Show and Tell

I wanted to share with you some of my jewelry stuff. Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that I have some background in the jewelry arts, from my time in the BFA program at University. So far, life has gotten in the way of me becoming a jeweler, but I still manage to play designer on a fairly semi-regular basis.

I have been doodling in my sketchbooks and playing with my colored pretties all week, so here are a select few of my best stones and some of my best sketchbook pages. Like most artists, I harbor a paranoia of idea thieves, so some of my best designs are remaining super secret. I must admit, I am hoping some NYC fancypants honcho stumbles upon this page and demands my presence forthwith. That would be awesome. Its highly unlikely, but hey! A girl can dream.

So here’s my show and tell:

I got this ameythst from an acquaintance, who got it from someone else learning lapidary. See that corner over there? It was a mistake in the cutting of this stone and too much got lopped off. My friend passed it on to me, in the hopes I could come up with a suitable design for it.

I think it is pretty, imperfections and all.  Its pretty big, about 12 mm long.

I’m still working on the design.

 

The big one is a sapphire, about 10mm.  It has a mate, which is already set into a ring I made, which was my first attempt at a claw setting. I intend this to be set into a pendant.

The smaller one is an iolite, about 6mm. Not sure what to do with it yet.

 

 

 

 

This is a glorious Topaz. 8mm.

No clue what to do with it yet. Probably a ring.

 

 

 

A change of pace: cabochons (smooth, round-faced opaque stones)

This one is a quartz with gold vein in it.  I intend to set this into a ring.

 

 

 

 

These are fancy stones. Star Corundums. The pink one is a star ruby, and the blue is a sapphire.  I tried and tried to get a shot to show the stars, but I’m not that good a photographer.   These are 6mm stones.

 

 

Now the sketches from my sketchbooks. First, please excuse a note to indulge in my territorial paranoia.

***THESE DESIGNS ARE COPYRIGHTED TO ME 2006-2009 DO NOT COPY OR DUPLICATE OR MANUFACTURE WITHOUT PERMISSON***

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last two pages are design ideas for possible use with the amethyst shown above.

 

And thats all I’m showing and telling tonight, folks. I got four books full of sketches and a whole box full of gems and cabs of all sizes, shapes, and colors.  And to the mystery jewelry designer honcho I’m SURE is looking at this page right now, CALL ME!

 

In search of more rounded-ness.

I got to thinking over the weekend of things I’d like to learn to do, preferably sooner rather than later.

1. Dance. I really suck at dancing. I’m okay when I’m sitting in a chair; I can bob and weave with the best of them, given a little guidance, but I have no freaking clue what to do with my feet. Being asked to do things with my feet makes me feel very self-conscious, and that first step to the front or side feels utterly ridiculous. I don’t really like that feeling, and I avoid dancing in public. The cruel irony is, I do like to dance. I like to move my body, even if I can’t really hear the music. I would love to learn how to use my feet. I am particulary interested in Latin forms (tango, salsa, rumba, etc), Bellydancing, Pole dancing, or plain old club dance.

2. Yoga. A LONG time ago, when I was a child and a teenager, I was pretty stretchy and flexible. I lost a lot of that flexibility while in college and working after graduation. It could be due to age, weight gain, and inactivity. Whatever, I would like to get that flexibility back, and yoga seems a good way to maximize that potential. Besides, yoga is a meditative act as well, and learning to manage stress in addition to limbering my body sounds like a good idea.

3. Sailing. I had my first and as yet only taste of sailing last May and there was something about it that thrilled me, even though I did nothing but cling to the side and feel the salty wind blowing through my hair. I would like to learn how to operate a sailboat on my own, and someday take a little skiff down to the Carribbean.

4. Design. Specifically, industry standard professional rendering of jewelry designs. I have many sketchbooks filled with designs, but I need to know how to render them realistically and professionally to present them as a portfolio to major design Houses or clients.

5. Digital art. It would be nice to expand my visual vocabulary to include Photoshop and Illustrator as art mediums. Digital art is amazing, and it is a useful skill in a creative industry that is increasingly reliant on digital mastery.

