Purpleshiny Creations

From my computer to paper to metal to paper

2012-01-28T23:13:00.005-05:00

Look at this print! I've finally gotten the hang of transferring designs from my computer to metal, using this tutorial for the laster printer transfer process and the Edinburgh etching method. (The image I used for this example comes from Wikimedia Commons.)

Just being able to replicate computer designs nearly exactly on copper or brass is pretty exciting on its own. But using my trusty pasta machine as a printing press worked just as well as I'd been hoping. So neat!

You might wonder what the point is of printing a design on a laser printer only to transfer it to metal and then print it by hand. Well, I'm a process junkie, so my first answer is "It's just fun, OK?!"

But there are some other reasons. The texture of this kind of print is just different--the metal bites into the paper a bit. There are opportunities to incorporate artsy layering of printed textures by etching a combination of computer designs and designs carved by hand. And if I wanted to, I could use fluorescent inks, glitter-laden inks, or play with inking with multiple colors for a handmade, one-of-a-kind print. All things you can't get from a standard laser printer. Then, when I'm done playing with printmaking, I could turn the copper into some sort of jewelry!

I feel like I suddenly have a whole new world of design and illustration at my disposal. Right now I'm wondering how to combine public domain medieval woodblocks with fractals and abstract shapes. What do you want to see me etch?

Knitting!

2012-01-05T02:36:00.000-05:00

You guys know I knit, right?

I'm currently in the middle of two enormous purple shawls. (One's supposed to be easy and one's supposed to be complicated, but they keep surprising me by being sneakily challenging and simple in unexpected ways.)

I'm not going to post pictures of those, because I have a thing about jinxing projects in progress. But a couple of weeks ago, I snuck a third project in: a snuggly winter cowl.
I improvised the pattern, using a couple of cable motifs from a stitch dictionary along with some quick back-of-the-envelope math to figure out how to put everything together. That kind of crafty engineering is so satisfying for me--there's something deeply rewarding about taking some pretty materials and ideas and convincing them to become a Nifty Thing. And on top of that, I'm really happy with how it turned out. Winter's taken ages to get here, but it's finally reliably below freezing, and the extra warmth around the collar of my coat is definitely welcome.

Please show this necklace to someone awesome!

2011-12-18T20:24:00.001-05:00

This necklace has been waiting for over a year for the right person to find it. I'm not worried about it never being bought--I'm worried that someone who isn't really right for it will buy it, or buy it as a gift for someone who doesn't want it. I can't stomach the thought of it wasting away on some indifferent person's dresser. It should be lit by firelight. It should be worn dancing. It should be bright on the collarbone of someone who loves it.

So if you know someone who loves this sort of thing, or whose friends love this sort of thing, please show it to them! Thank you :)

Bangle

2011-12-16T18:21:00.000-05:00

I made this bangle for myself a few days ago--I want to work on the finish to showcase the contrasting texture better, but I'm pretty satisfied with how it looks! I don't wear a lot of bracelets usually, but this one feels perfect, coordinating with both of the outfits I've worn it with so far. And I'm really happy with the shiny but patina-preserving finish that I can get with my jewelry tumbler! You just put steel shot and soapy water into the machine and leave it tumbling, and it polishes and strengthens the metal. Neat!

Finished commissioned Myst fanart

2011-08-30T18:02:00.001-04:00

First, if you've never played Myst--or even if you have but it's been a while--watch the Myst intro cutscene.

Star Fissure commission by ~rivenwanderer on deviant ART

A fellow Myst fan commissioned me to make a sterling silver rendition of the Star Fissure, based on her excellent digital concept art. It was great to work closely with another artist and Myst fan, and I'm thrilled to say that she's going to incorporate this object into an art project of her own! I can't wait to see the project come full circle, and I'll be sure to show you guys when she's done.

Star Fissure commission detail by ~rivenwanderer on deviant ART

See you on Saturday!

2011-07-29T23:58:00.000-04:00

Just a reminder that either today or tomorrow, depending on when you guys see this--Saturday the 30th--I'll be at the Boston Handmade Marketplace! It's in Union Square from 3pm to 7pm. Union Square is totally bus-able, or it would make a lovely bike ride. Hope to see some of you guys there :)

Exciting news!

2011-06-06T00:40:00.001-04:00

I've been accepted as a new member of Boston Handmade, a group of local crafters who support each other in their endeavors. I've been a fan of their blog for ages, so I'm excited and nervous at the same time to join such awesome artists and entrepreneurs. I'll be writing articles for their blog soon!

ALSO, I'll be vending at Boston Handmade's Summer 2011 Somerville Marketplace, in Union Square. It's happening on July 30th, from 3pm to 7pm. Stop by and see me and my fellow local artists--I'll have shiny things, and there'll be live music!

Etsy shop announcement!

2011-05-31T12:42:00.000-04:00

Hey, remember these shiny pendants? They're now up in the "Gleaming Gears" section of my shop.

I've also listed some copper necklaces with handmade silk cords in the "Ancient Steampunk" section. Two of this style of pendant sold at ISC, and two sold to a coworker, but there are still four left for the shop :)

I'm definitely happy with my lightbox. From now on, I'm going to take nice-looking photos as soon as I finish things, so there's not so much lag between when I make things and when they go online.

Most of my bench time right now has been focused on some custom orders, but I'm also thinking about new jewelry designs. I'm playing with ways to use some of the great gemstones in my stash as well as some of my silver scrap.

What makes me tick: Myst

2011-05-27T15:51:00.011-04:00

(This is the first post in what I hope will be a series about my influences, inspiration, and the artists I admire!)

Replica of Gehn's Crest by ~rivenwanderer on deviantART

This isn't jewelry, though it has some similarities with the wearable things I make. It's a six-inch disc made for a contest on DeviantArt. I joined a group over there that's all about the computer game Myst and its sequels. And I couldn't resist pulling out all the stops and spending my weekend recreating one of the elaborate designs from Riven, my favorite game.

When I first played Myst as a kid, I was dazzled by the revolutionary (for its time) graphics, and by the concept of books that could literally transport you to new places. It was a concept much like the Wood between the Worlds from the Narnia books my mother read to me growing up. And the linking books in Myst provided me with a way to imagine writing my own worlds, and then travelling to them. My sketchbooks filled with doodles of islands, forests, and buildings.

Riven was an experience like Myst ten times over; a world much bigger, grittier, and realer than any fantasy world I'd seen before. Every surface showed the effects of weather, time, and wear; every puzzle existed for a logical reason; every aspect of the ecosystem fit together perfectly; every building bore the mark of its builder. I spent a wonder-filled week playing the game. Then, I wanted to know how it was done; I wanted to create real-feeling worlds like it. I pored over the "making of" video and learned to make my own computer graphics. In the end, I drifted away from 3D modeling, but the lessons about giving objects depth, texture, and a life of their own have stayed with me.

In making things out of metal, my aim is always to create something that feels like a real artifact from an imaginary world. Something that transports the wearer the way that Myst and Riven transported me.

Regaining my sea legs

2011-05-19T11:39:00.002-04:00

Looking at my blog archives, it's been over a month since I worked on a project that required much complex soldering. Now I'm working on a commission that involves a bunch of tiny, multi-step soldering, and it's been great getting back into things. I do love the cold metalwork techniques I use, like sawing, filing, and especially texturing/hammering. But I think I love soldering even more.

I love the nerve-wracking moments where I'm holding my breath to line the solder chips up juuuuust right. The torching, where I first gently heat up the metal, then bring the flame close and fast while praying the little delicate bits of silver and gear will get hot enough to meld with the solder, but not melt into a puddle. The hiss of plunging the newly-soldered piece into the quenching bowl. Turning the newly-fabricated thing over in my hands, tugging at it to be sure the pieces have truly joined. I even love smelling the vinegar working away at cleaning something I've just soldered together, and I normally hate vinegar!

