Making Ingots

After nursing this cold for almost a week and generally lazing about, I ventured back into my studio today (AND feeling much better, thank you!). I have a commission that requires a nice amount of sterling sheet. Being a resourceful New England gal, I melted my sterling scraps and poured a few ingots to form/roll into 18 gauge sterling. Melting and pouring metal is thrilling, exhilarating, nerve racking, and commanding. Oh, I'm a lucky girl!

Sorry there are no photos of the pouring process. My husband, assigned photog for the day, was called away by the princess of the house. I promise to digitally catch the pour soon to share with you all.

More Studio Views or Are We There Yet?

Studio view #79 or close to that number, right? This is my big ol' bench. I got this work horse shortly after graduation from an industrial supply company in Rhode Island (this is what we had in our studio classroom and I wanted the same thing for my home studio). Solid, steel legs, hardwood top. There is a custom pull out drawer to catch filings, scraps, and broken saw blades. Two bench pins: one for sawing, the other for sanding and filing. Some steel stakes, boxes of metal parts, my soldering station...everything nicely condensed into a small space.

The picture above is my packaging, sewing, felting, labeling, design, wrapping station (otherwise known as the "clean" work station) tucked into a nook in the spare bedroom. In a perfect world/studio, this would be part of the main studio.

Lastly, I added another project to my on-going list of duties. Soon, I will be contributing to the Etsy Maine Team blog. To me writing provides endless enjoyment, exercise for the brain (because goodness knows my BODY doesn't get near enough), and blogging will be an excellent way to meet and network with Maine's bounty of craftspeople and artist.

Tuesday Studio Views

Ah, ~sniffle~ this cold is still clinging! No studio today...just lots of photo work and a couple more listing in my shop. I listed this pendant this past weekend. I'm asking too little for it...really. I just found a price list when it was at a gallery on the coast of Maine. Wow. I want people to be able to afford my jewelry (I KNOW this is still pricey...but have you checked out the price of gold lately?) , but I don't want to jeopardize my work ethic either.

Two more studio views. The top one is a basic bench shot...disc cutter, hammer, little porcelain dish of baubles (mostly pearls), some files in the background (yes, I cleaned and organized BEFORE I took these pictures). The bottom picture is my rolling mill. My steel baby. I bought this right after graduation (14 years ago!) for a chunk of change. A Durston, 120mm dual side rolling mill made in England. It weighs as much a dead moose. Seriously. AND, worth its weight in gold.

In a Treasury!

My Etsy Maine Team mate Kim from Claypatties included one of my pendants in her treasury titled "mood". So fitting for the season we are in. Dark afternoons, barren trees, All Hallow's Eve, crumbling vines, dying gardens...ah, October is good.

Studio View, Day 2

I'm laying low today...my daughter has so graciously shared her cold virus with me...isn't that sweet? No studio work today, ~cough, sniffle, hack~.

Above is another shot from my modest studio. A pic of a drawer with engravers, scrapers, burnishers, and steel square, a drawing plate, a ring vise, and other yummy steel things housed in boxes.

If I can get my old, sick body is gear tomorrow, I'll be listing this ring and a couple other pieces in my Etsy shop. The 'bigger than big' ring is hollow, saucer shaped nickel silver with a spessartite (orange garnet).

OK, off to cozy up to some hot tea!

One down, Forty-nine To Go

Or something like that. I had the weekend mostly obligation free to devote much needed time in studio. I have a Holiday show just weeks away and need INVENTORY! I got this ONE piece finished, but, luckily, many others well on their way. The heart motif was never planned for this pendant, but when life presents lemons, ya make lemonade....~whispering~ one heart covers up a nasty little melt down I had with the torch..oops! A true romantic piece, I think, something that doesn't come easy for me...in designing, that is.

A loyal follower of my blog asked to see more studio pics. After drying the tears of laughter from my sister and mother's eyes, I decided to oblige. Yes, I KNOW ladies, I work in the freaking cold basement with barren concrete floors and walls and I can hardly call it a "real" studio, but it beats saying "Hey babe, I'm going down into the cellar/basement/laundry room/storage area/sump pump corner..." So, I'll post a picture of my ~ahem~ workspace everyday this week.

My husband and I are in agreement that this working area needs to change. Eventually (and I SO wish I could say "before the snow flies"..ha!) I should have a proper studio with daylight and heat and white walls and a real floor and a play space for Annabelle. For now, this space will do just fine, thank you!

Views from the Bench

Two blogs in one day!! Woohoo, I'm a rock star! Or just a girl who has had too much coffee. Above is my trusty steel block with an assortment of WIPs (works in progress) scattered about. Please notice the big, ol label pendant sawed into 2 pieces sans the buttons. The earrings will be complete and listed tomorrow in my Etsy shop. The pillowy piece on the right harkens back to my collection, Armor. I'm not sure where this one will go, but it should be a fun ride!
Night all!