Must be Related

Week 3's rings for Ring(s) A Week were inspired by my youngest brother and all his teenage glory over the weekend. The rings are made of paper & an internet picture of one of my brother's favorite characters when he was younger.

Week 3 RAW: Comic Rings
(Angry Pikachu image by Beebarb)

If I was a webcomic artist I would draw the panels, but as I'm not here's the back story of gory details. Mostly for me to use as blackmail when he's older, I will say there is a RAW work in progress update at the end of this post.

Me: Hi! How's the homew...interweb chat...?
Bro: (types on compy) Hi, eh..
Me: (looks at blank page) What are you doing for Japanese class?
Bro: (types) ...brb..
Me: uh, is BRB enough time to finish this page? Is your page upside down?
Bro: You're worse than mom
Me: ouch

TV room, sometime after everyone is in bed, almost.

Bro: (walks in) Are done being Mom-ish yet?
Me: (?!!!) Are you wearing a blanket??
leaves, comes back to play video games
Me: So...are you going to be able to get up tomorrow?
Bro: well, technically...(insert speech here)

Finale:

Me: I'm going to bed..(need to walk between tv and bro)
Bro: My concentration can't be broken right now! You don't understand, I've been working on this for 3 weeks!!

*sigh*

As mom said, "Don't you remember being a teenager? I remember too well!"

*ahem* yes...see my desk?

This week friends at work who are doing Ring/Thing A Week have decided to coordinate and make Wednesday our Show and Tell day. As it is almost Wednesday, here is my update as I don't quite have rings made yet!

After debating for the longest time (hey, look at the cool shapes! :D but the cleaning, nooo!) I now have an extruder for my clay. After a lot of fiddling, cleaning, and opening additional packets clay (really? how many ways can 2 caps be screwed onto a pipe for this to work?!) things look promising for the moment. The extruder hasn't quite squeezed its way into the fave tool box...yet, it does have potential.

RAW 2 & 2.5? S'not bad for a week!

For week 2 I ended up playing with the idea of rings. There are rings for fingers, ears, noses, and other places! This is a nose ring can be worn on a finger and has its own nose ring. What I like the most is that it makes people chuckle.

Some people have also said the nose looks like an elephant or a tooth...

This little guy is # 2.5/52. Playing with a ribbon motif, this little guy may end up in a class soon.

Ring A Week - RAW Intention

2010 mini "party animals"

A New Year means time to start a new sketchbook! Though my digital sketchbook has been rather sparse on entries, the intention for more updates on activities this year is here.

Ever get so wrapped up in thinking about the logistics of how something would work, that it feels like all the energy needed to physically make the project has already been spent? Hearing about challenges makes me head straight for my sketchbook, trying to figure things out until suddenly time's up. I think a week is a manageable time frame for me to focus on completing a project. Something more "fun" to feed my inner artist and keep momentum going.

Started last year as Ring A Day, a group of artists on Flikr have a Ring A Week (RAW) photo pool going for this year. The goal is to make a ring every week from materials of your choice & share it with others.


The finished ring turned out a bit more raw than expected. I wanted to showcase the raw materials or unpolished look of silver clay right after firing. As much as seeing them bothered my sense of craftsmanship, the cracks and bumps were left as they were to show some of the metal's previous state of a clay form. The front of the letters were brushed with a brass brush and the edges of the letters burnished to show a bit of the evolution of finishing. The band is made of sterling silver wire.

This ring is my Intention for 2011. To participate more in the metal clay/ jewelry community, teach, and refine my skills as an artist. Other than that, I can't wait to see what other people create!

Blind Faith and the Prodigal Bat

Blind Faith
Star sapphire and laboradorite cabochons set in fine silver with gold accents. The bat's eyes are cubic zirconia.

Batty the bat may be legally blind, but there's a light in him that he can't hide. His "blind" faith keeps him going as explores the unknown with a mischievous grin of his face.

It started out as a competition entry, just to really try and "go for it." The stones themselves are breathtaking. The Challenge was to understand how different types of clay work, and I really wanted build a moving piece. Somewhere along the way, I started relating to Batty the Bat. Or more likely, he started to reflect me.


"There's something that burns within you that attracts people to you, that will take you far."


A friend told me this a couple months ago, along with a couple other observations, and I haven't really been able to let that go. Maybe because I'm more open to listening, putting some faith in myself, and more willing to acknowledge the faith others have in me now then before.


The Prodigal part of the story? Some how Batty & partially completed frame disappeared in the depths of my room for a month. Only my critters would rebel and come back, but I'm glad he did!

Experimenting is Key

Last week someone told me they saw me as a little mad scientist, puttering around and experimenting in my garage...with jewelry. That still makes me chuckle!

So part 2 of my copper clay experiment was adding silver to fired copper.

Art Clay Copper doesn't need carbon to scinter, though the surface of the copper will oxidize, it isn't too bad to remove. The tricky part is the pitting during additional firings for the silver. Guess I'll have to break down & get some carbon to see if that helps prevent pitting if not oxidation in the future. On the good side, the key really does look antique!

Other than that, making a lot of cork things this week.

This week: Working on a couple requests, writing instructions for class, and combating the monstrosity called my desk!

What is your POW?

BAM and POW earrings by Stereoette

Ever have one of those weeks where you have a million and one project ideas, suddenly 2 weeks have gone by without doing a single one? That is what my friends Candace and Leen have been discussing. We all have day jobs and sometimes finding the energy or focus for our art is a battle.
Be it actual projects, an intriguing technique that keeps getting pushed aside, or just tackling a dreaded pile of paper work, just trying get things done. And have fun of course!




Sunday was copper clay play day with Candace. These are pieces made with Art Clay copper. As there are many different copper clays out right now, the neat thing about this clay is that it is premixed, can be fired in about 30 minutes and doesn't require carbon for firing. It does develop a layer of black oxidation, which admittedly still hasn't been cleaned off yet. I like the patina on the key with the stone, most of these are waiting for the addition of silver clay though.

Biff, Bam, WIP-POW!

WIP = Work In Progress
(P)POW = (Pet) Project Of the Week.

Care to join our quest? Leave a comment, the more the merrier!

Comic Con Eye Candy

This past weekend was Comic Con at the San Diego convention center. Among the huge conglomeration of artists, and cosplayers who look like they've just stepped out of a comic book, I found jewelry!

Tammy of Stellanova Jewelry is an illustrator and comic artist. She uses her own illustrations as a focal for her pieces. Often depicting animals, the colors and tiny details of each illustrated cameo are exquisite!

My personal favorite is the jellyfish pendant.

Tara of Magboo jewelry 's Adorable Mayhem collection features small characters like the Bunny ring, which truly are adorable!

I love the concept of the One Carrot ring as it is also playful and fun.

Victorian steampunk costumes were popular with many people. All I can say about these leather pieces by Brute Force is Wow!