EONS

Well, it has been what seems as eons since I've been on this blog.  Four years almost to the date!  I have noticed that I am not the only one as many of us have decided that the quicker and easier way for an artist to communicate is through images and short descriptions on Instagram.  This in turn creates more time to create .... I think.  Unless I spend to much time editing my photos! But in fact I did the same with this blog so, yes, I think I am saving time.  For my few fellow followers, if you are still around, and wondered where I went... check out my Instagram account!

https://www.instagram.com/pkherring/

Here are a few sneak peaks of my latest creations (jewelry, photographs, sketches) from my Instagram account ....

Come and visit me!

Jewelry Gift Certificates on PK Studios Etsy Shop

PK Studios Jewelry Design Etsy Shop 

now has what you have all been waiting for......

Gift Certificates !!!

Do you need a quick gift for someone but are not sure what to choose? A great treat for your mother, daughter, wife, sister, co-worker, or loved one...You can't go wrong with a gift certificate!

I have posted different gift amounts...

$50, $75, $100, and $150

but if you would like a specific amount, please contact me and I will customize a card for you.

I can send you or the gift recipient the actual PAPER gift certificate which includes free USPS First Class shipping or I can email an ELECTRONIC gift certificate if you wish to go paperless or need a last minute gift.

CYBER MONDAY Holiday Jewelry Sale on Etsy

I must admit that I am NOT crazy about the saying "Black Friday" or "Cyber Monday".... they don't sound very festive or full of holiday cheer.  But since I decided to put on a little holiday sale I figured I should also reach out to those who use those types of terms to find great deals.  SO, I am putting on my first ...

ETSY  SALE!!!  

November 28 thru December 4

Selected items are ...

 TEN PERCENT OFF!  

That is a really great deal since I am also adding ...

 FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING! 

 and ...

  FREE HOLIDAY GIFT WRAP!

.....AND.....

if you go to the top of my Etsy Shop and click the Facebook "Like" button, which will update you on all my latest jewelry listing and news, I will give you an extra 5% off your purchase (sale and non-sale items) ... but you must contact me through Etsy so I can give you the coupon code to use at checkout.

To reach my shop, you can click on "Etsy Sale!!!" above, or click on my jewelry photos on the right side of my blog.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING HANDMADE!

Unique Handmade Fine Silver Jewelry for Great Holiday Gifts!

I've been busy using some of my newly acquired (and a few I haven't played with in awhile!) vintage bronze jewelry dies from Afghanistan to create new unique wearable pieces in pure silver metal clay..... still handmade by me in my little Ojai studio and fired in my mini kiln. And I decided to play a bit more with braiding Irish linen for cords in different colors.  It was a little tricky securing the braided cord ends in an attractive way.  I tried several different ways which failed my aesthetically critical eye and was about to give up (for the day, that is) when VOILA!, the Universe came to my rescue and a solution finally came through my thick skull.  I'm excited about the results... and I especially LOVE the braided red linen!

 All items available, or soon to be, in my Etsy online shop.

Tribal Heart Necklace

Floral Blossom Necklace

Floral Mandala Necklace

 

Arabesque Heart Necklace

"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist."

~ Louis Nizer

Workstatte Wonders

My class in metalsmithing three weeks ago at Precious Metal Arts in Santa Monica was really fantastic.  They have a great facility and the teachers, Peter and Nancy, are lovely.  Just getting a taste of basic metalsmithing (sawing/cutting sheet metal, soldering, polishing, hammering)  has me motivated to learn more.  And luckily there are more classes!

I am also inspired by the metalsmith artistry of early twentieth century artist Josef Hoffman from the Weiner Workstatte in Vienna.  I just had to share some images with you all.  The Weiner Worskstatte was born in 1913 out of the Arts and Crafts movement in England of the late 19th century by artists who were rebelling against the machines that displaced artisans during Industrial Revolution. The artistans wanted to show that a machine cannot produce the same beauty and quality in an item as a person can.  And they definitely proved their point!  

There is an interesting article about the Workstatte in the New York Times, called Rage Against the Machine with Artisans and Beauty.   

And, a book I've been dying to purchase, Weiner Workstatte Jewelry.

