Friday, January 11, 2013

Of tutorials and friends

Let me start out by saying belated Happy New Year to all.
I do like the idea of new beginnings, but I also think they can happen on any day, at any moment.  That being said, I attempting a bit of a new beginning too.  No, this is not exactly a New Year's resolution.  The one thing I do that comes close to a resolution is Alyson B Stanfield's Art Biz Blog Year-End Review.
Anyway, I have always considered myself to be a primarily self-taught artist.  But over the years, I have collected a lot of tutorials created by some truly fantastic wire jewelry artists, many whom I now call my friends.  Sometimes I have an idea for a piece and need to figure out a cleaner/simpler/prettier way to make it work, and I look for a tutorial.  Other times I just appreciate that an artist is willing to share a technique that I've wanted to learn, and I get their tutorial.  I've attempted most of them using practice wire, but I've recently decided to do them all in copper or silver this year.  And then I'm going to post them.
No time like the present: here are my latest pieces, some created with a little help from my friends.


opalite glass, pink coral, rose quartz, moonstone

red coral & freshwater pearls

my adaptation of Emily Gray's tutorial, in sapphires & solar quartz

another take on Emily Gray's tutorial: onyx, labradorite, amethyst & moonstone
photography by Lorraine