In my book, there's no better way to start out the new year then with a whole slew of new cabochons arriving on your doorstep! In this case, I stumbled upon a fellow jewelry artist who has a passion for stones, like moi, but she is cutting back her production schedule and needed to clear out some of her collection. I was fortunate enough to purchase some of her Morrisonite, which is one of my favorite stones, and known as "The King of Jaspers". It's also a native of my own state of Oregon. Morrisonite comes in a gorgeous array of colors, and takes a very high polish. Some of these pieces are quite large as you can see below... This cab measures 2" x 1" (5cm x 2.5cm). They will make some beautiful statement pieces. Several nice matched pairs will make dynamite earrings! I see a long and productive relationship with the King! Here's a pendant I made late last year using another super pretty piece of Morrisonite. And I didn't neglect some of my other favs in this stone purchase. Petrified palm and fern, plus some nice ocean jasper and a pair of bird's eye rhyolite. Earrings, earrings, earrings! I'm so glad I didn't make a New Year's resolution to curb some of my stone buying and use more of what I already have on hand... well, it wouldn't have mattered, I have a zero success rate at keeping resolutions anyway... If you're so inclined, you keep an eye on my etsy shop where some of these finished pieces will be popping up, or my facebook page where you'll get a peek at completed work before it heads off to The Real Mother Goose and Imogen Gallery.
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In the continuing brooch saga there have been a couple of heartbreaks recently... Brooch # 8, is a very lovely piece of malachite/chrysocola with a wonderful undulating surface. Paired with a very pretty south sea pearl and fabricated in sterling and 14kt gold... love that movement! took the time to pierce the back... measures just over 2" This week's brooch, brooch # 9, I've been working on all weekend, about 15 hours worth. It features a piece of Sonoran dendritic rhyolite with a little amethyst up top and a baroque pearl drop. The metal is sterling, 14kt and 18kt gold. I designed a little converter that slips onto the pin stem and allows it to be worn as a pendant. pretty cool! So the heartbreak in the story is the fact that both stones developed a crack after they were finished, or at least I only noticed them after they were finished... I spent a little bit of time wallowing in self pity, took a walk and listened to my husband remind me that 99 out of 100 pieces end up unbroken! Maybe I don't have to go find a job at the local grocery store bagging canned goods. Well, the first brooch had a very happy ending. I offered it in my etsy shop at a reduced price an it went to a very good customer who will love it and wear it. I haven't decided what will become of brooch # 9. It could go as a second, the crack is hairline, but I don't want to be offering seconds in my shop on a regular basis, I mean, how would that look? She can't be trusted not to break her own jewelry?? I could use it as some kind of prize for a drawing to get more facebook likes, or what?? What should I do with it? All suggestions would be appreciated, and considered with proper gravity...
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This week's featured work from Etsymetal! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram LjBjewelry EMWMetalworks Fenton Design Nodeform Quercus Silver Amity Jewelry Stacey Maddock Designs Rachael Sudlow
Both girls were here together last week for a visit. That happens so rarely anymore since they've both flown the nest, and in the last couple of years, the state... but I still managed to get my weekly brooch done for the past couple of weeks. Brooch #29 was a quick one. I used a scrap of fine silver I had cooked up in a precious metal clay class a few years back, and added some sterling petals along the edge for a simple little sunflower. For brooch #30, I used the Montana agate from the previous post, pairing it with a .22ct rose cut diamond, and a cool little stick pearl. Mostly sterling, with an 18kt gold bezel surrounding the diamond, and 14kt gold rivets through the pearl. I'm really pleased with it, and the backside of the agate brings into crisp relief what appears on the front as the fuzzy insides of the stone. Does anyone else see a cartoon character here...? ***
I feel really grateful to have work that I love, and can't wait to get to every morning. My daily work seems so familiar and normal, nothing glamorous, in fact, downright dirty! When Deanna Piowaty asked to interview me for her online arts magazine, Combustus, I thought, what could I possibly have to say that people would find interesting? Well, Deanna crafted a beautiful piece out of our interview, and I got to see my work from the perspective of an outside observer which was quite wonderful! This is the interview for those interested, and I urge you to peruse more of Combustus, you won't be disappointed, I promise! This is brooch #3 in the etsymetal brooch-a-week challenge. I thought I'd just slip this in, and as I'm currently working on brooch #7, I'll post that along with 4, 5, and 6 in my next post!
