Art Jewelry Community

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 5: Addie's choice

Addie Kidd — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:11:00 GMT

Oh, I'm so excited! It's been raining ALL week.

Now normally rain might be a downer, but you have to understand this is liquid rain. Not snow or sleet or ice... rain! Yep, spring is starting to make itself known around these parts. There's an edge of warmth in the breeze, the snow on the ground is quickly disappearing, and the air smells like fresh mud. What could be better?!?

And there's much going on:

Our March 2010 issue (shown at right) is currently on sale. And the May issue is just around the corner - it will be on newsstands on April 6th!

National Pi day is on Sunday, March 14th... 3.14, get it? I believe I might bake a pie to celebrate. What flavor I should cook up?? I'm partial to apple, but always open to new suggestions - leave me a comment (or recipe) below.

And though St. Patrick's day may not be until the 17th, the Irish-inspired festivities are most certainly starting this weekend here in Milwaukee. Are you doing anything fun? Maybe setting some green gemstones in jewelry in honor of the occasion?

Oh, and Daylight Savings time (DST) begins on Sunday. So if you're affected by that, don't forget to set your clocks ahead an hour Saturday night. I grew up in Indiana (a state that didn't participate in DST back then), so it always still feels a bit odd for me to reset all my clocks twice yearly. But now I've learned: "Spring forward; fall back." Clever, no?

Okay, enough with the calendar stuff. On to my Friday Highlights from the Subscriber gallery!
[And when you're done with my picks, check out what Jill and Kristin selected in the last round of Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery.]

Check out this sterling silver and turquoise nugget pendant by User name: ByCher. I'm intrigued by the hidden turquoise within. And I like the stitching detail of the wire - what a great cold connection!

Speaking of, head on over to our main page to cast a vote for your favorite cold connection in our Reader Poll. And if you have a technique not listed there, like this cool stitching, visit the Poll thread in our Forum to share it with the group.

I would love to wear these sterling silver with felt earrings by C. Rivera (User name: Rivera)! I adore long dangly earrings, especially minimal designs like this pair. And the tiny black felt semi-circles are such an unexpected surprise. Were I to wear them, I think I'd find that my hand would wander up to "pet" the felt, probably unconsciously. I really do love tactile contrast.

I'm diggin' on these faux picture jasper and turquoise earrings by Michelle Norine (User name: Michelle's art jewelry). I especially like that they're a combination of metal + polymer + stone. With each component used to its greatest advantage you can create some exciting work. I also like that Michelle made sure to mirror the faux picture jasper pieces. It's little touches like that that are the mark of a thoughtful jeweler.

Thanks for checking out my picks. Even if you're not a subscriber to our magazine, you can head on over to the Subscriber Galleries and leave a comment or two on your favorite pieces - feedback is truly priceless!

Have a fun weekend!

~Addie~

Rockhounds, stone lovers, trivia junkies: Did you correctly answer our poll question, "Rutilated quartz is also known as..."?

Kristin Sutter — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:21:00 GMT

For the last two weeks, Art Jewelry magazine's online poll has asked:

Rutilated quartz is also known as:

“The Emperor’s Needles”

“Venus’ Hair Stone”

“Golden Gossamer”

If you answered "The Emperor's Needles," you're among friends -- nearly 67% of poll-takers picked this answer. But, alas! The correct answer is actually "Venus' Hair Stone." Congrats to the almost 23% of you who answered correctly.

Why did we ask about rutilated quartz? Because you'll get to read about it, along with tourmalinated quartz and chlorite (also known as "lodolite"), in our Stone Sense column in our May 2010 issue. (The issue is due in mailboxes and on newsstands by April 6th.) In that issue, we also have "A Beginner's Guide to Lapidary Equipment" by Associate Editor Addie Kidd and "Try Intarsia: Puzzle Stone into a Pattern" by Brian Maggard.

Don't want to wait that long to get your stone fix? Try checking out the extended version of our Stone Sense article on tourmaline. We also have a couple of charts you might want to tack up in your studio: Mohs Scale of Hardness (to find the relative hardness of gemstones, jewelers reference this scale to make their jewelry pieces more successful) and How to Care for Your Gemstones, which lists whether chemical, ultrasonic, or steam cleaning is safe for several popular stones.

And if you're super into opals, you may like our Opal Glossary -- it's quite the list of opal-related terms.

As always, happy jewelry making!

--Kristin

Learn how to make your own silver post stud earrings - it's easy!

Addie Kidd — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:15:00 GMT

Hey Everyone,

Today's post is a quick jewelry-making tutorial inspired by a question in our Reader Forum.

Forum member Chicki asked:
"I have a couple questions about making some ball end stud earrings. I have made ball end headpins before but would like to know how to make a large ball on the end of my wire. I have tried and tried and it gets to a certain size and falls off the wire and I have to start again.
Is there a tutorial for this somewhere or can anyone give any advice as to how to achieve this and how long of a wire do I need to start with?
Also, could these be made with fine silver wire or is it too soft?
Thanks!"

Click here to visit the forums and see my answer!