Live Blogging: Day in the Life: Part Three

(Read parts ONE and TWO)

4:00 pm and here we return to see our spitfire heroine dash out of the windowless box that is her place of employment. The weekend has begun and the excitement is palpable. See the flushed face, the up-turned smile, the wide-eyed breathlessness? Oh happy day!

But what’s this? A sudden slump of the shoulders? Rachel remembers she must pay a big bill today. She sighs. A trip to the bank is in order and she is $300 poorer. What a wretched state! At least she can still afford a bottle of wine! After paying her bill, a bottle of 2005 Reisling Kabinett from Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt is in her grubby little lushy paws. What ho, hey?

Two hours later: Our slightly inebriated hostess takes a bath. She appears to be chatting on AIM and catching up on blogs via her Blackberry whilst turning into a prune. A new and very interesting friend signs on and our tipsy lass grins. At the suggestion of this mysterious person, she removes herself from the water and retires to the t.v. room to watch Stargate: Universe and exchange commentary. It seems to be a very enjoyable conversation. Perhaps as enjoyable as this night’s episode of Stargate: Universe itself?

Those who must know must also get used to disappointment. (Rachel hopes her dear readers get the reference, and she will love them forever.)

And now she has returned to the computer, tongue out-thrust, brow furrowed, liver groaning. With a flourish she now bids the day, and this blog series, “Adieu!” All this third-person, self-aggrandizing humor crap quite wore her out!

Live Blogging: A day in the life, part two

Part one is here.

We return to our intrepid adventurer of the mundane! It is lunchtime, and Rachel realizes she has forgotten to pack a lunch. Oh Calamity Jane! She stands next to the company fridge and contemplates her options.

• a. Go to Dunkin Dounts. Buy a Ham and Cheese flatbread sandwich and a chocolate-frosted donut. Hmm.
• b. Go to another deli and order an overpriced over-stuffed sandwich made with fried chicken. Hmm.
• c. Go to the convenience store and grab affordable junk food. Hmm.

Rachel grimaces and makes her choice!

And now, its viewer participation time!

 

Thank you for participating, dear reader. Let us see what Rachel is nomming, shall we?

Ah, a lunch of cheap hot dog in a bun, a bag of white cheddar popcorn, and a can of evilly caffeinated Pepsi. Apparently, our budget-conscious gut-buster chose option C. Will she regret the consequences? She will undoubtedly be happy to let everyone know.

Our foolish hero lumbers back to work, to slave once more at the will of her vile employers. A stack of work awaits her! She groans and plods on–let us fast forward again, shall we?

One hour later Here we see our hapless lady of the pot run to the restroom. “Oops!” She proclaims. “Time to poop!” She giggles. “Hey, you see what I did there? I rhymed!” Oh dear. Avert your eyes!

15 minutes later
Ah! Oh good, our mistress of the slackery is blogging again. She bravely ventures forth into the land of the POLL. “Can I create a poll on my Blackberry?” she asks the ether. “Or will it blow up my phone?” Biting her lip, she hits publish and hopes the godforsaken thing works.

Alas! Rachel gnashes her teeth to a fine powder finer than particles of pottery clay. Her cursed phone does not render embedding codes! Rachel begs her beneficent and merciful and wise and kind and radiant Sister to fix it for her.

All hail the Queen of the helping hands!

Work is almost over, and soon our tired and worn hero shall sally forth to home. What does our happy-go-lucky blogger intend for this Friday Night Festvities?

Stay tuned to find out!

Live Blogging: A Day in the Life

At 5:45 am, the small battery powered vibrating alarm clock that hides under Rachel’s pillow bursts to life and shatters her dreams into tiny mental fragments that vanish into the cold autumn air. Rachel’s cat takes this opportunity to poke her in the eye.

15 minutes later, our fabulous heroine stumbles out of bed, jams on her slippers and sleepily totters outside to check on the functionality of her dubious automobile, the Noble Steel Steed of Saturn. “Please start today, motherfucker,” she mutters under her breath before she turns the key into the ignition. Does it start today? The engine turns over and purrs happily! Halleluia!

