Back in the Saddle (Its about time...)

So...I'm ashamed to say that it has been more than 6 months since my thesis show and I am just now finally finishing some new pieces (I haven't made a single thing since my show besides teaching samples!!!). It really seems like my show was just yesterday, but when I count back the months its embarrassing! After my show it seemed all I could do to just make it to graduation...summer followed and I started teaching, and then I took my trip...and now its 6 months later! Eek. Well anyway, here are some new pieces I just finished up this week. It feels good to be back in the saddle!
You may or may not remember, but a few months back I scored this awesome lot of antique hardware on ebay. Well, these five necklaces I just finished are all made with these old antique wood drawer pulls. I sand off the old paint, inlay them with silver wire, make some pretty chains to hang them on and many many hours of labor later, here they are!"Worn" Series

sterling silver, found antique drawer pulls, fine silver inlay, pearls

Hardware Experiment #1

sterling silver, fine silver, found antique hardware

pique on found object and hand fabricated sterling silver chainsee hardware in its original state below

Spoon Handle Earring Group

I don't think I've posted an image of the whole group of these on here yet. These earrings are all made from antique baby spoon handles. The spoon bowls were made into the necklace at the bottom of this post. I have one pair of handles left...I think I am going to make a mold so I can cast more of these. I really like the earrings but know I will probably never find a set of baby spoons again, much less a set of 12, so if I make a mold I can make more of the earrings. I may use these to apply to the Earrings show at Heidi Lowe Gallery...not sure yet.

Pine

A couple of weekends ago I went to my husbands family's cabin in Pine, AZ. My favorite thing to do in Pine is go to all the little antique shops. It's so fun! We passed this road while exploring the town....how cool would it be to live on Anvil Rd?!I scored a bunch of old blacksmith tools for practically nothing!The hammers just needed a little refinishing and they were good as new! Two of them were even handmade hammers which is totally awesome.

I also got this little note holder which I hung in my studio for to do lists. I like it! Hopefully we will get to go back to the cabin sometime this summer before school starts again!

Defining Moments

The more work I make, the more I realize that a lot of the pieces I create are in a way about a defining moment in my life...about someone who changed me, a moment, an event, a place that became part of who I am. This piece is the start of a new series along this line. I think. Its just a fresh idea in my head and will almost definitely evolve into something else, but its where I am at the moment. Huh, just another defining moment I guess...

This piece is a found silver platter, etched copper backplate and embroidery. Measures about 10"x8"x2". Image taken from this photo of me and a friend when we were little girls...dressed as twins.

Reaching

I finished a "new" piece today. I actually started this quite a while ago but never got it resolved. It always feels good to find resolution after a long time:) Its called, "Reaching" and is made of found silver platters, copper, pearls, and embroidery.

New Work

I just finished some new work (sorry the image is so dark). I did a sketch of this image over the summer and am just finally done with the piece!

I am pretty happy with how it turned out and can't wait to make more like this!

The materials are a found silver platter, copper and embroidery. Measures about 14" across and about 5" wide.

Flora

This is a wall piece I finished a couple of weeks ago (for the Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition). It was mostly an experiment just with trying new things on the found platter pieces. This platter was pewter and really beat up. It had some really nice tarnish and history so I decided to leave its finish as is and not alter it. I embroidered a floral pattern and then tore out and ripped the thread to appear aged and worn. I'm still thinking about this piece and other directions it may lead me in, so I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but here are some images. The images aren't great...I had a really hard time capturing the details. Just use your imagination:) Oh, and it actually placed 2nd in the Holloware category at the Intercollegiate Metals Exhibition so that was exciting! Go here to see what else got awards!
Lots of little holes drilled...I am totally going to have arthritis by the time I am 30!
Embroidery before being torn.

And after the tearing...

1950something...

I've been scanning in old family photos to possibly use in my platter pieces. These are of my dad and his brothers in the late 1950's and early 1960's. My favorite is the one in the car. I will probably start a piece with this photo this week.

Slipping Away

I finished this piece today. Its a two part wall piece made of altered silver platters and embroidery. I really need to learn how to take photos of wall pieces. My pictures are terrible but I don't know how to do it! Help anyone? Its really annoying because the platters have a mirror like polish, and everything reflects in them!

Anyway, I am happy with how the piece turned out. Its very technically simple, but I think it really has a lot to say to the viewer. What do you see in it?