Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower. - John Harrigan

While I have been searching out materials for the next few encaustic paintings, I have not been idle.

I have been working on some jewellery concepts, so I thought I would take this opportunity to show you those.

For years I have wanted to do a 3D lotus flower. Problem is, that it's really difficult to create that in a way that is easily reproducible. Sure, I can carve one no problem, but they cannot be moulded that way. I finally figured out a way to make it in 4 layers, which can then be reassembled each time. Labour intensive, but I think the result is very satisfying! The layers also allow me to use the same components to do more than just a pendant. I was able to do a ring and a bracelet as well.

Lotus Flower Pendant

This piece is about 1 3/8 inches in diameter, and the finished weight is roughly 11-12 grams in sterling silver.

Lotus Flower Bracelet

The next piece I worked on was the bracelet. I cut off the bail from the back, pierced two of the leaves, and soldered on the chain and lobster claw findings.

Lotus Flower Ring

Finally, I created the ring, using 3 of the 4 layers, in order to allow some "lift" off the fingers. I was concerned also about the diameter being too much for  most peoples hands. Certainly, I can create a custom ring with all 4 layers if someone wishes it, but for now, due to the way I made the layers I wouldn't suggest it. 

As usual, I also had fun writing the label that goes with it. Most of my pieces have a label with the meaning of the piece, and this one is no exception. Here is a copy of the meaning of the lotus flower as per the label I made:

"In cultures from ancient Egypt, across Asia and into India, they have been used to represent the human soul, divine purity, enlightenment, wealth and rebirth.

Egyptians said the lotus flower represented the sun and rebirth. In one of their creation legends, the sun rose out of a lotus that had grown from a watery chaos.

For the Buddhists, the lotus represents rising above desire and attachment, as the lotus rises above the muddy waters. It's one of the eight auspicious symbols, and represents purity of speech, mind and body. Different colours represent different aspects of perfection.

In Hinduism the lotus represents prosperity, beauty, fertility, eternity and eternal youth, purity and divinity. The suggestion is that people should be as the lotus, rise above the muddy waters and attachment, and blossom. Lotus flowers are also used to represent the chakras.

In todays world, lotus flowers still carry their ancient meanings of purity and perfection, with modern reinterpretations. They symbolize life, new beginnings and the possibility of people blossoming into something beautiful."

I am really, really happy with the results of this latest project. Certainly everyone who sees it says they think it is stunning! What do you think? I'd love to get your feedback!

Let us not be too particular. It is better to have old second-hand diamonds than none at all. ~ Mark Twain

I am not much in a writing mood, so just an update on the latest designs, and the reaction to them.

Here are some more ART TO GO Series 2. Sized the same as the last ones, with the square ones being 2.5 cm square, and the larger rectangular ones being  2.5 cm x 3 cm, not including the bail heights.

This past week, I purchased a few more enamel colours. I got myself some bright pink, some deep chocolaty brown, some violet and some copper. The copper has not been too successful, as it doesn't show well on the sterling. Too bad, I thought it had great potential. Just above, all the rainbow colours with a little bit of the pink to "punch" it up.

Here I introduced the brown, with gold copper and green.

Here the brown with the black and gold was quite effective. I had the black before, but had shied away from using it. No more. I think it works very well.

here I used some of the white which I'd had as well. Used in small bits to contrast with other colours, it can work, but is more effective when overlaid on another colour.

Above and just below - loving the pink with the other colours!

I finally took the plunge, and did a completely black background with a few bright colours overlaying it. I love the result.

The ART TO GO Series 1 and Series 2 have been very well received, as have been the Tree of Life designs. This past week at the gift show, I took orders for quite a lot of the Tree of Life pendants. 

The ART TO GO Series 1 was not shown at that show, however. I have sold a couple of them and people are loving the uniqueness of the designs. In person they show extremely well. Some better photographs may help, but mostly I think the 3-D nature of them is not captured well enough in the photos, and it's a shame.

As for the ART TO GO Series 2, everyone loves them. I have a sold a couple in retail sales, but so far no wholesale orders, in spite of the fact that everyone who sees them says they are gorgeous, they love them, and they think they have huge potential. Go figure. When I see an idea of which I think those kinds of thoughts, I jump on ordering them. Maybe it's just a matter of time, and the orders will come. Currently, none of them are in my Artfire store, as the entire display has taken a trip to Edmonton, where they will be on display at the Alberta Gift Show from Sunday the 15th of August to Wednesday the 18th of August. If you are there, check them out in the ShantiOm booth: Hall E, booth #2235

If you would like to order one of the ones pictured, drop me a line, and I'll reserve it for you, and ship when the displays are returned from Edmonton.

Meantime, I have now been applying the ART TO GO Series 1 technique to rings, and it looks fabulous! Can't wait to get those ones cast, and show them to you. New paintings too when I next update.

One essential ingredient for being an original in the day of copies is courageous vision. ~ Charles Swindoll

So, last week I promised to show you ART TO GO Series 2.  I am very excited about this line, and when I had them at my show this past weekend, they got great reviews!

ART TO GO Series 2 is all about having a miniature, abstract painting on sterling (and maybe eventually on gold as well), which you can wear on the go. One-of-a-kind pieces again, so that no two will ever be the same. 

I started out with 2 pieces of leftover sheet sterling, and experimented to see if the enamels would behave the way that I wanted, and if I would be able to achieve what I had in mind. Hence, they are strangely shaped, which is artsy and I think effective. However, in the effort of keeping the prices low, I have, for the time being, opted to go with more traditional square and rectangular pieces, more similar to canvases. The labour on creating oddly shaped pieces would triple, and therefore the price would increase significantly. Having said that, if someone would like a custom piece, I am more than happy to oblige, and will create oddly shaped pieces for those customers.

Piece #1 is about half an inch wide and with the bail included the height is 2.25 inches.

Piece #2 is about half an inch wide and with the bail included the height is a little more than 1.75 inches.

Pieces 3 through 8 (above) are 2.5 cm x 3 cm, not including the bail height.

Pieces 9 through 17 (above) are all 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm, again, not including the bail height.

I love the way some of these have great texture with the enamel, and the way it has swirled and mixed.  They'll be added to my Artfire studio soon. Please let me know what you think of them, I'd love your feedback!

Jewelry takes people's minds off your wrinkles. ~ Sonja Henie

Inspired by my recent rash of abstract paintings, I thought of an idea that would allow me to apply the same type of unpredictability to jewellery. I came up with several ideas for One-of-a-Kind pieces. I am calling them ART TO GO Series 1 and Series 2. I now have  a total of fourteen pieces for Series 1, and am working on Series 2. here are some first examples from Series 1. They are called ART TO GO, because it is art you can wear on the go!

These are literally designed "in the air", and no two will ever be the same. Plus, they cannot be moulded due to the way they are made. In buying one of these, you truly will own a one-of-a-kind piece!  

Some, like the one above, have several places that they can be hung by. In those cases, I have used a sterling snap-on bail, so that the purchaser can hang the piece how they most prefer it.

Some like the one directly above this writing, don't even need a bail, but if a person wants one, it will be provided. Again, this piece has numerous places from which to hang it, allowing you to completely change the look of the piece. 

There are a few that have built in bails, which I did while in the midst of designing them, like the one directly above.

And finally, some have soldered on bails, like the one directly above, and the next three pieces below.

The one directly above, and the next few have got the snap-on bails.

This one is flatter and less 3D than the others.

Coming soon: the same One-of-a-Kind concept applied to Tree of Life Pendants, and Series 2 of the ART TO GO sterling pendants.

Of course all of these are available at my Artfire store:

Please click here to see these on Artfire.