Heat

I don't function in the heat and I complained and whined more than once about it here on the blog. I always start early, too. If temperatures in my place go higher than 20 °C/ 68 °F, I'm beginning to fall apart, can't help it.
Luckily, I don't live in a really hot region!

A sunset sky from 2011.
That's how heat feels to me.

As my brain is in a puddle on the floor somewhere at the moment, I haven't been able to finish any of the blog posts I started.
So I'll be taking the easy way out instead today and share some "hot" items with you that I made over the years.

Now excuse me while I'm going to look if I can find and mop up my brain anywhere. Do you think it'll come together again if I put it in the freezer?

The big hug - part 2

If you don't know part 1 of the big hug yet, you can find it here.

We left off at the cliffhanger of my dropping my boro lampwork shark on the kitchen floor. The nose and tail broke off, but I could only find part of the tail.
Then something unexpected happened that I can honestly not explain. At least a week later, I found the other piece of the tail, but have no idea where it suddenly came from because I had searched the whole kitchen floor. My best bet is that it had flown even further and the cats found it and knocked it back into the kitchen.
Anyhow, I suddenly had a bit of hope that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to do something with it. Not what I had planned, not what I really wanted which would make me 100% happy, but something that was still good.

Now how to achieve that?
Obviously I had to glue the shark first. My complicated relationship with glue has long been a running joke among my friends. Much longer than my jewelry-making journey. It's a miracle I don't still have things glued to my fingers from years ago (that's actually a thing for me). I'm terrible with glue and my experience told me that the shark would not be perfect.
Surprise! Not. Of course it wasn't perfect.
So I would have to find a way to hide the scars the best I could. Distracting from them with gold as I had done for my friend's broken dolphin wasn't an option for me because the octopus is copper. Leaving the tail off completely and disguising it - unlike that of my shark the dolphin's tail never turned up again - wasn't an option either because I had the tail and love that long fin.

The tough part about hiding the scars would be that the one through the nose is very close to the eye and that there's a quite massive glass loop on the tail (it is a pendant after all). Had the shark been like a cab, all the way flat on the back, I might have been able to glue it completely onto some backing.
Even before starting I knew I wouldn't be all that happy with the nose part. Oh well.

What exactly should I do, though?
It was obvious that bead embroidery was the only way to go. As I said, this shark is much smaller than the other ones and was even more fragile now (haha). Just wrapping the octopus to it wouldn't make for a very sturdy construction.

So instead I would glue the shark onto the backing where possible, then sew the loop to it and hide it under beads. I would also glue the octopus's head as well as possible (there are wires from the wrapping in the back which lift it up a bit) just to make it hold safely enough while arranging the tentacles around the shark.

Please excuse this bad picture. It's one of my infamous
night time WIP pics and is usually just intended
 for friends. Actually, I had to retrieve it from an old
Facebook message. I hardly ever take real WIP pictures.

This, my friends, sounds a lot easier than it actually is. I first sewed the tentacles on in a few spots. Copper is pliable and can still very stubbornly refuse to do what you want, especially in thick wire wrapped like this, even more so if you go wild with tentacle loops. I would have loved to preserve more of the flow from the WIP pic, but that would have been very wide for a focal for myself.
Of course I would have to sew down the tentacles some more after deciding on bead placement.

So I did all of that and then I had a lot of space for beads. I didn't want to buy new beads at the time. I had a load of seed and cube beads in different sizes and a variety of blue, clear, green, purple, and who has been following my jewelry making for a while knows I can't resist pearls in water scenes.
I started in what I consider (my) classic bead embroidery meaning going in bead rows lying next to each other. Very organized looking, I thought it would make a nice calm background for the hug.
One corner in, I had to admit to myself that I hated it. Because of the thick wire, those tentacles aren't laying flat. So there are not only beads around them, but also quite a few over and  under them. There are also beads under the shark and over the scars (I'm indeed not all that happy with the nose part, but couldn't manage any better without concealing the eye) and under the octopus's head - and getting in these spaces in nice organized rows? Yeah, it didn't work.
I can't tell you how long it took me to embroider that background, one or two beads at a time.

A slightly better WIP picture, still meant for
friends. It doesn't do the sparkle in the
goldstone or the shark justice.

Next up - my old enemy, finishing jewelry.
Two months and still no chain.
Then, however, I remembered my mermaid (this is one big piece of jewelry, but luckily went to a customer who loves it big).

