Hibernation

Today I stumbled upon this quote:
"It's weird ... you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second ... just so it can hurt a little more."

I am writing this post with that bit of pain. This might not be the end, no one can know that for sure, but it certainly will be a break.
I'm standing here - well, actually I'm sitting in a rather comfy chair with a cat snoring behind me - to represent all of the wonderful people who were part of this blog as authors. This is not a speech at the Academy Awards, so I'll refrain from thanking everyone individually.
I bet you know yourself how it goes sometimes ... life gets in the way and there comes a point when you just have to take a time-out, go into hibernation, call it what you will.

We won't disappear from the surface of the Earth, though. How about coming over to our forum and meet us there?
And who knows, maybe some day when life has calmed down, we might be back here as well.

I don't just want to thank our authors of course, but also you, our readers. It was nice to have you here and we hope you'll keep us in good memory.
Okay, the sheets are on the furniture to keep it from getting dusty, the windows are closed, the oven and the coffee machine are plugged out for now. Time to turn off the light and lock the door.

Goodbye and have a great time ... wherever you are.

Favorite Tool - Borosilicate

My current favorite tool is more of a supply, it's boro glass *swoon*sigh*. I've been playing with it a lot this month and have fallen in love. It's got such etherial colors and something about it has just drawn me in. I stole the above photo from the Glass Alchemy website. I've been using their colors more than others, I like the consistency and I also like that's it's North American made. Plus the owners are just plain wonderful people!

How can you not love this glass? I adore the beads I'm getting with this glass. It reminds me of Double Helix but something bit different, I can't quite put my finger on it yet.

Make it happen

"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside of them was superior to circumstance." - Bruce Barton

Winter Crafts

What is your favorite craft project you've tackled lately?

Care to share a link?

Winter is here and there will be some dark nights perfect for crafting.

Pumpkins and me

The first time I met a pumpkin it was in a small glass bowl. It had been one of the Sunday lunches at my grandparents' place. My grandma was a good Swabian cook. I feel my mouth water thinking back on some of her dishes. My mouth goes dry however thinking of that pumpkin. It was a compote, something I'm not too fond of anyway, it was kind of sweetsour and I hated it. From then on I was sure those things and I would never become friends.

Hand felted pumpkin pin cushion by A Latvian

I was wrong and I found out about that on my first US trip. A first hesitant bite and yup, we were friends. It was pumpkin pie which did the trick. Unfortunately I don't bake, so if any Americans read this, don't let anything keep you from sending me pumpkin pie, thank you very much.
Years later I had to stay at home for a few months after surgery. I didn't quite know what to do with myself after a while and started some experiments one of which was a huge pot of pumpkin potato soup. For someone who is not just no baker, but also no cook, I was impressed with myself and it's still one of my favorite dishes.

Pumpkin bracelet by Melissa Vess

I never took a picture of the first (and only) pumpkins I carved for decoration at my workplace. I didn't have the right tools and the pumpkins were too small, but they shriveled up so fast that they did look pretty spooky after all.

Pumpkins watercolor ACEO by Tweeart

Do you like coconut? It goes pretty well with pumpkins, you know. I have a delicious recipe a friend gave me - pumpkin coconut cake. It doesn't even matter if the roasted coconut flakes get a little too dark. Not that that would ever happen to me *cough cough* Actually that's what I did after I burnt the first batch of flakes ... cough. Oh well. I have talents of my own even if they are rarely seen in the kitchen.

Ok, I gotta go, I have to prepare the pumpkin patch for Halloween. Will you be there to join Linus and me while we'll wait for the Great Pumpkin? ;-)

Studio Goodness

This set of ceramic bells is one of my favorite things in my metal studio. The wind almost always blows out here in Metchosin and these are often making a pretty noise in the window. My inspiration board is one of my favorite things in the glass studio. The clock would be a close second. I have two large inspiration boards that need to go up in the metal studio. I'm always printing, clipping and glueing things up to go on the boards. I have a large collection waiting for the metal studio. Do you have a studio? If so what's your favorite bits of goodness in it?

Fall Colours

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada.  It's one of my favorite weekends of the year.  There are so many good things about it.  Thanksgiving is the peak of the fall harvest.  Fresh fruits and vegetables are plentiful and make for great eating.  Many of us will get together with our families and enjoy a turkey dinner that could end with pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. 

This is also the prime time to see the gorgeous fall colours that we are so lucky to have in eastern Canada. Our maple, oak and poplar trees are showing off bright red, orange and yellow, so it's a feast for the eyes. It's the perfect time to go for a walk in the bush. The leaves crunch underfoot and release the aromatic smell of fall.