"Industry has operated against the artisan in favor of the idler, and also in favor of capital and against labor. Any mechanical invention whatsoever has been more harmful to humanity than a century of war."
~ Remy de Gourmont ~

Playing with Aura 22 Gold

The price of gold is at an all time high ... $1,855. today!  But, with the invention of Aura 22, I can still play with gold and not have heart palpitations if I make a little mistake!  My cousin commissioned me to create a necklace for her thirteen year old daughter, who saw the crystal druzy and fell in love but wanted my PK touch with it.  I finally found a moment to get my act together and finish it.  I made a few pieces, along with the custom order, so I could practice my guilding.  I made the extra tear drops in case the custom one didn't come out right... luckily they all came through with flying colors. 

The process is fairly easy. You make your fine silver metal clay piece, fire it like normal, then without touching it or polishing it, you paint several thin layers (I did four layers) of the liquid 22k gold clay paste.  The liquid gold has a small percentage of silver clay mixed in so it will fuse with the metal clay piece.  So, after applying the gold, it goes back in the kiln at only 850 degrees for 15 minutes (or you can fire it with a torch).  The first time I used it, I had a difficult time as the clay didn't want to stick to the silver after firing....  it flaked off while I burnished/polished it.  I read that it sticks better if you take it out of the kiln while still warm (but NOT hot) so I tried that approach. Seems to have worked!  Though from the first try, I learned not to polish with a polishing pad with any grit or it will rub the gold off. Best to use a burnisher.  I haven't tried the tumbler yet.

The first photo show the teardrop metal clay pendant without any oxidation. The whiter area is the silver without the gold overlay. The following photo shows the same teardrops as earring WITH oxidation.... a completely different look.  The last photo is a fine silver metal clay pendant with Aura 22 gold painted only on the granulation and floral detail, then oxidized.

GOLD 

 This symbolizes the purity of the spiritual aspect of "All That Is". It is symbolic of spiritual development in the realm of complete understanding, allowing one to both attain and maintain communion with the source of all being. It emits an energy to prompt one to allow beauty to come forth from the inner being as one travels through the world of experiences. It assists one to activate, to mobilize and to actualize the intrinsic potential of the self. The energy of gold can assist one in the elimination of ego conflicts and feelings of futility. It balances the heart chakra and amplifies thought forms. Gold has been used to open the third-eye and is an excellent mineral for purification of the physical body. 

"PURE GOLD DOES NOT FEAR FURNACE."

~ Chinese Proverb ~

Beads and Legos of Summer

Yes, I have been a bit distracted from my jewelry passion lately.

I have been very determined to help my fiver year old son learn to be a stronger swimmer so we've been in the pool practically every day this summer.  He loves the water and is definitely part fish like his father but he has had a great fear of THE DEEP END! Several attempts to motivate him into the DEEP END ended up in tears. Hmmmm. I decided to bribe him.... The other day, I told him that when he was ready and could swim from the deep end to the shallow end (long length of the pool) I would buy him a new Lego set.   I know, I know... I shouldn't have but I just KNEW he could do it! He looked at me and said "You mean for FREE??... No allowance?"  I said "Yes!".  He ran straight to the deep end, jumped in and swam all the way to the shallow end ...NO TEARS!  Thank you Lego...mission accomplished!

Despite my hours in the pool, I have managed to squeeze in a little creative time for myself and managed to design and assemble a few pieces that have been sitting in my studio for a few months.  I made the silver pieces months ago but as you can see, I'm finally playing with the beads I went crazy buying at the bead shows and having so much fun! Here is a sneak preview before they hit Etsy....

"You are all separate beads strung together on that one thread, God."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Trust Those Dreams of Gold

Last year, I posted a blog (She Sailed Away...) about a dream I had  several years ago that prompted me to finally take a jewelry class and learn how to use Precious Metal Clay.  In the dream, I (I think it was me!) was making gold jewelry.  I enjoy working with silver but I REALLY would love to work with gold....high carat gold like 18k, 22k, 24k... but with the price of gold at an all time high I have only dabbled with a few findings. A few weeks ago I splurged on some 18k gold ear wires and head pins and created a pair of earrings that had been in my head for awhile.  They ended up being the most expensive pair of earrings I had ever listed on Etsy and I figured they might sit on the shelf for months, if not forever.  Low and behold, one week later.....SOLD!  I couldn't believe it! 