Our forums are a fantastic resource full of enthusiastic and friendly jewelers who are eager to share their knowledge and love of jewelry. Plus they're free! To participate, you just have to register on our site - registration is quick, free, and we won't sell your information to anybody. Click here to register now.

See you soon in our wonderful jewelry-making community!

~Addie~

P.S. We also have loads of jewelry-making technique tutorial videos on our site, like this video (shown at right) that teaches you how to make your own headpins from silver wire. And they're all from the hands-on editors of Art Jewelry magazine (that's Jill and me!). It's like looking over the shoulder of your own personal jewelry-making teacher... only I don't think I've ever had a seat that close in any workshop or class I've taken!

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 5: Jill's choice

Jill Erickson — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:00:00 GMT

I am keying this in as I anticipate a short vacation to Florida. Which probably explains my first choice: "Racing Octopi Pin" posted by Brad Elfrink, aka buttoncarver. I'm a sucker for cephalopods, and this trio carved from vintage Bakelite is fantastic.

We now journey from the ocean depths to the night sky. I couldn't resist posting Kent Synder's red brass pins. The owl's tube-set peepers add a note of whimsy to a classic motif.

And to round out our animal theme, how about iris09's hand forged copper snake bangle? Iris used hefty 4 gauge copper to make this statement piece.

I hope you enjoyed my picks for this round. As always, we invite Subscribers to upload images of your work to the Subscriber Gallery. Just be sure to register on our Web site -- it's free and quick, and we don't share your info with anyone! Cheers, Jill :)

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 4, Kristin's choice

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:31:00 GMT

My jewelry picks for the Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery this week are all...wait for it...thematically unrelated!! As an editor, I tend to look for ways to tie information together, make things cohesive. But there's a part of me — a part that rarely gets to come out at work — that absolutely delights in randomness. Here we go:

I'm interested in the tradition of snake jewelry, so I was drawn to metal clay artisan Lydia Lewis's snake bracelet. I love the spot of color that the blue eye provides.

The textures, shapes, and colors in Jan Geisen's (JanaG) polymer clay Chinese Script Circle Pendant Necklace balance one another well, I think.

I love how Erna played with shape in her Sterling Silver Flower ring — how some of the circles are uniform and others are a bit squished (but not quite ovals).

Subscribers, don't forget that you can upload images of your work to the Subscriber Gallery here. (First, you have to be registered on our Web site. Registration is free and quick, and we won't sell your info! Click here to register at www.artjewelrymag.com.)

—Kristin

"Friday" Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 4, Addie's choices

Addie Kidd — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Howdy everybody!

So Hazel and I made it back from the gem shows of Tucson, Arizona safe and sound. With our timing, we both managed to fly in and around that massive snow storm that was blanketing the East coast.

But our Midwest wasn't untouched - I got to enjoy an entire extra hour's worth of iPod tunes and knitting time while my plane circled the Milwaukee airport. The ground crews were working madly to plow off the runway so we could land! I could hardly believe that just the day before I'd been walking around in the sun (sans coat) hunting for cool gems, tools, and fossils at outdoor shows like the one shown at right.

All that traveling and excitement threw a bit of a wrench in the Friday Subscriber Highlights works. So, let's just rewind a bit and pretend that today is Friday. You'll trade a Monday in for a Friday for me, won't you?

[ If you'd like to catch up, here are last round's gallery blog posts from Jill, Hazel, and Kristin. ]

First up is this Argentium silver and metal clay bracelet by Catherine Witherell (User name: HappyDayArt!). I call pieces like this "fidget jewelry" since they give your hands something to idly play with whenever you want. I would be twirling those little metal clay disks around constantly!

Next up is this nickel silver and brass ring by Renie (User name: ISSYS). What a great way to use inexpensive material and turn it into a bold ring. I love how the concave dish would catch the light - flashy, but not gaudy. Nice!

Titled "I Bite," these sterling silver and garnet earrings by Joe (User name: Demzon), made me look. I like how edgy they are. And I love that they were inspired by the earrings worn by a character in an anime cartoon; you really can find inspiration all around you.

I hope you guys liked my picks. I always enjoy searching for new stuff in our Subscriber Galleries. And I promise later in the week to upload even more photos from Tucson. There's still lots to show and tell.

Have a great weekend...er, week!

~Addie~

More from the 2010 Tucson gem shows!

Addie Kidd — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:45:00 GMT

Hi all,

As editors for a jewelry-making magazine, Hazel and I are touring the gem shows here in Tucson (like the AGTA show, at right) in search of trends in the jewelry-making world, new stones and gems, new tools and equipment, and supplies for the Art Jewelry magazine in-house studio. We're also here to find and meet with jewelry designers (past, present, and future) we can feature in our pages.

The cool thing is that while we're doing all of that scouting and reconnaissance, we're also able to fit in some shopping. Oh yeah! And let me tell you, the shopping here is excellent.

Here's a shot of Hazel at the AGTA show, deciding on which strand of pearls needed to come home to Wisconsin with her.

She made a beautiful choice! I can't wait to see them once she's strung them into a necklace.

Pearls seemed to be the theme of the day; here I am looking over the pearl selection at one of Tucson's outdoor shows on one of the sunnier days earlier this week.