There are a few things about soldering that I can tell I've gotten rusty at over the last month without it. I overheated the back of this little prototype pendant, so there's an unsightly blob of silver on the reverse side. I'll be keeping this pendant for myself for that reason--it's wearable, but not up to my standards for selling. I think that a teeny bit of practice will get my heat control back to its normal form, and I can't wait to do more and more soldering! Yay playing with fire!

EDIT: Some folks didn't realize how tiny the pendant is. Here's a shot with a ruler in it for scale:

My International Steampunk City demo

2011-05-17T00:15:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of Susan Paykin

At ISC, for the first time EVER, I made a pendant from start to finish as a demo for all passersby to watch. I cheated a tiny bit by drilling one hole in the middle of the copper at home, but otherwise, I did all the sawing, filing, texturing, and oxidizing right there on the Waltham common. I sat in a folding chair and used a short four-legged stool as my work surface, with a bench pin clamped to its edge and my adorable little anvil on top of it.

I was really worried that it would rain again on Sunday, but the weather luckily cooperated throughout the demo. It was a little windy, but no rain, thank goodness!

I had a bunch of opportunities to talk to a wide variety of people--some of them steampunk fans (in costume or in regular clothes), some slightly-confused Waltham residents, some curious folks from all around the Boston area who stopped by to check out the spectacle. I realized that I wasn't going to show a fixed group of people the entire process of making a pendant, but would be giving them snippets of progress on the project throughout the afternoon as they wandered the common, taking in the sights (including a blacksmith's shop, high-wheeled bicycles, and a parade!).

Photo courtesy of
Dan Kissam

My spiel was something like this: "Hi! I'm a steampunk jewelry artist, and I'm giving a demo in this lovely weather. Here's an example of a finished pendant I've made. Here's how this one's coming along. The pendant I'm making this afternoon is going to have this Waltham Watch Company watch movement as its focal!" (This spiel would, of course, be modified if I realized that the other person had no idea that there was a festival that weekend, or even what "steampunk" was supposed to mean.) Then I'd talk about the step I was working on, and point out how the finished example was constructed.

Some observations for the next time I give a demo:

The project will take at least 3 times as long as it normally would if I were working alone in my studio, what with all the pausing for conversation and the somewhat unfamiliar workbench setup.
Sunscreen next time I do this outdoors!
More business cards on a stand of their own (so people don't need to stoop to take them)
This time, doing a demo on the common (away from my table in the Watch Factory) was the right call, but anytime my table is less distant from the main hustle and bustle, it'd be better to set up shop closer to my table with finished jewelry for people to look at.
Don't accidentally set up shop along the path of the ENSMB-led parade!
The purple parasol was a great conversation-starter, even though I'm not a parasol-maker. People were pretty amused by my story of bartering jewelry for it at Strowlercon.
Take a photo of the finished product! I sold the pendant immediately after I finished it, and I really wish I'd thought to snap a photo. But it was another piece in the same mode as these guys, which I'll be listing on Etsy as soon as I can get my act together.

After I finished the pendant, I packed everything up into my little shopping cart and walked back to the Watch Factory. I remember feeling an immense joy and gratitude. Joy from the lovely weather, the connections I made with interesting people, and the thrill that always accompanies making things with my hands. Gratitude towards so many people who helped me vend at the convention in big and small ways: Susannah, for putting up with my crazy whirlwind of preparation, being there with me every step of the way for the weekend, and watching the table while I was at the demo; Alex, for driving me and my stuff there; C for playing her fiddle on Saturday afternoon; Jer, for carrying my folding chair from the demo to the Watch Factory; Susannah's parents for driving us home. I really felt like, in spite of the stress and the hard work, that undercurrent of purple-tinted enthusiasm was still with me after all. Such a marvelous feeling!

Now if only I can recover from this cold quickly and build on this momentum!

Why I sold off a pile of cool supplies for almost nothing

2011-05-16T15:58:00.002-04:00

At almost the last possible minute, I decided to bring something unusual (for me) to International Steampunk City: a box of watch parts and other supplies to sell to steampunk fans on a pay-what-you-like-or-can basis (which worked out in the end to an average of 45 cents per thing--almost certainly less than I paid for most of the bits in the box). Read on for why it made sense for me to get rid of a huge swath of my carefully-accumulated stash.

The impetus for this destash was me realizing that some of my supplies were not quiiiiiite right for me.

In the time since I acquired them, I've been moving my jewelry away from assembling existing bits together in novel ways, and towards metalwork pieces that I fabricate myself, with watch parts incorporated the way one might incorporate gemstones or wire filligree.

An earlier necklace of mine
from my pre-metalsmithing days

A new necklace of mine,
available on purpleshiny.etsy.com

This distinction may only make sense in my head, but it's a big deal to me. This is the way of making jewelry that I find really exciting and fulfilling--and there's a narrower range of parts that I'm interested in incorporating this way. Life is too short for supplies that don't light you on fire with inspiration! Once I realized this, I knew I needed to move a lot of my stash out from my workshop as efficiently as possible. I wanted to free up both physical and mental space so that I can focus on the components that fill me with joy (and that touch of slightly-fearful awe that propels me to improve my craft to be worthy of my materials).

The deeper reason for bringing the box of supplies to the festival was that I wanted to connect with other makers and tinkerers. It's no secret that I like geeking out about making things! And what better outlet for unwanted parts than folks who are dying to get their hands on that sort of thing and build something cool with them? I was so happy to give people a chance to sift through a box of interesting stuff that I knew they could use.

I hope that some of the 30 or so folks who took supplies home with them will speak up in the comments section! Tell me about the projects you're thinking of, or link to pictures of any work-in-progress or finished contraptions. I know I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Indoor photography

2011-05-13T18:30:00.000-04:00

I'm still trying to clean up my living room and studio after the chaos of last weekend's con... but I managed to clear off the secondary studio table and construct a primitive lightbox. A lightbox is something for diffusing and reflecting light for getting better macro photography. There are plenty of online tutorials for making them (the one I made was similar to this or this). I also started exploring some of the manual settings on my digital camera (it's a Canon Powershot A610).

I still haven't figured out the best combination of settings, and I'm thinking of switching to a more neutral background--but as you can see, it's possible for me to take clear, adequately-lit photos with my camera and this lightbox. That means I can take Etsy photos without regard for the time of day or the weather! This makes the idea of working through my backlog of jewelry to list it a bit less intimidating.

To all who stopped by at International Steampunk City

2011-05-08T23:03:00.002-04:00

Thanks so much to those who stopped by my table and my metalworking demo. It was so great to meet such cool steampunk fans--I'm honored that some of you bought my jewelry, and I hope that my demo was informative. And welcome to any new readers just encountering my blog for the first time! Tomorrow, I'll make a more substantial post about the weekend, but I wanted to kind of jump up and down and wave and grin at everyone one more time before I fall over and catch up on sleep :)

OH! If you have any pictures of me, my table/demo, etc, please email them to me or put a link in the comments or something, OK?

Can I get there by Candlelight? (Finding me at International Steampunk City)

2011-05-06T21:34:00.002-04:00

You can reach International Steampunk City from the Boston area by public transportation! Here's one way to get to my table via bus and a bit of walking:

View Larger Map

Once you get to the Watch Factory, there should be signs to point you towards the vendor area.

Final outfit for International Steampunk City!

2011-05-06T20:03:00.002-04:00

There are a bunch of neat little details in this costume that I'm really proud of.

