outlines of things

Weight has always been a problem for me -
too easy to gain, too difficult to lose.
If I don't pay attention it piles upon me.

It is not always a tangible thing,
secrets are weighty,
 so is disappointment,
so is loss.

You can feel the absence of weight,
that lightness - that spring in your step.

There are outlines of things that used to be,
and there is the weight of choices -
choices made, choices waiting to be made.

presents

hi readers! i hope everyone is having a great holiday season. i've been off school for a little over a week now, but i feel like i've only just recuperated from such a crazy month full of assignments and exams.  

being in a hands on program is always tricky. you never really know when to stop working on projects and to start studying. in my head i always feel as if i can work on a project just a little bit more - make it a little more polished, a little more smooth. you start to learn when it's time to stop.

the worst thing is messing up something right at the end because you were impatient, rushed, or tired.

patience is a skill.

when setting stones into jewellery, you have to be careful. one slip of your tool and the stone can be damaged beyond repair. it can be a stressful, slow process. one that i want to love more someday.

i have so many stones that don't have a home in a jewellery piece. i better remedy that before i even think about buying new stones. the coral and turquoise ones became scarf pins that i gave to my mother in law, and the black obsidian earrings  to my cousin who only wears studs because she's a dancer (ignore the polishing compound on the studs, this was before i steamed them clean).

it's the end of the year, and time goes by so quickly. i hope that we can all find the time to relax and enjoy the simple things  in life.

balance

hi friends.

i apologize. once again i've been on a slightly long hiatus from the blogging world. as of now, my schedule is one of the craziest ones i've ever had. i'm trying not to let myself get too overwhelmed!

there are some things that i feel need to be part of my life and when they are missing, i feel all off kilter. i've written about this before - this need for balance, and when i have it, it keeps me going through the long days and weeks and months. it helps me when i'm tired, or frustrated, or just plain overworked.  

so when i'm not updating as much, it's because i'm striving for that balance. 

if you're familiar with my work, you'll know that i don't do too many highly polished pieces. i hate seeing scratches on jewellery, my eye never misses them. and if you're not careful, it's easy to damage the finish on a piece. but i forced myself to create a bunch of sterling silver jewellery that was high polished, and while my fingers have definitely become more callused, i like how they came out. i've been trying out some new polishing compounds with my new polishing buffs and they are doing wonders.

fused

i like to combine antiqued colouring and the technique of fusing when working with sterling silver - like in these earrings. it leaves an interesting texture, has contrast, and is not prone to everyday damage like highly polished silver pieces usually are. this is also why i like enameling. i can be a perfectionist at times, and seeing a little scratch on a piece after a little wear can drive me nuts.

i've been in the studio the past couple days. if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know that i don't use a lot of stones in my work. i've been trying to remedy that. my fingers hurt from trying to file and sand the silver around such tiny things.

predictability

i just recently started using this golden rod yellow. it was one of the new colours i picked up in my latest enamel order. i liked how it turned out in this piece, so i wanted to use it again for some scallop earrings. for the most part, opaque enamels are pretty predictable once you know how they end up after firing, so i figured it would come out the same way as the pendant i had done before.

i was a bit surprised that the enamel reacted like this on the curved surface. in a way i kind of liked the effect. but at the same time, i really like predictability when i do my work, most especially when i'm trying to pair two earrings.

i'm sure i'll need this kind of aesthetic sometime, but maybe not so much for these kind of pieces. 

enamel earrings

before i did the Cabbagetown show i realized that i had quite a few enameled necklaces but nothing else really. so i decided to make these earrings, i also did a pair in green. i still want to make some enameled rings sometime soon, i just have to play around with some copper forms a bit more first.

i made some more earrings in another style, more pictures...soonish :)

Sleet Street

my past couple of days have been pretty useless creativity-wise. i caught the flu, and it's left me bed ridden for the past five days. all i've managed to do is drink water and tea and finish up watching Battlestar Galactica (which I've recently become obsessed with).

i'm now part of the toronto etsy street team - a network for toronto etsy sellers to support each other. and right away, wintergarden put together this nice Sleet Street treasury that focuses on Toronto talent. while the last treasury i was featured in was about combating the heat, this one celebrates the cold and includes my lichen earrings.