A few minutes later Our fearless leading lady decides to get ready for work. “What shall I wear today, self?” Rest assured, dear friends, she is not yet as crazy as she appears. After some perusing of her color-coded garments, our bold and forthright hero decides to wear a black sweater over a black and grey t-shirt, with dark jeans and black socks. Spiffy!

15 minutes later Our emo friend dashes out for work, picking up an egg sandwich at her favorite local deli on the way. She polishes off her breakfast with gusto! A strong eater.

She arrives at work. She starts work. What she does for work is quite boring. No need to watch that–lets fast forward through this, shall we? Let us all thank the Japanese for the powers of DVR.

One hour later Oh look, the paychecks are here! Our noble hero looks unsuprised at the number on the check. Its the same amount she gets every week. A coworker asks her what the background radiation on her process wipe test was. Our witty mistress of bad jokes is inspired! She–oh clever she–glances at her check and proclaims the answer to be “Zero!” Her co-stars act suitably amused. Oh happy day!

Rachel returns to her desk and waits for the new round of work to arrive. She looks down momentarily and notices a travesty of the highest order and slaps her forehead in dismay. In her haste to get dressed, she put on the wrong pair of shoes, oh hapless she! Instead of the black sneakers she had intended, she had slipped on the brown.

Oh the humanity!

But our heroine is undaunted! This travesty of epic proportions shall not fling her into the pit of humiliated despair. Rachel is made of stronger mettle, it seems. She laughs and is inspired to blog, oh happy day! A picture is taken. A blog post is begun. Our heroine’s tongue is thrust out in concentration and her writer’s brow is furrowed!

Stay tuned for further shenanigans from our wise and glorious star!

Milk.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I generally need “themes” in order to write anything, these days, and I don’t have a theme ready for this week.

Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have an idea. For now, I’m working on my 100 word per day creative writing titty. The teat is pumping.

Lots of Numbers Here

Good god, I can’t believe its frickin November already. 60 days away from frickin 2010. 35 months away from the frickin Apocalypse. Speaking of which, has anyone seen that movie, 2012, yet? Is it really as goddamned stupid as it looks? I really wish hollywood would stop trying to cover up crappy scripts, shitty acting, and stinky concepts with frickin melodramatic special effects. Go back to good scripts, good stories, and good acting, I say! Let the special effects enhance the movie, not BE the fucking movie. Don’t let the razzle-dazzle bring attention to itself. Case in point: Star Wars Prequels vs Lord of the Rings. Transformers vs Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Am I the only friggin person who feels this way?

I digress.

Its Novemeber, will ye, nill ye, and the month of NaNoWriMo has begun (yesterday at midnight to be precise). I did it last year, and had intended to do it again this year, but shortly after Nano 08 ended, things with my ex went downhill fucking fast, and a major creative/writer’s block took root in my head. I’ve only just begun to get past that block, and don’t feel up to pursuing that monumental task of writing a book in 30 days. So instead of 1669 words a day, I am aiming for 100 a day. By November 30, I should have around 3000 words, or 12 pages, which is a short story. This is in addition to my regular blogging practice, of course.

So, with that in mind, back to writing! I’ve got 100 words to milk out of my dried up mental titty.

Week of Pictures: Working Hard for the Money, Honey.

Slow day at work. See my blackberry pictures!

You better treat me right.

Week of Pictures: Nom!

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

Week of Pictures: Cloth

I dont really have any words today, so this week its pictures!

Today its cloth.

I have a few bundles of fabric that I have yet to make into garments. Here are the photos. Aren’t they pretty?

I’m planning on turning this into a shirt or vest of some sort. Its blue and gold sari brocade, which is a light-weight satin.

This one is either an a-line skirt or an embroidered tunic. Its a linen fabric that is actually more teal than green, but for some reason the light balance on my camera is running yellow, sigh:

And this, my favorite fabric, will become a dress with some draping and tailored details, or an evening jacket, with formal tailoring. This one is also a satin brocade, but heavier and thicker than the sari.