Today's theme, however, was fossils. I found ammonites, trilobites, fossilized coral, and dinosaur bone. I even got to touch a real triceratops skull - what a thrill! I'll post those photos once I've uploaded them. For now, I need to got some rest so that I can tackle more gem shows tomorrow. All this exploring and shopping may be tiring, but it sure beats all those snow storms blanketing Milwaukee back home. heehee

Signing off,

~Addie~

Blogging live from Tucson, Arizona for the big gem shows!

Addie Kidd — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 04:45:00 GMT

Howdy Y'all!

While the Northern East coast of the U.S. is being pummeled by snow (around 3 feet, last I heard), tonight I'm blogging from the sunny, warm American Southwest. Hazel and I are in Tucson, Arizona for the big, big, big (Did I mention BIG??) gem shows.

This place is jewelers' heaven: there are stones, and gems, and fossils, and tools, and equipment, and metal, and findings, and pretty near anything else you could possibly imagine. You can't throw an amethyst 10 yards without landing on a jewelry supply dealer of some sort!

If you don't know what all the Tucson fuss is about, take a look at our article, "How to Tackle Tucson."

Yesterday, we visited Rio Grande's Catalog in Motion (shown at right). This show's especially fun because you get to play with all the new and cool tools that Rio has to offer. And while we were there, our own forum member Patrik Kusek was giving a talk on various metal clays.

I'd love to tell you more about yesterday and show you today's adventures, but I'm having serious internet difficulties tonight. So I'll try to post the rest of my photos tomorrow, once I've fought off some of these devious little internet gremlins.

Wish me luck!

~Addie~

P.S. In the mean time, if you're craving photos, you can check out my blog post from my first visit two years ago. Or you can read Jill's blog post about taking our Publisher, Linda Kast, on her first Tucson trip last year.

VintageStyle Jewelry tutorials (including mine!) are now available to download instantly!

Addie Kidd — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:53:00 GMT

So I've been meaning to share this link with you guys for a while now. I read about it over at Bead & Button magazine's Editors' blog a bit ago, but with a magazine to put out, and Tucson trip preparations to make etc., etc., I hadn't yet found the time to post about it.

Check out the blog post by Ann Dee Allen, Editor.

So, the news is that the projects from their VintageStyle jewelry special issue are now available for sale individually as instant downloads!

Now, if you're interested in this sort of thing, I'd encourage you to just go ahead and buy the physical back issue. It's a gorgeous publication that feels and looks more like a book than a magazine.It's full of brand new vintage and vintage-inspired projects using beads, metal clay, and vintage findings. And there's also some jewelry history, artist interviews, and fun and interesting facts and tid bits along the way.

But if you're in a hurry, and want to download these projects to get started instantly, check out Ann Dee's blog post for loads of direct project links. You could get started making yours tonight!

I was lucky enough to have two of my projects featured in it: Buttons & Beads, a tutorial where I used antique glass buttons to make a bracelet, and Modern Heirlooms, shown at left, a tutorial where I used silicone antique button molds from Cool Tools, and embeddable jump ring bails from Metal Clay Findings to make a silver metal clay locket.

In the shot at left, I included photos of my late Grandma and Grandfather, Mildred and Harold, from a shot taken on their honeymoon. (The closed locket has photos of Mildred and her sister Helen — you can see it open if you check out the article.)

I thought that our Photographer and Art Director did such a nice job of capturing the look of my lockets in this photo that I asked for a large copy of it for myself, which I had framed and then gave to my mom (Mildred's daughter) for Mother's day. From the bits of 'liquid emotion' in her eyes, I think it was a hit.

So, if you're looking to start making your own heirlooms to pass down, check out these projects. Who knows, you may even elicit some 'liquid emotion' from someone you know.

Have fun creating!

~Addie~

P.S. When I was searching for the jump ring link, I came across these embeddable clip-on earring findings. My Grandmas Mildred would've loved these, and likely begged me to make her a pair of big, sparkly earrings with them. She adored jewelry, but in all her 80+ years she never did get her ears pierced. Funny!

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 4, Jill's choices

Jill Erickson — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:45:00 GMT

This round, I decided to make my picks from just one of our subscriber galleries: the enamels & glass gallery!

I'm enamored with this Ladybug pendant posted by mirslavu. The stylized design and clever idea to turn the antennae into a bail is fabulous.

And how about this trio of fun and fresh rings by Helga van Leipsig? I had the pleasure of meeting Helga at the 2008 PMC conference. If you've read the January 2010 issue of AJ, then Helga's work is familiar to you. In her project article, "Emblazon Fine Silver with Crisp Ceramic Decals" she demonstrates how to bond a permanent layer of color to metal in your kiln!

"Woven Ice Bracelet" posted by xkwisitlady (Tahmi) combines medieval fingerweaving and fused glass elements. More of Tahmi's inventive designs inspired by textile techniques are pictured on her website.

Thank you for sharing your work with the Art Jewelry community. Be sure to check back next week for another trifecta of Friday Highlights!

Cheers, Jill :)

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 4, Hazel's choice

Hazel Wheaton — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 22:13:00 GMT

I have always loved winter. Snow, ice, cold, these things don't bother me. I love "sweater weather" and I love the crunch of snow under my feet and I love seeing my breath in the air.

