Jewelry At The Gardens

The Poster for the Event

What a weekend. The weather was fantastic. I was honored and humbled to be part of this event and share the experience with so many wonderful and talented artists. It was great.

My dear friend and mentor, Lexi Erickson, asked me to design the poster and post card for this show. I happily agreed and the top picture is the poster in its final form.

Not many people can say they have done a show with Harold O’Connor. I had the good fortune to be in a show with two of my idols, Harold O’Connor and Lexi Erickson.

Harold O’Conner, me, and Lexi

I don’t think my feet were touching the ground in that picture!  And both Harold and Lexi signed a copy of the poster for me….now that’s going to be framed and hung in my studio as a reminder of a very special event and the great inspiration both of these talented individuals are to me.  Thank you Harold and Lexi.

The crowd was wonderful. I believe all of us had good sales and hopefully that is an indicator that things are turning around in the art world when it comes to the sales of our works.

Several of you have asked that I post pictures of my work that sold. Well, here goes….  Oh, and all of the photos were taken by Dan, so I’m just going to say at the beginning of all of these great photos to follow:  Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff.

My first sale of the day was a pair of reticulated earrings I called Ocean Waves. Great to have that first sale of the show.  How fitting that the first sale was also the reticulated silver that I made during my workshop with Harold in May of this year!

Ocean Waves
Timeless Series

The next sale was a pendant and a pair of earrings.

It’s a Matter of Attitude (previous blog post)
Soul Searching Series

Unidelta Tree
Tribute to Pandora Series

And then things just started to blur together…..

Binary Sunshine (previous blog post)
Tribute to Pandora Series

Puff Ball Tree
Tribute to Pandora Series

Another pair of earrings, Pendulum, that I never got a picture of before the show, so they aren’t in this group ….

Chalice Plant
Tribute to Pandora Series

And then I was completely blown away….

Dimensions in Time
Timeless Series

Yes, that’s right, one of my bracelets sold. A multitude of beautiful stones, hours of work, and its beauty was not lost on the person who bought this. She has a discerning eye, as did many of the shoppers this weekend. Coupled with that was an appreciation for the art that this bracelet represents. She also purchased Break Through (pictured below) and I know my pieces have gone to someone who understands. Actually, all of my pieces went to people who got it. What a wonderful affirmation for an artist.

Break Through
Soul Searching Series

Independence
Soul Searching Series

Pretty incredible.  The show, the weekend, the crowds, the talented artists, the beautiful venue, the experience….ALL exceeded my expectations.  I truly believe I found my audience.  It has infused me with new enthusiasm and the belief that I am on the right path as an artist.  It is my wish for all of you, my friends, to find that path we are destined to follow.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.  Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Incan Dawn

Incan Dawn
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Right now I am definitely captivated by using a tongue shaped stone with a top accent stone. For this piece, both are in the same stone family, Sonoran Sunrise. When I saw these stones a few weeks ago at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, I knew they belonged together. As I worked on the design, I kept seeing a ceremonial Incan headdress in the top piece with the sun’s reflection. I couldn’t visualize anything else as I looked at the completed piece, so its title is Incan Dawn.

This is one of the last pieces I completed in preparation for the Jewelry at the Gardens Show this coming weekend.

Tonight I packed my display materials and everything is ready to be loaded in the car. It’s nice to have things in this state a day early so tomorrow evening won’t feel so hectic. I set up with the other artists on Friday evening. Doors open at 9 AM on Saturday morning at the Botanic Gardens in Denver and I think the weather will be cooperative this weekend too. If you are in the area, I hope to see you there.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Links to the Past

Links to the Past
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

Some of you may remember my post on Defining Moment. It was the first bracelet I made and it was quite the challenge. Initially, I must admit that I wondered if I would make another bracelet. Yet, it was one of those things I felt I could do and do well, so I was up for trying it again.

