Lost for awhile, but have found my way back ...

No photos today, as I'm seated before a computer with nary a photo. Need to get this new computer geared up and ready to rock and roll.

Which about sums up my jewelry endeavors. I've been so wrapped up with my online vintage shop, that I've neglected my jewelry making. Darn it! I MISS it! So, I'm getting geared up to dive back into the creative waters of working with metal.

"Yay!"I can hear some of you yell. Yes, I'll soon have metal earrings for milady's pleasure!

In fact, I've been reading about metal etching and have some designs for copper and steel baubles. At least I'll have fun trying something new and exciting to get back into the groove!

Thanks, all, for your patience. It's been a while ... too long a while, indeed.

Up, Up and Away!!!!!

The downside of making jewelry ...

There's a downside to making jewelry? How can this be?

Well, let me tell ya!

I shipped off four pairs of earrings to a very nice lady in Florida yesterday. Hooray! BUT, two of the pairs were among my own personal all-time favorites and I'll never see them again. The lady is a stranger to me so we won't travel in the same social circles where I might chance seeing the earrings, and she lives on the other side of the US of A.

Oh, I hear you. Just make another pair for myself, right? Wrong! Some of the components aren't accessible to make the same earrings. And I'm not a precise maker of jewelry and I don't do production pieces. Each pair of my earrings is unique, so even if I start out trying to make the same earring design, they end up different. Different isn't bad. I'm just not precise enough to replicate EXACTLY what I've created before.

I do console my loss by thinking of all those women out there sashaying around wearing my earrings and that is an upside to making jewelry.

All is balance.

Having a busy summer ... you, too?

Just received a convo--Etsy lingo for email--from a previous customer at my West As the Crow Flies shop on Etsy. Back in July Brian purchased two listings I had of Birch Bay driftwood and some faux beach glass. Brian was kind enough to share what he created using some of those components. See photographs below.

Brian, who lives in Florida, started his Etsy shop in 2007. To see his Etsy shop The Glassman or Glassman, go to www.etsy.com/shop/Glassman.

Thanks for sharing, Brian!

This is the first piece Brian made with the listing
from West As the Crow Flies, and it
is currently listed for purchase
on his Etsy shop

Created by The Glassman

This is the driftwood listing Brian purchased,
and the faux beach glass listing shown below.

As featured in an Etsy Treasury ...

Curator Angela, of Angela Design, featured a mix and match set of earrings of mine in her Etsy Treasury. It's always a pleasure to receive a pat on the back in this manner.  Here's the link if you would like to check it out:  www.etsy.com/treasury/NzIzOTYxOHwyNzIyOTU4MzIw/mix-match

Because I make earrings that I would wear, and because I often wear one earring on my right and two or more on the left, I sometimes make a set of three mix and match earrings rather than a more traditional pair. I like giving the buyer the option to wear all three, a pair, or perhaps only one to go with some personal eclectic fashion aesthetic.

Angela has created a shop full of colorful, cheerful polymer clay jewelry.  www.angeladesign.etsy.com

Thanks, Angela!

Tricks with Backgrounds ...

I’ve often thought a solid color background was best to photograph my jewelry to advantage. Under more formal gallery or presentation circumstances a solid background is probably still a good rule to follow. However, I was bored with white today as I photographed some new earrings I had just finished and wanted to upload to Etsy.The white didn't allude well to the rich burnish of the copper. I needed color.

I’ve admired those jewelers who incorporate intriguing backgrounds in photographs of their jewelry. Some go a little overboard and it becomes distracting, but some get it just right. There’s often an ambience created of adventure, romance, or ethnic back story woven around the jewelry. Unfortunately I’m not gifted at creating poetry or a storyline to accompany my jewelry.

However, looking around my digs for something nifty to use, I spied a Cindy Rinne art quilt I purchased years ago. I’ve always loved the colors and textures, and thought it could work without overwhelming the earrings. That was my hope anyway. I liked the fiber and thread stitches contrasting with the metal.

