While antiquing I am always on the hunt for vintage tin type photos. These precious little tin photos have always inspired my jewelry and art pieces with the stories they tell. Finding these gems is beginning to be more of a process than before as there aren’t that many around. Using a technique I learned years ago and am now finally putting into practice, I am able to recreate the appearance of a tin type photo using photos from my vintage stash. Because these are created on tin, it is …
Mixed Metals
In my pieces I love to mix different metals. Copper, brass, and silver are among my favorites to work with. When I find inspiration from an object or from a photo, I make a mental note of it for using in a future piece of jewelry. Take for instance these cuffs. I purchased some blank brass cuffs in different widths a while back. I also purchased a lot of different size chains in different metals and they have been sitting around just waiting to be made into something. I knew …
Summer Collection
Every summer I scour the highways and side roads for wildflowers to use in the jewelry I make. Queen Anne’s Lace grows prolific here in my area, so it is not hard to find. Last year I picked a bounty of it and now I am in the process of creating some pieces with them. I love these wildflowers because of their natural color palette and how organic they look once soldered inside glass pendants. They are a favorite of many of my customers, me included. This new summer collection …
Keepsake Box
Coming soon to the shop will be these keepsake boxes. Expanding on my creating keepsakes line, these are perfect for those who would like a home decor item instead of a jewelry piece. These sweet boxes are personalized with your keepsake photo set in resin inside of a resin frame affixed on top of a book box. These boxes can hold special items like old letters, photos, jewelry, or your tv remote! They make the perfect coffee table decor. What special photo would you use? Does it hold a special …
Some New Jewelry Pieces
My pieces are most often inspired by an element that I use in them. Take for instance these cuffs. I found the ornate bezel online and knew right away that I wanted to use it for this idea I had for the cuffs. I also had in my possession some vintage glass buttons, vintage script paper, gold mini glass beads and some blank cuffs just waiting to be used. It is amazing to me how all these individual parts can make such a beautiful piece of jewelry. All bound together …
Art & Soul Portland
I always enjoy teaching abroad and meeting the new people who take my classes. It gives me a chance to connect with them and in person classes are always fun. I’ve had the chance to attend Art & Soul Portland numerous times and now I am fortunate to actually be teaching there. I am bringing two classes to the August venue and four classes to the February 2021 venue. For August I will be teaching Beautiful Bezels and my two day “Sainted Love” Santos Doll class. Beautiful Bezels is a …
Free Video: An Intro into Soldering
I have been a solder artist for over twelve years. My first experience with soldering happened at a chandelier workshop in Cortona, Italy. The two weeks I spent there catapulted my art journey and from that moment I was hooked on the art of soldering. What I’ve learned in these past twelve years is that practice makes perfect and you must persevere when you want to quit. The pendants that I soldered as a beginner look so different than the ones I solder today. This is because as artists we …
Our Stories
What is it about old letters, vintage photos or old books that grabs my attention? Sometimes it is the beauty of the script alone that has my heart. Other times it is the beautiful sentiment behind the handwritten text. We live in a world now where practically everything is in an email or a text message. Gone are the days when we would sit down and actually hand write a letter and mail it off the “old fashioned” way. And can I talk about old photos? So many of them …