But for some reason, this year is different. It's only January, and already I find myself yearning for Spring. So it's no surprise that the first piece to jump out at me from the Subscriber Gallery this week was "Nesting Instincts," by Jean Van Brederode (user name: Javb2000). It's made of copper sheet, wire, and enamel, and now I can't wait to see the first robin.

My second choice has perhaps a bit more of a winter-y feel — rather than robin's egg blue, Adrienne Cantler (user name: Versatile Spirit) framed a midnight blue glass cab in her metal clay ring.

My third and final choice for the week is in honor of my impending trip to the Tucson gem and mineral shows. All those mineral specimens, some of which are so fragile as to be unsuited for jewelry, and yet so beautiful that you yearn to show them off... a poster by the handle
csilverstone solved the problem of a blue puff-like
spray of cavansite with some judicious wire prongs.

I hope you guys enjoyed my picks. Next week, it'll be Jill's turn!

Can you imagine it?? Diamond icebergs floating in liquid diamond oceans!

Addie Kidd — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:25:00 GMT

Hello all! I'll get to the diamonds - promise.
But first, a quick story:

Back in 2007, I got to go visit the country of Iceland. The trip was amazing in so many ways. But experiencing a glacier firsthand was by far one of my favorite parts.

<-- Here's a photo I snapped of The Glacier Lagoon (Jökulsárlón), at the base of Europe's largest glacier: Vatnajokull.

Our group took a boat ride (on one of those cool, hardcore amphibious boats with wheels!) through the run-off lake formed at the edge of the glacier.

The water was littered with large and small pieces of icebergs, calved off of the massive glacier. There were seals atop some of the larger icebergs, lazily basking in the sun.

Our boat's guide pulled one of the smaller iceberg chunks up on the boat, and broke off pieces for us to sample.

<-- I got to taste 15,000+ year old ice - what a treat!

The reason I'm reminiscing about my glacial adventure is because of some new discoveries: scientists have been using lasers to study the melting point of diamonds.

With heat, diamonds generally turn into graphite. But when these scientists subjected diamonds to serious pressure (try 40 million times greater than on Earth), and temperatures exceeding 50,000 degrees, the diamond liquefied without becoming graphite first.

To read more about these diamond discoveries, check out the Popular Science article here, and the original Discovery News story here.

Once heated, melted diamonds behave like water - solids float on liquid. So that means that the temperatures and atmospheric pressures of planets like Neptune and Uranus could be conducive to having oceans made up of liquefied diamond.
And floating within all that liquidy diamond could be larger chunks of solid diamond, much like icebergs. Wow, did my imagination had a hay day with that thought - I actually got giddy just dreaming up this crazy and beautiful, and odd environment.

So all of that dreaming and imagining brought my mind back to memories of Iceland, and my experience at the glacial lagoon. After all, there's no place on Earth that I've felt looked more like it was from outer space than that country's beautiful and austere landscape.

Here's that amphibious boat I mentioned.--->
Doesn't it look ready to traverse a lunar landscape, or something??

I'm off to daydream of diamond lagoons,

~Addie~

P.S. If you're interested in this sort of cool spacey stuff, I suggest you check out Astronomy magazine. They're one of the many cool magazines put our by our publishing company. I always love hearing what that staff's up to, and can't help but adore the beautiful imagery that's always printed in their pages. Plus, they've got a blog too.

[ Links via Marginal Revolution ]

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 3, Kristin's choice

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:57:00 GMT

I love grey. I love the color. I love the metaphor. I love spelling it with an "e." Grayscale Wisconsin winters don't get me down. But this week, color started making my heart flit with hope of light-filled days to come. Maybe it's because on Tuesday I saw the sunset on my way home from work for the first time since October, or maybe it's because yesterday I walked my dog whilst wearing a dress and no hat because it was 37 degrees out! Either way, my jewelry picks for the Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery are little slices of color heaven. (For even more evidence of my recent color obsession, read my post about the January 2010 issue of Art Jewelry).

This bronze clay hair pin's patina doesn't come from chemicals. According to metal clay artisan Lydia Lewis, the activated carbon in the kiln did all the work during the firing process. Don't you just love it when things work out beautifully?

Erna's silver flower brooch is the perfect symbol of spring to me right now. I love the bursting petals, and, besides being my favorite color, the green enameled center reminds me that I'll soon be picnicking in a warm, lush park.

To color her copper Hawaiian Christmas Ornament, Regina Rose used Prismacolor colored pencils and dichroic glass. It's nature in Technicolor!

Many thanks to these artisans for the preview of spring.

—Kristin

Are you taking classes at the 2010 Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin? I am!

Addie Kidd — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:45:00 GMT

Hello everyone,

So I'm all signed up for my class at this year's Bead & Button show. On Sunday, June 13th, I'll be learning about Ornamental Blown Hollow Lampwork Beads from Jari Sheese. Check out the sample of the cool hollow beads we'll be crafting (right). I can't wait! I'm still fairly new at lampworking, and with all their torches set up and ready to go, the Bead & Button show is the perfect venue for me to practice.

