Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you’ll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
The winner this week is Mimi Gardner of Other Curiosities – Congratulations, you have won a pair of Heather Powers’ fantastic headpins. Email Heather with your address, and she will send those out to you.
This week, we are visiting with Lynn Davis in her studio, where she’s showing how her muse gifted her with flowers.
Here I am in the studio, putting together a jewelry piece from an assortment of pewter emblems, wire and hand dyed costume pearls. And for fun, here’s a little peek at my organization in the roll top desk I’ve been using recently as my jewelry bench.
So, what’s new in the studio?
For a long time, I’ve loved the look of enameled color on medals and medallions.
I racked my brain for ways to get more sparkle, bling and color on the pewter reproductions I’ve been making. I wanted the color to remain authentic to the faux antique look I like so much. Like glass enamel that’s fused onto metal, allowing the light to bounce on the metal and pass back through the color, giving it that glowing, sparking rich color.
I wanted to replicate that look with pewter, to create faux antiques with that same shiny, colorful look.
The real antique french medal this replica was cast from was loaned to me some time ago by a friend, and I like the way it looks in plain patinaed pewter. But I wanted to give it that bright red bling that you see on real, old antique medals.
How, oh how, to get there?
I experimented, tried various things to reproduce that enameled glow.
I kept trying, playing around with color, and finally landed on something that I like.
Then, I had to experiment with charm shapes, to see how I could also apply color to them.
This floral basket charm has a turquoise faux enamel look to the flowers – does look old and antique to you?
I’m pleased with the results, and can’t wait for it to be made up into a very vintage, antique looking design! With two holes at the top and one at the bottom of the basket, I tried to make this blue floral basket easy to design with, to create a wearable design when it’s all finished.
So, if you answer this question, reply in a comment to this post, you will have a chance to be the winner of the turquoise flower basket charm.
Have you had any brainstorms lately, or has an experiment with some new technique paid off? Are you struggling with an idea or image in your mind’s eye, not quite getting the results you wanted – or has your muse smiled on you and granted some of your design wishes and desires?
Do share your story of struggle, success or frustration – you’d be surprised to learn how sometimes it comes hard, and sometimes it seems to come easily! Why do you think that is, I wonder?
Questions posed by Lynn Davis, who needs a new necklace to wear this weekend, better get stringing!
EmandaJ
May 7, 2011 at 1:43 pmHi Lynn, I've been trying to get that rich look of enamel on pewter too. I'd love to know your secret.
Emanda
TesoriTrovati
May 7, 2011 at 4:32 pmFirst off, I love your old desk! I am going to picture you working away there next time I am using one of your charms!
I just completed an extraordinary piece that I hand fabricated completely. It was the culmination of all my trials and errors! I will be sharing it soon on my blog. I was channelling Calder with his swirls of metal on copper. I now have new directions to grow in!
Thanks for sharing your trials and errors and ultimate successes!
Enjoy the day!
Erin
P.S. Wish I could win! These are great!
beadsinbeauty
May 8, 2011 at 2:15 amHello Lynn,
I just wanted to say that I think your work is exceptional! I adored the red pewter charm because it was so vivid! I think the blue silver charm is antique looking and would be a charming birthday present for my daughter's 25th! Those are her favorite colors and I think it is very feminine in essence.I have been studying art nouveau medals on Ebay lately and I love your stuff! Have a great weekend! Sincerely,
April Blue Colton
Glasstastic Treasures
May 8, 2011 at 11:38 amI just had an ah-ha moment recently. I've been making lampwork beads for years, but it's also been a long time since I've done encasing. I was getting a bubbly mess with the new batch of clear glass I was using and it was frustrating.
I happened across a blog that explained how to use Sparex to clean the grime and metals off of glass to make it crystal clear. How could I forget that??
Revisiting your old knowledge bases can be rewarding! So don't forget the essentials 😉
gailwhitehead55
May 8, 2011 at 1:08 pmI love the look of your pendant.I can't make beads,but when I used to make stainglass desigins,my muse would usually pop up when I was really busy doing something else completely different,such as following a difficult recipe,or ironing clothes.I'd have to put down everything,run around gathering objects of the colors in my head,sometimes taking time to sketch a pattern out.You just never know when an idea will come,do you?
roseworksjewelry
May 8, 2011 at 6:56 pmI'm working on putting together a celtic pattern right now – it's slow, but I'm getting it done 😀
Cillaw
May 8, 2011 at 8:27 pmBeautiful Work!
I struggle when purchasing beads I love and then I wonder what to pair them with.
I have found the best way is to pull out two or three of the same beads and lay all the ones down that you had in mind that work with your design. Sometimes another color will jump out and you grab that and now you can get started. You will have a pile to put back but it gets the creative juices flowing and I am usually happy with the color palate that pops up!
Love to win too!
Cilla
tellyourgirlfriends.
Betty S.
May 9, 2011 at 1:21 pmAgree with Erin, love that desk and your very organized work space. Seeing that alone is inspiration. I'm afraid my own work space is quite the opposite at the moment. Perhaps I should dedicate some time to organizing because at the moment my muse seems to have vanished into thin air…or behind a thick fog. I've been struggling for some time now.
Oh, the flower basket looks quite old.
Thanks, Betty
Cynthia
May 9, 2011 at 8:54 pmLove the flower basket – it really does look like an antique. My new challenge: I got a ton of chandelier crystals recently, and want to use them in jewelry making – but I don't want people to look at it and say "Oh those are from a chandelier". So, I'll need to do something creative with wire I think.
Thanks for the chance to win!