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 Just to busy these days to keep up with my blog here.  When things settle down some, I'll come back with new posts.  But, in the mean time, you can see more of my new work and keep up with me by liking my Face Book page: https://www.facebook.com/LifeArtDesignsbyJanie

Have a great day!

Janie

New Silver Precious Metal Clay Work

A new silver pendant I just finished.  The stone is a dichroic glass cabochon.  I love using those in my silver because you can fire them in the kiln.  And, I just like the color and subdued sparkle they give.  The silver in the dichroic glass seems to compliment the silver in the pendant pendant. 

Have a great day!

Janie

New Art Boxes

I've been pounding away on the clay.  Polymer clay that is.  I'm getting ready for a few Spring art shows that are coming up soon here on the Island.  I've been on a box making frenzy.  I love to make boxes.  They're so much fun!  Here's the last two that I made:

First is a purple dolphin box

The second one is a happy fish box that I made after I found out my pirate necklace got featured by Metal Clay Artist magazine.  Can you tell I was crazy happy??

I have a third large box being cured as I type.  Lots of work left to do on it though.

Have a great day!

Janie

Metal Clay Artist Magazine's First News Letter - I'm Featured!

Metal Clay Artist Magazine (MCAM) has started a new monthly newsletter.  Each month they will have a "Monthly Masterpiece" feature.  I'm so happy to say, they featured my pirate necklace for January!  What a thrill!  MCAM is a wonderful magazine and a great addition to the metal clay community.  The newsletter looks like it will be awesome as well.  You can sign up for it at the above link.

Have a great day!

Janie

Switching Gears, or Mediums

I love working with silver metal clay.  But, I also love working with polymer clay.  I've been neglecting the polymer lately, so I decided it was time to switch gears and make something different besides jewelry.  I love to make boxes.  Here's two that I just finished.  A turtle box and a dolphin cameo box.



Have a great day!

Janie

Female Pirate Necklace

I got so involved with the pirate theme creating the men's pirate pendant I posted about yesterday that I was inspired to create a female pirate pendant.  I've had a blast playing with swords, stones, and gold!  This pendant has a heart lined in gold that matches the pirate's eye.  The heart stone sits atop two swords that are flanked by three graduating sized round balls.  The entire piece is backed by a heart shaped base.  I also made a handmade bail that was torch fired in place on the pendant.  Love the look and the security of these bails.  A little time consuming to make, but worth the effort.



Thanks for stopping by, your comments are always welcomed and appreciated.  Have a great day!

Janie

A Gold and Silver Pirate Pendant

Here's a photo of my latest custom order I that I just finished.  I usually get unique requests from men for some reason.  This one wanted a pirate necklace.  The pendant is complete, although I still have to hang it.  And this was my first time working with gold!  Quite an experience.  I hope to do more.

Have a great day!

Janie

Triple Dolphins

Yikes!  It dawned on me that I forgot to post the finished photo of the triple dolphin necklace.  Here it is...

Have a great day!

Janie

The Dolphins are Fired!

I fired the large dolphin pendant.  There is so much more to do to it though.  It will have to wait though because I have a two day art show that starts tomorrow. I'll be at Cadeax Caches in Fairhope, Alabama Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 6:00.  Stop by and visit if you're in the area.

Here's a peek into the kiln...

Have a great weekend!

Janie



Back to Playing with Dolphins

I'm back to playing with dolphins again.  This time, I'm working on a complex piece that I've had hanging around for a while.  It's one that I just work on every now and then between other projects. 

Have a great day!

Janie

The Completed Horse Head

I completed the horse head pendant that I showed in my previous post.  Here are a couple of photos showing it before firing and after firing:

Have a great day!

Janie

New Fine Silver Metal Clay Pendants

Here are some new silver metal clay pendants I just finished.  A couple are for custom orders and some are for mew inventory to take to two different art shows coming up in October.