The back:

I laced through safety pins with stretchy cord to give the vest a more fitted shape. The folded fabric looks kind of awkward in this photo, but it's not really so strange in person. The silk of the vest is reinforced underneath with strips of felt. The gears really are ones I "just happened to have lying around my workshop", which makes me feel almost like an authentic steampunk person or something :p

I embroidered a couple of swirly/gear designs on the front:

Hope to see some of you at the convention! Look for my table in the back half of the vendor area in the Watch Factory. I'm also hoping to do a demo on the common on Sunday in the early afternoon, making a big, textured copper pendant using a Waltham Watch Company watch movement :)

Making purple frames

2011-05-02T01:07:00.012-04:00

I'm going to write a bit about the process of making some jewelry display frames for my International Steampunk City table. At first I thought this would be a tutorial, but I kept improvising things and running out to CVS for a stapler and changing my mind about what fabric to use, so I realized it wouldn't be a great how-to. Instead, I'm just going to show some pictures I took, and talk about what I did and what was going through my head while I was working.

The plan was to make some display stands similar to this tutorial, but using a coarsely-woven fabric instead of mesh for better visual contrast. I started with some pictures in frames from the local Goodwill. I removed the pictures from them and glued some shaky joints to shore them up. It was a nice sunny day and I'd just come home from brunch, so I decided to work outside in the back yard.

I wanted to mimic the faux-gold effect that some of the frames already had, but with purple, by painting a dark purple undercoat and then adding metallic purple highlights. I used the acrylic paint I had lying around from my mural-painting undergrad days. I like acrylic paint because it dries quickly, and in this case the fact that acrylic dries to a very dark color was desirable. As I got to work on the base coat, I noticed that the paint had a tendency to clump between the shapes on the frame, so I paid special attention to brushing those areas to avoid this.

While I was painting this undercoat, I thought a lot about purple. I realized that purple isn't just my favorite color--it's also a kind of metaphor or shorthand for my enthusiasm and excitement about things. It's why I'm so happy when I've recently redyed my hair and have random spots of purple on my arms. It's why I named this jewelry thing Purpleshiny--it's something I can always talk about with joy, and if there isn't that undercurrent of enthusiasm in what I'm doing, I'm Doing It Wrong. Lately, as I've been prepping for this show, I've felt a bit like my nearly-empty tube of purple acrylic paint--hoping that there's enough of me to go around, to make everything splendid. But there was enough purple paint for all of the frames, and I hope there's enough of my time, energy, and enthusiasm to get me ready for and through the show.

I also thought a bit about reuse and repurposing, which I do a lot of in my jewelry as well as in this project. Who am I to take watch parts and make them into some kind of earring? Who am I to take a frame someone else has already painted and paint over it? I don't know, but a part of me hopes that one day someone finds my repainted frames and says, "These will be perfect if I paint them green!"

Anyway, then I mixed a very shiny batch of paint for a highlight/topcoat--it was a mixture of purple paint, silver paint, iridescent white paint, and two kinds of interference powder--one metallic and one iridescent. I used a mostly-dry brush to apply it glancingly to the frames, so that the highlight only touched the raised areas. This is a lot like an effect I used for clouds in several paintings in my dorm. My mural-painting past seems to have prepared me well!

Then came the part where I attached fabric to the frames. This meant I got to attack the backs of the frames with a stapler. I didn't get any pictures of that part, but it was really fun. I haven't wielded a stapler in several years, and I'd forgotten how satisfying the kaCHUNK of the staple going into the wood is. Also, I now know to only use frames made from soft wood in the future. One of the four frames was made from some kind of hard wood that staples and nails couldn't go into, so I used glue and tape instead. Seems like it might be less reliable, but I think it'll hold.

I'm so excited to have these frames to display jewelry! I know my copper pieces usually look best on a light background, and I'm glad I figured out a way to incorporate awesome purple colors while still using a light-colored fabric for the background. I still need to figure out a way to prop the frames upright, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Mechanical Typewriter Giveaway

2011-04-27T16:45:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, as I was first learning about the steampunk aesthetic (discovering great artists like Datamancer), I briefly became obsessed with turning a mechanical typewriter into a musical instrument. (Something more melodic and standalone than the Boston Typewriter Orchestra.) My plans ranged from using digital sensors and synthesizers to rigging up some kind of pulley and chime system. Suffice it to say, my interests and skills have since wandered in another direction, and I'm trying to let go of plans that clearly aren't meant for me.

Since I'll be surrounded by steampunk fans when I'm at International Steampunk City, I thought it would be a good place and time to try to find a new, loving home for this cool piece of machinery. So during the convention, I'm giving it away for free. It'll go to the first interested person with good intentions for the typewriter who shows up at my table and asks for it. My booth will be located in the Waltham Watch Factory building, right next to the festival's opening ceremonies and many exciting performances. I'm not going to let anyone put a claim on it ahead of time--just show up!

If you're interested in it, there are a few things you should know: First, the condition it's in. It's missing its ribbons (so you can't type with it right now), it's dusty inside and out, and some of the keys stick (but no parts are missing as far as I know). I suspect that Cambridge Typewriter could clean and repair it, but I claim no knowledge of typewriter mechanics, and it's possible it won't be simple to restore to perfect working condition. Second, it's pretty heavy. A cart or dolly of some kind would be ideal, but carrying it a short distance to a car (pausing frequently to set it down and rest) would probably work too. Please don't plan to walk miles and miles carrying it in your bare hands!

PS: While I was writing this post, I discovered that Cambridge Typewriter has an active blog about the machines and goings-on in the shop. Some of the typewriters pictured are absolutely stunning, like finely-restored vintage sportscars. I could really get into typewriter collecting if I had more space in my apartment!

A peek at my costuming for International Steampunk City

2011-04-25T17:27:00.003-04:00

I took a break from metalwork this weekend to think about my costume for International Steampunk City. I hadn't really been planning to dress up much--just a skirt and stripey socks or something. But then I realized I could make some purple steampunk modifications to a men's vest I picked up at the Garment District a month or two ago. And a vision of an outfit sort of spiraled out from there. Here's a glimpse of how it's going--the most exciting modifications are still in the works.

I still have a night or two more to go on the outfit as a whole, but it's pretty exciting. And planning to dress up is changing how I'm thinking of vending, too. Rather than some kind of trial or ordeal, I'm starting to think of vending as a party I'm throwing in celebration of the almost-two-years I've been doing this metalsmithing stuff. With decorations, costumes, maybe even party favors :)

I don't do a lot of sewing and embroidery normally, but I'm figuring it out. I keep thinking of The Tailor of Gloucester as I stitch and monitor my supply of purple thread--hopefully my housemate's cat won't hide the last bits from me!

I'll definitely post photos of the finished costume, hopefully a few days from now.

Bwahaha! A pile of shinies!

2011-04-17T15:32:00.003-04:00

These don't have much story to go with them, but they look so awesome that I don't care. Heeheehee. So that's TEN pendants, most with gemstones and a couple without. There's amber, turquoise, garnet, malachite, labradorite, and carnelian in here. I'm contemplating doing a couple more with larger amethysts in the middle, too.

Hmm, I should make improving my light box (for taking nice photos in the basement studio) a priority after ISC. When I've just completed something, I'm so full of amazement at what I've done, so proud that I've managed to wrestle some scraps of metal into the shape and finish that I wanted, that I'm eager to take photos. It's like, I don't know, taking pictures of your favorite kitten or something--so much fun you can't even fathom not wanting to do it. When I save up new pieces to take a ton of pictures on a sunny day, that's when it feels like a chore. Good to know!

Oh, and ISC had some kind of website problem. Their website is now here: International Steampunk City Waltham.

