I spent the bulk of yesterday working on some enameled necklaces. They were a bit of an experiment in several ways, and I am very happy with how they turned out. While in the studio I took a few pictures to show a glimpse of the process….

The enamel is powdered glass. There are many different ways to apply the enamel, but one of the most common methods is sifting. The picture below was taken right after sifting the enamel into place. (You can see the nuts that supported the metal and the outline of where the pieces sat.)

After picking them up, they are set on trivets which will support them inside the kiln. The following picture was taken right before they went into the kiln.

Freshly out of the kiln, the glass has all fused together. The red appears to be black, but as it cools down it will become vibrant red once again.

And with some finishing and little bit of magic, the necklaces are finished! These have sterling silver chains with handmade hook clasps. I gave them a patina to make the colors in the flowers really pop.

And on these necklaces, there is a bit of a secret….in fact, that’s why these necklaces are part of a collection called, ‘My Secret Garden’… You’ve seen the front…and now here is the back! (each one is a little different, I was experimenting after all!)

If you’ve been watching my etsy shop, you may have noticed a series of fruit!  It’s one of my newest collections and I’ve been having fun with figuring out the best ways to represent each different fruit in terms of silhouette, texture, form, and leaf shape. Keep watching for a few more, there may just be a peach and an apple (hint, hint!) 

This necklace came about following the death of my beloved furry friend and studio mate, Summer. I used to draw little angular sketches of her, like the one you see on the charm.

I realized soon after she was gone how much I wanted something to remember her, and I also realized that many other people go through the same type of loss and want something for themselves.

This necklace was born of those realizations. I crafted the charm from wax using my hands and a few primitive tools. Once it was finished, I had it cast and molded. The back of the pendant has room for you put your own pet’s name, or maybe the first letters of their name (if you have more than one dog to hold close.) The pictured charm is being kept as my own, which is why it reads “Summer” on the back.

Well, I realized yesterday  that for literally at least 10 years I have wanted to dye my hair blue–10 years!  I figured that now is the time to do it.  My hair is short and why not?  How hard could it be?

Hmmmm….I can say that people go to hair stylists for a reason :-)  My dream of solid blue bright vibrant hair has not yet been achieved…as of now, I look like this:

I don’t know why I ended up with a lot of green/gray…  I’m not particularly fond of it…But oh well, it’s only hair

It seems that all of my posts lately have to do with animals–obviously I love my pets!

Today’s post though is about a portrait I commissioned from etsy seller Jen Maddin of BindingTwine.

I commissioned the painting a few days after Summer passed away and it has now arrived and is hanging in my studio.  It makes me happy to have her back in there with me, and I looooove seeing it on the wall.

Jen paints in oils and is really incredibly super and wonderfully skilled at what she does!  I’m recommending her work to anyone looking for a painting of their pet!

This is a scene from last night and it makes me so happy I want to share it with you guys too!

I’ve been waiting and hoping that eventually Maya and Bailey would be cuddle bugs. I think this looks like a good start! It started with me sitting on the couch, then Bailey laid down next to me, Maya decided to join us, and a few minutes later when Bailey stretched her legs out around Maya, Maya was content. I was thrilled with the chain of events and happy that Dave could snap a picture of it.

I may be biased, but I think it is the cutest thing ever!

I met this artist at an art show this past weekend (Alpharetta Arts Streetfest) and she is a lovely gal with lovely work!  I just wanted to share the painting she made for me and give her a little shoutout

The middle reads, “One reason why horses and birds are happy is because they are not trying to impress other horses and birds.”

So check out Sweet Gravy Studio (artist Kelley Ash)!

I abandoned my blog for a little while, largely due to my last post on it. But life goes on and I’m picking it back up again. So lots of things have been going on in my neck of the woods. I’ve been….

*Making new pieces with some brand new hammers! (who doesn’t love a brand new hammer?!)

*Going to some art shows (come see me in Myrtle Beach this weekend!) And if you ever are in Myrtle Beach and want a great little German restaurant, eat at Bodo’s–save room for their German Chocolate Cake which is especially fabulous!

*Teaching some art camp and adult classes. Check out this picture that a little girl drew just for me!

*We adopted a little girl dog from a local rescue.  She is a sweetie pie named Bailey. Puppies are hard work!! She came to us a little under the weather, so with medicine and potty training, frequent baths and learning the rules, we’ve had our hands full. But she is a lovely little girl and is worth all the work!

That was the title to one of my photos on flickr.com and I thought it was a fitting title for this post too. A few people are already aware of recent events, but I thought I should probably share the news with everyone else too…

My little studio mate and inspiration behind several designs has past away. Back in Sept I posted about her here and she made frequent appearances on my flickr photo page, so many people ‘knew’ her without actually meeting her. I wanted to share the news so that everyone would know. I didn’t suddenly one day forget about her–in fact I can’t see that day happening at all! She will definitely be remembered fondly.

If you were watching the Martha Stewart Show today, and if you listened closely, then you would have heard my name mentioned during a segment with www.etsy.com’s CEO and founder Rob Kalin.  The segment was about etsy and some items from etsy were shown, including this necklace:

So, today was a good day!