Aspiring Metalsmiths September Challenge - Animals

Thank you all who voted for me! I had a hard time coming up with a theme - I wanted something that I was sure would inspire a lot of people. You could say this is an easy theme, a lot of us make animals and have made animals in the past. Which of course means that a lot of people should be able to make something for the challenge. So if you have little time, you make something within your comfort zone. If you have the time, try to think outside the box, try a new technique, or make a jewelry item you dread making. Make sure that you mention how you thought and how you challenged yourself so we can vote accordingly! Add your entry to the Flickr pool tagged 'AspMet September challenge' no later than midnight (EST) September 30st.

Now for some inspiration:

Make yourself something that will always remind you of a dear pet..

Make something in honor of an animal you would like to save..

Celebrate nature's diversity by picking a weird animal...

Or design something for your favorite dog..

I hope that with these inspirational pictures the wheels will start turning and great creations will be made!

Let the voting begin for Self Portraits!!!

So in July Jess gave us this challenge.....

" The challenge for July is to make a self portrait! Artists have been creating self portraits for who knows how long, and now it is your turn. A self portrait is defined as a representation of the artist created by the artist. Now don't cringe, this does not have to be a literal representation of your face, but it could be! Be creative and make a piece that you think represents you. This will give you an opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and come up with something fantastic."

Well, I'm afraid many of us did cringe! There was talk of using reticulated silver to show the wrinkles. There was talk of not much liking what was in the mirro. And since it is summer, there was talk of being too busy to come up with much of anything. Personally, I couldn't seem to come up with a darn thing.....I sat at my bench and stared at the supplies for hours.

So it makes me very proud to show off the work that did get done by our more brave (creative and productive) members!!

Resurrectionsilver gives us this beauty:

"Ripple In the Water. Sterling Silver and Lapis Lazuli Pendant. This is my interpretation of myself. I believe that every choice I make, every action I do has a ripple effect. It can be negative or positive. I try to focus my life toward doing what I was created to do to make this world a better place, by shining the light of the Creator and being that ripple in the water that spreads light and love and peace. I made this pendant to try to capture that essence. The pendant consists of concentric organic circles or ripples around a lapis pebble. The pendant can slide freely on the jump ring bail representing the movement and flexibility necessary for harmony."

You can see more of Ressurectionsilver's work in her Etsy shop!

Esme of SilverBlueberry entered this amazing set:

"Aspiring Metalsmiths July challenge entry. The challenge was to make a self-portrait. I used my name stone, emerald, for that. I had been wanting to make something with emerald for ages. The commercial precious gemstone jewelry out there is not that appealing to me so I wanted something completely different. The silver is textured with local granite from my garden."

You can see more of Esme's work in her Etsy shop!

SpiceOfLifeDesigns brings us this lovely necklace and earring set.....

"Asymmetrical and irregular ovals radiate from the center of this handcrafted sterling silver necklace. Given even more visual appeal by the grungy hammer texture, the concept for this pendant was developed as a self portrait - I am constantly spinning in circles, my life and the lives of my children are carefully connected and we've gotten battered about by the events in our lives this past year. Resembling a tide pool or the ripples created when a stone is tossed in the water, this pendant is natural and organic in design."

You can see more of Spice Of Life Designs work here in her Etsy shop!!

So....that's it....not many to pick from but each one is a totally perfect self-portrait......

July Project Blogroll - What are you working on?

What are you working on?

This months blog topic is to share what you are currently working on. Now is the time to show off some in progress shots or any new pieces you just finished up.


Check out the awesome artists below and see what they are working on.

• Esmeralda http://jewelry-by-silverblueberry.blogspot.com/
• Happy Tortoise Designs http://www.happytortoisedesigns.blogspot.com/
• Crow Steals Fire http://crowstealsfire.blogspot.com/
• Contemporary Jewelry by Beatriz Fortes http://cjbf.blogspot.com/
• steph http://stephstargell.com
• Jessica @ Abella Blue http://www.abellablue.com/blog
• Pennee- All Wired Up Jewelry Designs http://www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com/
• Sylvia Anderson http://www.sylviaanderson.blogspot.com/
• Stacy http://www.formandfunktionaccessories.blogspot.com/
• Mary Anne Karren http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/
• Brightstar109 www.brightstar109.blogspot.com
• Amy Nicole Artisan Jewelry Http://Rubymtnbeads.blogspot.com
• Resurrection Silver http://www.resurrectionsilver.blogspot.com
• Kwant Essentials http://kwantessentials.blogspot.com/2011/07/show-and-tell-from-start-to-finish.html
• Kit and Caboodle Shop http://thisartistsjourney.blogspot.com
• Julie http://jamauerer.blogspot.com
• Lilian http://www.girllovesglitter.blogspot.com/
• Autumn Bradley Jewelry Design http://www.autumnbradley.blogspot.com

Aspiring Metalsmiths July Challenge - Self Portraits

Thanks So much for everyone who voted for me, and now I hope you don't change your mind. The challenge for July is to make a self portrait! Artists have been creating self portraits for who knows how long, and now it is your turn. A self portrait is defined as a representation of the artist created by the artist. Now don't cringe, this does not have to be a literal representation of your face, but it could be! Be creative and make a piece that you think represents you. This will give you an opportunity to stretch your creative muscles and come up with something fantastic.

Instructions: You must add your entry to the Flickr pool by midnight August 7th. Remember to tag your photos with "July Challenge 2011", so we don't miss it!

Abella Blue Wins!!!!

Rhythm was our challenge, and Jessica from Abella Blue ran away with the beat!!
Here amazing little finger harp blew away the competition this time. You've got to take another look, and click HERE to see the video of it in action.