How do you get from this.... ...to this? My friend Dave Adams, that's how! Dave's business is taking old cars, and restoring them to pristine condition. He specializes in old British cars. This particular Morris Minor was number 1,000,001 to roll off the assembly line in 1960. The Morris Minor was the first car in Britain to hit the one million mark of cars produced, and of course the company figured they would make a big deal out of it, would't you? They produced a limited edition of 350 cars. They all had white leather interiors and lilac body paint, and sported Minor 1,000,000 badges. Only 30 were built with left hand drive, and only 20 of those came to the US. You can read about the Minor Million cars at the official website here. Looking better already... Coming right along old chap... Dave's car was on display at the Forest Grove Concours d'Elegance last month. His little lilac car won first place in it's class, people loved it! I can totally see myself in the drivers seat...
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Both girls were here together last week for a visit. That happens so rarely anymore since they've both flown the nest, and in the last couple of years, the state... but I still managed to get my weekly brooch done for the past couple of weeks. Brooch #29 was a quick one. I used a scrap of fine silver I had cooked up in a precious metal clay class a few years back, and added some sterling petals along the edge for a simple little sunflower. For brooch #30, I used the Montana agate from the previous post, pairing it with a .22ct rose cut diamond, and a cool little stick pearl. Mostly sterling, with an 18kt gold bezel surrounding the diamond, and 14kt gold rivets through the pearl. I'm really pleased with it, and the backside of the agate brings into crisp relief what appears on the front as the fuzzy insides of the stone. Does anyone else see a cartoon character here...? ***
rings
After making jewelry for more years than I care to count, I've finally come to the realization that it might be nice to create collections of jewelry as opposed to jumping from one random stone to the next just because I want to bezel every stone I see! So I reigned myself in this past month, and came up with these two collections so far. Beautiful Willow Creek jasper that was part of this group, and ended up as earrings, a pendant, and a ring. Most of these went to Imogen Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. And this pink collection, mostly Mookaite from Australia, and the center pair, fossil palm wood. This bunch of cabs I bought most recently with this group and turned out some earrings, a tweeter bird pendant and a ring. These will be available in my etsy shop. Since I'm rather liking the cohesiveness of these two collections, I think I might work through the Sonoran sunrise I bought last month. It's quite stunning! And of course, I'll always find time to slip in something totally unrelated...
Explore betsy.bensen's 2679 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2679 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Having just completed brooch #7 in my quest to meet etsymetal's challenge of 1 brooch a week for the year, I feel like I've gotten into ...
I buy this lovely material from my favorite stone dealer whenever she gets a batch in. I'm crazy about it! It's turquoise from Nevada, dug and cut by one particular guy and this pair is mostly matrix with a horizontal vein of turquoise running through it. I've built sterling bezels and added 14kt gold elements such as the gold balls placed at the edge of the turquoise vein on either side and the connection at the bottom and the bale of each pearl. The posts are also 14kt gold for added strength. The silver has been textured and oxidized and all the metal lightly sanded for a nice matte finish which contrasts nicely with the light polish on the tops of the stones.
Having just completed brooch #7 in my quest to meet etsymetal's challenge of 1 brooch a week for the year, I feel like I've gotten into the groove, and the ideas seem to stay at least a week ahead of me. So far so good! Here are brooches 4-7... #4 rhyolite, hessonite garnet, sterling, 14kt gold #5 17+ ct amethyst, sterling, 22kt,18kt,14kt gold #6 ocean jasper, .24ct rose cut diamond, sterling,18kt, 14kt gold #7 sterling silver, 14kt gold I'm glad for this challenge, I had forgotten how much I really love making brooches. #8 is on the drawing board!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2679 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2679 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2671 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2677 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Explore betsy.bensen's 2682 photos on Flickr!
Brooch, Montana agate, rose cut diamond, stick pearl, sterling,18kt, fabricated
Explore betsy.bensen's 2678 photos on Flickr!
Brooch, Montana agate, rose cut diamond, stick pearl, sterling,18kt, fabricated
OK, I resolve to make one brooch a week (BAW) for each week of 2013. And I'm not alone in this resolution, 140 others have taken up the etsymetal BAW challenge... And if 52 brooches just isn't enough, there's a renegade group stepping it up to a brooch a day (BAD). That's 365 brooches by the end of the year. Those are the truly possessed... and I admire the heck out of them. Week 1 A piece of Australian opalite set in sterling silver with a bit of 14kt gold. I decided to make a piece that did double duty as a brooch or pendant. This one shown on a 16" sterling neck ring. Looks great with the Neesh wool blazer I scored at the Goodwill a couple of years ago... Here is a small sample of the first week's entries from some of my etsymetal teammates: Quercus Silver Danielle Miller Jewelry Simply MegA Week 2 My simple brooch in sterling, with again, a dot of gold and a sparkly druzy agate. And a few more cool brooches from some of the other players in week 2: donauluft Evelyn Markasky citizen objects This link will get you to photos of all of the entries from the last 2 weeks, and the variety is endless. I can't wait to see what week 3 brings!