Photo by Pierre Bona


Today's jewelry picks are inspired by the season.  With these handmade pieces, you can have a little bit of autumn with you at all times.

Autumn Leaves Handpainted Pendant Necklace by Jewelry Art by Dawn

Fall Harvest Pumpkin Lampwork Pendant by Melissa Beads

Embossed Copper Oxidized Cuff Bracelet by AM Designs by Angela

Autumn Honey Agate Leaf Necklace by BeadSire

Picasso Jasper Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings by Shiny Adornments

All jewelry items featured above were created by members of the Starving Jewelry Artists Team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on ArtFire.

Color

Color. As a glass artist I am blessed by color. The color palette to choose from in glass is endless. If you can find the exact color you want you can always mix it!

Purple has always been one of my favorite colors, I even painted the metal studio walls a rich violet.

What's your favorite color, why? Does it make you smile, sigh, laugh?

Saturday Style: Beachwear

Is there anything as enjoyable as spending and ending a day at the beach?

Thinking of friends in the Southern hemisphere and an end of Summer vacation in Ocean City, Maryland have inspired me to celebrate Beachwear this week.
I am taking the flip-flops, tank tops, sundresses and crop pants on one more trip before putting them away for the Winter.
Beach fashion is fun.
It is comfortable.
It is colorful.
And yes it is stylish.

Why stroll the boardwalk in your shorts and a beach tee when you can throw on a beautiful yet comfortable sundress like this one created by etsy seller GoGothic from Toronto Ontario. 


Own the boardwalk in this cornflower blue sundress.

 Perfect for a day in the sand these handcrafted copper sea star earrings by etsy seller RedBirdJewellry of Dorking England will complement your bikini or your sundress.


Don't forget your jewelry like these textured starfish earrings.

Flip flops don't have to be boring shower shoes. Check out the colorful ribbons and flowers on these by etsy seller PetalnPearlBoutique of Worcester, Massachusetts.  


Fun and funky these bright flip flops will make make your feet as happy as the rest of you.


Don't forget the bag to carry all  your beach goodies in. I love this over sized, strong and beautifully styled tote by etsy seller MeilingSketchbook of Moorpark, California.


Pack up your towel, sunscreen and waterbottle. You are ready for a day at the beach.

This fantastic lampwork necklace by etsy seller MelissaBeads of Colorado reminds me of a day at the beach. Looking at these colors I picture beach umbrellas, kites and surfboards dancing in the waves. 


Vibrant and fashionable beach ball necklace.

At the end of the day get ready  for cocktails and a beautiful sunset by adding a cover to your swimsuit. Consider this powder blue wrap by etsy seller SLCSLC of Great Britain. 

Cover your suit and find a deck, a Margarita and a view of the sunset.





Have you ever wondered?

I have been playing a lot with colors lately. As some people might know, I jumped on the bead looming wagon. There is this computer program you can use to make your patterns, Bead Tool. Boy, I tell you it's addicting. It takes me back to the times when I was sitting in school, listening to one or the other lesson, a piece of graph paper in front of me, doodling away or making colorful patterns by filling out the little squares. I found an interesting article from 2009 about the doodle phenomenon.
That's exactly what I'm doing now, only I'm using a computer for it. It makes it more difficult to chew on your writing tool, true, but then again that's an ugly habit anyway.

Oh wow. I wish I could doodle like that!

Rainbow doodle original watercolor painting by Delinquent Unicorn

You can approach the color question very scientifically. You can use a color wheel, our member Camilla wrote about that here. You can put colors next to each other to let your belly decide what he likes best together. You can go tone in tone or absolutely crazy. You can go by the trend or you can pick blind if you are brave. Playing with color is so much fun.
We had a challenge in our team before. Use a color you don't like (here are the results). We should do that more often, may it just be to push our brain off that one track we usually like to take.

Have you ever wondered what the first humanoid felt like when he mixed two colors together and got a new color? Did he stare in disbelief or did he gather all his friends to show them his or her new trick?
Oh my. I have been rambling, haven't I? Let me show you a few examples of splendid color.

Lampwork beads are always a great example. Look at the soft shimmering colors in these lentil beads. Can you see the subtle rainbow?

Golden Sun lampwork beads by Nicole Valentine Studio

What better to show color than an opal? I could drown in this stone and I'd do it happily (yeah, so I'm a nut for opal, sue me!).

Silver koroit opal ring with gold accents by Rio Rita

Red, orange and turquoise. I admit it that's a color combination I probably wouldn't have thought of. I'm glad someone did, it looks stunning.

