Studio V Holiday Party

Hello Everyone. Today was Studio Vs Holiday party and customer open house.  Studio V is located at Harper College in Palatine.  It has been a little over a year since I was warmly welcomed into the Studio with my jewelry.  This year I spent several months making jewelry to showcase for this event. Yesterday I worked until the wee hours of the night getting ready for my jewelry submissions.  All pieces need to be made, finished, priced, packaged and inventoried.  After all this is done I photograph each piece. The caveat to this year's prep is that yesterday I had been to the hospital for a surgical procedure and was scheduled for a second surgery today.  I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to finish everything and take photos.  I got out my 35mm digital camera and my new Doug Baldwin diffused light boxes and went to town taking photos of the jewelry at from 2-4am.  It was a dream working with these lights. I look forward to taking Doug's jewelry photography and Photoshop class at the Tucson Bead Show in February. 

The Daisy necklace was created by making a pattern onto sterling silver sheet with the rolling mill and then cut out a circle within a circle and finally dapped the inner circle making a bezel.  I did this to fit a round daisy and resin cabochon that I made with Ice Resin.  I recently learned how to get that clear look in resin by using a vacuum extractor. This involves a pressure chamber and a special oil filled vacuum machine with some tubing.  It reminds me a lot of using a pressure cooking pot.  Note that all the photos below are now at Studio V. 

 

 

Resin Daisy Necklace

Of course the necklace had to have matching earrings.  Here is where my new silicone sphere molds come into play.  I got these molds from Resin Sun on Etsy and I love the quality of her molds.  

Resin Daisy Earrings

And then there is the simple sphere silicone resin molded flower necklace with matching earrings. 

My first sphere resin molding and vacuum extractions of air bubbles

Matching earrings and pressed flowers and foliage

I had read about sanding resin and gave it a go with this piece.  It gives a sort of cloudy appearance, even with a variety of grits of sand paper at high as 12,000 grit.  It eludes me how artists can sand resin and get a glassy finished surface.  If you know how this is done, please share.  When I was done sanding this piece, I thought it looked like a flower field in fog and went to town wrapping it. 

Flowers in molded resin

 Shifting gears a little bit I made a couple of pieces for Studio V out of an unusual and unlikely component; Elytra  (Sternocera aequis) Beetle shells.  I first saw these shells in a bead store in Wicker Park in Chicago.  The minute I saw the jar full of these shells I thought that I had to find a way to wire wrap them into a pendant or earrings.  I purchased a few grams of the wing bits and then created these jewelry pieces.  

Elytra Beetle necklace

Elytra Beetle Earrings

So, between tube setting, resin and bug shells I am having a great time making new discoveries, all of which involve wire wrapping or wire in some form.  While I have a curious streak for jewelry making, my home base seems to be wire.  

I wish you all a pleasant Thanksgiving. 

~Susan