I think the photos of the earrings turned out pretty well. I’ve uploaded them to Etsy. If you want to see more of Cindy Rinne’s art, that she terms, “nature’s edges in stitch and verse,” go to http://fiberverse.com She’s also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cindy.rinne.5

"Fire" by Cindy Rinne
1996

I apologize to Cindy about not having THE best photograph of her art quilt, but I wanted you to see the entire thing and not just a detail. 

Memorial Day Weekend

Sunday morning and I can hear the Indy 500 on the television upstairs. I think of all the noise and hoopla of the racetrack and fans out for the kick-off weekend of summer, all the families heading to parades, picnics and BBQs.

I want to take a moment to remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of our Country. If not for them, our present and future freedom and way of life might not exist. Thank you!

OK ... now on to beautiful baubles!

I received a photograph from Mimi Dunski of Milton Ontario Canada. She recently bought some gorgeous red jasper beads from my little Etsy store West As the Crow Flies. Much to my delight, the photograph is of a necklace she has designed using the beads she bought from me.

I absolutely love seeing what other creatives do with the materials I'm selling!

Here is Mimi's necklace, which you can see and read about at http://www.creationsbymimi.etsy.com/ You can also learn more about Mimi and her lovelies! Go take a peek!

Thank you, Mimi, for sharing!


For more stones, beads, other jewelry components and vintage pieces click on http://www.westasthecrowflies.etsy.com/  I've also uploaded some new earrings incorporating vintage African Trade beads at http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/

Just getting better the older they are ...

In addition to the gorgeous assortment of beads to which I feel privileged to have access, I love their history. Take for example, the African Trade beads I used in a pair of tribal earrings I finished making this morning. As I worked with them, I was deeply moved by the realization that these beads have been in existence for so much longer than I have been, and will be around long after I become dust to dust!

Vintage Bohemian and Czech glass trade beads,
Nigerian brass, old Yemen silver, Ghana metal beads

That's rather a humbling thought. I feel like a facilitator in the ongoing "story" of these beads that were made far away and long ago. I think it's incredible that I can hold these bits of history in my hands and know that other hands made them, sent them off to Africa for trade, other hands received them and sold them or traded them for other goods. They've traveled farther than have I. And they're not done yet!

A number of years ago, I attended a historical bead exhibit at the Bowers Museum. They had a timeline displayed along the walls showing where different beads originated and where they traveled on the various trade routes of the world. Amazing!

These earrings, heady with history, are now available for purchase at www.birchbaykay.etsy.com.

Spring and Creativity Run Rampant ...

There's something so primal and invigorating about seeing crocus bursting into bloom, leaf buds ready to burst with life on bare branches, spring green grass appearing as the snow melts away. And, of course, we, too, participate in this surge of energy, growth.

Jewelry projects I've had on a back shelf are being pulled out and finished ... finally. New ideas are crowding in so fast, I can't get one sketched before another 5 blossom. I love this flood of energy!

Here are a couple of new things I've added to my Etsy store at http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/:

I love the nubby handmade, hand-colored yarn made by Juaquetta Holcomb in Newman Lake, WA. I met her at an art fair here in Spokane, and she had short lengths of yarn for sale. I don't come anywhere close to using a whole skein of yarn in my brooches, so I was ecstatic at being able to get some of this yummy stuff without forking over a bundle for a whole skein.  Her website is GardenPartyFibers.com and she also has a shop on Etsy with her local mohair and sheep yarns. You'll love her yarns, too!

Computers oftentimes confuse me. The No.6 glass beads in the brooch are a pearlized PINK, but on my computer they look orange; perplexing because all of the other colors in the brooch seem to be true representation. So, why just those beads??? Hmmm, maybe the pearlized surface?

As for these lime and lavender faux beach glass earrings, I first made them a different way. They looked nice, but I could not force myself to put them up on Etsy. There was something "not right" about them. After about a week or so, I redid the lavender earring and took off a sterling silver swirl that I had on the lime green dangle. They are now more contemporary, simplified with no distracting gimmicks. I guess, that's what bothered me before, I wouldn't have worn them they way they were before I redesigned them. I would wear these!

February Flurry ...