Bright turquoise and lampwork necklace by Northern Girl Jewelry

Are you ready now to color up your life? If you are afraid, start with an easy experiment ... mix some cherry and banana juice. Nice, eh?

By Cat's Wire

All jewelry items featured above were created by members of the Starving Jewelry Artists Team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on ArtFire.

Important SJA Forum Announcement.

The Starving Jewelry Artist forum is temporarily down. We have outgrown our current hosting plan and without prior notification the hosting company took it down. We are unable to resume service with the current host without a significant increase in hosting fees...30 times more than we have been paying.

Please bear with us while we sort out this situation. We are looking for a reasonably priced host, which may take a little more time. We truly appreciate all the support our members have given us that has enabled our forum to become the "Largest Jewelry Forum" on the internet. Thank you all for your patience.

We have set up a temporary forum...http://sja-too.proboards.com/index...the url will be updated to starvingjewelryartists.com soon so that members checking in will land on the temporary home.

September 2011 Blog Carnival

Where has the time gone?  It is already the end of September, which tends to be a busy time of year for many of us.  September often signals a return to routines as students are back in school and summer holidays are over. 

September is a busy time of year for many members of the Starving Artists Team too as many members are gearing up for holiday craft shows (yes, already!). 

Some of our members are taking some time to participate in the team blog carnival this month.  This month's topic is:  What is on your mat/workspace?

To see what our team members are working on, please follow the links below to their personal blogs.

Bead Sophisticate

BeadSire

The FamiLee Jewels

Northern Girl Jewelry

Identifying Gems: Describing Color

I may, or may not, have mentioned at some point that I am a Gemologist. What on earth does that mean? Along with a lot of other things, I learned how to put a gem through a series of tests to determine its identity. Because I earned my degree at the Gemological Institute of America, I will be using their terms and descriptions. Other gem labs may use different terms.

The gem identification process separates gemstones by a combination of eliminating options through positive test results. A gemstone needs, at minimum, three positive results. Some require additional testing.

To begin, I describe the color: hue, tone, and saturation. Pigeon's blood red, cornflower blue, and grass green may evoke pretty pictures, but they fail to describe the characteristics if a color in a scientific manner. For that, I turn to a special color wheel and two scales.

The color wheel provides a range of hues to compare my gem to:



Tone describes how light or dark a gem is.



Saturation describes how strong or weak the hue is.



The color description of this stone color can be parsed two ways: Medium dark, moderately strong, slightly yellowish green (tone, saturation, hue). Or, slyG 6/4 (hue tone/saturation).



Next time: transparency.

Saturday Style: Scary Version

Vampire Bat Necklace by MCStoneworks on Etsy

Crisp mornings, advertisements featuring cuddly sweaters, and yellow school buses herald the approaching change of seasons. This is a beautiful time of year in the Northeastern United States. Soon our trees will be bright with shades from gold to scarlet, asters will be blooming and the smell of wood fires will once again become part of our environment. All of these things signal to me that Halloween is near. Halloween is one of my favorite Holidays. It brings out the silly child in me. I love the decorations, the costumes and of course the treats!

Dia de los Muertos dress by ChaoticCouture

Consider this romantic Day of the Dead costume.by ChaoticCouture22 on Etsy. It's amazing pearl encrusted bodice gives it a sugar skull appearance that is enhanced by the designers use of burnt edges. You will be the most beautiful ghoul at the party.

It even comes with a burned red rose bouquet and black lace mantilla style veil decorated with more red roses of course.

Handmade leather mask by Ken Osborne

Take a look at this handcrafted leather mask in fabulous flame colors by Etsy seller kennosborne.  Each of their masks is a unique work of wearable art and will make a most mysterious statement. 


Kennosborne represents a husband (Ken) and wife (Becky) team of artists whose favorite materials include "anything we can get our hands on."

Skeleton arm warmers by LadyLotus

Wear "dem bones" on the outside with these funky arm warmers/fingerless gloves by LadyLotus.  These arm warmers are made from recycled T shirt fabric, projects that didn't turn out the way the Lady wanted them to.  What a great use of material!


Jewelry is a delightful way to add a little scary to your otherwise sedate work attire.  
Vampire bats in black, antiqued brass and verdigris roost in the shop of MCStoneworks on etsy.  Michelle offers an entire verdigris collection that has a dark and mysterious air.
Marvin the Marvelous mummy resides at Fireball Beads by Islandgirl on etsy. He has friends there too. I found tiny ghost beads and a beautiful black cat there too.


Scary or funky, sexy or bold costumes are a delightful way to celebrate the season. 

Marvin the Marvelous Mummy

Who are you going to be for Halloween this year?

