Thinking Big

I have been getting to know Joan Tucker and Lana Turner of Off Center Productions this year.  They only live about 20 minutes away from me.  In January, Joan asked me if I would design a necklace for their booth display in Tuscon.  She wanted something showy, that would grab people's attention and draw them into the booth.  So I selected the biggest pendant of hers that I could find, along with some accent beads.

Designing this necklace became an interesting challenge for me. When you start with a very large pendant, then everything must be scaled up to achieve a pleasing balance.  I loved working pretty much without any size constraints.  It became a great creative opportunity.

The picture above shows my design process at the very beginning, when I was just trying out different possible combinations of beads.  Eventually I decided against the carnelian at the top of the necklace and substituted the copper chain you see to the left of it. I ditched the two copper disc beads, but kept Joan's two ceramic disc beads.

At this point I was ready to start wiring all the components together.  I marked my round nosed pliers with a sharpie so that all my loops would be the same size.

I wanted to top these pretty melon shaped coral beads with copper bead caps, but the only ones I had were too curved to fit properly on the flat ends of the beads.  So I smashed them - the bead caps, not the coral!  Once they were flat, I curved just the very tips of the bead caps downward.  Perfect fit now.

When it came time to wire on the batiked bone beads I found that their holes were so large that they wobbled on the wire, making them droop sideways at times.

So I got out some size 8 seed beads and filled up the holes before re-wiring the bone beads.

The seed beads stabilized the center so that the bone beads remained perfectly centered on the wire.

I also spent time deciding how I should end the necklace.  There were two holes on the end of the pendant, but it seemed like it would look stupid to just have two dangles there, on either side.  Instead I bought some copper fringe chain and looped it between the two holes.  Then I created a dangle of coral and a dzi bead that I strung on waxed linen cording.  This made a graceful and large-scale finale to the necklace.

Unfortunately I was running late the day I was going to bring the necklace to Joan.  So I just set the necklace on the kitchen counter and quickly snapped a few mediocre-quality pictures.

Joan took a picture of my necklace and other necklaces, in their booth in Tuscon.  But she didn't get a chance to take many more pictures because...

Someone wanted the necklace and bought it on the spot!

So now I can say that, although I have never been to Tuscon; one of my necklaces has!

Linda Landig
Linda Landig Jewelry

Words....

2013 is just a few short days away.  Another year almost gone. Many of us are reflecting on the good and bad of 2012, but are also looking forward and forming a plan to make our 2013 the best year ever.  A few years ago, bloggers all over the art jewelry community started choosing a "word of the year"...one, all-encompassing word, instead of all the resolutions that tend to get forgotten after a month or two.

I thought it would be fun to ask my fellow AJE contributors about their word choices for 2013. Several of us had already thought about it...

Kristi likes balance and prioritize..."be able to figure out the important things and let the rest go!"

Jen's word is freedom...from fear, guilt, to create when and what she wants...that's a great choice!

Lesley chose balance...another great word!  She wants to ensure everything gets the attention it deserves and still have flexibility for the unforeseen.

Karen mentioned exploration and fearless...I think those go hand in hand!

Joanne wants to remember to relax!  She wants to "make time to enjoy the blessings in life and have fun creating..."

Linda expressed her desire for openness..."open to explore new skills and experiences".

Francesca wants to be intentional...she wants to develop positive discipline by setting measurable goals.

As for me, I changed my word every time I read someone else's answer! Last year, my word was de-clutter...my home, studio, life, thoughts...I can't say I was that successful. I believe it was my lack of focus.  Eureka...focus!  I have so many incomplete projects laying on my work table.  2013 is going to be the year for me to focus on what I have to do and maintain that focus until the task is complete, be it new jewelry projects or folding laundry!

So, how about you?  Have you chosen a word for 2013? Let us know!  No matter what your word, we here at Art Jewelry Elements wish you the very best 2013 you can possibly have!

Melissa Meman
Melismatic Art Jewelry
Art. Life. Love