I know the concept but now I now I trust it...... Do what you love and the rest will come!

So, you might be seeing more gold accented jewelry soon.  

And someday I WILL learn to craft in gold!

“What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us.”

Julia Cameron

Ancient or Contemporary

I sketched the design for the following necklace sitting in a splintery old wooden chair set in a strip of gravel next to a decomposing asphalt parking lot behind an old gas station while my car was getting it's yearly health inspection.  Instead of dwelling on my unsavory surroundings, I enjoyed a quiet moment in the California winter sun and let my mind wander.  I came up with several simple designs, all with curves, dots (I love dots!) and holes.  I tend towards simplicity but I love detail.  I think the piece below is a nice compromise. But I can't decide if it looks contemporary or ancient....maybe my creative juices went back to the future!

This piece is now for sale in my online Etsy shop.

"The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."
 ~ Albert Einstein ~

My Metal Clay Creative Process

Making jewelry really is a process.... of imagination and digging deep.  I try to be in the moment but it doesn't hurt to look to the past for inspiration.  I've shown a similar process before but I thought I'd share it again.... 

Twenty years ago, in a college printmaking class, I drew a design on a tar covered zinc plate and etched it in acid.  The finished plate was then printed on paper with black ink (see below).

Then recently I decided to have a rubber stamp made of the design to possible use in jewelry making.  I photocopied the print, reduced the size and sent it in to the rubber stamp company (here's how I found the idea!). I ended up using the matrix that creates the rubber stamp to mold the clay.  Below you will see the raw clay after pressed into the mold and cut out, then the finished product after firing and polishing.  I have ended up creating two pieces from the original design (so far)...

I have found that this process is much easier than carving into very small pieces of clay and I can achieve  a more three dimensional look.  Hope this helps!

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.  

~Georgia O'Keeffe

Baubles, Bangles and More Beads ; )

I've been so indulgent the last year gobbling up loads of beads at the local gem and mineral shows.  As I've mentioned before, my eyes grow bigger than my pocketbook at these affairs and I just can't help myself from adopting all the beautiful treasures I see! My guilt is finally starting to wane since I'm actually using them in my new designs and putting them up for sale.  It is often not easy parting with my little creations but I'm so happy when someone loves them like I do....makes the separation go easier. 


Available on Etsy Sunday December 5th!


Here are a few new ones....

Persimmon colored onyx layered with a fine silver floral pendant

strung with a mix faceted semi-precious  stone beads 

(aquamarine, carnelian, onyx, moonstone, labradorite, 

fine silver pendant with Austrailian opal beads 

strung on Irish waxed linen

fine silver charms mixed with labradorite,

turquoise & sterling beads on Greek leather cord

All silver pieces are created from antique Afghani bronze jewelry dies that I found in a bazaar in Islamabad, Pakistan.

“Life is a train of moods like a string of beads; and as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

Lovin' Linen

As I sip my earl grey tea I am thinking about my love of linen.  I love everything and anything linen....sheets, dresses, napkins, pillows. Old, new....I adore it all.  If I could (maybe I've said this before), I would probably live in white linen (layered with cashmere in the winter!) adorned with jewels for color! And now, I have added a new favorite to my list.... waxed irish linen cord!


I had previously used natural hemp linen thread to create braided cords for my silver pendants but my friend Tegan, the fabulous antique letterpress printer, let me in on a little secret source..... Royalwood Ltd.  They are the ultimate source for basket weaving supplies and Irish waxed linen cord.  For a small fee, they will send you a sample card of every color and size of waxed linen you could ever hope for.  I ordered spools of about 5 colors to try out and now I'm itching to order more....purple, red, indigo, mint, fuschia.  


My first experiments with the dyed linen making knotted necklace strands turned out so well, I have more colorful jewelry creations sprouting in my head. I feel like an excited kid with the anticipation of new box of crayolas!

field of flax...birthplace of linen

The necklaces are all for sale on Etsy.