Category Archives: Wire Work

Bracelets, Metal Work, Philosophy, Wire Work

Shiny

September 10, 2009 Karen

Today was a shiny day! You might think this means that the sun was out today, but it was dark and cloudy. Usually, we would think this is bad, but today it was a happy phenomena. Following what seems to me to be an eternity, we have received over an inch of rain and this initiates hope for our drought stricken area. While that doesn’t sound like very much rain, relatively speaking, it’s huge. We went out after supper tonight to move the young bull calves to a different pasture and they were leaping, jumping and kicking in the cooler weather. If I weren’t partially over the hill, I would have been kicking and jumping too. The wet, black animals looked shiny and clean following the day’s washing and I can’t remember ever being so pleased to come back to the house with muddy shoes. I’ve decided “shiny” has nothing to do with the sun.

As an example, several years ago, my husband remarked that a young woman at a meeting he attended was “shiny”. Since I hadn’t heard that term in reference to a human before, I wondered if he was talking about her makeup or her clothes. My husband just kept saying, “you know . . . she’s real shiny.” Finally I decided that this was a half compliment indicating the woman was polished or fixed up to look attractive. I’m still not quite sure about that one, but when I learned her young age, I quit worrying about it.

A person could certainly have a shiny personality. This often connotes a bubbly disposition and a gregarious person. While this is usually pleasant, there are times when a shiny personality can be downright irritating. Someone with a shiny personality needs to know when to and when not to SHINE.

Today, shiny is an adjective for a new bracelet. It’s copper and I elected to omit the patina. It definitely has bling! The ovals were cut from a sheet of 24 gauge copper and the rings are handmade from recycled copper wire. I made a second bracelet in the same style and did patina it. This is for a boutique owner who doesn’t like shiny (on her jewelry).

All things considered, shiny can describe a feeling, an action or a state of being. Some think shiny is good and others see it as negative. All I ask is that tomorrow’s shiny day also brings more rain to central Texas.

Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy, Wire Work

Wear Your Courage

September 8, 2009 Karen

I was driving my car today and mentally complaining about how dirty it was when I remembered that drought conditions here have warranted NOT washing your car. Our area is 40 inches of rain below normal for the last two years and one need only go for a short walk or drive to see the ramifications of this phenomena. Driving down the hill from our house, with smoke dust rising in big puffs, I’m reminded of tales of the Oklahoma dust bowl and know things could be worse. So, I drive my dirty car like a red badge of courage, thankful for the problem solving skills by husband has utilized to care for several hundred animals during dry times. He manages to keep our animal’s flourishing and never compromises the quality we strive to maintain. With a production sale coming up in October, I’m amazed at how he prepares our offering even knowing that this year will probably be a financial winner for the customer. His continual emphasis is on the customer. What would the customer need and expect? He could be breeding cattle for what he likes, yet, he is always looking to the customers to see what would enhance their herds. Surely there’s a lesson in that for me.

Since I’m known for stretching a story and making unusual connections, what is that lesson that might pertain to design work? I believe moving forward during stressful times is key for any endeavor. Even if there is not a show or customer immediately around the corner, I work just as diligently on my designs and maintain the same quality. A lull in business provides a great opportunity to try something new whether it is a technique, material or style. If nothing pleasant hatches, there’s nothing lost. As my husband does with the ranching, I continually problem solve and consider what a customer might want. A color, size or style might not be what I would wear, but the customer is the real boss. One of my favorite ways to determine the potential of a design is to wear it while I run errands and observe whether people notice the piece. For example, I like the piece shown on the left, but I wore it and no one acknowledged it. The piece below, however, is another story. Folks looked twice at it and guess which one had sold. The one below is already gone.

This is the piece that I strung at least four times before deciding it was fit for the public eye. I could have just left it alone the first time, but quality maintenance is important here at Dreamcatcher and I don’t want to give it up.

My dirty car, however, is something I’ll be happy to give up. I look forward to the rain and the return of green grass.

Necklaces, Wire Work

Pascal’s Necklace

September 1, 2009 Karen

When I was a consultant providing training for teachers of gifted students, one of my favorite workshops to present was on mathematics. I used Pascal’s triangle during the workshop and it provided the basis for the necklaces shown here. If you’re interested in knowing more about Pascal’s triangle, you might go to the link that follows: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal's_triangle where you’ll learn that it’s basically a geometric arrangement of the binomial coefficients in a triangle. The link demonstrates the process of number development in the triangle and I’ve provided only the first six rows below.

The copper necklaces are obviously inverted from the triangle above, but you can see how the number of links are based upon Pascal’s work. The links for both necklaces are made from 18 gauge copper wire and the neckwires are from recycled wire from the San Marcos Green Guy. The necklace with colored stones seems to lay the best due, I believe,to the wider curve of the links. The plain necklace, composed of more links, is more delicate looking, but made from the same gauge wire. I’m hoping this design holds possibilities for further exploration. It’s one of the few pieces I’ve made that doesn’t take too long to complete.