Victorian jewel beetle wings

2011-04-13T18:30:00.000-04:00

I recently read about the restoration of this Victorian dress, which is covered with real beetle wings. It grabbed my interest because I've been using beetle wings in my jewelry for quite some time--looking at my Flickr log, since at least March of 2008. I love their brilliant, iridescent colors, and their feather-lightness makes them perfect for earrings. So it was really cool to learn a bit about an important piece of fashion history that also incorporated the same kind of beetle wings over a hundred years ago.

A new continent

2011-04-12T23:45:00.002-04:00

I started out online in Myst fandom. And for me, it wasn't just about the games and books--it was about worldbuilding. Imagining Ages of my own; filling journals with detailed plans and maps and sketches; rendering them in Terragen or Blender. Making islands in my head and on my computer. I haven't actively worked on digital worlds in a long time, maybe because working as a programmer makes me want my hobbies to take me away from the screen. But I still love the idea of making worlds, and try to work it into my metalwork whenever I can.

Yesterday, I tried out my new crucible by melting down scrap and pouring it onto salt to make a textured silver blob; tonight, I sawed that blob in half, so that the interesting half can be soldered onto something. Something maplike, probably. I don't know exactly what it'll be; the sharpie doodles on the copper in the picture are just the visual equivalent of thinking out loud. But the silver reminds me of a continent rising out of the water, and it makes me so very happy to be building islands again.

Oh, and I'm also feeling nicely productive about making more of those shiny gear pendants for International Steampunk City! I'm waiting on a polishing attachment to come in the mail before proceeding, but I'm done with all the soldering for all of these:

Gears and malachite

2011-04-07T12:55:00.000-04:00

After that huge, ornate no-solder compass pendant, I felt like doing something in the opposite direction last night--something smallish and simple, very glossy, involving soldering. So I put this together from some bits I had lying around the bench. Maybe it would be good for someone with a more minimalist-leaning love of steampunk at ISC.

I realized that I'd unwittingly echoed one of my very first metalwork pieces, which also features a brass gear, malachite, and soldering:

I made that pendant on the right during the same class where I made my Hello World ring. The intensive weekend introduction to metalsmithing I took at CCAE in the summer of 2009 was really the start of all this. Seeing that it was possible to solder gears onto metal was pretty exciting! But unlike my Hello World ring, this pendant isn't something I wear proudly to remember the start of my metalsmithing adventures--it neither feels like something that goes with my current wardrobe, nor like a good representative of my techniques. I'm probably going to take it apart and recycle the silver, so I thought I'd take this picture and write a bit about it in order to have a record of my second-ever piece of metalsmithing.

New finished pendant: Copper clockwork compass

2011-04-04T15:23:00.001-04:00

I'm really proud of this one. Yes, it's kind of enormous (the piece in the center is an inch in diameter), and maybe the cutouts don't show up as much as overlays in a contrasting color would've--but now I know with certainty that I can make a complex, interesting piece to hold a watch movement without soldering. My current torch doesn't have the output to heat pieces this big, and while I want to upgrade to something hotter someday, I'm so glad that I can showcase these little mechanisms right now, in time to make things for International Steampunk City. And if I wind up giving a demo at ISC in a space where I can't use a torch, I'll probably make something like this.

This design and the textures make me think of an airship navigator with a mysterious device to help her steer even when storms and fog are obscuring everything. It's definitely a statement piece--it says "why yes, I do know where I'm going, thank you very much". I have more ideas for variations on this theme--earrings, smaller pendants, pendants in different shapes, different things as centerpieces, etc. I can't wait to make them :)

Directions

2011-04-03T00:13:00.001-04:00

(This is a compass-themed pendant I'm working on. Seems fitting for a post about the directions I want to take my work!)

So, for the longest time, I've been thinking of the things I make in terms of setting. I imagine other worlds--anything from a glimpse of a place that's a little different, a past that never, was, to a fully-mapped-out fictional universe. And I imagine my pieces as artifacts of those worlds--as products of the culture, geography, and mythology of the place. Almost as though they were exhibits in a museum about the worlds I've imagined.

But things are shifting around a bunch in my head. I'm starting to also think about my pieces in terms of character. Still a product of imaginary places, but designed with people in mind--both the real people who end up buying and wearing my jewelry, and imaginary awesome characters living in fictional worlds. People with cloaks and walking sticks; people on quests; people with secrets and maps and destinies.

How will this shift in perspective change the way I work? I'm not sure yet--but my hope is that I'll make pieces that feel more wearable and are easier for people to connect with, to imagine themselves wearing on their own quests. But even if it doesn't change any outward facets of my jewelry, it's changing my process. It's making me more excited about getting things made and in the hands of cool people, and I'm finding more time to go into the basement studio and do stuff. I'm getting inspired by characters I find in books and visual art. So--more finished pieces ahead! And more exciting ideas popping into my head. (Are people interested in seeing more pictures from my sketchbook?)

If you're an artist, how has the way you think about your art changed over time?

Update on those earrings

2011-04-01T00:04:00.000-04:00

Here's how one of those pairs of earrings I was working on last night turned out:

Tools

2011-03-31T01:22:00.001-04:00

I got a box of tools and sheet metal in the mail!

First, I want to show off this adorably tiny vise. Shown with a Sharpie next to it for scale:

Isn't it so cute? I'm not entirely sure what it'll be good for yet, but it was about $5 and seems like it'll come in handy at some point--maybe for very small-scale fold-forming, or just as a "third hand" for holding things I'm working on once in a while.

I got a melting crucible that looks something like this:

I've tried salt casting before, and there are several other kinds of freeform casting that I'm also interested in trying and incorporating into jewelry. This crucible will help me play with molten silver more safely. And since silver prices keep going up, I'm really liking the idea of being able to recycle every bit of sterling scrap into more art.

The other tool I'm really excited about is this soldering tripod.

The tripod supports a mesh, which supports the piece of jewelry, and you can point your torch at it from above or below. Notice how there are 4 pieces on the screen? This tripod means that I can solder groups of pieces in batches rather than one at a time--really good for simple things that benefit from a miniature production-line approach (like a few pairs of earrings that I want to be identical).

Here's how the earrings I started are shaping up so far, prior to patina, polishing, and adding earwires:

I'm making them with the International Steampunk City festival in mind.

Interdisciplinary metalsmithing

2011-03-20T21:53:00.002-04:00

Something that I love about metalsmithing is that it's possible to incorporate many other crafts into it. My friend Danielle uses metalwork to showcase her handmade glass beads; I use my sewing skills to make silk necklace cords; and my favorite art blogger, Daily Art Muse, keeps posting really great combinations of metal and other materials (like leather!). My newest idea is to etch copper plates, pull prints from them using my pasta press, and then turn the copper plates into jewelry. I've enjoyed printmaking in the past, both with my pasta press and with linoleum blocks, and I'm really happy to have found a way to tie it into my metalworking.

I've taken the first step this weekend by trying out electrolytic copper etching. It seems to have worked well on my test pieces; now I just need to perfect an image transfer process (or come up with some designs I can make on metal by hand). I've had a lot of fun researching the history of etching on Wikipedia--and I learned a lot about how one can turn an etched plate into ink on a page. Much better to look to old handmade processes than reinvent the wheel!

New pendant, and the process of making it

2011-01-10T13:29:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, I designed and made a new pendant:

I also photographed most of the steps involved and the tools I used. I've put them together into a slideshow! I hope you enjoy this insight into my process.

Peering ahead: Not-Resolutions for 2011

2010-12-30T15:59:00.002-05:00

I really don't like the practice of making New Year's resolutions.

They're too big, usually made with a lot of self-directed frustration, and mostly expected to fail--but to cause angst and guilt when they fail. Bleh.

