Week 9: "Birds"
FlashDove: Here I am, on the evening of the due date, thinking about Birds. I really don't have to do birds, but I don't have anything else worth mentioning for the week. Its been a really stressful time and my time with my jewelry has paid the price. A few bread and butter pieces are all I have made for the past 7 days. Looking through pictures of birds, I think about my favorite, the Owl. I sketch some owls, then abandon them... maybe a dove? Soon I have a dove pattern, and begin to make her, my peace dove. I carefully structure her, holding her against my paper pattern, and then decide to hammer her for extra strength. She's not the greatest, but I decide she is ok. Then one last tweak on the beak... and in a flash my dove is broken!
Really, in front of me I have bird dichroics, inlaid bird MOP cab, bird charms.... so why the block this week?

Week 8: "Weaving & Braiding"
I have been making a lot of pins during the last two weeks ~ something totally new for me. Fashioning the clasp bar pin and hook to achieve the perfect combination of height and sharpness is a challenge.
This pin, in sterling silver, features jewel tone Austrian crystals and a Balli silver feature bead and can be worn oriented horizontally or vertically.

Week 7: "Asymmetry"
Connie Fox originated the term "Brangle," which is a three sectioned bangle style of bracelet. I had a desire to make one of these and had put the colors together and cut the wire several months ago. However, it got put aside when other things became more important. This week, the best thing I could think of for Asymmetry was this brangle: the colors and shapes and sizes are arranged with no visible pattern, yet still exist in an asymmetrical balance. Since I had never made one, I had to develop the lengths of the segments by trial and error, and this was thrown off by the size of some of the beads, as the length needed to compensate for their not lying flat on the wrist. This brangle turns out to have 4 segmented pieces as well as a large handmade clasp which was based on Connie's clasp but adapted to contain another bead. The bracelet contains amber, Bali style silver, lampwork and crackle glass and sports two dangles, an amber chip and a bright sunflower charm.