Links to the Past is the first of three bracelets I made in August. I wanted to have at least three for the Jewelry at the Gardens Show. This one, along with the other two, were not as difficult as Defining Moment. Isn’t that usually the way things work? Of course, Defining Moment had a HUGE learning curve for me and now I wear it every day.  It’s all good.

The stones in this piece are a combination of Petrified Palm Wood, Casessite Jasper, Amonite, Brunean Jasper & Picasso Stone. All stones from the past…events in nature that allowed them to take their form and unique beauty. Linked together in this bracelet, it seem fitting to call this one Links to the Past.

It will be available at the Jewelry at the Gardens Show this coming Saturday and Sunday.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Free Spirit

Free Spirit
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

The stones are Teal Blood Stones from India. I purchased them from Michael Hendrix of Minerax at the sneak preview evening for Colorado Metalsmiths during Denver Gem and Mineral Show week last month. It was an easy pairing for me. Although both are the same stone family, they just looked like they belonged together. I couldn’t wait to pair them and set them in sterling.

Michael Hendrix is such a nice person.  He has his unique style for the stones he cuts.  And he is generous with his knowledge about the stones and why he cuts the shapes he does.  I liked his commentary on his expectations that art jewelers should look to be innovative and embrace unusual stone cuts in their designs.  Of course, I like a challenge.

Admittedly, these stones are cut in shapes that I find easy to work with, however, I did buy a few of those challenging pieces from Michael and I look forward to the creative juices kicking in as I work on their designs.

I don’t have many teal or bluish colored stones in my inventory.  However, when I saw these, I just couldn’t resist adding them.  I know I’m still finding what my true color palette is, yet part of me is resisting this….I don’t think I like the sense of feeling limited by just working with certain colors.  There are so many beautiful stones, I just don’t want to restrict what I will work with.  That may change as I continue to grow as an art jeweler.  For now, I enjoy the liberating feeling of experimenting with colors, shapes, stones, and textures.

Perhaps this experimentation led me to the title for this piece, Free Spirit.  It feels like this piece can soar high above the clouds.  As I looked at the completed work, all I could think was Free Spirit, so that is its moniker.

I felt it was necessary to keep things simple in this design because of the beautiful stones.  I textured the backdrop for the top stone and lightly oxidized the sterling settings.

Free Spirit will be available a week from tomorrow (10/16/2010), opening day for our Jewelry at the Gardens Show.  I think its a perfect piece for the setting we are so fortunate to have at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

New Horizons

New Horizons
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

These earrings represent a real departure for me from my usual work. I wanted to create something unusual, not symmetrical, and very unique. A lot of the design elements you see in these earrings, that do not match, are deliberate on my part.

I started with some square wire, forged it to flatten out and put the flat ends opposite of each other.  The bottom of the upper earring has a tube set with a silver circle, while the other one doesn’t.  The placement of the stones are at opposite ends of each wire too.  Does it feel like one of the childrens’ puzzles where you need to find the things that don’t match?  Well, I wasn’t trying to go that far, but I admit I was experimenting and trying to push myself to do something outside of my comfort zone.

The stones are Imperial Japser, and as with so many jaspers, I think they have  great vistas.  In this pair, I see the horizon in front of me.  It’s a new horizon filled with wonderful possibilities.

This was the first pair of earring stones I bought a year ago at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show from Gary B Wilson.  When I bought them, his wife Kathy said, she knew these needed to be made into earrings.  At the time I had not attempted to make earrings and I must admit I was a bit intimidated at the prospects with these stones.  However, as I started working on new pieces for the Garden Show, this design came to me (while riding my bike again) and I knew the unusual design was right for them.

As I prepare for the Jewelry at the Gardens Show, I have had a chance to put my inventory of metalwork together and review some of my past blog posts about them.  I find I feel very philosophical about my work.  It represents some strong feelings, emotions I have about life, the present, the future, and even the past.  It’s those life experiences that makes us the individuals we currently are.