antiqued lichens

i decided to change up my lichen series by antiquing them to this dark colour. the fused texture leaves the raised portions the natural silver colour giving them a nice contrast. i just added this necklace to my etsy shop.

i recently sold my last pair of these earrings so you can't find them anywhere at the moment. i was in the studio yesterday making some new ones, so hopefully i'll get them back in the shop asap. i really like this series because each design is hand drawn so no two pairs are alike.

fused earrings

i made these earrings a little while ago. they're sweet and simple with hand formed earring wires.

hand forming earring wires kinda drives me crazy, it's very easy to get a kink in the wire, and basically impossible (not worth it) to get it out.

so it's a small accomplishment to get smooth, symmetrical ones. go me!

my first etsy treasury

i'm pretty new to etsy so i was super excited to see my lichen earrings included in a treasury by cynmb. yay!

another countdown

the Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts Sale is only 3 days away. thankfully i'm not as frazzled as I was for the Outdoor Show. things are coming together and i have quite a few more pieces than last time including new sterling silver earrings and necklaces, flower pins in new colours, enameled earrings, and of course, just more enameled stuff in general.

using my kiln in Organic Metal Gallery is great since i don't have to compete with the wind like I had to on my apartment balcony. i also don't have to deal with mosquitoes. i'm still getting used to the space, but i'm sure i'll settle in nicely.

i hope to see some of you faithful readers at the show. It's in Riverdale Park, Toronto - just south of Broadview station September 10th-12th.

lichen earrings

last winter i made some lichen pendants for my show at Cedar Ridge Gallery. i still had some sawn out pieces kicking around and after some prodding from a friend decided to make earrings with them. i was initially going to make studs but one happy accident later and i decided that hanging, slightly movable earrings looked much nicer.

each set is unique - i hand draw each pair onto the silver sheet and then saw them out. they also all slightly differ in their hook lengths and shapes. i've been using a technique called fusing a lot lately which is where you combine sterling silver sheet and sterling silver shavings under a flame to get this rocky texture.

more fans

here's a picture of a blue version of my fan necklace.

i recently got a commission to make earrings of these in a rose pink colour. if i like them i think i'll start making the earrings as part of my collection as well. i also plan on making more necklaces in new colours in time for cabbagetown (next month!).

"the world's best photos of sculpture and sterling"

just found a couple of my pieces on "the world's best photos of sculpture and sterling" gallery courtesy of flickr hive mind :)

to learn more about these pieces click here.

some good and bad

i had some technical problems with my kiln today leaving me extremely frustrated. hopefully it gets resolved soon.

i felt better when i found my transitional cocoon was uploaded to this site. as well as when i found some of my work on flickrhivemind - which is apparently also known as a place for "the world's best photos."

the very first cocoon i made from my first year in jewellery was included in the set "the world's best photos of sterling silver and thread." though, the photo itself is awful. this was long before i knew how to document my work properly.

and my labyrinth bun cage, aka "sometimes goodbye's the only way," "jack's spoon," my rollercoaster earring, and my leaf knife were all included in the set "the world's best photos of design and metalsmithing."

i'm not sure who curated these sets but thank you for including me in them :)

blogged

blogged about by a fan and buyer of my work:

here, here and here by shimmer and rot. and then reblogged a couple of times by her readers dykrasia
and oh-welloh-well.

thank you my dear, i'm glad you like your ring :)

one of a kind show - one day left!

you have one day left to check out the one of a kind show! i didn't have a lot of time to walk around today since i had to man the booth but i did get to try some yummy treats (smoked salmon pate for one :D) and see some great handmade pieces.

thanks to everyone who's come out already!
 
here's some pics from our booth:

new wire earrings

long and dangly fabricated sterling silver.

branch earrings of mine!

why are the photos so dark? argh...i will take new ones in time.

holiday sale

OCAD's Material Art and Design program is having their annual holiday sale on December 1st, 2nd and 3rd from 11-6 in the foyer of 100 McCaul. Ceramics, fibre and jewellery pieces from emerging artists, and a percentage of proceeds go towards the studios. So, it's all a good cause. I shall be selling my sterling silver branch necklaces and rings, as well as my new branch earrings.