So why would I write a post about 2011 now, when people are making New Year's resolutions next and right? Well, I've got so many ideas in my head for gently shifting my life and my art in a better direction, and I'm tired of keeping them in. But these aren't resolutions, I swear.

I've got a redesign in my head for purpleshiny.com--I want to turn the site inside-out. Rather than a portfolio site with a blog inside one section, I want the blog to be the focus, with a portfolio off to the side. I'm hoping to install Wordpress or something similar. It'll be awesome. I'm planning this because I think that I'll want to talk more about what I'm working on. I've got a phone that takes better pictures now, so showing as well as telling is going to be even easier.

In the past few months, I've been working on the whole work/art/life-balance thing. And while I'm not there yet, I can see a better sleep schedule--which means a better work schedule--which means more sanity and time for working with metal--shaping up on the horizon. I can't wait to get there :)

I've found a bunch of convention art shows and vending rooms to bring shiny things to during the first few months of 2011. And if I can get through my hangups about producing shiny things "just" to sell them--if I can be OK making things using skills I'm already comfortable using, in styles I know look good, rather than holding myself to the expectation to make something new at every turn--I think I'll be able to bring really amazing, beautiful artifacts to a lot of people. This is simultaneously scary and exciting, but I'm focusing on the exciting for now!

One of the most exciting things I'm looking forward to working on this upcoming month is making jewelry themed around the collection "Steam-Powered", a lesbian steampunk anthology coming out at the end of January! I have a digital ARC and it's full of awesome stories of copper and quartz and romance :)

Not finishing NaNoCraftMo

2010-11-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, I got sick with a fever and a cold after I was already behind on my self-imposed goal--there's no way I can catch up now that November's almost over. I'm going to just move on now--to making awesome stuff, but without worrying about how what I make fits into my categories and goals! It sounds kind of freeing, actually :) I can't wait to play with foldforming more.

November, Week 2

2010-11-11T20:29:00.001-05:00

Well, here's my NaNoCraftMo progress so far: 5 pairs of foldformed earrings.

(You can see pictures of the rest of the pairs here on Flickr.)
At 11/30 days, I'm at 5/28 pieces, and haven't done any "reach" ones yet... so I'm a bit behind. But I can feel my creative drive charging up, and I'm hoping to sprint ahead soon!

In the meantime, I'm going to give you guys a tour of my workspace! It's a little crazy, but it's the perfect kind of space for me to work--everything's in arm's reach, and since I don't share the space with anybody, I always know where something is. It's certainly changed since I first set it up in April.

Here's an overview of the space, from the basement stairs:

You can see that there's a window for ventilation when I open it, and I've put in a bunch of lighting (very good for both morale and ability to see detailed bits of metal).

Starting at the rightmost part of the work area, here's my awesome old sewing machine:

I use this for making silk necklace cords and gift bags.

Next is the newest addition to the space, a rectangular table with storage space underneath:

The table surface is sometimes a workspace for light-duty stuff like wirework, and sometimes a place for photographing new things. Right now the components of my lightbox are not in use:

Moving to the left, here's the soldering area:

It's a very sturdy wooden table. The surface is protected from my torch by the combination of a metal tray and a fireproof ceramic tile. The crockpot is for warming a solution of vinegar and salt called a pickle, which is used to clean oxides and flux from recently-soldered pieces.

Next is the workbench:

The workbench was in the basement when my housemate bought the building--lucky for me! It's quite sturdy, and I do my hammering, drilling, stonesetting, and polishing here. Since this area has so many functions, it's the most cluttered area.

Here's a view of the drawers under the workbench:

You can see a little shelf with my beads, stones, and a few books, and sturdy wooden drawers above that. In theory, my hammers and pliers and other miscellaneous tools and supplies mostly belong in here.

But instead, they're usually found within arm's reach on my workbench instead :)

This tour is part of the Aspiring Metalsmiths blog carnival. Here are some other great workspace tours:

All Wired Up Jewelry Designs - http://allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Brandy, The Frogs Pond - http://thefrogspond.wordpress.com/
Carole Axium - http://www.caroleaxiumdesigns.com/journal/
Clarity, Scrollwork Designs - http://www.thesquarepegnation.blogspot.com
Esmeralda, SilverBlueberry - http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/
Golden Water Creations - http://www.goldenwatercreations.blogspot.com
Heather, Misty Ridge Designs - http://mistyridgedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jessica Lopour - http://www.abellablue.com/blog
Joy - http://joypeckjoy.blogspot.com/
Nancy Creations - http://nancysjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
Stacy (Form and Funktion) - http://formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/
Steph Stargell Designs - http://stephstargell.com
Sylvia Anderson - http://www.SylviaAnderson.blogspot.com
Gloria of Hemlock Hollow: http://gloria-hemlockhollow.blogspot.com/
Julie A. Mauerer of jamauerer: http://jamauerer.blogspot.com/2010/11/i-just-remembered-i-have-blog.html
Lisa at Sandy Toes Jewelry: http://sandytoesjewelry.blogspot.com/

NaNoCraftMo!

2010-10-26T21:48:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in NaNoCraftMo starting in just a few days! The idea is to do something with your craft that's akin to NaNoWriMo--something far-reaching and challenging. Setting a specific goal is up to the crafter, since different crafts work so differently. So I've put a lot of thought into my goal and come up with something that I think is ambitious, but doable if I work at it.

I am going to make a series of pieces themed around my as-yet-unnamed spacefaring alchemists universe. (Hopefully it'll have a name by the end of the month!)

My goal is to make 28 pieces, broken down by difficulty:
4 boundary-stretching journeyman pieces
8 moderately-difficult
16 either easy or prototype (pieces where I try a new technique--they still need to be functional/wearable and not scrap)

If I wind up making more difficult pieces and fewer easy ones, that would still count towards my goal; making fewer difficult pieces and more easy ones would not.

The numbers work out nicely to have a 1/2/4-piece weekly subgoal, and I'm planning to blog at least weekly about my progress. Wish me luck once November starts!

Exciting and new things

2010-09-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

I've made a bunch of stuff lately that I'm proud of! Hooray! I had a bit of a lull, but I feel like I've gotten my mojo back now, which is always good.

Firebird pendant:

The idea for this all came to me in a flash on Saturday, and I ended up making all of the pendant part right away. Made the cord last night and tonight.

Something purple and shiny for myself:

I've since re-hung this from a purple silk cord, since the neckwire was a bit small for me and the silk looks nicer. This is using that new-to-me style of stonesetting. I only wish I'd cut the border of the copper circle with some kind of interesting pattern or something.

Some silver pendants:

These are notable because I made some things in silver without freaking out about OMG, using SILVER. It was good to just plan them out and execute them. Setting 6mm stones is not my favorite thing, though. I'm hoping to set some bigger stones this upcoming week.

Tried a new-to-me technique involving molten metal!

You put some scrap silver into a hollowed-out chunk of charred wood, and pour it onto salt. Texture ensues. I tried to solder it onto a ring, but it desoldered the ring in the process :( Maybe I can convince someone it's supposed to be split like this? (In reality I'll likely try to resolder it together..)

All of these things are destined for my table at StrowlerCon, with about a 50/50 chance of going in the Quincy store or in my etsy shop if they don't sell at the con.

A part of me wants to do even more elaborate, expensive things between now and then... and part of me is like "dude, you know nobody wants to spend more than like $10 on anything, ever, make tons and tons of the cheapest things possible from your current materials". I hope I have the time and energy to do some of both. I'll probably dig into my bead stash and make some quick things using techniques that are fairly boring to me but should make nice results--and then set some of my magnificent cabochons (rainbow obsidian! labradorite! amethyst!).

