You can view my work this fall, at these wonderful events:

   
    22nd Annual Southwest Flair A-fair, October 24-26, 2014, 10AM-5PM

    Gifts from Nature Art Festival - Audubon Arizona, Phoenix, Nov. 21-23

 

Copper Tee Plumbing Fitting Rings

I recently purchased some copper from an estate sale. I love to make rings from copper tubing by annealing the copper, hammering it until it is the size I want, and finally enameling the ring which is conveniently not soldered. With my purchase at the estate sale were 3 copper tee plumbing fittings and I wondered what I would do with those pieces. The other day I was looking at one and decided to saw the ends off to make some enamel rings. After doing that, what I had left looked like a ring possibility to me, so I annealed the copper several times and hammered it repeatedly to achieve a ring size that would fit a finger. With the one ring I soldered a brass disk into the top hole in a concave position and the other ring I made copper balls and soldered those into the top ring. The rings are rustic, commanding, interesting, and are absolutely one of a kind. They are definitely attention getting. I will probably never do this again but I enjoyed these creations and plan to have them along at my fall shows.

Tiny Copper Flower Pins

I wanted a few tiny flower pins for my aprons that I wear to shows and have been planning them for a long time. Well today I finally created 4 tiny flower pins: one will dot the "i" in Restring It, on one apron, and the 3 others will be worn on the heads of my 3 javelinas of my other apron. I started with a sheet of 22 gauge copper and cut each layer of my tiny flowers out by hand with a jeweler's handsaw. Then each flower was sanded and annealed (or heated) so I could form the flowers into 3 dimensional shapes. Next I soldered pieces together, soldered the tie tack back onto the backs, and soldered the sterling silver centers in each flower. Finally I cleaned them up and polished them. I love my tiny flower pins and hope you do, too.

Polishing Metal Jewelry

I love having my studio in my garage! After purchasing shop lights, the lighting is fantastic. I'm so glad I did that. However, lately I've been having a problem with the polishing compound getting everywhere... what a mess!
After cleaning the place up this past week, I really didn't want to do anymore polishing. Then I decided to purchase a portable workbench on craigslist and put it outside of my yard. It works! I polished an order of 9 bracelets today and no mess in the studio. Yeah!  I guess I'm back in the polishing business again. :)

Book Necklaces

I've always wanted to create a book necklace, something along the lines of the antique dance card holders in a simple, rustic format. Well recently I made some books using mixed metals and each book is 1.5 inches square. Most of the books feature a hammered brass base with a copper figure soldered to the front, however, there is one that is a hammered brass base with a brass leaf and another one that features a sterling silver quail sitting on a copper prickly pear cactus. Each book has a saw pierced figure on the back cover that relates to the front cover.
The books hang from a rubber cord designed to hold weighty glass pendants. The cord does not fray and is quite comfortable along the nape of the neck. The card stock pages have been fashioned after the rolodex in that they can be added and removed very easily.
Hope you enjoy checking them out. I really enjoyed making them. I will be listing them in my Etsy shop after my last show of the season which will be Dec. 2nd.
Enjoy!

Will be showing my work at:

Gifts from Nature Art Festival - Presented by Audubon Arizona
Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center
3131 South Central Avenue, Phoenix
Saturday, November 23rd, 10:00AM -4:00 PM
Sunday, November 24th, 10:00AM -3:00 PM


Cityscape Brass and Copper - Medium Barrette
This is a cityscape barrette that has been created using a sheet of copper and brass that have been hand sawn, hand stamped, and soldered together to create a city or urban environment. Great one-of-a-kind barrette for the person that loves city life! The overall length of the barrette is 3 1/2 inches and the width is slightly greater than 1 inch at the widest point. The 2 3/4 inch Made in France barrette clip has been attached with soldered hooks for a secure hold.
http://www.restringit.etsy.com

Southwest Flair A-Fair 2013

The 21st Annual Southwest Flair A-Fair is back! This fine art & craft fair benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tucson will be held October 25th—27th, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Plaza Palomino (Ft. Lowell & Swan). Hope to see you there!

Moon Over Picacho Peak - Large Mixed Metals Barrette

The brass sky is the backdrop for the cactus rib textured and hand sawn copper mountains, and the domed sterling silver moon is rising over the rim. This large barrette measures 3 1/2 inches long by ¾ of an inch wide and is attached to the 3 ¼ inch Made in France barrette clip with soldered hooks for a secure hold. If you've ever driven from Tucson to Phoenix or Phoenix to Tucson you've probably seen Picacho Peak and if you've been a little daring you have have climbed to the top and watched the traffic along Interstate 10. This landmark can be seen from downtown Tucson on a clear day, which is a distance of 45 miles.

http://www.restringit.etsy.com