Mt Shasta and Converting a Thread Holder into an Earring Display

Grandma and I took a trip up to Mt. Shasta over Memorial Day weekend.

We were at a conference from about 9am until 10pm each day so the only day we had to go up to the mountain itself was Monday, right before we drive back home. I decided to take photo of the mountain in the distance as viewed from town on Friday. It’s so lovely.



Glad I got THAT photo because on Monday the mountain was shrouded in mist.



So we drove up through the fog as far as we could (they close different gates along the way, depending where the snow is), then we got out and walked for a bit. Neither one of us wanted our photo taken, but I had the phone. Ha ha ha!



Saw some cool things along the way. Stacked rocks…



Rocks that look like Army camouflage…



Couldn’t help humming Misty Mountain Hop while driving back down the mountain. It was so lovely.





Here’s a photo I found while I was looking for something else today. This is super old. That’s my mom and my brother in the photo. My brother is 47 now so the photo is almost 40 years old. It was taken at the Vortex (aka “Mystery Spot”) in Santa Cruz, California.



Anyway, I just thought it was funny that this photo has weird blue lightning-like streaks on it.

And now onto work. Metal clay specifically. After many firing sessions that came out looking like I was firing too high, I began to test the temp much lower, working my way UP rather than down.

I’m rethinking this now. Instead of firing as low as I can,,, only making sure the metal has sintered, I’m going to go back to working my way down and firing as high as I can… without signs of over-firing.

Metal clay will always be strongest at its highest firing temp.

I fired a test piece of Steel XT today at 1750 and it came out perfectly. I even hammered it a bit (it was out of shape through no fault of the firing) afterward and didn’t crack or split.

BTW, I don’t do shows, so I have virtually nothing as far as displays go. A few days before we left I found this thread holder at a garage sale for $5.



I cleaned it up and painted it black. Forgive the terrible “after” photo. To say the corner I was in was dimly lit would be an understatement and this was the best my phone could do.



It was just too perfect that the only hole punch I had on me made the perfect size hole for my cards to hang on the spool holders.

Uniformity of Earring Photos

Yes, I have been busy. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to show for that yet. As part of my accreditation course, I’m doing a lot of experimenting with metal clay.

Oh, and some of you were wondering about the “gradient paper” experiment I was talking about. Well, I ended up not doing what I had planned, which was to spray something on the gradient paper to make it more durable. That experiment is postponed for now. In the mean time, I printed out a couple different SIZED gradient backgrounds… smaller ones for earrings, etc.

I decided to try for a bit of uniformity of look with my photographing. Here is my earring section in Etsy after working for a more uniform feel to my photos.

I'd like to thank Alex and Katherine for giving me perspective once I'd lost it all.

Still Having Fun with White Bronze Metal Clay (And Steel, And Viking Knit)

Here are some of my latest pieces listed. You can click on any jewelry photo to see if the piece is still available. To see everything that is currently available, click here.

The first is a white bronze pod pendant with Jasper, Pyrite, and African silver-colored beads.



Also in white bronze is this simple unisex necklace with a gecko theme.



Earrings made of steel with bronze inlay.



A Viking knit necklace with one of Alex’s fabulous glass beads as the focal.



And a minimalist bracelet of copper rolo chain and a lampwork bead charm.



Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. The weather here is great!

Part 1 of How to Get Published in a Jewelry or Bead Magazine

I’ve been asked to do a little write-up on how to get published in a magazine.

I’ve collected some info to help you get started. Some are magazines are online, some are hardcopy, and some are both.

Most magazines will tell you very clearly how to you can submit your work for their consideration. Follow each publisher’s guidelines (seriously).

Please do your homework! If you send an email or inquiry to an editor, make sure you’re not addressing it to someone who was the editor four years ago.

Show some interest in the magazine too. Read the current issues. Become familiar with a magazine’s style and content.

Here is a list of some of the current magazines in our field. I’ve included information on how many issues they put out, who publishes the magazine, a link to information about the magazine, and a link to their submission guidelines (if available).

Art Jewelry (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead & Button (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Design Studio [transitioned from Bead Unique magazine] (6 issues per year) published by All American Crafts, Inc.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Style (6 issues per year) published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Bead Trends (6/7 issues per year) published by Northridge Publishing
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Beadwork (6 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Belle Armoire Jewelry (4 issues per year) published by Stampington & Company
Slow loading web pages
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Canadian Beading published by Canadian Beading Magazine
About the Magazine

Easy Wire [Special issues] published by Interweave
See “Step By Step Wire Jewelry” for submission guildelines

Handcrafted Jewelry [Special issues] published by Interweave

Jewelry Affaire published by Stampington & Company
Slow loading web pages
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Jewelry Artist [Lapidary Journal] (9 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines for Reviews

Jewelry Stringing (4 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Metalclay Artist Magazine (4 issues per year) published by Brysella Publishing
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Metalsmith (5 issues per year) published by SNAG
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Polymer Café (6 issues per year) published by Scott Publications
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Step by Step Wire Jewelry (6 issues per year) published by Interweave
About the Magazine
Submission Guildelines

Wirework [special issue] published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.
See “Art Jewelry” for submission guidelines

Stay tuned for more information on this subject...

Wirework Magazine Spring 2013 Article and End of Monica's Youth Hockey Career

Yes, it’s been awhile. I loved traveling with Monica to her end-of-season hockey championships, but now I’m glad to be back home and back to work (the work I love). See the end of this blog post for info on how the end of Monica’s season turned out.

I’ve been doing a lot of kiln testing so I can get the firing schedules just right for my metal clay projects. Sometimes when you combine the clays, you have to adjust for variations in the outcome.

Here are some of my latest pieces listed. You can click on any jewelry photo to see if the piece is still available. To see everything that is currently available, click here.

First up are the three necklaces I made for the Spring 2013 issue of Wirework magazine. This is an art nouveau take on an Egyptian lotus design.



Here’s a minimalist setting sun pendant made from copper with bronze inlay.



And a rustic copper Viking knit bangle bracelet.



I’m excited to announce that I am currently taking part in Hadar Jacobson’s accreditation course (only the first round of students were invite only; the second round in 2014 will be chosen from people who apply). We are following a rigorous, months-long program “to establish a team of high-level, professional teachers, who know the ins and outs of base metal clay and who received their teacher training directly from [Hadar]”.

As a wrap up for those who are following my daughter’s progress: The girls team had three amazing games in the round robin portion of Nationals. They made it to the quarter-finals where they ended up losing their first game, but at that point it was elimination rounds so their season was over.

Here’s a photo from a few weeks ago when they won the Regional Championships in Anaheim.



Her boys team doesn’t have a national level. For them “States” is as high as they could go and it was an awesome ending to her youth hockey career being in net as her team won the State Championship title.



She has a few goalie camps this summer (both as student as instructor), then it’s off to Brown some time in August, I guess.