Also, odd coincidence: I found out after I selected my class that the instructor is also the owner of one of the very first bead shops I ever bought beads and jewelry supplies in when I was a little girl, Boca Loca Beads in Indianapolis, Indiana. How neat!

If you'll be attending the show, you can register now. And I'd encourage you to take a class - there's so much to learn! You can browse and search the over 600 jewelry-making classes here.

I'm only taking a single class because that week is insanely busy for all of us here at the magazine. Our staff is off teaching; meeting up with artists, instructors, and jewelry-makers; demonstrating jewelry-making techniques; scouting for cool new products and materials at the Bead Marketplace; and getting to greet all our friendly readers face-to-face! Plus, we have a magazine that still needs to be tended to back at the office. Of course, our editorial sisters over at BeadStyle and Bead & Button are just as busy. If you spot any of us running around, stop us and say hello - we'll likely welcome the break.

I'll also be the teaching assistant at the Metals Master Class this year, taught by Charles Lewton-Brain (right). There are still a few spots left if you'd like to join us!! Wow, am I a lucky girl or what?? I mean seriously, what a fantastic perk to my job. For the past 3 years, I've gotten to assist (and absorb all sorts of great techniques and know-how from) amazing all-star jewelry instructors, including: Andy Cooperman, Tim McCreight, and Alan Revere. And I'm sure this year's going to be just as enlightening and inspiring.

If you're taking any classes, or if you just wish you were, leave me a note in the comments below. I'd love to see what you guys are interested in learning about.

Hope to see you in June!!

~Addie~

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 3, Addie's choice

Addie Kidd — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:31:00 GMT

Hello all!

Here in Wisconsin we're digging out of about a foot (30.5cm) of fresh snow. The sky is clear, and everything looks so clean and pretty all covered in that pristine white. I just shot this photo of the view out my window on my cell phone so I could share the prettiness with you. But I've stopped gazing out my window long enough to share another kind of prettiness with you: my three gallery picks this week.

[ If you'd like to catch up, here are last round's gallery blog posts from Jill, Hazel, and Kristin. ]

I would definitely buy this bronze metal clay necklace by Theresa Male (User name: Irishtess) if I spied it in a gallery store. I love the warm color, the subdued matte finish, the strung pearl necklace, and the teeny-tiny cz nestled amid that bronze texture. All around, well done!

Next up is boulder opal necklace by Linda Grandstaff (User name: Gilded Lily) Boulder opal is one of my all-time favorite stones. It's not prissy like regular white opal can be. It's edgy and dark, and it's full or mystical twinkles and glitters. Linda's taken boulder opal and given it a very cool home in this necklace. This is the kind of necklace people walk across crowded rooms to check out. High impact, and very hip.

And I also found this captured ring chain mail bracelet by Cindy (User name: Femme Metale). <--What a cute name, huh?? The combination of stainless steel chain mail, with captured copper rings is just too cool. I know if I were to wear it, I'd hardly ever stop playing with it, always spinning the little copper rings, and twisting the chain around on my wrist. I love jewelry that begs to be touched like that.

I hope you guys enjoyed my picks. I know I had a fun time searching for them in our Subscriber Galleries.

Have a great weekend!

~Addie~

Online extras from Art Jewelry's January 2010 issue: bonus jewelry projects and tutorials, polymer clay gallery, pics of a chased gold vessel, and a spotlight on tourmaline

Kristin Sutter — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:31:00 GMT

My favorite thing about the January 2010 issue of Art Jewelry magazine? Color color color! Let's take a look:

Turn to the gallery of pieces by renowned polymer clay artist Kathleen Dustin, page 37, and you'll find flower buds, seed pods, and leaves (they're actually purses!) in a palette that looks like Dustin focused bright sunlight on nature's pinks, greens, and yellows. Dustin talked to Art Jewelry Editor Hazel Wheaton about the difference between making polymer clay jewelry and polymer clay sculpture, how to be influenced by nature without being cliché, and having the courage to evolve artistically.

For a great polymer clay project, featuring a more muted palette, Seth L. Savarick's "Go Big with Lightweight Polymer Clay" tutorial, page 63, will not disappoint. Learn how to use a clay extruder to make what Savarick calls his "diva" bangle. It's big and beautiful. And because he uses UltraLight polymer clay, it won't weigh you down.

We feature Helga van Leipsig's brilliantly simple technique for getting bright colors on metal or metal clay jewelry in her article "Emblazon Fine silver with Crisp Ceramic Decals," page 50. The bright, graphic patterns on van Leipsig's elegantly simple earrings and necklace have a Scandinavian flavor that I absolutely love! In fact, we loved her jewelry so much that we didn't return it all to her -- a few editors bought some of the several pairs of earrings she originally sent for us to photograph. You can see the earrings scattered throughout her article. (To get the ceramic decals, check our Contacts & Suppliers list for suppliers, or get the decals in smaller quantities from van Leipsig herself. For specific links, check out this post on the Art Jewelry forum.)