I'm not referring to a snow flurry, but life flurries. Here it is the 4th of February--already!--and I should be selling jewelry for people to gift to others as tokens of their love and affection. I feel like I'm operating in slow motion, while bombarded by flurries of life challenges, family challenges, and my children's challenges!

Take a deep breath, right? Get a grip! Things are going to happen whether I'm cool-headed or I'm a hysterical crazy woman, so am trying to maintain a sense of calm. Life happens.

I also happened to finish the custom necklace a customer commissioned me to create to match a pair of earrings she had previously purchased from Birch Bay Kay and gifted to her sister at Christmas. I'm now waiting to learn if she likes the bauble, or if she would prefer I design and make another to better suit her aesthetic. Wish me luck!

Here are the earrings and the necklace:

Well, time to get back into the maelstrom. I have to laugh. When I step back from my perceived dilemmas, the in-my-face drama lessens and I recognize everyone else's problems are not MY problems. I need this detachment in order to more effectively and calmly assist or counsel family members.

AND make jewelry!

Invigorating!

Yes, it is invigorating to upload some new earrings to http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/ for people to see and purchase! Just in time for someone to gift to their sweetie, or to be nice to themselves for Valentine's Day.

I've been putting so much time and effort into West As the Crow Flies, that the jewelry creating was placed on a back burner. There were some earring designs I wanted to FINISH; they've been started for quite a while, but now two of the pairs of earrings are finished and uploaded. Whew! Feels great!

Authentic or not authentic? That is the question!



The carved ivory on the left is authentic.
Dad served as a pilot in WWII in India
and brought back the carved ivory rose for my Mom,
who he secretly married before heading to India.


A number of years ago at a dusty little thrift shop in Redlands, I came into possession of an old necklace. I tucked it away for future use, forgot about it, but in hunting through some boxes I came across it again. I had a strong suspicion that the carved ivory elephants and beads weren't real ivory. The beads on the right above are from that salvaged necklace.

I will be uploading the beads to West As the Crow Flies, but I wanted to make certain I knew if they were authentic ivory, bone or resin.

I went online and came across the following article by Pacific City Antiques Gallery. It provided a lot of insight about various types of ivory, which I found helpful. The test to determine authenticity was also interesting.

There were a couple of comments about poaching that I can't really stand behind, but I don't know when this online entry was made. I found it helpful enough to include the entire article here.

I tested the faux ivory beads and, indeed, they melted in an inconspicuous place and there was the definite smell of plastic. Nonetheless, they are lovely beads and I know someone will be tickled pink to purchase them!

Ivory ... Is It Fake?

"There is always that fear that the treasure you just bought is a fake. I think the fear is exaggerated. After some experience handling ivory, one can easily distinguish most 'fakes'. Fakes are usually made from resins. Sometimes these resins will be blended with the remnants of ivory or bone carvings ground up to a fine powder. They then mix it with resin and cast them in a mold and then 'clean' them up by hand (sometimes not). They usually stain them a very dark, heavy stain then wipe off the high areas to give the impression of 'wear'.There is also 'French ivory', 'celluloid', or 'ivrine'. This type of man made material looks like ivory with very nice grain. However, the grain is very wide and consistent (too consistent.) This material was used mostly for dresser accessories such as brushes, combs, change boxes, letter openers, page turners, etc., very few figures, although I have seen them. Resin items will not have the weight of ivory. Ivory has a very heavy specific gravity compared to most materials.

Now let's talk about ivory. There are many types of 'real' ivory. Even though some consider anything but Western African Elephant ivory 'fake', this is not true. Netsuke and Okimono carvers used a variety of natural materials, not just elephant ivory.

When someone asks me what I collect, because I collect more than Netsuke and ivory, I tell them 'hand carved items made from natural materials'. It is the art I am after, it is just a coincidence that the vehicle is ivory.

Real ivory comes from the tusks or teeth of mammals. Some of these mammals live in the sea, some on land. One thing they have in common is they are all 'long lived'. Some types of real ivory are elephant, walrus, hippopotamus, whale, norwal, mammoth, mastodon, and wild boar (warthogs).

Without going into the characteristic of all ivories, I will concentrate on elephant ivory. First, 'green' or 'live' ivory usually referred to as 'new' ivory (not necessarily newly carved). 

