Weekend Recap

I kept myself busy this weekend riding and making jewelry (and watching the news coverage on the fires). Luckily I have a good friend who's husband is with Chad fighting the fires, so we trade info on what we've heard from them at least once a day. We watched the coverage on tv last night together, hoping are guys are ok and that they come home soon. The latest on the fire Chad is fighting, "Corona-Yorba Linda-Anaheim Hills Fire", it is 40 percent contained and has charred 28,889 acres. The weather is taking a turn for the better, and the Santa Ana winds are expected to ease up today.

Here is a preview of some of my new necklace designs:

Horsing Around - This pendant is 99.9% pure fine silver, handmade by me, on a sterling chain. $58

Changing Leaves Necklace - Grossular Garnet and Sterling Rings $65
Ametrine Necklace - Ametrine is a naturally occurring marriage of sister gemstones Amethyst and Citrine. The color gradation is created by differing oxidation states of iron within the crystal. $65Ruby in Fuchsite - Crystals of ruby are embedded in a fuchsite matrix, which makes for a gorgeous kelly green stone with patches of bright magenta pink $58

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New Fine Silver Pieces

Before heading off to Villa Sorriso to meet some friends for a drink, I worked on some newly fired pieces Susan dropped off. I used Liver of Sulphur to oxidize them, and got beautiful hues of blues, pinks, and golds. They came out great, and Chad wore the tube one last night. It looked good on him.

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New Fine Silver Pieces available for sale

I have added several new pieces to my website, Five O'Clock Somewhere. This is the beginning of my new line of Fine Silver.

Precious Metal Clay(PMC) is a revolutionary material, invented a decade ago in Japan. PMC is a clay-like material made of fine silver particles, water and an organic binder. It can be worked like a clay and when fired in a kiln, the water and binder burn off, the silver particles fuse together, leaving .999 fine (pure) silver. PMC is like no other material. In its fresh stage it acts like a clay; it can be textured, molded, formed. In its dry stage its curiously similar to wood, as it can be carved, sawed, and assembled into complex forms. Once fired, as metal, it can be hammered, filed and soldered.

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Precious Metal Clay

"Metal clay is a unique material, a new technology that allows the artist to form pure gold and silver jewelry in an organic, tactile way unlike any other tradition they may have previously known. Fire in the form of a torch or kiln transforms this wonderfully malleable "clay" into solid silver or gold. Polished steel tools are then used to burnish the precious item to a gleaming luster. Imagination completes the process, turning a beautiful object into personal adornment." - Lora Hart. I am just starting to explore this medium and am having a great time creating with it. I have taken two classes so far to learn PMC techniques, and I cannot wait to take more! In the last class I took, the instructor tripped on the way to the kiln dropping the bowl of our creations, and it was all reduced to dust when it shattered on the floor. It was devastating to see 8 hours of hard work go down the drain, however, it forced me to go home with the techniques I learned and remake my pieces. Here are a few of the things I have created so far.

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