I still had some copper crimps and the faux leather ribbon whose colors worked well with the background.
When I tried it out, though, I didn't like the look of it after all. Somehow the focal seemed to call for a copper chain to go with the octopus.
Rummaging through my supply drawers, however, I only found chain in the wrong size and I really, really didn't want to make my own chain. So I went online shopping instead, but again the chains were either too small or didn't have the right look.
In the end, I found infinity links, which seem to mimic the loops of the tentacles, and used them with jump rings to make a chain. Luckily, I bought just the right amount!

Is this my vision? Heck no, it couldn't be much further from it. I wanted the octopus and the shark all by themselves, maybe with a few beads to hint at the ocean. Had the breaks be in different spots, I might have managed to do it.

Did I save the shark, though? I think so. Another broken piece that didn't go into the trash, but will be shining on. (The urge to get philosophical about broken beauty is big, but I'll spare you!)

The big hug - Part 1

Over ten years ago, I got several boro lampwork pendants from a very talented artisan, manatees (you can see one of them here), a dolphin (you have seen him before as well), and a shark. The pendants are absolutely gorgeous, but it took months for them to ship which put me off ordering more. That's a real pity because I have not seen any since that come even close to them.
Also the shark broke in transport. I got a replacement, but I was determined to find a way of using the broken one as well (I've done that more than once with components, but of course never sold those).

If you haven't noticed it yet, I don't just love sharks, but also octopuses.
This is a picture of just some of those I made over the years. A tiny one, bigger ones, a really big one. Ah, have you already seen it? Sharks!

I experimented with the broken pendant first. The idea had been to hide the glue marks behind tentacles, but show as much of the shark as possible.
It needed a lot of fiddling, but I managed. The pendant got the official name "The hug" because to me those two were friends rather than enemies.
If you think the second octopus-shark hug was easier to make with the experience gained, you would be wrong. Lampwork is really slippery and the tentacles had to sit just the right way to hold the shark safely. The loop on the back of the tail is the only spot where the octopus is actually wired to the shark itself.

The second pendant sold and the first one went to a friend (of course she knew about the glued spots).
I'll be honest, I quickly regretted not keeping one for myself, simply because it proved impossible to find another shark like these.

After searching for a long time, I finally found one and was so happy! It was much smaller than the other ones, but so beautiful.
Somehow I never got around to making something with it, though. There was always something else to try out and wirework was already becoming more difficult for me.
When it started getting really hard on my thumb, however, I knew it was now or never before I wouldn't be able to do it anymore at all. It had been a while since I had played with copper and it felt so good, but it took a lot of breaks to get my octopus finished over the next few weeks.

Talking of breaks ... when I was finally done and wanted to take the octopus to the kitchen to oxidize it, I missed that the shark, which had been in the same box, got tangled in some still loose wire ends. Yes, you have be quite stupid not to notice you are holding two things, but sometimes I am.

It could have fallen in the hallway on the one vinyl floor I have, but no, it fell in the kitchen, on the hardest of all my floors.
You know how some things seem to be happening in slow motion and yet it's impossible for you to do anything about them? Like the time I cut my finger and fingernail with the bread knife and my brain only woke up and told me not to cut there when I had already started bleeding like crazy.
There wasn't a chance for me to catch the shark before it hit the tiles and pieces started jumping. The nose and the tail had broken off (seems to be a thing, the same happened to my friend with her dolphin). I could only find the nose and part of the tail, though.

It may sound ridiculous to you, but I was devastated.
I couldn't replace this shark, no matter how much I looked around. There were a few lampwork sharks, both pendants and figurines and they were pretty, no doubt about that, but none of them had this elegance, none of them spoke to me.
I didn't even want to look at the octopus anymore which says a lot.
Then something unexpected happened and yes, I'm totally saying this as a cliffhanger.

See you for part 2, I hope!

I made an octopus!

You may want to say that you already know that I made an octopus ... or two or five or ten ... after all I had shown a collage of them in 2019 in this long post. Of course I didn't stop making them after this, but the wire had been on the back burner for a while now because new techniques had to be explored which also happened to be easier on my hands than the wire most of the time.

That doesn't mean the wire has stopped calling me, though, so when I was asked to make a custom octopus pendant, I couldn't say no.
I love that none of them comes out the same. Tentacles with one or two wires, with beads or without beads, the head with a cab or without, and best of all - I never know myself what they will look like in the end. Making the tentacles go wild is really the most fun about this. It may seem they are random, but they are not.
The first one starts out randomly, but the next ones are based on it, and often I go back to fiddling on the first again, too.
I like to think the octopus head is telling me what to do ;-)

For this one, a cab was required and the choice was a lovely moss agate cab.
I used moss agate on a custom order before, only in that case the stone was large and dark green and not just the size requirements for the pendant were very specific, I also had to use exactly 23 moss agate beads in the two-wired tentacles which weren't supposed to spread out, all of which made the job a bit of a puzzle.