This ivory was usually taken from live elephants (poached?) But also, keep in mind the natives would kill elephants to eat and then harvest the tusks to sell later to the ivory buyers. Not all elephants that were poached were killed just for their tusks. Imagine having to feed a tribe of 300 natives daily in the barren plains of African. The elephant was a prime target. This new ivory is warm in color, translucent and dries out much lighter.

Then there is African elephant ivory and Asian elephant ivory. The Asian ivory is a denser white and is more open of grain and softer than African ivory. This is why most India carvings are so intricate, they used the ivory from Asian elephants, which is much easier to carve.

So the old fable of 'ivory grain' is not dependable to tell 'real ivory.' Some ivories have little grain.

There is also Western Africa ivory and Eastern Africa ivory. The ivory from the eastern side of African is referred to as 'soft ivory', which is more dull and contains more moisture and stands changes in temperature better. The ivory from Western Africa is referred to as 'hard ivory', which is glassy and translucent.

The Japanese used a lot of the Western African ivory for their Okimonos.

So, now that you are totally confused about the many types of ivory, I will tell you that elephant ivory does not always have obvious grain. I use a 15x loupe to inspect for grain. On the bottom of most carvings you like to see the crosshatching where the grains crisscross. This cannot be 'faked', but also does not mean it is not ivory if absent. Hippo ivory will have fine grain but no crosshatching.

THE TEST

The tried and true method to test ivory is the famous 'hot pin test'. This method is used by beginners and experts alike. Because true ivory is virtually impenetrable with heat, this is a good test and will not damage the item if it is 'real'.

Take a pin, large needle, or better yet, a large straightened out safety pin, and heat the tip RED-HOT. Poke the item somewhere that it will not show too bad. I use the Netsuke hole. If it is real ivory, it will NOT penetrate and only leaves a tiny, tiny mark. If it is resin, it will enter the item and produce a little crater around the hole.

Now the big test. Smell the 'smoke' that comes of the test as you are poking the item. If it is real ivory, it will have that unmistakable smell of the dentist's office, when you had that root canal. It smells  like burning tooth, because it IS.  If it smells like burning plastic, it IS.

Now, bone is also resistant to heat, but not as much as ivory. The smell is less, or hardly at all, and is different from burning tooth. Bone is absolutely free of grain and will always have little pock marks, where the marrow or blood was. One may need a loupe to see such pock marks ..."

www.asian-arts.net/oriental-treats/fake.html (Pacific City Antiques Gallery)

Happy Endings ...

Several months ago I made a pair of sterling and garnet dangle earrings for my sister in appreciation for a favor she did for me. (I love barter)

On only the second or third time she wore them she came home from the restaurant and realized she was missing one. She went back to the restaurant the next day, but nothing had been found.

Today she went back to Thai Bamboo, just on the slim chance the earring showed up. Lo and behold! It was her luck day! The earring is back in her possession and we're BOTH happy about it!

Just a reminder that those pesky little plastic earring plugs DO work, and can save you the heartbreak of a lost earring.  You can push them up behind your ear, out of sight; a great precaution!

I hate to see anyone lose an earring, but I have to admit I LOVE being asked to create something mismatched to match the remaining earring. Just ask me!


A separate example:
The earring on the left lost its mate. I played on
the calligraphy aesthetic with vintage amber and came up
with the mismatched match on the right.
Happy customer!



http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/

http://www.westasthecrowflies.etsy.com/

Missing an opportunity ...

Since launching my West As the Crow Flies store online at Etsy, I've expanded the inventory from cabochons, polished stones, sterling silver findings and vintage collectibles to include specialty fiber bundles.

I use so little of a variety of fibers in my fiber-wrapped brooches and the like, but I always have to buy an entire--costly--skein for just a yard or three. I know there must be fiber artists "out there" just like me who would love to use these novelty threads but not have to spend an arm and a leg to use them. One skein I remember cost me about $28 for the skein, and it was well-worth the expense, but there I am with almost the whole skein.

So, I've included bundles of 6-7 different fibers in each bundle, each selection 4 yds in length for a total of 24-28 yards per bundle.

