Fantasy Flower Brooches, a Few More Pictures

I feel like this blog is turning into a non-stop promotion of my openwork technique.  To dilute it a bit, here are a few more pictures from my latest tutorial, Fantasy Flower Brooches.

How an Artist's Mind Works

During our last trip to Florida, I gathered a bunch of coral pieces on the beach.  I thought I would use them as texture plates and make a necklace similar to one of my Faux Metal Necklaces.  I even came up with a name for this future necklace: Fort Lauderdale.

Here are a few pieces from my newly acquired collection:

Somehow in my design I progressed  towards Openwork (again!), and this is what I finally made based on those coral pieces:

And here is my question.  Would anybody ever suspect any connection between these two pictures if I did not point it out?

Packing and Shipping Supplies

Every so often I get questions about my jewelry boxes and other packing and shipping supplies.

No secrets!  I am happy to share my three favorite on-line companies for these kind of things:

uline.com
papermart.com
packagingsupplies.com

All three of them have a wide variety of packing and shipping supplies and all of them offer good prices.  The quality of the products is about the same in all three companies.  My advice is to compare the products and prices on all three web sites before buying.  Depending on what you are looking for, one of these companies may be able to offer you a better deal.

Big Helper: Alyssa

So, I came to my studio and found my cat - happy as can be - asleep in my photocube.  Took a few pictures of him and spent the next half an hour cleaning up all his fluffy cat hair.  I am sure it will still show up in my pictures for a while...

Clay Fest-Cabin Fever Creative Arts Fest 2015, Jewelry with Openwork Canes Class

A few pictures from my class Jewelry with Openwork Canes:

My Valentine's Day Gift: Anhinga

This is becoming a lovely tradition: for Valentine's day, my husband and I give each other a trip to some nice place.  This year it was Southern Florida and it was a few days before February 14, because I needed to be back in time for my class on February 12. 

We spent some time on the beach in Fort Lauderdale and then camped in Everglades National Park.  I will have to write about Fort Lauderdale later.  Now I just want to show a few pictures I took on Anhinga Trail in Everglades.

Apparently, anhinga is a this amazing fish-hunting bird.  When it is done with chasing fish, it sits on the low branches of the trees by the water.  At first, it looks like a wet black bottle-cleaning brush (it's feathers are not water-proof).

To dry its feathers, the bird spreads its wings like a pterodactyl.  In a few minutes light-grey spots start appearing on its shoulders:

After about 10-15 minutes of drying in the sun, the bird turns into this beauty:

Isn't it amazing?  If I did not took all three pictures by myself, I would not believe that this is actually the same bird!

FCFC 2015: Getting Ready

Getting ready for my class at   Clay Fest-Cabin Fever Creative Arts Fest 2015, I made a few new openwork pendants.  While the ones described in my tutorial are all made in white, this time I am experimenting with different colors and finishes.

I just realized that I actually did not work in this technique since the publication of my Openwork tutorial.  I guess I am too eager to move on to experimenting with the new things...