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

Viking and Celtic Wedding Mandala

I have not ordered a hat yet because I decided to spend the money on silk long underwear for my trip to Denmark!  Out of the blue, my "oldest" friend who I've known since we were seven (that's 38 years!!) and who is basically like a sister to me, fell in love this summer and is getting married just after Christmas in Copenhagen.  I've been busy getting air and hotel reservations as well as making a special wedding gift for her. I was honored when she asked me if I would create a mandala representing her and her betrothed.  As he is of Viking descent and she of Celtic descent, I drew from the knotted and triskele designs of those ancient cultures.  I played around sketching the initials of their last name and finally figured a way to weave the two letters into a mandala love knot.  Once she approved the preliminary pencil sketch, I elaborated on the idea and you can see the progress below.  Each step was created using tracing paper over the previous sketch, all with a drafting pencil.  I photographed each step with my iphone and turned them sepia on iphoto (for the blog).  The final sketch was scanned and cleaned up on Adobe Photoshop, zooming in close and using a white "brush" to clean the negative space and a black "brush" to fill in any holes in the line work and smooth everything out.  The original design is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

My friend is going to use this mandala on their wedding invitation and thank you cards.  I can't wait to share the printed version with you.... it will be a surprise for all of us to see how she and the printer decide to use the mandala!

"Love conquers all; let us too yield to love."

~ Viking Runic Love Quote ~

Congratulations Shelley and Claus!!!!

Alphabet Mandala - Origin

Each individual square is about 3" x 3".  The designs are drawn freehand with white and brown India ink on card stock.  Eventually, I plan on using these designs on notecards.  But soon, I hope to transpose all of these drawings into molds for my metal clay jewelry.  See previous post for the first silver pendant in the Alphabet Mandala series....the letter V.  

Alphabet Mandala - Letter V

I've been drawing mandalas for at least 15 years.  About seven years ago as I was sketching ideas for greeting cards, I had an idea. I was playing with letters and suddenly started drawing mandalas with letters.  I ended up creating the entire alphabet with individual mandalas. Since the greeting cards never materialized, except for a few friends and family, I've never shared them.  When I realized I could use them in my jewelry design, I was very excited.  I redrew a simplified version of a few letters and sent them off to the rubber stamp fabricators to try it out.  I thought I would use the rubber stamps, but now I realize I like the rubber stamp matrix better.... which poses a problem as most of the letters I sent are backwards on the matrix! Now, I'm going to have to send my drawings back to the fabricator in reverse before I can continue. But, as you will see, I was able to use the letter V to begin my experimentation.  


the letter V....

maybe V is the first letter of your first name...or the first letter of you last name.  Maybe V is for Valentine, Victory, Veterinarian or Violin!  Or, maybe this is just a pretty design ....who would know it was made out of secret little V's unless you told them....

Treasury of Mandalas

I finally created my very first Etsy Treasury today!  Unfortunately I couldn't quite figure out how to take a photo of my screen to show you all the lovely black and white mandalas I found within Etsy.  If you click on "Etsy Treasury"...in the first sentence, you will get there.  I included one of my Cosmic Mandala Necklace too.  Here's a sneak peak....


NatureMandalas

mindmanifesting

joelpillerart

MelissaBeach

I haven't been posting...or posting about my jewelry...... lately because I've been busy creating!   LOTS of new stuff will be appearing on my blog and Etsy soon.  

Sparkling Starburst Mandala

Here's my latest creation for the Gandhara Collection on Etsy.  I'm calling this fine silver metal clay pendant the "starburst mandala".  I'm having fun experimenting with tiny cubic zironias in metal clay before I try using the real thing...diamonds.  These CZs are so small that setting them is NOT easy... especially with my deteriorating eyesight...  that these days I need to work through the magnifying glass!  This design is from a sketch I did several years ago that was inspired by an ancient Indian jewelry design.


Anyone interested in east Indian jewelry should own the incredible book called Traditional Jewelry of India.  It is one of my treasured possessions. You can peek through the book on Amazon.

Monica Ros School Fundraiser

 

Tomorrow night is the annual art auction fundraiser for Monica Ros School in Ojai, the sweetest elementary school you can imagine.... little stucco cottages nestled under the oaks, fabulous caring teachers, lots of art and music.  We are very fortunate to have our little guy attend (and his big sisters years ago)...  it is a little slice of heaven. Every year, the school has a theme to encourage the students to learn about something historical.  This year, the theme is The Renaissance.   To benefit the school, I have donated the precious metal clay necklace above..... which seems to reflect the schools theme I think!  I'm excited to see how high the bidding will go..... I'll let you know!


You might want to see what the pendant looks like in its original design, before the hole was cut in the center and hung beneath.....see my earlier post "Mandala Meditation".

What's my line?

a PK original hand formed pendant

Now that my jewelry die collection is up an running, I'm thinking about my own personal designs.... I have shown a couple on this site but I haven't put any up on Etsy yet. And do I put them in their own line? A new collection? I am thinking...... something to do with Ojai? But, some are made with stamps or stamp matrixs from my drawings and etchings and others (see above) are formed completely by hand. Maybe two new collections? Hmmmm.

Etsy A Go Go

Gandhara Collection - God's Eye Mandala

Well, I did it ...... Finally! I have listed my first item for sale on Etsy! My banner is not up yet and I only have one item up so far but I'm so excited. I have been procrastinating for a year now because I didn't have EVERYTHING ready. I have decided that it doesn't matter. It's a process, right? The rest will come in time. I do have my mailing envelopes, mailing labels, gift boxes, mailing scale, business cards.....and jewelry, of course. Maybe this is the paradigm shift I've been waiting for!

Ancient Inspiration

Everything the Power

of the World

does is done in a circle.

The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is

round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours. The sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Our teepees were round like the nests of birds, and these were always set in a circle, the nation’s hoop, a nest of many nests, where the Great Spirit meant for us to hatch our children.

Black Elk

Black Elk Speaks

Mandala Meditation

I often draw mandala designs as a type of meditation. This design, as well as the design in "Winter Whimsy", had been in my sketchbook for years until after only one PMC (Precious Metal Clay) class, I knew I had found a purpose for my designs and meditations. I redrew my sketches in black and white and sent them to a rubber stamp company. I now use the rubber stamps, as well as the rubber stamp matrix (the mold that the rubber is poured into) which I requested, to transfer my designs into the clay. If you are interested in this technique, check out this website:

http://www.polyclay.com/ready.htm

The turquoise green patina on this piece was a happy accident while I was experimenting with Liver of Sulfer solution which is used to create an antique look on silver.

This pendant is also available at Pure Life and Home in Ventura, California..... a fabulous new shop on Main Street opened by my dear friend Jayme. Check it out!