Other visual treats: A rainbow patina plays peek-a-boo behind a pierced silver overlay in Noel Yovovich's tutorial "Get a Head Start: Cut to the Piercing," page 32. Our Stone Sense columnist Richard M. Shull had so much to tell us about tourmaline that we couldn't fit it all in the magazine! Read more about this mulitcolored stone in "Stone Sense: Tourmaline -- the extended version."

Metals take their turn to shine in the spotlight in technique articles by artist Amy Reeves and Art Jewelry Associate Editor Jill L. Erickson. Reeves' "Learn Electroforming," page 57, will teach you how to use electricity to coat nearly anything in metal (great for making jewelry components from just about any object you can think of!). In Jill's "Discover Simple Solder Inlay" tutorial, page 44, you'll learn how to make a two-tone pattern in metal by flooding the recesses of etched copper with solder. (As a bonus, we included an online tutorial on how to use Press-n-Peel Blue paper to make a resist on metal sheet.)

The last stop on my color-touting love train: Gold. It's quite possibly the most hypnotizing color for jewelry lovers. And in Beyond Jewelry, page 82, you can drink in the golden glory: David Huang's Enlightenment #769 vessel is a masterpiece that he raised from 22k gold. You can see a slideshow of this magnificent object on Huang's Web site, and also check out more than 80 step-by-step photos of how he made the piece.

(Not quite done savoring that metallic taste? Check out an online-exclusive project on how to make metal bangles by wrapping them in metal clay. We've learned over the past few years that when artists/authors Pam East and Jane Levy pair up, we can expect great projects. In their "Metal-Clay-Wrapped Bangles" project, we especially loved the "waffle" pattern bangle. Read the tutorial to find out how they did it -- you'll love how clever they are!)

Whew! Have fun indulging in colorful, shiny objects...

–– Kristin

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 3, Jill's choices

Jill Erickson — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:00:00 GMT

Just because the office is closed for the holiday doesn't mean that you have to wait until next week to check out Friday Highlights!

First up, a group of perspex and aluminum rings posted in the alternative materials gallery by Henriette White. I was drawn to these for their playfulness and citrus colors. (Tropical colors are especially appealing during Wisconsin winters.)

Next, a hearty sterling silver cuff made by wendyoes. Designed for a gentleman, this textured and patinated silver piece is appropriately rugged. But I think plenty of gals (including me) find this style appealing.

And now, because 2010 is upon us and it's time to turn over a fresh leaf, I chose this Art Nouveau metal clay pendant by Kelley Oberreit. I love that it's reversible and that the bail is truly a part of the design. Bravo.

From all of us here at Art Jewelry magazine -- Thank you for your creativity and comradery. Have a very joyous New Year!!

Hazel Jill Addie Kristin :)

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 3, Hazel's choices

Hazel Wheaton — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:13:00 GMT

::looks at calendar:: No, it's not your imagination. I'm a week late. That's not surprising — I've been running a week late all month.

Before I unveil my picks, a little bit of housecleaning. We had a handful of people upload a ton of pictures to our Subscriber Gallery over the past few weeks. As in, 30 or more images per person. Now, on one hand, I'm thrilled to see that kind of enthusiasm. On the other hand, this causes some logistical problems. Since the gallery only displays 12 images per screen, it means that a few artists crowd out everyone else. And since our approval process is manual, rather than automatic, it means that it takes hours (no, I'm not exaggerating) for the editors to go through and approve all the photos.

In the interest of widening the playing field and in streamlining the editorial staff's time, we're going to set a weekly per-artist approval limit. We'll approve five images by each submitting artist per week; you can upload more than that, but we'll just hold them for approval until the following week. It seems that the average number of submissions per artists is about three, so this shouldn't affect the vast majority of posters. (And yes, that's per category, so you can post five pictures of your polymer work in the Polymer category, and then post five pictures of your metal work in the Metal category.)

Now that that's out of the way, on to the fun stuff.

From the metal clay category is Deco Reminiscence, by Holly Gage.Gage made the pendant using her innovative negative space caning technique for metal clay.

Kent Snyder, (aka mtlctr), created this hand-engraved steel belt buckle. Hand-engraving is a technique that impresses the heck out of me, because of the accuracy and delicacy of touch needed.

And also from the metals category is this set of nesting rings by Monika Roos. The main ring, sandwiched between two bands of square silver wire, is made of oxidized silver, 18K gold, and a raw yellow diamond.

And as a bonus — both because I've doubled up on metals and in honor of the holiday season, here's a fun pendant called "Laugh!" by laureleee.

Yep — translated from math-speak, that's "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

What fuels you when you make jewelry? Literally.

Addie Kidd — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:26:00 GMT

Our last online reader poll (they're always on our home page, and change every other Friday) was about fuels for your jewelry torch. If you're curious, 53% of you guys thought that lean, mean acetylene would beat out any other gas in a fantasy cage fight.

The latest poll question is about another type of fuel - the refreshing liquids that keep you going when you're working on an intense jewelry project. Here it is:

[UPDATE: The poll is closed and the results are in!]
When you're working on a jewelry project, what's your "GO! juice?"

Looks like you guys prefer water best of all. What a healthy bunch of jeweler's we have!!

So what are the beverages of choice for my fellow Art Jewelry magazine staffers and me?