I realized I was missing an opportunity whence selling those fiber bundles! The fiber bundles cost under $5 each, and yet the fiber-wrapped brooches sell for $25 and up. Why not include sample photographs with the specialty yarn bundles showing how I use the fibers being sold?! Then cross reference to the Etsy store where they can be purchased ... http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/  Indeed!

It's all a learning process. I think I'm a little slower than others, but I'm learning!

So, here are a few of the fiber sample photographs I'll include:



A brooch




A brooch




A brooch




A lariat neckpiece




A brooch



You call it fibre, I call it fiber ...

Same-o Same-o

Working with fibers is so tactile, I love the feel of the different weights and consistencies. One might think that threads are limp and ready to go wherever you want to wrap or coil them. Au contrare! I have started many a brooch or neckpiece with fibers and let me tell you, they have a will of their own. When I thought I would turn the design one way, the fibers resist and insist that another direction is to be taken. When I thought a section of the design would be smooth and sophisticated, oh no! The piece wanted to be roughly woven or knots included.

As with life, one goes with the flow!

I've usually made brooches with my fiber-wrapped designs. But lately, I've wanted to expand beyond my self-imposed boundary, to make some lariat style neckpieces, or cuffs.

Several of my customers have urged me to make fiber-wrapped pendants. In this regard, I have started adding jump rings to the pinbacks, so the wearer can alternate between wearing the adornment as a brooch or as a pendant.

Here is the latest of the fiber-wrapped lariats:

WHAT season 'tis it ...

'Tis the season for gift buying and gift giving! Here I am scurrying back and forth from workbench to the post office. It's WONDERFUL!

I love the energy generated and focused into new creations. It imbues my days and nights with a bit of an edge, to provide a product but to also maintain the integrity of originality and design. It's sometimes a difficult line to hold to when along with "Jingle Bells" I also hear "Hurry Up! Hurry Up!"

Of course, if I had followed up on my inner critic's urgings to "hurry up" earlier, I might not be in this pressure cooker. Nonetheless, I'm a happy artisan!



Recycled Brass Shapes
and  natural Rhyolite beads




Amber, a yellow Jasper
and hand cut Sterling calligraphy
"Long Life"


I finished a couple of pairs of earrings that include copper from my patina experimentation. I haven't yet finished the ones that were the original impetus for the project, based on the Chinese Lanterns. I still have those dried pods hanging on a rack on my workbench. I love their simple, natural presence.



The bright blue patina is the result
of exposure to Ammonia




The attractive green patina resulted
from exposure to being buried in tobacco
and salt and vinegar


I'll try to maintain this blog a little more religiously! New Year's resolution!

You can check out my Etsy store for new baubles that have been added. Check out the "Solds" too, so you can see new items that have already moved out of the "Active" queue.

http://www.birchbaykay.etsy.com/

I'm also have a Birch Bay Kay Page on Facebook.

Enjoy the magic of the days leading up to Christmas! Happy Holidays!

Nature Inspiration ...

My sister has a Chinese Lantern tree in the backyard and she brought in a couple of the pods for me to see. I love them! I've put a little brass wire through them and they're hanging on my earring stand to continue to inspire me.


Chinese Lantern Pods

I've looked at them now for about a month and decided to sketch out something on copper and see if I can make little copper Chinese Lanterns. This will be FUN!

I've been reading about coloring copper and want to experiment with this, too. Hmmm, do I color after I saw out the shape, but before I shape the pod? Or do I saw, shape and then color?

I'll let you know how it goes ... or better yet, if you've done this process already, send me an email with your recommendation! Yeah! That's a great idea!

Here we go ...



Ready to saw out the design



A First Time for Everything ...

Today my offshoot online store, West As the Crow Flies, offering wonderful semi-precious stone cabochons and unique beads, just made its first sale! Hooray! Hoping it's the first of many to come.

Thank you, Nora, in Winnipeg, Canada!



http://www.westasthecrowflies.etsy.com/



Influence of Surroundings ...



Birch Bay Sunset




Birch Bay shells, beachglass, pebbles

Like a lot of artists, I'm heavily influenced by my natural surroundings. Having lived in Birch Bay on the west coast of WA for seven years, I still feel the water sloshing around in m'brain even though I'm now in Spokane!