 

We had a tie for second place between Pennee of All Wired Up and Cornelius of Kwant Essentials.

Both of them gave us rhythm in the guise of the natural world......

and Viki of LorieLynn took a very close third place with here wonderful "rhythm and blues" cuff bracelet.

Thanks to all who entered and voted!!!  Jessica from Abella Blue will be adding her challenge for us in the next few days.....then we can all rack our brains to come up with something beautiful and amazing!!

Let the voting begin on June's Challenge

"Interpret the Design Principle "Rhythm" in any way which moves you." Was the challenge that Julie gave us last month....here's what we all came up with. Take a look and vote for your favorite on the poll to the left of your screen!!

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Viki from LorieLynn brings us this cuff titled "Rhythm and Blues" Awful pretty in a "urban decay" sort of way.

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Gloria from HemlockHollow brings us this neat pendant titled "One Note." It was made of PMC, hand set with an amethyst CZ and textured with a seashell.

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Jessica of Abella Blue took the challenge very literally.... here's her tiny little finger harp. It makes the prettiest little tink-tink-tink music, and sits comfortably on a chain around your neck. Check out a video of it in action here.

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Asa from AsaPDesigns made a cute little brooch. It's all ready to give to your crush, just so they know what effect they have on you. The heart beat is pierced into the stamped and patinated copper.

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Pennee from All Wired Up brings us Rubies in Motion. She has this to say about the project: "After researching a bit, I realized there are lots of rhythms and creating something that causes a rhythm is sort of the same thing. This piece was made with a texture plate of wavy lines that reminded me of fading sound waves that draw the eye up and down (or as someone else said- wood grain). To accent the up and down movement following the lines I added vertical ruby czs which should draw the eye from up and down to the left to catch their little twinkle. Therefore- creating a rhythm!"

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Deb from E5Jewelry gives us this beautiful and ancient looking little amulet: "~Rhythm~The intertwining ebb and flow of nature. copper, sterling silver, fine silver, natural peridot, quartz crystal"

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Esme from SilverBlueberry gives us this adorable little hedgehog ring:"A little hedgehog waddles on and on. Where is he going? Is he going home to his nest? Looking for a new place to live? Looking for food? We don't know, but his journey continues."

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Cornelius from KwantEssentials gives us this amazing natural & mathematical rhythm example: FibonacciRhythm is set with 1.14 carats of flush set diamonds!!

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Dana of CoilAndFlame gives us this entry:"This is a mixed metal, domed pendant of copper, sterling silver and 14 kt. gold fill. Suspended beneath is a hand wire-wrapped mother-of-pearl coin. I'll leave most of the "Rhythm" interpretation up to the viewer. But for me, this piece has an underwater, flowing into-the-deep theme."

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Resurrection Silver's entry is this lovely mixed metal crocheted circle motif bib necklace. She says "Rhythm is represented in every aspect of this necklace from the pattern of each circle to the motion of each stitch to the color and placement of each circle. I love to crochet and this is my first attempt at combining that with my love of jewelry making."

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Julie of WabiBrookStudio's entry is this lovely cuff titled "Rhythms of the Land."
She has this to say of it:"Rhythm.Living close to the land in rural Ontario, I am very much in tune with the rhythms of nature: the rolling hills and valleys, moon and sun rising and setting, the sounds and sights of the changing seasons. The cuff is my interpretation of a rhythm I often see- the setting sun to the west lighting up the hills and rising moon to the east." it is created with scrap copper and a vinyl record!!

May/June Challenge

Before I explain the next challenge, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the last challenge, and all who voted for my piece.  Being able to actually finish my challenge piece on time (I think it's only the second time I've been able to do so) was very satisfying in itself.  To have it voted as the winner by my peers makes it doubly so. I feel so blessed to be part of such a creative and supportive group!

Now, without further ado, here is the challenge I have set for you:

Interpret the Design Principle "Rhythm" in any way which moves you.

Here is the definition of rhythm to help jumpstart your creative juices:
rhythm  (ˈrɪðəm)


— n
1.
a. the arrangement of the relative durations of and accents onthe notes of a melody, usually laid out into regular groups (bars ) of beats, the first beat of each bar carrying the stress

b. any specific arrangement of such groupings; time: quadruplerhythm
2.
in poetry

a. the arrangement of words into a more or less regularsequence of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables

b. any specific such arrangement; metre
3.
(in painting, sculpture, architecture, etc) a harmonioussequence or pattern of masses alternating with voids, of lightalternating with shade, of alternating colours, etc
4.
any sequence of regularly recurring functions or events, such asthe regular recurrence of certain physiological functions of thebody, as the cardiac rhythm of the heartbeat

[C16: from Latin rhythmus , from Greek rhuthmos ; related torhein  to flow]

As you see, rhythm has many meanings and interpretations, from music, to the written word, to art and architecture, to nature, even our own bodies have rhythms.  Here are some visual examples to further get those creative juices flowing: "Rhythm" Sonia Delauney 1938 Musical Rhythm Architectural Rhythm Rhythm in nature (photo courtesy of Dave Ingram) So let your imagination run rhythmically wild!  You can interpret the challenge by creating a piece of jewellery (pardon my Canadian spelling), a piece of wall art, or something functional, it's totally up to you.  As always, everyone, no matter what your skill level or area of expertise, is encouraged to take part.  I've got rhythm.  Let's see just how many of you do, too! Deadline for adding photos of your entry to our Flickr pool is midnight July 1st.  Remember to tag your photos with "June Challenge", so we don't miss seeing and voting on any of your remarkable creations.