I love having a sewing machine in my jewelry workspace

2010-06-20T14:00:00.004-04:00

I was beginning to wonder what kind of packaging I could use at Mass Craft Market... the thought of scouring the local stationary shops for something both reasonably-priced and pretty was not appealing to me. Then I had an idea! I found some large art paper I had lying around, cut it into rectangles, and sewed them together to make purple shiny jewelry envelopes:

If you have any experience using a sewing machine, this is a straightforward project. Remember to keep the needle down when you're turning those 90-degree corners! I took to sewing a pile of them without trimming the threads, then working through the pile doing the trimming--it felt more efficient that way.

I made three sizes--one for earrings, one for pendants, and one for more elaborate necklaces.

To close them when they have jewelry (and a business card) in them, I'll just fold the tops over and secure with tape or a cute sticker.

I like it when I can put my miscellaneous craft knowledge to good use like this. These bags say much more about me than something from a stationary store would have!

I also sewed silk necklace cords for some pendants I'm working on:

Gearing up for Mass Craft Market

2010-06-20T03:37:00.000-04:00

My housemate theyellowhobbit and I are going to be sharing a table at Mass Craft Market next Sunday, June 27. I've been busy at work making new things! Some of them I'm keeping under wraps until the craft fair itself, but here's a preview of the kinds of things I have in the works:

I should have more hammered copper shawl pins, some with bezel-set stones:

And I've figured out a new method of transferring the shape of gears onto copper:

If you're in the Boston area, come check out Mass Craft Market next weekend!

New tools and new pieces

2010-05-16T19:17:00.000-04:00

The MIT Radio Society hosts a monthly swapfest, so I went there this morning to see if I could find any useful metalworking tools. And indeed I did!

These tools will be a lot of help to me in forming and texturing metal. And I got them for a great price. It was definitely a worthwhile trip!

I've also finished some more pieces and listed them in the etsy shop, including something shiny and purple (finally!)

Things made in my very own studio!

2010-04-12T01:19:00.000-04:00

Hair stick/shawl pin, given as a gift (may make an appearance in the shop as a "one much like this can be made to order" item (yes the gift recipient is ok with it :) ))

Detail:

The first post earrings I've ever made (currently in the etsy shop)

Earrings made this evening, claimed by Susannah (potentially also going to be a made-to-order Etsy listing)

I'm so so so excited to be making things in my own space!

New shiny workspace

2010-04-11T00:42:00.000-04:00

I've switched from renting studio space to working in my basement with my own tools! I'm so excited to have my space right downstairs from me. Today I made a pair of earrings, and it went very smoothly.

I'm planning for more regular updates to this blog as I work on new stuff downstairs. Definitely more process photos and descriptions of how I make the things I make. I have fresh batteries in my camera and everything. Stay tuned!

(Mostly) successful time at Arisia!

2010-01-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

I say "mostly" because I think I may have come away from the weekend with some kind of con crud (probably a cold). But I did better than I'd expected at the art show, and then made another sale on Etsy as a result of someone viewing my work at the con. I'm planning on transitioning from renting studio space to working in my own basement during the month of February; making these sales means that I'll be able to afford more tools of my own sooner, and hopefully there won't be much downtime while I piece together a metalsmithing setup of my own! This weekend I'm hoping to do at least a preliminary clean of the basement workbench area. I'm planning on posting "workspace in progress" photos as I collect tools and organize my materials so that readers can get a glimpse into how and where I work.

Learning

2010-01-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

I'm not entirely sure how to articulate this, but biking home from metalsmithing in the freezing cold last night made me feel fantastically alive.

I'm learning more and more metalsmithing techniques and concepts and gaining confidence in my abilities to execute them; I'm making things that I see as a fusion of the metalsmithing world and the assembly jewelry I was working on before; watching copper glow bright red from my torch and shift on the flowing solder is a pure, elemental rush. Likewise, I'm immensely proud of myself for bicycling in such extreme cold, and surprised and delighted at the muscles that can suddenly Do The Right Thing when I want them to. After only walking and taking public transit for so long, a bike really gives me a new feeling of freedom-of-place. And it's fun to go so fast!

I know that at some point my rate of metals-related learning will stop accelerating, my bicycling-related fitness improvements will plateau. But I hope that I'll retain the feeling of hungrily racing forwards, able to smoothly and competently go wherever I can imagine.

I'll be at the Arisia art show this weekend! I can't wait :)

Winter

2009-12-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the winter craft fair at the Washington Street Art Center. I sold several pieces, but most of them were older work that I'd marked down. So operation "put new awesome work on Etsy" can proceed! Last night I finished editing and picking out photos, and today I'll be gradually listing things.

I'm really liking how my most recent batch of photos cleaned up. Still need a better lighting setup so I don't have to tweak the brightness/exposure levels... that would really save time.

I'm glad that I'll have a bit of a breather to just make cool stuff for a while--no in-person sales scheduled between now and the Arisia art show. I've got a couple of commissions for friends to work on, and some neat ideas in my head. Selling things in person is fun, but I'd rather be in the studio!

Gearing up for open studios! And a craft fair!

2009-11-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

OK, so Joy Street Open Studios are this weekend! I'm in studio #19.

In anticipation of this, I've tried to make a bunch of cool stuff to show off.

I had business cards printed, and they showed up yesterday. I'm really happy with how they turned out:

I did the design myself using Inkscape, with help from some vector art found at Open Clipart. Hooray for open-source software and resources! I used a vertical format so that I could also punch holes in the cards and display earrings on them.

In two weeks, I'll be vending at the Washington Street Art Center craft fair. In addition to my stuff, I'll have a basket of yarn and roving made by my housemate, aka theyellowhobbit.etsy.com. I designed a business card for her last night, and I'm pretty happy with how it came out, especially since I made the image of the drop spindle from scratch:

And speaking of yarn, I've started knitting this amazing shawl (using this English translation of the pattern). I'm about 30 rows in. At first I thought it would be way too difficult, but it's actually fairly easy now that I've worked out how to read the pattern :) I'll post pictures when I'm a little father along. I've also started a spinning project, but it's on semi-hiatus while I try to make the shawl before the winter starts getting cold in earnest.

Exciting texturing!

2009-10-25T18:09:00.000-04:00

I discovered that I can achieve all sorts of lovely, organic textures with the help of a small brick in the jewelry studio. I'm really excited about these earrings--they remind me of the moon and underwater kingdoms.

These earrings will be at open studios on November 21 and 22!

New developments

2009-09-21T15:32:00.000-04:00

First: I moved to a new apartment in the Inman Square area! My girlfriend and I share a one-bedroom unit within a much larger building that houses us and 4 other housemates. Many of my housemates are crafty, and after things are a bit more organized, we should have a workspace in the basement for all sorts of projects.

Second: Jewelry studio! I was looking around for jewelry supplies on Craigslist and saw a listing for what's essentially a subletting of bench space within a studio in Joy Street Studios. The artist who rents the studio is John Lerner, someone who's been making jewelry for 30 years. For what's a pretty reasonable monthly fee, I get free run of a fully-equipped jewelry studio whenever I want to show up, and instruction/supervision/tips from John on Sundays and Tuesdays. I started at the end of August but missed a couple of weeks. Here's some of the stuff I've made so far:

As you can see, I'm currently in love with the combination of dyed blue freshwater pearls and textured, oxidized copper :)

There may be a time when I decide it would make more sense to buy my own equipment and work in the basement of my apartment instead, but for now, the studio bench solution fits my needs really well. I can get away from the clutter in my apartment and work on jewelry whenever I want; I have access to a really great teacher; and the other people sharing the studio space with me are great to bounce ideas off of. Oh, and it's in ideal biking distance from my apartment, or a direct ride on the bus.

