Art Jewelry Elements

Monday, July 22, 2013

The Glass Addictions Science Lab

One part mystical (I literally dreamed about trying this technique one night and had to run to the studio the next day to see if it would work).

One part science (have to use the correct glass type or the beads will fall apart. It is NOT the type I usually use. )

One part math (some problem solving had to happen).

One part freaking out (Bead Fest is in a MONTH!!! Why am I experimenting when I have a table to fill?!?!)

Want to see what I've been working on? Warning...all photos have been quick iPhone pics...which vary in quality and clarity. All beads are still attached to the mandrels in the photos, which are not the most flattering.

This is the very first bead I tried. I liked the idea, but I'm not real fond of this bead.

Experimental Lampwork bead Glass Addictions by Jen Cameron

Here is an "in progress" photo using the same technique that I shared on my Glass Addictions Facebook page

Still working on this technique. Not sure if anyone else has ever tried it before...so I may be reinventing the wheel. #lampwork #nofilter

In this group shot, the one I show above that looks kind of orange-y is actually the green one in the center:

Quick pic of this morning's kiln harvest. #lampwork #glassaddictions

Again, here is an "in progress" shot that I take while sitting at the torch before putting it in the kiln. Front side:

Back side:

Here I am goofing around trying to take a self portrait while I work in the official Glass Addictions science lab. Yes, I always look grumpy when I torch even though I love what I do...

What do you think of my experiments? I would love some feedback!

-Jen Cameron

Glass Addictions

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Earring Challenge Reveal 13, Weeks 27 & 28

Can you believe it's time for another earring challenge reveal? This summer, no this year, is going way too fast! Here are some earrings I picked out for you to look at this week!

These earrings are from Alice Peterson! I love the ceramics from Scorched Earth and they go great with the lampwork she chose!

These are from Angela Gruenke - I love the effect of hammering the dots in the metal before enameling!

These are from Kathy Lindemer - her ceramic beads are from Work of Our Hands from Namibia, a very worthy cause!

Next we have earrings from Linda Landig - I love the ceramic spikes and the patinaed copper rounds go perfectly with them!

And finally we have Lola Surwillo - beaded beads and polymer clay made by her. I really like these a lot!

Thanks for joining us this week for a look at some really great earrings! Please keep posting your earring designs to our AJE Earring Challenge Pinterest Board, and you may be chosen as a featured designer!

See you in two weeks!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Working with distractions

Yesterday, Linda shared how she had been inspired by the flowers around her while she and her husband were away celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. That got me thinking about how distracted I've been from my studio, wanting to enjoy my own surroundings. It's so hard to stay in the studio making the same "old" beads over and over again when so many lovely things are growing and blooming outside!

So this morning I went out with a plan to enjoy that distraction by capturing some new inspiration and putting it to good use!

Back inside I got out my molding compound and got busy…

Here my new molds are curing. In just a little bit I'll pull the flowers out and see if I have anything worthy of new beads—that will be my post in two weeks! See you then!

What things have been distracting you from your studio this summer? Have you found a way to harness that distraction and turn it into inspiration… and maybe a new creation? Do share!

Friday, July 19, 2013

Jewelry Inspiration In Bloom

Last Sunday was our 40th anniversary, so my husband and I decided to take a little road trip down the Oregon coast to celebrate. A vendor, at a recent show, told me about a state park, in Newport, Oregon, called Shore Acres. He said it had gorgeous gardens that were well worth seeing. So we made Shore Acres our end-point destination.

Shore Acres - Newport, Oregon

The entire trip was so much fun. The gardens were amazing and I love the beach, the sand between my toes and the sound of waves crashing. But today I just want to share some flowers at Shore Acres that inspired some new jewelry.

I noticed a number of flowers with pink and yellow petals. They were so striking and beautiful. The pink and yellow dahlias, pictured below, especially captured my attention.

I couldn't get these flowers out of my mind, so I decided to challenge myself to create a piece of jewelry in pink and yellow. This was a big challenge for me, because I rarely use pink and I almost never use yellow in my designs. Now I was challenging myself to use both colors in one piece!

Trying to work outside my comfortable color zone, must have tapped into a different area of my brain, because the necklace that emerged is quite unlike most of my recent work.

I don't even have many yellow beads, but fortunately I'd recently acquired a yellow ceramic pendant from Joan Tucker of Off Center Productions. I managed to find one strand of yellow pearls in my stash and some golden-yellow glass tubes.

I found some yellow and pink glass cubes in my somewhat larger collection of pink beads. I added gold colored metal accents and this is what I came up with. It looks very summery, but I'm a little surprised at how unlike me it is. LOL! I honestly can't decide if I like it or not. What do you think? Be honest!

In any case, it was fun to push myself to experiment with some different colors. I feel that pushing myself to experiment builds creativity in the same way that exercise builds muscle. I can feel my "creativity muscle" growing!