This time, I was allowed to go wild as long as I added enough moss agate beads to the tentacles and achieved a certain length, and I enjoyed it immensely.
So this is the latest addition to my little octopus family (and I'm already hatching new ideas in my head ;-)).

Tackle that stash - Lampwork, silver, and crystals

Lately I have been working on making more earrings. You know I sometimes struggle making the same thing twice, so this is not always easy for me.
When going through my lampwork stash in search of inspiration again, however,  I found these beautiful drop headpins on sterling silver by Iced Moments.
The easiest way to use them is just bending the silver into earwires, I "made" a pair of earrings for myself that way. For these I wanted a little more, though not too much to keep the drops the main attraction.

In my crystal stash I still have some 2 mm crystals, and these three colors - a sapphire blue and a grey and light blue in kind of an opalite shimmer - seemed to be perfect for the earrings, so I wrapped them on using a fine sterling silver wire.
Just a pair of my handmade earwires and there you go. It doesn't always need much.

Tackle that stash - Dangly earrings

Ouch, has it really been over a month that I have been here last time?
Granted, I did spend a lot of time with a personal project, bead loomed portraits of my siblings and me (one still missing) which I am not allowed to show.

I did find the time for a small stash tackler, though.
This mix of little semiprecious drops had been in my stash for about ten years. I had used a few of them, but forgot about the rest until I happened to find in a drawer - yes, I know, me and my drawers - just a few days ago. That baggie had been wandering from here to there, and now it ended up on the little table next to my computer chair (that was supposed to hold only my old laptop, but also became a spot for things that wait to be moved to their final destination, books, DVDs, CDs etc.).
Ten years of travelling are enough ;-) I spontaneously decided to wrap the stones up in copper which I gave a light patina and to put them on a chain.
I love dangly earrings!

Art Elements Design Challenge and Blog Hop - Faerie

Will I ever learn? Don't even bother, I'll tell you. The answer is NO, NEIN, NON, NEE, NEJ (I could keep going, but you get the idea).
The worst thing about it is that I had a plan for the Art Elements Design Challenge and Blog Hop for which Caroline gave us the topic "Faerie" - which should have given me hundreds of ideas -, not at the beginning of the month, but last weekend. It came sudden and I didn't jump on it right away. Because I never do. Because I have to roll it around in my head first and let it grow on me.
That's how my brain works. It takes a very basic plan or vague idea and then it grabs bits and pieces out of the air and adds them to it or discards things again. Imagine a manikin. You put a basic dress on it and then you start adding a scarf, a belt, gloves, you don't like the scarf and take it off again, then the belt, then you add a shawl, maybe take the gloves off and add a bracelet instead - only my brain uses colors and shapes.
That sounds creative, doesn't it? Instead it's mostly chaos that finally spits out something, and if I'm lucky, it's something good - if not, it ends up behind the summer house like Mr Mo's poor plasticine wife (see "Mary Poppins in the Park", a book that I love very much), well, actually my infamous WIP drawers.

Unfortunately life got in the way over the last week. Work, a crafts class, and then I got sick which sucked up the last bit of motivation. Since Wednesday I have been thinking about opting out of the challenge, I even started writing the email once.
Instead I pulled myself together yesterday and ended up with a variation of my idea because, let's be honest, this was bound to go wrong at some point or at least stray from the original plan which had been a small fairy that I wanted to put on ... no, I'll keep that one to myself, it may still be happening, who knows.

Small, yes, as small as I wanted my fairy to be, no. The proportions had been slightly off, enough so to make me uncomfortable about it when I was looking at her, so I needed to add to the arms and legs which meant I needed to add to the head and body.
I don't know yet if she's a WIP. Maybe she needs some wings after all although I don't think so at the moment. After all she could ride the ladybug, he may look a little small for her, but he's tough through and through (and reminds of the time when I dabbled in polymer clay). Or she could take the "Exotic Butterfly Airline" (I made that strange looking butterfly after I won that box of Twin Beads and ran out of ideas for them) ? ;-) 

 

Now let's see once again how much more organized our other blog hoppers were! :-D

Guests
 
Alison -  Alysen - Cat (aka me) - Divya - Hope - Kathy - Sarah - Tammy - Vic

AE Team Members
 
Caroline - Cathy -  Claire - Jen - Jenny - Laney - Marsha - Niky

Interview with the artist - Cindy from illustris designs

I am really excited about today's interview. Please welcome Cindy, a lady most talented in the art of wire wrapping. Actually this is pure understatement. These suncatchers can brighten everyone's day, even without sun! I am sure you will agree with me, so I'll leave the stage to Cindy now.

