Torch Enameling For Beginners and We're Throwing in Some Special Effects

Booyah!  I'm doin' a webinar!  Whoohoo!

This Wednesday, July 15th... 1pm eastern time, 10am pacific time.

Here's the link to sign up.

Now let me tell you all about it.  I'm so excited because I have so many friends in other parts of the country and the world and we're always like, "Man, I wish we could get together and work on jewelry." Or, "Laura, I wish I could come over and learn some stuff from you."

So this is as close as it gets (for now) to me being able to have some of these far away friends "come to my workshop" and play!

The subject for this webinar is torch enameling... and, you don't need to know ANYTHING.  If you've already taken a class from me or gotten one of my tutorials, you know how "hand-holding" I am in the teaching process.  Trust me, I'm here for you.  We'll go over every step slowly and carefully.

I am so excited that some of my friends who've been wanting to try torch enameling but didn't know how to start will be able to do this and totally open up a whole new world for their jewelry making.

I'll spend the first part of the webinar going over the (inexpensive) tools and supplies you need and showing you the steps to torch enameling.  And the second part of the webinar I'm going to show you how to do all kinds of things with your newly learned technique.  You can do sgraffito, blending, cloisonne, decals, stamping, frit, add gold accents (okay, that is the only part that's not cheap), enamel paints, and adding embellishments.

No worries if you can't be there for the live narration.  Still sign up 'cause...

"If you can't attend the live event, don't worry. A recording from the live session will be uploaded to the web seminar area within a week after the live event and the recording will remain available online for 30 days after the live event. You can watch the recording anytime during those 30 days, or download to keep."

BTW, no fancy (oxi-acetylne) torch needed.  You can get some of your supplies from Home Depot or a kitchen store!

Please please please, if you take this class, send me pictures of what you end up creating.  I can't wait to see how this technique opens up new creative avenues for you.

Alrighty... gonna go now.  Hope to see you there!

EtsyMetal Blog Carnival -- Artistic Influence

It’s time for the monthly EtsyMetal Blog Carnival. This month team members are sharing information about their artistic influences.

This blog carnival is a great way to get to know some of the EtsyMetal team members. Please click on blog links at the bottom of this post to see the other entries for this month.

The question(s):
Who or what are your biggest artistic influences?
Are you influenced by family members, famous artists, art movements...?

My work is mostly influence by my personal philosophies.  I'm sort of the queen of anti-drama... meaning I don't like anything drama-related.  I want the opposite of intense, and my not overly ornamental jewelry shows it.

My work tends to strive for simplicity, minimalism, and ease -- in design as well as wearability.


I prefer my pieces not be high-maintenance.   For example, my favorite pieces are ones you can wear day in and day out without removing and only needing minimal and occasional care.

So in light of my personal beliefs, I'd say the Japanese aesthetic in artwork captures my attention the most when it comes to influence.

I think this enameled pendant was the start of my interest in combing the Zen concepts of simplicity with my artwork.

The ensō in particular (a hand drawn circle made in one brush stroke) fascinates me...

... and I find myself working with circles in a lot of my designs.

I also like the starkness of straight lines (I wonder if my love of math relates to my love of these two binary symbols).

 

But minimalism aside, I'm also a huge fan of the arts and crafts movement of the early 20th century.  The designs are phenomenal and the philosophies of craftsmanship are inspiring.


So once in a while I do something just for fun... something that reminds me of other work I admire... work that makes me feel good.

I've seen so many beautiful Art Nouveau creations that use the moth as a design element.  Look at Lucien Gaillard's work and you'll see what I mean.

It's said that Gaillard applied the lessons of Japanese art to his studies and that seems to make my love of his work come full circle in a way that makes total sense.

Anyway, admiring some of Gaillard's work recently inspired me to create a sterling cuff bracelet with saw pierced moth silhouettes.

So there you have it... a peek into the influences of my thought process for designs.

Here are links to other EtsyMetal team members taking part in this month's blog carnival.  Click on their names to see what their artistic influences are.

2Roses
Beth Cyr