Sunday, September 9, 2012

More Studio Collaboration: FIber / Clay... Jewelry?

You may remember a couple weeks ago the little tour of my daughter's fiber studio. Lately we have been collaborating on a number of other projects. Just as Nellie sometime provides fiber inspiration to my jewelry makings, I sometimes switch gears to make ceramic stuff for her fiber business. Today I made dizes.

What is a diz you say? Its a little disc with holes in it to draw fibers through for carding and other fiberish purposes. Its all a mystery to me but Nellie instructs me on how to make them so its all good. I previously made a batch some time ago, and they now seem to be catching on among Nellie's customers (she sells them in her shop Spin-Culture).

A crude plastic diz at work - functional but not very pretty


The concept is pretty simple - I simply made a sort of organic oval shape (actually a variation of a shape I use for bracelet focals) and put the appropriately sized holes down the middle. Spinners like to hold the diz in the palm of the hand so it should be shaped to be comfortable. Today Nellie pitched in to help. She was especially attentive to getting the holes trimmed and cleaned - an improvement over the previous batch - they need to be uber smooth for the fiber to not drag or get caught.

After we were all done I got to thinking, wouldn't it be cool to make this into a combo bracelet focal / diz so that fiber artists can "wear" this useful tool as a piece of jewelry? Hmmm.....










We'll let these dry overnight and pop them in the kiln for bisque fire, then glaze fire a few days later. Nellie will take over applying glaze - she's keen to be more involved in the process. I think the next round I'll try my idea to make them into a combo bracelet / diz. We'll see how that works out - I'll share the outcome of that little experiment when we get to it.

11 comments :

  1. That sounds like a fabulous idea and reminds wearing silver stitch markers on a pin/brooch. I think it will definitely appeal to the spinners--I like it and I haven't spun in months!

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  2. Now O know what a Diz does...I saw these in ellie's shop and thought they looked interesting. Great post.

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  3. How inventive! I think it's particularly nice that the spinners have a little jewel in their hand as they're creating their magic.

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  4. Wow - those are awesome! Can't wait to see the colors you all glaze them! I also love seeing the process of how they are made.

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  5. I love reading about how you two are collaborating. Its the coolest thing! I enjoyed seeing some of the steps of the project.

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  6. That's a great idea! I LOVE it and wish I had a need for a diz because I'd definitely want one of these.

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  7. What a great idea, Karen... everyone deserves beautiful tools!

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  8. Very cool idea!! can't wait to see the finished piece!

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  9. I love the idea, and the soft oval shape. I think this will look stunning!

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  10. Thanks for teaching me what a diz is! They are so beautiful...add a piece of sari ribbon and some dangles, and you've got an awesome necklace or bracelet! I want one!

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