A number of years ago I read a Barbara Kingsolver non-fiction "High Tide in Tucson" about transitioning from ocean to desert. If I remember correctly, she wrote of her hermit crab still moving through its cage in time to the far away tides.  (Her insights about nature, desert, creativity, politics, et cetera are almost lyrical and well-articulated. I highly recommend this as a good read!)

However, I am planted here in Spokane for the present and this is where I have to find a new ebb and flow. It'll happen ... with patience.

It will be fun to see what new Birch Bay Kay jewelry will result from this new environment in Spokane, WA!

A rosey posey "in the moment" reminder

I’ve been driving myself a little bonkers lately. You know how stress gets to your noggin, and before you know it, you’re running around like a chicken with its head cut off. (Oh, dear! What a grisly image!)

This morning I found myself scratching around at my workbench, not really working on anything, just fussing. This is not a productive activity, and with the holidays coming quickly upon us, I need to focus on creating jewelry.

I begrudgingly glanced up from my mess and my eyes fell upon a little glass vase with a couple of tiny tea roses I had plucked from Mel’s garden out back. They are small, I have been distracted, I forgot I had placed them there to enjoy.

I stopped what I wasn’t doing, picked up the diminutive vase. I hopefully sniffed, and YES! It had the most delicate, beautiful fragrance. I hadn’t smelled it earlier, because the roses are so small, their aroma so faint, and my workbench is 6 feet from the cat’s box.

Now, I know these little roses aren’t here to brighten my day. They aren’t weighed down with purpose, productivity. They just exist… no stress, no mind fighting, no recriminations because they aren’t bigger, better, rosier.

But, I thank the powers that be for creating these little roses, that smell so sweetly, that enable me to clear my thoughts, realign with nature … get my shit together.

Alone and solitary, but not ...

As an artist, a lot of my time is spent creating in solitude. I distract easily, so I'm better off hunkered over my workbench, lost in musings of what-if-I-do-this.

I am kept company by little talismans that comfort me. I have some pebbles and shells from Birch Bay. I have a sterling silver cross that my younger son made eons ago when he was 12 or 13 and we took a beginning silversmith class together. He also made a sterling bug, which I cherished. I gifted it back to him a month or so ago, so he would have a memento of the fun we had together, and to look forward to the joy and satisfaction he'll have of working and creating with his children.

I also have a stone gifted to me by a dear artist friend. We met in a birthing class in Southern California when we were both preggies with our firstborn. Oh my goodness! That was over 36 years ago!

But back to the stone Karen gave me. I chose the stone. She had drawn a mermaid on it, which drew my eye. I've had it for about 7-8 years and I love picking it up and cradling it in the palm of my hand. It imparts a wonderful, loving energy. So, it, too, keeps me company at my workbench.

I was adding a chain to a neckpiece that's almost done, when Karen's stone caught my attention. I picked it up and turned it slowly. In addition to the mermaid, there are drawings of a mother with a babe in arms, an older woman's serene face, an angelic young face, and a face surprised or shocked.

My initial reaction was that they were all aspects of the roles I've played throughout my life. It made sense. But, another idea pushed its way to the front of my thoughts. I have created much with the support and comfort of friends all through my life.

Artists may create in solitude, but we're fed and buoyed up by our friends and family. Creativity, for me at least, would be impossible without interaction with other people. Interaction not only with friends and family, but with people who have purchased my jewelry and have become friends.

As I start life a-fresh here in Spokane, I need to reach out to others. Certainly this doesn't mean I'll turn my back on tried and true friendships of long duration. It means ever widening the circle of love and respect.

Just as a stone tossed into the lake creates ever widening circles in the water, so Karen's touch stone in my hand reminds me to welcome others into my circle.

If you want to learn more about Karen Williams Smith's Touch Stones, go to www.touchstoneartwork.com  Touch Stones are her newest creations, I urge you to also look at her gallery of whimsical and fine art sculptures and bronzes. She'll be exhibiting at the 2011 Winterfest in Laguna Beach, CA.