Today on my workbech, (and soon available in my Etsy shop ;) ) silver, pink Kyanite and Star Rubies... Having waaay too much fun setting stones. :D

And here's the reason it took me so long to make that last post... ;) I've been very 'busy' with the torch and silver over the past week, and have some more pieces on my bench waiting for attention, bere's a peek...The ones you see here are all currently available in my Etsy shop. ;)

Two simple, hammered silver bangles (1.5mm and 2mm) 

Two variations, with Valentine's Day on the brain... ;) 'Two Hearts' and 'Forever Love'

One Garnet and one Labradorite...

Labradorite with smoky quartz earrings.

Labradorite drop earrings.

Smoky quartz drop earrings.

'Alana' earrings, from my hammered silver series, with black pearls.

Small labradorite earrings.

Amethyst drop earrings.

A woven and hammered silver ring...

And a woven and hammered silver ring with a bubble.

A textured silver ring...

And a simple hammered silver ring.

'Love of Sea and Stone' The first in an upcoming series of necklaces and jewellery pieces featuring silver, semi-precious stones, fresh water pearls and silver charms. In this case Garnet, and a hammered silver heart charm. A perfect gift for someone special this Valentine's day. ;)

Busy, busy, busy...Between the post Holiday madness, and onging jewellery experimentations, I realized I hadn't posted an image of the finished angel...So, here she is! :D

She really was a lot of fun to create, and I can see myself making more paintings along these lines, in the same media (ink, pigment markers and white paint pen) on 87½cm x 45cm HDF.

A detail of the finished image...

Detail of the far right of the finished image.

Have you ever had an idea that gets so thoroughly wedged in your brain that it won't let you work on anything else until it's out...? Yyeeaaahhhh...That was my day. So here's a look at my first piece of 2014!


 

It started with an idea, for an angel...I don't know why, I don't usually draw angels, but I have been obsessed with feathers and bird wings lately...

A little more planning and some idea for background...

A few hours later...The 'work police' say it's time to stop for the evening. ;) Ink and archival pigment marker on reclaimed HDF. The plan is to do the highlighting and wings with white paint marker. I'll hopefully finish and post her tomorrow. Wish me luck! ;)

Day number two with my Angel...I started work on the wings this morning...I think I may be a little masochistic,  (leaves, feathers, tons of detail in everything I do...) but I love it. ;)

A little more detail and highlighting...

And this is where I'm going to stop and go for a walk...It's getting to that 'Is this really going to work out...?' stage, where it gets really hard not to just abandon the whole thing....I'll just have to muscle through...

After a lovely (though wet :P ) Yuletide holiday, the storms have finally abated...Though it has given me some time indoors to play with a new sketchbook. All those blank pages, just waiting to be filled...Very Exciting! :D

Just a bit of pen and ink fun on 160g paper. It was inspired by a picture I took while on a walk by the water. For some reason, when I look at those old mooring posts, all I can think of is colonies of water-loving dragons, catching their dinner... The Year of the Dragon may be coming to a close, but I'm sure he'll have many more to keep him company in my sketchbook in the months to come. ;) 

Here's a lovely piece I did for a friend. Walking sticks, canes and staffs are a particularely fun challenge as each one is completely unique to the individual receiving it...

Every detail is hand carved and pyrographed from the top of the staff to the natural, relaxed hand-hold-height  of the recipient. The 'grip' can be wrapped with leather, and inlaid details (such as semi-precious stones/metal etc.) are sometimes added. Laquered for durability, each one is a fully functional work of art, that I hope can be enjoyed for many years...

I've spent the week so far experimenting with silversmithing. The results were pretty good, if I do say so myself...

My first attempt was the one in the middle. A hammered, woven band in 925 silver. (a bit ambitious for a first go, but very fun) The second attempt resulted in the other two, simple, hammered bands, also in silver. (I was playing with textures.) I can definitely see a series of stacking rings, with stones, and other details coming... ;)

My third attempt was an experiment in hammered silver bangle-making. I'm planning on doing a series of these with birthstones...