This pair will be available at the show on October 16 – 17th.  Hope to see some of you there.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Faith

Faith
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

In one of my previous posts on Dare to Dream, I mentioned how fond I was of the Corazon de Santa Fe. Well, with this piece I was able to incorporate that cross into it. As I looked at this finished piece and the basis for its design, I couldn’t help but think ‘Faith’. That is how this one received its title.

Two weeks ago, at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show, I purchased these stones from Gary B Wilson.  The top stone is an Ocean Jasper and the bottom tongue is a Savannah Jasper.  They paired up quickly and I felt they were the right stone combinations.  I couldn’t wait to get started on them and this design came together quickly.

Faith will be available at the Jewelry at the Garden’s Show in less than 2 weeks.  I hope it will be well received.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Inner Strength

Inner Strength
Timeless Series
Photo Credit ~ Daniel Krucoff

This was one of those stones. I found it at Gary B Wilson’s booth during April when he, Kathy, and Jesse were in Denver for Beadfest. It caught my eye immediately and I just knew I had to come up with a design that wouldn’t detract from the beauty of the stone. I went through so many sketches, that I will share here. I’m a little embarrassed to show some of these sketches, however, I think it is important/relevant for those who read my blog to understand the journey I take with a piece as I bring it to its final state.  Plus one of the goals I have with this blog is to document my journey as a metalsmith.  I hope you will enjoy my creative journey with Inner Strength.

The stone is an Amethyst Sage.  I’ve never seen one quite like this.  The markings within the stone are so beautiful. And that shade of purple, more lavender, is so rich and lush to me.  As many of you know, I have a passion for all things purple.

I truly struggled with finding the right design.  Here’s the first one.

Whew, is that like the flying red horse logo that Mobile gas had eons ago?  Ok, I just carbon dated myself with that one.  For those of you scratching your heads, here’s the logo I’m referring to….

Oh sure, now you can see the resemblance!  When I was a kid I loved horses, this was one of my favorite horse images, so maybe it crept into that initial design?

Well, I scrapped that one and moved on to these…..

Ya, I just couldn’t get that flying horse out of my mind yet, could I?  I did like the one in the bottom of this, but my gut was telling me it was too busy with that gorgeous stone.

Then I went off and tried some stone pairings to see if that was a way to go….

Pretty, yes, but it just wasn’t speaking to me.  Back to the drawing board, literally!

I thought I was getting somewhere now. I have this thing for two pieces that create movement, plus I really like what a tube set (that little circle at the bottom right of the sketch) does with a little faceted stone. But, for me the stone was upside down. I wanted it to have a different orientation that I felt was a better presentation of the markings within the stone.

Definitely more progress. The stone’s orientation is what I wanted. I still had a little tube set accent. I just wasn’t satisfied.

Almost there! There was a piece of broom casting that reminded me of Delicate Arch in Utah. I thought it was a great compliment to the stone. I still felt like something was missing.

Found it!  One of those moments.  I had done enough to get my subconscious working.  I think reticulated silver is gorgeous and all of a sudden I could see how the folds of silver would compliment the markings within the stone.  My ah-ha moment!  I had this beautiful reticulation that I had made during the Harold O’Connor workshop and one piece was made for this stone.  Plus I could include that little piece of broom casting too.  I gave up the tube set, but you know, that was ok.

I love the way the oxidation turned out on the piece too; nice subtle colors to compliment the stone.

On September 16, I wore Inner Strength to the Denver Gem & Mineral Show and got to show it to Gary, Kathy and Jesse.  The highest compliment I could have received was when Gary, who cut this beautiful stone, told me that I did a great job with its setting.  Kathy & Jesse also complimented me on this piece.  Talk about making my day.  Thank you Gary, Kathy & Jesse!

I am finding too that Dan continues to exceed my expectations when he photographs my work.  He is one awesome photographer in my book!

I hope you enjoyed reading about Inner Strength’s journey to fruition.  Why Inner Strength?  I think we all have more inner strength than we know.  Persistence is the key to so many things in life and it definitely enhances ones Inner Strength.  This is part of my Timeless Series.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.