Couple wire tree sculpture

Tell us a little about who you are and where you come from.

My name is Cindy and I was born in Amsterdam, but currently live on the coast in Den Helder, the Netherlands. I have got a huge travelbug and I love to travel all over the world. But I also love just to be at home, curl up with my book or work in my own small veggie garden.
But most of all I have a creative mind and have been artistic all my life.


What's your craft and how did you get to do it in the first place?

My craft is making wire art. I have my own style and every design is my own. I make Suncatchers, wire candleholders and recently started making wire sculptures as well.
How I came around to this craft has been a long road filled with disappointment and pain, but ultimately led to my biggest passion ever! I have been creative all my life, but my craft was mostly clay sculpting, drawing and painting. Several years ago I suddenly found myself in a medical stream and learned that I have got arthritis and neuropathy, this means a lot of muscle and joints pain. It became very difficult for me to express myself artfully in the forms that I used to. For an artistic person not being able to express myself in a creative way was a very difficult time. But suddenly I came across a picture of wire art and it just lit up a spark inside me. I use little hand tools that are easy to use for me. It started by making one Suncatcher and from there on the sky is the limit :)

Christmas Reindeer candle holder

Is there a story behind your shop name or why did you choose it?

Yes, there is!! My wire art brought me back that creative spark and passion. Every single piece has been made with so much time, love and passion that I hope a buyer will enjoy it just the same. But also every piece has been made with such quality materials like crystals, Czech glass and Swarovski crystals. These materials reflect the light in a most stunning way. This is why the name "illustris designs" felt so fitting for my work. In Latin it means bright, shining, sparkle.


I think this is one of the most asked questions - where does your inspiration come from?

Yes, I do believe you are right! This truly is the most asked question I have gotten so far. I have made so many suncatchers and wire candle holders and truly make an effort to create something new every single time. I do not copy someone else's work, all the designs are my own! I get my inspiration out of life. I truly love nature and travelling. I have made water works that have been inspired of my snorkling adventures and made a stunning tree which I saw in Trinidad or a bird who flew just here around the corner. I also love music which inspired me to do a music themed one, but truly anything that touches me can be one form of inspiration or another. I also love fantasy and mythology. Life itself gives me more inspiration on a shelf that I can handle :) I always say, look around you and see a beautiful flower, let your imagination go with it and it can turn into the most stunning art!

Dragon wire sculpture

Have you ever told a story with one of your pieces or is there a special background story to one of them?

Oh my, that is a very difficult question! Every single piece has been made with so much passion and holds a story of its own. There is so much happiness in a lot of them. It always touches me when a buyer tells me a story about the reason they purchased my art. Most precious stories about it being a wedding present or for somebody's baby shower. I always feel so honored that my art can be a part of such a private and personal eent.
But the one that stands out the most for me is the one I ultimately ended up giving away to my parents. I always want to experiment with new materials and different designs. I came up with the idea to make a Suncatcher that would stand on a foot instead of hanging in front of a window. I told this idea to my parents and they spontaneously said, oh some Japanese Cranes would look stunning. I got excited working on this theme and it took me ages. In the meanwhile we all of a sudden got the crushing news that one of my parents has colon and liver cancer. When I finished working on the Japanese Cranes project, it only felt right just to give it to them as a little light in the darkness and the light on their faces when I gave it to them said more than a thousand words.


Tell us a fun thing about yourself.

I am a bit crazy with a capital C :) :) :)


Do you do other crafts, if yes, what?

I used to do a bit of mosaic work as well, but the last couple of years my passion has been completely into the wire work. I do however expand my wire art more and more. It started out just being Suncatchers, later on also candle holders, and now I am starting making wire sculptures as well.

Swan wire suncatcher

Which one of your pieces is your absolute favorite?

Pff, that feels like having to single out a favorite child :D I think it is a tie between my Couple wire tree, Fairy suncatcher and Phoenix candleholder.


Which one was the hardest to make and why?

My wire Angel sculpture has been the hardest because it truly is the first wire sculpture I have ever made. I wanted to express love and loss and combine heaven and earth, in a beautiful, not in a sad way. It is a large sculpture of an Angel whose legs turn into branches surrounding a blue crystal ball (the earth). The entire sculpture sits in a open hand with lots of flowers and little butterflies.

