I Suffer For My Art

Last weekend I was supposed to attend a workshop on setting faceted stones at League of NH Craftsmen's Studio in Hanover, NH. But, because of the weather, it was rescheduled for late March. So, with a little unexpected time at home, I decided to play around with an idea I got from the latest issue of Art Jewelry http://www.artjewelrymag.com/art/default.aspx. I've been obsessed with hollow forms and when I saw the cover of this 'zine, I was taken with the idea of enclosing space this way. Here's a photo of the first, second and third attempts at a hoop earring using wrapped wire to enclose the space. I'm still not satisfied, but it was kind of fun to do....except when I used my pliers to pull a wire taught and the pliers slipped and I hit myself in the mouth - hard!! I didn't see stars, but I did actually see $(@#)&^&$*## and today I have a fat lip to show for my efforts. So, yeah I truly do suffer for my art.

Now, I am not at all sure where this is going. A lot of times, I'll see something and feel compelled to give it a try and then put it down and the idea submerges and incubuates for a while and will come around again at a later date. Today, I'm going back to working on the space debris project I posted last time around. I spent all of class last Tuesday getting the post set on the flap and expirementing with the catch. I think I've come up with a gauge and dimensions that will work and now have to shape the catch, grind away a bit of one layer on the bead to make some room for it and then solder it in place. I'll post the finished work when it's complete...whether I'm successful or not.