Jill likes those cute little micro baby-cans of Sprite. You know, like the kind you might see on airplanes.
Kristin loves hot tea, particularly in the winter months since it keeps her hands toasty warm.
Hazel adores her coffee so much that her trusty mug made it into her staff photo (shown at right).
And me? I love the zing of the caffeine in Diet Pepsi. It helps wake me up and keep me on track whether I'm making a jewelry project or writing about one.

You can visit our home page to take our current poll - just scroll down to the bottom of the page. Or you can leave a comment on this blog post, below. And of course you can always visit our online reader forum to chat about they latest poll.

Happy Thursday!

~Addie~

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to our monthly Newsletter . In addition to showcasing the latest free projects and downloads, we always print the poll results so you can see where your answer falls among your fellow jewelry-makers.

An ice scraper especially for a metalsmith. Or, Northern Bling: Winter collection, 2009.

Addie Kidd — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:35:00 GMT

Guess what? It's my birthday today!!!

And Mother Nature is slowly and gently dropping off my beautiful present as I type: snow! Here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin we're bracing for between 10-14 inches (25-35 cm) of the white stuff tonight. Wow!

With all that impending snow in mind, and knowing that my summer-loving car was sans ice scraper, my thoughtful beau gave me a cute impromptu mini-gift when he picked me up for my birthday lunch. He selected the perfect snow brush/ice scraper for me - blue to match my car, with a fancy pearly finish, and extra add-on birthday "bling." (Yep, he knows his jewelry-making girl loves her glitter and sparkle. haha)

Quite possibly, we could all wake up tomorrow morning to an old-fashioned snow day, just like back in grade school. If so, I'll try not to think about the work that's piling up, and the deadlines for the upcoming March issue of Art Jewelry that will be further crunched here at work.... blah, blah, blah.

Instead, I'll focus on the good: getting to stay home, sleeping in, snuggling with my cat Begby [Shown at right - clearly he's a superb, world-class cuddler.], sipping on some peppermint hot cocoa, and having extra time to finish up a few of the handmade Christmas gifts still on my list. (Knitted items, and jewelry of course!) Wouldn't that be a perfect day?!

Here's hoping your day is perfect, no matter how much snow you get... or avoid.

Best,

~Addie "Birthday Girl" Kidd~

P.S. Did you know? If you're a subscriber to Art Jewelry magazine and are registered on our site (registration is free!), you always have instant access to our online archive of product and jewelry tool reviews.

In my review of the Orion Master Jeweler Plus welder in the November 2009 issue, I mentioned how much I'd like one for my December birthday. Well sadly, I have yet to unwrap a $4,500.00 USD welder from anyone today. What's up with that??

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 2, Kristin's choice

Kristin Sutter — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:52:00 GMT

Okay, I'm cheating a bit with my Subscriber Gallery picks today, because I chose pieces that were uploaded to the Subscriber Gallery more than a month or so ago. But I couldn't help myself. I fell in love with these three chain mail pieces. It could have something to do with the fact that I've been copy editing the special issue, Wirework 2010, pretty much nonstop for the last ten days. Wirework 2010 will hit newsstands in late January, and while it won't include the pieces shown below, it will include 30 new projects on wirework and chain mail. For more information, visit www.wireworkmag.com. So, yeah. I've got chain mail on the brain.

This chain mail bracelet in the helms chain pattern by username CastleQueen is luscious. I love the depth that the layers create and the way it looks solid yet airy.

The construction of Kay Lancashire's (username artycles) Viking wire weave and amber necklace is so clever...and pretty.

And this Fab Tribe chain mail piece by username Miachelle....just...WOW. I love how it looks so ordered yet tribal. The red jump rings underneath the silver create a fabulous visual tension.

Thanks to everyone for sharing their work. It's so inspiring!

Subscribers, don't forget you can upload images of your work to the Subscriber Gallery here. (First, you have to be registered on our Web site. Registration is free and quick, and we won't sell your info! Click here to register at www.artjewelrymag.com.)

Oh, and if you want to see previous Friday Subscriber Gallery picks from my colleagues, check out their earlier blog posts.

—Kristin

People are talking about the January issue of Art Jewelry magazine. Do you have yours yet??

Addie Kidd — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:01:00 GMT

I just wanted to share a blog post I ran across that put a smile on our faces here at the Art Jewelry magazine headquarters:

Susan Lomuto, the artsy blogger over at Daily Art Muse, had all sorts of lovely things to say about our January 2010 issue.

Click here to check out her post!

She noted that our issue paid plenty of attention to polymer clay artists. And I'd have to agree.

You can read about Hazel's in-depth discussion with Kathleen Dustin (plus bonus online slideshow), you can learn to make an up-sized bangle bracelet project by Seth Savarick, and this month's free downloadable desktop wallpaper (shown at left) is a polymer necklace (a project from the March 2008 issue) by Jeffrey Lloyd Dever.

Whew, that's a lot of clay!

Of course there's still plenty of non-polymer clay content too: there are metals projects, an article all about electroforming, a colorful metal clay project, information about jewelry tools and gemstones, and plenty more.

Check out your copy today - we'd love to hear what you think about it!