Angel wire sculpture

Is there someone whom you admire and who inspires you, artistically and/or for life?

In a world filled with stereotypes and strife for perfection I admire anyone who has the guts to stay their own unique selves.


If you had free choice of one supply you need for your work, no matter how expensive, what would it be?

Oh my, wire, wire, wire ... every single gauge size and color they come. Silver and real copper and every color of the rainbow.

Peacock candle holder

Do you sell online, if yes, where can we find you?

YES!! You can find me on Etsy (with a 10% discount until the end of 2016, too!) and DaWanda at illustris designs.


Do you do custom orders?

Yes!! The first custom order was local and I was a bit nervous the first time. Would the buyer like it and will I be able to create what they had in mind? In the end I LOVED making it and bring to life what somebody had invisioned. Now I have made custom orders all over the world, from Australia to the US. For any questions or information please feel free to contact me.


Famous last words ;-) Is there anything else you want to tell us?

I just hope my story and passion will re-ensure anybody who finds themselves between spaces in time to keep hope and faith that "when one door closes, another one will open".

Cherry blossom wire tree

Thank you so much, Cindy.
And guys, if those pictures don't make you head over to the shops to see more, I don't know what can!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I know, I know ... Sunday is supposed to be reserved for quotes (which I have sadly neglected), but let's make an exception for the Fusion Beads 30 Day Challenge this month.

You might remember that I like to play from time to time, and today's piece for the topic "Make a wire wrapped ring" is one of the results.
When I first started with the Twin Beads, I tried a few things, and I ripped up a few things. I kept this one around however because it looked fun, and I like fun. It's not what I was trying to do, but the little beehive in bee colors started to grow on me, and so I finally put it on a wire wrapped ring. Bingo!

Beehive ring

When have you been a bit crazy the last time?

Interview with the artist - Mari from Wire Fox

Today I ask you to give Mari a warm welcome. I got to know her on deviantArt where I fell in love with her creations at first sight. I'm sure so will you.

When I saw my favorite piece for the first time, I had to ask if she would do my little interview. Isn't this comb gorgeous?? You know how much I love octopi!

Copper comb "Octopus"

Now let's jump right in!

Tell us a little about who you are and where you come from.

My name is Marina and I'm from Ukraine.

What's your art and how did you get to do it in the first place?
I'm a wire worker now. In my work I use copper wire, gemstones and glass. I began with polymer clay and had been working with it for 2 or 3 years. Some years ago I had a crisis. So I tried to find new materials that would be able to interest me. I used wool, felt and vintage supplies.

But past autumn I decided to try to work with wire again. It has changed my crafty life.

Copper brooch "Honey"

I think this is one of the most asked questions - where does your inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes from the material. When I choose new beads and cabochons to buy - then my imagination flashes with new ideas. I really like metal, copper, because it's possible to create any form that you are able to imagine.

Also I try to find inspiration in nature ^-^ by picking out and re-designing organic forms and objects.

Copper comb "Faun"

Do you do other crafts, if yes, what?

I don't do any other crafts. But I'm also a digital artist. I have been a designer for more than 7 years, the last 5 of them I have been a 3d artist in game development.

And I wish to spend more time on painting.

Which one of your pieces is your absolute favorite?

I have to mention two of my pieces. The first one is the brooch "Hurricane". I like it for its simple, very dynamic shapes. I think this brooch resonates with my soul, my imagination about myself.

And the second - comb "Kracen". It's my favorite object of art, I created it for a contest. And it made 3rd place. (See, I'm not the only one who loves it so! ~ Cat)

Brooch "Hurricane"

Is there someone whom you admire and who inspires you?

Oh yeah! Lunarieen and Amareno Style from Poland and Imnium from Croatia. I think they're gods/goddesses of wire ^-^  

 

If you had free choice of just one supply you can use for your art, what would you be dreaming of, no matter how expensive?

Definitely it would be silver.

Do you sell online, if yes, where can we find you?

You can find me on Etsy and DaWanda. I have a Russian shop, too.

Is there anything you feel you need or want to tell the world outside now?

Be creative! Smile, fall in love, take risks, and to do crazy things sometimes. Often do what you love, and be persistent. Do not give up after the first failure.
Watch your health too!

Life is wonderful ^-^

Bracelet "Green Owl"

Now am I right or what? Of course I could only show you a few of Mari's pieces, and believe me, the choice was really tough!

I hope you'll take the time and have a look at her shop and dream a little ...