Oh, and we're having an open studio on November 21-22!

Silversmithing and jewelry class

2009-06-14T03:39:00.000-04:00

I made a ring today in the Cambridge Center for Adult Education's intro to jewelry class--it's many weeks' worth of material crammed into two 6.5-hour long Saturday sessions. I'm learning lots of cool stuff--some stuff that I can't really use until I invest in some more equipment, but some stuff that I can use right away. It's pretty cool :)

(I of course had to texture my first ring with the traditional message a programmer displays for their first foray into a new language!)

Yarn!

2009-06-14T02:17:00.000-04:00

Spinning! Yarn! I've made more of it with my drop spindle and it totally looks like real yarn.

From left to right: 2-ply wool (the dyed strand is from roving that came pre-dyed in those colors); Navajo 3-ply tussah/merino; and a swatch knitted with said 3-ply. I kind of want to make a knitted version of this hat from the 3-ply with some as-yet-nonexistent colorful/wacky handspun stuff for stripes, but I'll need to do some calculating first to make sure there's enough. I haven't yet decided what I'm doing with the 2-ply; the colors are kind of cool but also kind of terrifyingly retro. (I'm half-jokingly calling it "The Last Juniper" in my head--there's no good reason to reference The Last Unicorn, but the colors *are* pretty juniper-ish.)

Still haven't gotten around to dyeing this two-color stuff purple. It may need to wait until after the move.

New stuff in the etsy shop!

2009-04-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

Tell all your friends! :p

purpleshiny.etsy.com

Oh man, found objects

2009-04-17T00:59:00.000-04:00

The coolest metal bits ever are lurking around the streets of Somerville!

Do you think I should oxidize (darken) the silver on this one, or leave it shiny?

It figures, just when I've decided I have all the jewelry supplies I need for a while, I stumble across even more cool things. At least these ones were free :)

Spinning yarn!

2009-04-05T01:34:00.000-04:00

I tried to learn how to spin yarn a few years ago and didn't do very well. Sometime last week, I stopped by Mind's Eye Yarns and asked for some basic wool to learn to spin with--and I managed to make something that mostly looked like yarn! No pictures yet, as I still want to dye it. But then I took out some of the roving that I'd bought the first time I tried spinning:

Oh my goodness, it looks a lot like real yarn! I'm going to get some more roving and ply together different combinations of singles--I find this particular combination a little too much like all the yarn I already own :) But yay, spinning is neat!

Finished projects, in the "Jewelry Inspired by Palimpsest" category

2009-03-29T00:08:00.000-04:00

I tried to make these visually interesting in their own right even if you're not familiar enough with the book to know what they're alluding to... did I succeed?

Casimira earrings:

A more abstract November pendant:

(these are available at the etsy shop)

Pasta machine printing

2009-03-20T13:19:00.000-04:00

I had the idea to use my pasta machine (which I've previously used for rolling out polymer clay) as a printing press. Ink a thin plate with a raised design, place it on top of a sheet of paper, and roll it through. If you click on the image above, you can see a sort of haphazard step-by-step sequence of the process I used. I'm fairly happy with this technique, although the rollers on my machine seem to not be exactly parallel. I may investigate alternate press approximations. (Maybe a vise would work? And a vise would be a useful thing to have around anyway for other crafts...)

I recently read Palimpsest and have a bunch of crafty ideas in my head because of it. It's a great book with lots of rich, visual language and interesting characters.

a horizontal surface of one's own

2009-03-04T00:59:00.000-05:00

This weekend Susannah and I rearranged a bunch of stuff in the house so that I could have a corner of the living room as a crafting area! It is so amazingly awesome. Since the above picture was taken, I also brought out my stacking drawers that I've been using for my yarn stash; I need to weed through it so that only yarn I actually care about is in the drawers.

I also made a mixed-media painting! The media are acrylic paint and silver wires.

I am pretty happy with the technical side of things on this painting, though I'm still mulling over whether I like the final composition or not.

Quick post

2009-02-24T15:35:00.001-05:00

I've finished a few knitted objects and have a couple pairs of armwarmers in progress. Also, I updated my etsy shop with steampunk jewelry left over from Deceminate and used some of the earnings from the craft fair for awesome new jewelry supplies. And I suspect I'll be making more jewelry soon, and possibly also playing with making small felt objects.

Post-mortem of Deceminate vending

2008-12-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

That was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, my microphone wasn't working well enough for people in SF to hear me talking, but I could hear them, so between that and the IM client, I had some conversations with the other people at the craft fair. Andrea (another friend of mine who was there) took the laptop and webcam around to all the other booths at the fair, so I got to see a bunch of other neat things. It was an awful lot to ask of Sasen to vend for both of us, but Andrea being there to help vend for me made it a bit more reasonable. I need to think of a suitable thank-you present to give Sasen when she next visits!

Sales were not spectacular, perhaps because of the rain, but I didn't *lose* money, and I got to sort-of-meet some neat people, so I think that on balance, it was certainly worth it. Plus, it was good to see exactly what my production rate can theoretically be when under pressure, though I don't plan on working at quite that rate again in the near future.

Jewelry rebound

2008-12-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

I think I am reacting to the pressure and craziness of putting together a bunch of jewelry on a deadline last week by gravitating towards fiber arts. I ordered a bunch of yarn (though not as much as I might have) from yarn.com, mostly for knitting a dual-tone Noro stripe scarf, but also some bamboo yarn for sculptural crochet. (Their Noro Silk Garden Chunky was almost half off! How could I resist?) And now I am drooling over pretty fabric remnants and reverse appliqué techniques. But I will be good and play with the fabrics I have now before flipping out and buying more.

I've discovered a style of T shirt that's a little more fitted than the boxy Hanes that I have so many of from college, but still really comfortable, and I'm thinking about buying several blank ones and doing cool things (like reverse appliqué, block printing, embroidery, etc.) to them. We'll see if this actually happens or not.

I'm currently crocheting a cloche style hat in Lamb's Pride yarn. I'll be felting it and then probably embellishing it with smaller crocheted things and/or embroidery (depending on whether I decide it's for me or for my mom).

Mailed a box to Deceminate!

2008-12-08T18:16:00.000-05:00

Things that I hadn't previously photographed got photographed this morning and uploaded here.

This was a crazy, awesome, and tiring experience. I wish I had decided to be in the craft fair earlier so that I could have gotten more done without staying up so late. But I'm glad that I made so many things! Sometimes it was a fairly simple, mechanical process, and sometimes it was very creativity-filled and challenging.

Photographic highlights:

I had wanted to make some earrings that were one continuous piece--no break between ear wire and the rest of the main structure. These were a lot of fun (though the spirals were essentially shaped free-handedly, so it was a little tedious to make lots of them).

Labradorite is hard to photograph well--it's a grayish stone with iridescent fire in a variety of colors (blue, green, and yellow seem to be the most common). This pair of earrings has yellow fire that (I think) matches pretty well with the gold-toned gears.

Meanwhile, the highlights in these beads is a bluer color, matching the silvery gears.

These necklaces were fairly simple to make and turned out fairly interesting-looking.

The hanging purple droplets here make me happy :)

Bracelet made with typewriter hammers! I figured out a clasping mechanism: a magnet! The hammers are the right kind of metal for the magnet to stick to them.

Lots of OM NOM NOM bracelets...

Cute little bubble glass magnets! One issue I ran into with them was that the gears are sometimes magnetizeable, so they will drift around on the magnet while the glue is drying.

Virtually vending!