And, here is an unfired horse's head that I am still working on.  This is still in the raw pre-fired stage. He goes into the kiln today. Then he'll get tumbled in steel shot, patina'd, and finely polished. I sculpted the horse's head out of polymer clay first.  I cured the polymer piece, then made a mold of it and recreated it in fine silver.

Have a great day!

Janie

Completed Bird, Owl, and Starfish Pendants

I made a little progress.  Here are the bird, owl, and starfish pendants.  I still have to hang them.

What do you think?

Have a great day!

Janie

On my Work Bench Today

Here's what I'm working on today.  Several pendants in progress.  A dragonfly, a lighthouse, a bird, an owl, and more dolphins for a statement piece. 

     

And a special pelican that I'm still working out the design for.  Hopefully, he will be perched on pilings and have an opal.  More on that another day though...

Have a great day!

Janie

The Dolphins Have Arrived!

The dolphins I posted about earlier are complete!  You can see my two previous posts with in progress photos here and here.  The first photo shows them fresh out of the tumbler with a high polish.  The second photo shows them after I gave them a patina and repolished.  What do you think?  Which way do you like them best, patina or no patina?

Have a great day!

Janie

Prefiring the Dolphins with a Torch

     I'm still working on the silver dolphin pendants.  They are about ready to go into the kiln.  However, first I am prefiring them with a torch.  Why?  Two reasons.  First, one of them (the lone dolphin with the dichroic glass) has a captured hanging bail for the chain.  I used a torch on that part by itself to prevent the two independent pieces from fusing to each other in the kiln.  Secondly, I wrapped the glass dichroic cabachon a little to tight, so I was anticipating some cracks.  I'm doing a little shrinking prior to full sintering, if you will.  And it did get a couple of tiny fractures.  Easy to fix.  Once that's done, it will go into the kiln.

More updates to follow after the final firing and patina...

Until then, have a great day!

Janie   

 



From the Daily Motivator - www.GreatDay.com                                           Photo by Janie Zetsch

---

Positive example

     Don’t merely wait or wish or hope for the world to become more positive. The world becomes more positive when you become more positive.

     The experience of life in this world is not something that is imposed upon you. Life is precisely and reliably what you choose to make it.

     What you cannot control, you can accept, interpret and make use of in a positive and purposeful way.       

     Shine a genuine positive light where you are, and that light will quickly spread beyond you.

     Don’t complain about how bad things are. Imagine how good life can be, and then persistently act on   what you imagine.

     Life is the way you live it. Live it well, with joy, with purpose, with care and commitment and love.

     Live according to your highest vision and your most treasured dreams. Be the best positive example for all of life to follow.

— Ralph Marston

Read more: http://greatday.com/motivate/index.html#ixzz24Sv9QprD

                                                                  

So, have a great day!
Janie

 

 

 

Playing with Dolphins

I'm still working on the dolphin pendants.  One singlular dolphin is finished and ready to go into the kiln.   That's the large dolphin on the right side with the bail coming out of it's back.  He has to wait for the others to be finished though.  They have more sanding and refining to do and then other stones to set.  I wasn't happy with the two small dolphins that I showed in the previous blog post, so I made the two new ones you see here on the left side of the top pendant.  They'll get mounted on the pendant at the top with the aquamarine stone.

Have a great day!

Janie

The Dolphins are Coming!

I'm in the process of creating a few Dolphin pendants out of fine silver clay for custom orders.  Some will have backings and one will be a lone single Dolphin with just a bail.  In this photo, they have been refined but still need a little fine sanding.  I broke the tail off of one, but that's an easy fix.  I'll probably wait until I add it to a backing before giving it a new tail.  I'm also waiting on a couple of stones that I ordered before deciding which ones to use in two of the pendants. 

I hope to show more photos as I progress with this.

Have a great day!

Janie

Published in Metal Clay Artist Magazine!

My silver and polymer butterfly necklace is in the gallery section of Metal Clay Artist magazine!  Along with some of my Metal Clay Heads  team members from Etsy.

Have a great day!

Janie