Peel me an orange

I'm one of "those" kids although I'm not even a kid anymore. I love fruit, but you'll have to prepare it for me, put little slices on a plate for me, cut it up like my Mom used to when I was a child. One fruit I pretty much gave up on totally is the orange. Wire crochet fingers don't go well with peeling oranges.
It's a shame really. Just thinking about it I can taste the sweetness on my tongue. An orange is an orange is an orange. Can you tell it's almost 2 am for me right now? Great, no way to get to a store and I'm craving oranges. I'm even wearing an orange t-shirt, that however is coincidence.

What could I do to take my mind off .... whoa, wait. You know what'll come next, don't you? Let's go shopping for oranges my way.

Lampwork earring beads by N Valentine Studio
Hold me back or I'll want to eat these like orange drops. What a gorgeous color!

Leukemia awareness bracelet by J 3 Jewelry
What a personal and lovely way of showing someone you support her in her fight.

#3 Orange cubic zirconia ring by TJR Jewellery
Isn't the contrast between the warm orange and the cool silver striking?

Hmm. My craving hasn't gone away, instead I now have a craving for all those beautiful pieces as well.
And now look what else I found. It's obvious, right? This little oriole (by Gill Gallery) got my orange!
If it weren't so cute .... ;-)

By Cat's Wire

All jewelry items featured above were created by members of the Starving Jewelry Artists Team. SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on ArtFire.

A Story of Diamonds: Cutting a Round Brilliant

First, the planner starts with a diamond crystal. The planner decides what is going to happen with the crystal. One stone, two, three, what shape?



The marker then marks where the diamond needs to be sawn or cleaved.



If the diamond is to be cleaved, a kerf (small groove) is cut into the crystal with a laser. Then, some extremely skilled person gets to whack it with a mallet.



The crystal is more likely to be sawn, these days.



The next step is bruting which rounds out the stones and gives the initial cone shape to the pavilions. In this step, two diamonds are used to shape each other. This can be done by hand or machine.



Next, the diamond is blocked. The table plane is cut, and the pavilion mains and crown facets are placed. The brillianteers then add the remaining facets and do the final polishing.



This video shows most of the process:

Go for it!

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

Blog Carnival - August 2011

The Starving Artists Team (SATeam) continues its tradition of monthly blog carnivals. 

This summer season, many members of the SATeam have been travellling during their vacation time, which has inspired this month's topic.  This month, the topic is:  When you travel, what jewelry related stuff do you take with you? 

To find out what our team members do when they travel, please follow the links to their blogs.

Galadryl Designs

Bead Sophisticate

Dianne Karg Baron

BeadSire

J3 Jewelry

Jewelry Art by Dawn


SATeam members create handcrafted jewelry and beads. More information about our team and its current shop owner members can be found at SATEAM.etsy.com and here on ArtFire.

A Story of Diamonds: Marcel Tolkowsky and the Modern Brilliant

The Modern Brilliant was born in 1919 from the mathematical calculations of Marcel Tolkowsky. As a member of a family of Belgian diamond cutters he had a certain interest in making beautiful diamonds. As an engineer, he studied the way light behaves within a diamond and determined the combinations of angles, facet sizes and shapes needed to maximize both the fire and brilliance that a diamond displays.



Fire is the term applied to the spectral colors reflected out of the heart of a diamond. Brilliance is the amount of light returned to the viewer. Sparkle, or scintillation, refers to the combination of these two factors.



He determined that if a diamond is cut too deep or too shallow, light will leak out and the diamond will not be as bright or fiery as it could be. Moreover, the shape and size of each facet is important to the amount of light returned to the viewer.



The Modern Brilliant cut consists of 58 facets, or 57 if the culet is excluded: 33 facets on the crown and 25 (or 24) on the pavilion. Contemporary diamonds are usually cut without a culet.

Tolkowsky's model is the basis of every new round brilliant cut. Over the years, advances in science have allowed us to refine these guidelines into spectacularly sparkly diamonds. Some, like the Hearts and Arrows cut, rely on exacting specifications regarding pavilion and crown angles, table size, girdle thickness, facet sizes, and alignment. Alignment refers to how well the crown and pavilion line up. Perfect alignment is when, at the girdle, the points of the kite and crown facets match up with the pavilion mains and lower girdle facets.



You can see in this next image that the precise cutting is somewhat visible in the finished stone without the special viewer. The red viewer images show that the cut is not exactly perfect, as the hearts are not uniform and the arrows are a little off.



This fancy vivid yellow is a stunning example of excellent cutting by Eight Star, the company that pioneered the Hearts and Arrows cut.



Next time, we see how a round brilliant diamond is made.