2008-12-04T16:55:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be vending at Deceminate from across the country! Sasen will handle the in-person interactions, and I'll be using a webcam and chat to interact with customers. I'm mailing a big box of stuff to California next Monday. Having a deadline is great! I've done more crafting in the last week than in the last several months before. I'll take pictures as I'm boxing up everything on Sunday.

Things I am definitely selling:
-gearrings (earrings with gears)
-watch movement pendants (both plain and with silver decorations)
-OM NOM NOM bracelets
-a crocheted hat

Things I am probably selling, assuming I finish working on them:
-small glass magnets with gears sandwiched between the glass and the paper backing
-bracelets involving typewriter hammers (just need to work out a good clasp mechanism)
-linocut prints/bookmarks (still trying to come up with a design, but should be quick to carve and print up once I've done so)

Things I might sell:
-paint chip bracelets, if I decide they're not too time-consuming to make a few more of them
-gear-related rings?
-more complicated gear/watch movement assemblage necklaces, if I feel creative in that direction

Riven fangirl moment

2008-10-31T17:06:00.000-04:00

Trying out linocut printing. My inking technique still needs work, but I think it's getting better. I'm planning on making postcards as part of an art contest/participation incentive at Mystcommunity.com.

Trying knitting again

2008-07-17T23:31:00.000-04:00

I felt like making something out of a skein of Noro Matsuri yarn (it's a somewhat thin yarn made of a lot of smaller strands woven together rather than spun). I decided that the texture wasn't cut out for crochet, so I'm knitting with it instead. I've done a bit of knitting here and there, but consider myself a crochet fan for the most part. Knitting feels a bit like going from using Linux to using a Mac--like I've crossed over to the shiny, elegant dark side :)

Most recent thing

2008-07-03T19:18:00.000-04:00

It is a bracelet that EATS YOU.

Also I want to play with acrylic paint some more.

Update

2008-06-03T01:53:00.000-04:00

I haven't stopped crafting just because I haven't posted here in a while. I should be asleep, but here are some quick pictures/links.

Gift for some friends' commitment ceremony--doesn't photograph really well, but it's some sterling silver with tiny purple bells on an earring.

Working on that made me realize, hey, sterling silver is NEAT. I made this with the leftovers from the present and an old watch movement from my steampunk-ish stash of stuff:

Then I bought more silver on the internet (from monsterslayer.com). So far I've made one more thing, and hope to make many more:

(I'm not sure if this picture shows it very well, but the color of the hanging pearls really echo the color of the watch movement jewels, which makes me happy.)

I was helping a friend pick out colors to paint his room with, and was inspired by the paint chips:

(these are bangle-style bracelets, in case it's not easy to tell.)

I'm also working on a new version of a hat I made a while ago. It will probably end up on etsy. I love the yummy colors Noro yarns have! I wish this blue and green one had changed a little more quickly--it will just be green on the very top. But I think it will still be cute. I was carrying it around as a fidgeting-thing to social stuff this weekend, but I think I'll mostly just work on it on the subway now. I think this hat was prompted by Susannah's mom needing me to make her a hat to wear to her trip to the Netherlands--I finished it in just a few days (but sadly forgot to take pictures--I will when they return).

OK, that's it for now. Sleep for me.

More stuff

2008-03-09T01:36:00.000-05:00

OK, I lied about not being as excited about polymer clay. I bought this awesome pasta machine device.

And lo, it is awesome, and makes sheets and tiles of clay an easy thing. I made some dinosaur scale pendant thingies. Interference powder is neat! It makes things shiny! The first set had the interference powder brushed on before baking, and then I added a clear acrylic glaze. For the second set, I mixed interference powder and translucent liquid Sculpey and painted it on before baking. It seems to have turned out slightly less glossy.

So, sewing. I got out my Singer and played with a silk shirt from dollar-a-pound. I was kind of fixated on making gathers. This was annoying when the thread decided to break and stuff, and I got kind of frustrated with my early attempts. (Though the frustrated/screwed up fabric looks kind of cool in retrospect, and maybe will be used for something else later). Then I realized that silk + water = wrinkles.

I sewed a few lines of running stitches, gathered with them, ran the whole thing under water, and twisted it as much as possible and let it dry. Then I pulled out the gather stitches altogether, leaving tiny holes and lots of pretty wrinkles. I folded up the ends around some ribbon to make a pretty, modern-looking choker thingy (which doesn't look good on me, but would look amazing on someone with a long, graceful neck). I think I'm proud enough of it that I'll add it to my etsy shop later this weekend.

Because I'm totally not that distracta--oo, look, a shiny!

2008-03-05T00:30:00.000-05:00

Thinking about smaller fabric projects too. Sort of tempted to get some silk remnants and some pearls and combine them in interesting ways to make some kind of ruff/choker or something. But I think I will play with the shinies I have first.

Edited to add: found an unwanted bracelet of peacock-colored freshwater pearls that I'd made a year or so ago. Cannibalized! And I think I have a couple of silk shirts in one of my bags of Dollar-A-Pound finds... too bad it's bedtime now :/

...yep. Totally a new crush.

2008-03-04T00:10:00.000-05:00

I keep squeeing over Gibbous and this amazing German website and thinking about the fabric. I think the activation energy for this project is going to mostly be related to putting the foundation layer/waistband area together. That feels a little bit like work (which is why I haven't started tonight, along with the fact that my sewing machine is loud and it might not be nice to run it when our upstairs neighbors might want to be asleep). The other ideas I'm having, though, just feel like play. Draping and patching and collaging fabric to attach to the base in an interesting way. And I know there will be frustrating moments and mistakes, but my ideas don't require perfection.

...Um, yeah, I don't think I have a point beyond "this project idea is shiny and I'm being obsessive about it. *end of post*

Status

2008-03-03T14:41:00.000-05:00

Stuff I've been working on in the last month or two:

Watch part jewelry

Fimo tile jewelry

My crush on polymer clay seems to have been much shorter-lived than I'd expected, and my crush on wire-wrapping/linking/gluing watch parts has lasted longer than expected (which is good, because I'm not nearly close to using up all the parts I've gotten from ebay).

One thing that can stop a crush on a medium for me is finishing a particular type of ambitious project. I always feel like my next piece should be better than the one before it. So if I make something that is really amazing, but also takes a lot of work or special materials that I don't have any more of, I go through a period of trying to top it and failing, which can be demoralizing. For a while, it looked like Fringes might have had that effect on watch part jewelry for me. But I spent a few days away from it, not thinking too much about watch parts, and then came back and worked on some simple pieces. Then I worked on Orbits and Strange Device. I'm quite happy with both of them, and now instead of feeling like I have to clear some impossibly high hurdle to match the awesomeness of a single fluke, I feel like I'm getting better at what I'm doing. Yay.

Crush on the horizon: Gibbous Fashions and other reconstructed/elaborate sewing. I'll be going to a party in early May that some people traditionally make elaborate, alternative-looking costumes for, and I think something in this vein would be perfect. But with more draped bits and tassels and all the yummy elements I love in skirts, combined into one! I went to Dollar-A-Pound yesterday and gathered a bunch of white and wine-red fabric, and I'm starting to form A Plan in my head. I'm hoping to get started this weekend! If so, I'll post pictures of my progress :)

Welcome to Crushes on Crafts!

2008-02-22T11:26:00.000-05:00

I like crafts. Like, a lot. But I'm a jack-of-all-trades. I fiddle with something for a while, then move on to something else. I realized that instead of feeling guilty about my capricious crushes on various forms of crafts, I could celebrate the joy that discovering new media brings to me and document my exciting artistic flings. I'll talk about previous craft-crushes, show off my current and recently-finished projects, and bounce about the various nifty things I'm hoping to play with in the future.

Weird.

2006-07-18T18:54:00.000-04:00

You kids and your "blogs".