Hmm . . . I wonder what else I used in that math workshop that could stimulate a design idea? I knew I shouldn’t have thrown away all my notes!

Belts, Metal Work, Wire Work

Not Your Grandmother’s Belt

August 20, 2009 Karen

I’m still belting it out here. As the post several days ago indicated, I’ve been making copper belts for a few weeks now. I need to STOP, but keep having little ideas that need developing pop into my head. The idea for one of the belts shown here came from showing my ranch workers what I was making. One of them said he had seen women wearing large double link belts and suggested I try enlarging my original horseshoe links. I tried the double links, but it made the belt too heavy for my taste and I ended with the style shown on the right. When I asked what type belt he saw on the women, he looked a little funny. We decided, he probably shouldn’t be looking that closely at “other” women’s waists. His wife might wonder! The second rather poor photo shows how the belt hangs. The buckle has a white magnesite heart wired to it and deerskin fringe hangs on the other end.

The second pictured belt is much smaller and made with links less than half the size of the one above. I have been wearing it and find it to be very light and comfortable. These links mold well and stay in place.

Belts, Metal Work, Wire Work

Belted

August 14, 2009 Karen

Usually when I think of “belted”, I’m in the arena of music as in “the singer really belted it out.” But for the past few weeks, the word has conjured new meaning.

Earlier this year, I made a couple of mixed link belts that took a good long time to create and made my hand ache. The original practice belt is in the picture below on the far left. When the second of the belts was complete and had been sold, I vowed never to do another one. Then our bead group decided to make belts at our last gathering. “Urgh”, thought I, but I decided to give it another go.

I wanted something western, but the only readily linkable shape I could think of was a horseshoe. The first prototypes are in the right picture. The horseshoe links worked much better and were easier to make than the mixed links. The horseshoes swivel easily and fit nicely around the torso. The final version of this style belt is in the picture above. I added turquoise to the buckle at the request of a boutique. You can see how these look in the picture below.

I’m also experimenting with heart shapes for the links and learned that they require a horseshoe link between each heart in order to swivel and fit. I’ve also played with a bird shape, but that didn’t hatch well.

Next, I’m trying a smaller gauge wire and smaller horseshoes with dangles in multiple locations on the piece.

I would enjoy hearing other suggestions for shapes. Until then, I’ll just keep belting it out.

Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Are You Alone?

July 28, 2009 Karen 6 Comments

This title could indicate a narrative about many different things. Some of these could be quite philosophical while others might be the opposite. My first tendency when reading the title is to burst into song. If you’re past 40 or if you’re a musician, you probably remember “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, a melody I still hum and have played on the piano too many times to count. This song can be spiritual and the blog title might also lead your thoughts to that arena. Of course, there’s the seamier side of hearing a husky voice on the opposite end of the phone asking, “are you alone”, but I’ll leave readers to ponder that one.

Last night while completing the two pieces shown here, I had a strong feeling that I wasn’t alone. The dogs and cat were outside, my husband had gone to bed, yet something wasn’t quite right. We live in a timber frame house and although it is 10 years old, there’s still some creaking and groaning as the timbers continue to split and shift. Those sounds can create an eerie atmosphere late a night; Yet, the sounds were not the whole of the feeling. Finally, I realized I WASN’T ALONE. I checked the kitchen; “sigh”. I checked the den; “sigh”. I checked the other rooms, but no intruder appeared. (I wonder what I thought I was going to do if one DID appear) Thinking I better get to bed before any more illusions crept into my thoughts, I glanced to the side of the work area and met the friend below. Truly - - - I Was NOT Alone.

Creativity, Metal Work, Pendants, Wire Work

Too Many Pea Pods

July 23, 2009 Karen

For the past several days, I’ve challenged myself to see how many different ways I might embellish the copper pea pods I’ve made before. It seemed like a harmless activity. Since I have such a dislike of making something more than once, I thought I’d work on that problem with the pea pods. When training to teach piano pedagogy, one of my instructors always said “attack your weakness”. Ok, I attacked my weakness and worked on becoming more willing to copy my own work. I just kept telling myself that I was using creative elaboration to change the pods slightly. After four pods, I declared that the challenge was complete and I should move on to another weakness (there are plenty to attack). But what am I going to do with all these pea pods?

Although it may be difficult to tell from these small photos, all four pea pods in the top two pictures are slightly different. The split pea pod in the last picture resulted when I rewarded myself for sticking to this challenge and took the time to make something different.

By the way, I don’t even like peas!

Creativity, Pendants, Wire Work

Still Rockin’

July 17, 2009 Karen 6 Comments

In the midst of all that classical music I’m listening to in an attempt to stay on task writing our annual cattle sale catalogue, I have done a bit of rockin’.