Take care,

~Addie~

P.S. Don't forget that with every issue, can always download your free copy of the Shopping List and/or our Contacts & Suppliers List. That way you'll know what materials you'll need to buy in order to make the projects, and also where to find them!

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 2, Addie's choice

Addie Kidd — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:51:00 GMT

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving yesterday! I'll bet some of you guys were out bright and early this morning for some Black Friday shopping. I was not.

(For you non-Americans out there, "Black Friday" is the name given to the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, the Friday after Thanksgiving. It's a day when hoards of people wake up at a completely unnatural hour to wait outside in the cold for stores to open early (like 4am!). These people then rush in to said stores for outrageous deals on things like flat screen televisions, or anything else you could possibly purchase. It's retail mayhem.)

So instead of shopping, I was enjoying my Thanksgiving vacation with family down here in sunny Savannah, Georgia. It's a nice change of pace from chilly Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

But, vacation or not, I couldn't forget to share my Subscriber Gallery Choices of the week! After all, creativity is one of the things I'm most thankful for. [ If you'd like to catch up, here's last week's picks from Jill. And here is a link for Hazel's picks the week before that. ]

We had so many new postings this week that I decided to make my three choices only from the pieces uploaded since our last round of Highlights. Here goes!

I really like the intricate detail of this woven wire bracelet by Perri Jackson (User name: shaktipaj). Wire wrapping and weaving isn't easy, and anyone with the patience and attention to detail to make a piece well has my respect.

Next up is this polymer clay pendant by Pam Sanders, (User name: Lamba). I really like how the polymer looks convincingly like it's something much more ancient than it is. I could imagine stumbling across this necklace at some sort of ancient archaeological site. It looks so much like agate or some other earthy stone - impressive!

And lastly, I found this fun patterned metal clay necklace by Donnalene (User name: studio4silver). I like that the patterns are both random and controlled. The solid line through all the various patterns really pulls this necklace together and gives it a solid anchor point.

I hope all of you had a great holiday weekend. I know I'm enjoying mine - I'll try to upload some photos to share when I get back up to Wisconsin next week. You know, I'd love to hear what you're each thankful for. Leave a comment below to join the discussion.

See you guys next week!

~Addie~

Party time! If you were to dress up like your favorite hobby, what would you wear??

Addie Kidd — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 04:39:00 GMT

This past Thursday was our annual company party. Being the creative place that Kalmbach Publishing Company is (we're home to 16 hobby-type magazines, after all), every year has a theme. Generally offices are decorated and costumes are donned all day before we all head out to a party and dinner nearby. This year's theme was to dress up like one of your favorite hobbies.

Here's the Art Jewelry staff: Hazel, Kristin, Jill, and me, all posing in our chosen outfits.

Hazel and I both went the "cooking" route. But Hazel's outfit (Complete with a tool belt of full of cooking utensils!) was definitely more at the professional end of the spectrum, much like her gourmet baking. All she was missing was the tall chef's hat.

Whereas my apron was more in line with my level of amateur kitchenry. And believe me, the irony was not lost on me as I stood at the office coffee station Thursday morning in my apron, making my breakfast by adding hot water to a packet of instant oatmeal. I'm such a chef. Ha!

Kristin came decked out in yoga gear, and looked enviously comfortable all day. She even carried her yoga mat around over her shoulder. Authentic.

But I think Jill won the most clever award for the day. She was a beach comber! See the gigantic white comb around her neck?? She also had a bag of goodies from the beach, and driftwood-y twigs tucked into her clothes. And I just fell in love with the crab that was "hitchhiking" on the brim of her hat. Too cute!

So, I'm curious... What would you wear to represent your favorite hobby??

I had a hard time choosing mine. I love jewelry-making, but somehow that seemed too obvious for our work party. Though the thought of coming to work, draped in chains Rambo-style, did have a certain appeal to me. Haha Knitting was another strong contender for me - needles tucked into my hair, and yarn hanging all over my clothes. And this year I've taken up the hobby of archery, and I'm really enjoying it. But I didn't think our company's H.R. department would appreciate me strapping a weapon to my body all day. In the end, my new apron just begged to be worn - it was a safe choice.

Leave a comment below about what hobby you'd pick and how you'd display it.
I can't wait to hear what kind of creative costumes you guys would wear!

~Addie~

Friday Highlights from the Subscriber Gallery: Round 2, Jill's choice

Jill Erickson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:19:00 GMT

Time flies! I'm up again to choose three favorite posts from our online Subscriber Gallery. I'm going for a theme here this week that I like to call, Keep on a-Rockin' it (work that incorporates some kind of stone in its design).

From the Wire/chain mail gallery: "Basia Mille" by Aden Angier. This necklace shows off a polished drop chalcedony, and a pair of faceted blue topaz stones. Simple and elegant.

From the Metal Clay gallery: Patrik Kusek's wrapped jasper pendants. Patrik is firing the metal clay with the stones in place!

From the Metals gallery: A lovely brooch by Monika Roos. The use of mixed metals in cool and warm colors provide a striking complement to the lapis focal stone.

Keep posting your work. The gallery "doors" are always open for new submissions! Happy Friday, Jill :)