Merry Christmas!!!

This has probably been about the best Christmas ever!!! Check out my present!



I realise to most people this is just a big lego set and a very excited girl who is possible too old to be this excited about lego. But it's not just a lego set, it is THE lego set, the biggest in the world! 5197 pieces (mostly grey!) in a box I struggle to carry. Not even joined any yet, still in the sorting out phase but it's soooo much fun! I'll write a whole post about it when it's finished!

So onto more jewellery orientated stuff! I had a fairly successful Christmas period selling my jewellery at two craft fairs in Dundee, thought I'd keep it local this year to keep costs down. One which myself and some other members of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery organised, you can read about it here>> and the other in the Caird Hall. Thanks to everyone who came to see and buy!

I also had a few kilt pin commissions, the finished products you can see below -









Still in the middle of a website redesign for the kilt pins section of my website so haven't uploaded any new photos on it for a while, well not worked on the website for a while either so will crack on with that in the New Year.

Right, off to enjoy more Christmas stuff, and it's snowing again yay! Hope everyone has a fun and boozy Hogmany, and Santa, if you're reading this, THANK YOU!!!

Jabberwocky Necklace

I've just sent some exciting pieces of jewellery down to Artifex Gallery in Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands. It's a mixture of some older Jabberwocky pieces and Treasure Rings with a new Jabberwocky Necklace and collection of necklaces, bracelets and cufflinks inspired by my imaginings of pirates and shipwrecks.




Here's some close ups of the Jabberwocky Necklace. It is the first stanza of 'The Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carroll that really inspires me, along with the description given of the three creatures mentioned by Humpty Dumpty in 'Through the Looking Glass'. This first stanza is also published alone in 'Mischmasch' under the title 'Stanza of Angelo-Saxon Poetry' with slightly different translations of the words. I use both the descriptions to help visualise these words in the form of jewellery.

New Kilt Pin

I've just finished making this striking Kilt Pin inspired by the clients guitar. It is to be worn on a black kilt so the design needed to have a bold outline and incorporates a piece of turquoise, inserts of wenge and photo-etched music (Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young').



Here are some of the photos I worked from and some of the designs I came up with after deciding on the overall shape.





And here's some photos of the making process -

New Collection in the DCA

I now have a collection of jewellery ready to buy in the DCA Shop in Dundee. The collection includes some Biomorph Rings including the fabulous (and slightly dangerous!) Monstro, two Biohoop Brooches as well as colourful Biomorph Pendants, Studs and classic silver bangles.

Monstro

Green Biohoop Brooch

Turquoise and Purple Biomorph Pendant

Silver Bangles

Sketchbook to Finished Piece

I recently finished this commission for a friend of mine, a Kilt Pin for his brothers 60th birthday and earrings for his nieces. It was inspired by the Iona cross and has a Lily of the Valley motif in the centre. I've taken photos of it in different stages of design and making.

Another Year Older

It was my birthday on Friday (yay!) I love birthdays! It rained all day so my workshop buddies and I went to a cave in Glen Clova where I used to go when I was wee. We brought a picnic and had a game of scrabble (Sarah won, bah), I would definitely recommend a cave as a good place to play scrabble, you just have to watch and not drop a tile down a gap in the rocks! I got some good presents including a speedometer thingy for my bike and a beautiful bunch of flowers from my man, thanks interflora!

My presents!

Locket and Mushroom Houses

I was commissioned by a friend to make this locket for the mother of his new baby boy. It was a really good commission to get as I haven't made a hinge for AGES and this is the smallest I've tackled, it took me two attempts to get it right but I am really pleased with the end result!






I took this photo today on my way home down by the beach, you can see the two jack-up oil rigs in the distance. I almost went and worked on an oil rig as a stewardess after I graduated, did the survival course and everything! Thought it would be a good job to combine with making jewellery. But I didn't get a job immediatly and I was torn between putting more effort into that or putting more effort into the jewellery, so I decided to start my business properly, which I don't regret, but still I really like the idea of working on an oil rig, I don't know why (money?!?), so I always think what it would be like when I pass them.




These were growing on the side of a big tree that was leaning over into Loch Tay, found them on a camping trip, they're like little houses!



It's stupidly late, or early, depending how you look at it! So I think it's time for a sleep, night night.........zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Time flies when your having fun!

Ok, Who stole June? Can't believe it's almost July! And I'm sitting outside in the mist, the other side of the Tay has vanished, really hoping the weather gets better for the weekend, having a party on Saturday in the garden! (Fingers crossed!!) Just having a wee reflection on what I've done this month and I suppose quite a lot has been done when I look back. I was in Castle Sween at the start of the month, it was heaven! I was sooo chillaxed! Haze and I painted some stones with red enamel paint and left them on the beach, hoping to see where the tide would take them but it was so calm.... and peaceful....... and still.... ahhhh.... that they didn't move, just sat there in the sun enjoying the water lap over them.





I wonder where they are now?

Then there was a bit of a mad week finishing wedding rings, going to the wedding with the rings (they fitted hooray!) and visiting Edinburgh and Glasgow Degree Shows to pursued the new graduates to join the Association for Contemporary Jewellery. Oh and saw these amazing bags at Edinburgh made by Sophie Turnell.



The Association for Contemporary Jewellery is an organsation set up to help promote and encourage contemporary jewellery and I have just started helping Genna Delany co-ordinate the Scottish group which is exciting! We had a meeting Dundee with some other members at the start of the month which went well and was encouraging to find out that so many people were on the same wave length. Working away on your own a a maker gets quite lonely and it's easy to forget how many of you are out there doing the same thing. So we have agreed that meeting reguarly and staying in contact more is the most helpful thing for us at the moment, a place to ask questions, get feedback on new designs and try out new ideas.

Then I was off to Barcelona for the Sonar music festival (amazing fun!) and to check how they were getting along building that church. I think they've started a new tower since last year!



Somewhere between all that I finished some commissioned Kilt Pins. Here they are!







At the weekend I was in Ireland for the British Pipe Band Champs, we didn't play our best, I think everyone made their own mistakes which was a shame but we made up for it by having a brilliant two nights staying in Ulster University Halls, drinking in Belfast and eating chips (and a bit more drinking!) on the ferrys!

And now I'm just trying to get organised again! I think my work is now on top of and planned out for the next wee while but my clothes and belongings are all over the place! You see my room is very small and I have a sort of office/drawing space in another room and I use the spare room to pack stuff and is where I keep all my band uniforms so everything is spread out over three rooms! So that's tonights task!

Adios!