Those pictured are mostly more of Ralph’s rocks, mentioned in an earlier post. My goal is to find as many different ways as possible to wrap a cabachon. The rocks are a great way to learn and practice since they present their own set of unique problems. Challenge #1: No two are the same shape or size making it somewhat difficult to repeat a discovered wrapping. Challenge #2: The sides are not equal a given rock. Challenge #3: There is not a flat back, as in a cabachon; therefore what may work for the front doesn’t work for the back of the rock. Challenge #4: I won’t give up.

It would seem that some of these rocks do not wish to be wrapped. Proof of this lies in the wastebasket beside my workspace. Sometimes as I’m starting to feel proud of the wrap completed, the silly rock just pops right out and ends up on my lap. (This is not helpful to my ego!) Other times, the wrap is such a big mess that I take the cutters and whack it off. And then there’s that “morning after” thing. Something that looked really great about midnight is pretty tacky by morning. (Think about that one.)

As I’ve mentioned before, the literature on creative thinking tells us that creative scientists, as opposed to those who are rule bound, know when to abandon an idea and move on. I’m definitely not any good at that, but then I never claimed to be much of a scientist either. (When we started the ranch and I suggested that I could go to vet school, someone suggested that I couldn’t pass the science courses.) It takes me a good deal of time before I give up on an idea and move to another. Perhaps that’s stubbornness, but it could also be resistance to closure. I want to be sure I’ve tried every angle before throwing in the towel on an idea.

The joy of wrapping these rocks is that I have very little money invested in the adventure. Since my friend provided the rocks and I’m practicing with fairly inexpensive copper wire the wrapping in economical.

You might be wondering about the top of the rocks regarding why they have open hooks rather than closed loops. These are created to hang on simple neckwires and are interchangeable. I’ve had no trouble with them slipping off the neckwire as long as the hook bends down a good ways.

Soon I will need to stop wrapping rocks and apply these techniques to cabs, but for now I’m having a great time. Of course, I may have so many that you’ll find them dangling off my lamp shades before long, but I’m sure something better will dawn on me.

Necklaces, Pendants, Philosophy, Wire Work

Timing is Everything

July 5, 2009 Karen

I’ve heard the saying in the title many times and often believe it is true. For example, as teenagers, my children knew when it was a good time to ask for something and when it would be better to wait.

Today, I wondered if my timing was just a little off. While I’m getting to the top of the “hill” that I may someday be old enough to be “over”, I’m not there yet. I have always worked diligently to know what’s in and what’s not with the young crowd. As a piano teacher, I kept up with the latest music so that my students could play what was popular as desert on top of their Bach and Mozart pieces. I even rewrote many popular songs to make them easy enough for my beginners. Now, I’m thankful that my son keeps me reasonably up-to-date on new music and artists. As for clothing, I’ve even gotten used to young men’s baggy pants that may need a hitch up while the wearer walks and midriffs exposed on young and some not so young women.

Yet, lately I’ve been thinking my open minded/up-to-date attitude may be slipping. I just didn’t realize that I could wear my pajamas to the grocery store. It seems that when I go to the grocery store on Sunday mornings, I encounter young couples in their pajamas who appear to have just crawled out of bed. The first time, I thought it was just a single occurrence, but I’ve noted it numerous times since. Some of these couples even have on their bedroom slippers. One pair of slippers was complete with cute little dog ears. Today I realized that my timing is just off. I’m going to the grocery store at the wrong time or on the wrong day. I’m much more comfortable when I go on Wednesdays, the same day that the bus from the assisted living facility brings their residents to shop. I can converse with those people and help them find their food without feeling odd. I just don’t belong with the pajama crowd.

Timing is also important when we try to sell things. Jewelry designers trying to make sales at outdoor events in this persistent heat need to realize that there’s probably nothing wrong with their work – it’s just the timing. Hopefully, cooler weather will give sales a needed boost.

Right now, copper jewelry seems to be selling well. The timing is right for it and I’m working to create new options for the use of both copper sheet metal and copper wire. Pictured below are a couple of new pieces that will probably work better for fall than summer. Although we are in the midst of our hot weather, boutiques are now clearing their pastel merchandise and preparing for the arrival of fall clothes. Now is the time for jewelry designers to be thinking fall as well.

Timing – such an important element in life. There must be some unique formula to help me get it just right. I sure wish I could figure it out before I’m any closer to the top of that hill!

Necklaces, Pendants, Techniques, Wire Work

Out on a Limb

June 30, 2009 Karen

Today’s photo shows another pin turned pendant from the same family as the dog shown in an earlier post. Although these pins, given to me for creation by the owner of Dovetails of Wimberley, presented considerable challenge, I’m pleased to understand how to alter a pin and will be more open minded about the pendant possibilities that other pins offer. In case you didn’t read the earlier post, the process involves making and gluing a wire finding to the back of the pin which turns it into a pendant. Thankfully, I’m no longer “out on a limb” regarding this technique.

Dreamcatcher Designs