubing that could be hidden behind the top of the pendant that the chain fit through. This way the hanging mechanism isn’t interfering with the design of the wave pendant but the piece is balanced when worn. I’ve started incorporating more stones into my designs. I hope you enjoy seeing how they accentuate each piece as much as I do. Thanks for letting me share my wave necklace process with you! To purchase this wave necklace, visit my shop here. If you’re interested in stones this is a pretty fun book: Gem and Stone: Jewels of Earth, Sea, and Sky

I just finished reading the book “Chatting with Henri Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview”, Henri Matisse with Pierre Courthion. If you’re looking for a compelling book that gives you a glimpse into the life of a world renowned artist, I highly suggest it. It was a fascinating read. It really gives you a sense of Matisse’s personality, as if he is talking directly to you. I enjoyed hearing/reading Matisse talk about his artistic philosophies. Matisse was a respected and famous artist in his own lifetime.

Being an artist was his profession. As an artist myself, hearing him talk about his career with the interviewer, Pierre Courthion, is inspirational.  Especially since our society seems to perpetuate the stereotype of artists not being able to make a living off of their art while they’re alive.

He talked about his travels, light, and his thoughts of other artists of the time such as Picasso. When I first started reading the book I didn’t think it would be one of those that I couldn’t put down.  I was pleasantly surprised! I had to force myself to stop reading at times so that I could go work on my own art.

The similarities between Matisse’s philosophies and my own are striking. I know that not every artist or person has the same philosophies. To find such similarities between Matisse and myself was as if he knew my thoughts and was talking directly to me. It was as if he could read my mind from the pages of the book.

To be able to read this book is such a gift. Initially, when the interview was completed, Matisse had decided not to have it published. He never gives an exact reason in the letters included in the book. I’m so glad that it was ultimately published though. As an artist it’s invaluable to hear the words of an artist who had such passion for creating and made their living with their art. This book comes with pictures that accompany the conversations so that you can refer to what works Matisse is talking about. Along with the English translation of the conversation, the original conversation in French is in the back of the book. I will be reading it next as I’m brushing up on my French. If you love art, Matisse’s work, or are fascinated by the musings of artists I’d highly recommend “Chatting with Henri Matisse”. It’s a wonderful look into his personality and life. You can find a copy of Chatting with Henri Matisse: The Lost 1941 Interview here.

I really am bad about this whole blogging thing. I really need to get better at it. Anyway, here’s some exciting news! One of my pieces was accepted into a juried show at Capital Artworks gallery in Sacramento, CA! The piece that was accepted is quite different from the abstract pieces that are in my portfolio. Something not everyone may know about me is that I have a passion for creating figures and portraits just as much as I have a passion to create my abstract works. I think my interest in drawing figures must have started in the first grade when I drew a woman wearing a nightgown standing next to a slanted table. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever seriously drew stick figures (until college that is and that’s another story for another time).

  In college I must have taken a life drawing or life painting class almost every semester. I remember my small scale sculpture professor used to have us draw a portrait of the person sitting across from us on the first day of class each semester. I remember him saying something along the lines of “Heather, your portraits are really good, why are you in my metal class?!” I’m pretty sure I said, “I want to know how to do more than one medium. I plan on living a long time and I don’t want to get bored.” Since college, some of my friends, family, and my significant other (though reluctantly at times) have posed for my drawings. I’m fascinated by how malleable our bodies are, how they change over time, and how expressive we can be without even realizing we’re being expressive. Every body is fascinating to look at. The call for artists asked for tasteful nudes and bathers and the artists interpretation of staying cool in the summer time. Here’s a picture of the piece that will be in the show at Capital Artworks.