Jeannie Ray Metal, Stone and Ramblings

This stone was a gift from my stone supplier. Now I'm completely in love with white stones! I also tried a different shape backplate which challenged my not so great sawing skills. I really like the effect texturing the metal gave the overall look.

One of the joys of making jewelry is that your friends all know what they want for their birthdays and holidays and you can easily provide it! Gone is the dilemia of trying to figure out what to buy them. My friend requested a blue ring (like mine) for her birthday so I made this for her over the weekend.  I'm in love with the double rings. 14 gauge proved to be the best size for this particular ring. Materials: Stone- not sure, possibly blue sodalite gallery wire 22 gauge sterling silver backplate 14 gauge wire round wire

Do all creative people who work a regular job feel this way or is it only me? Dear World, I am terribly sick of my current business dealings. It has withered my soul to interact with the likes of which that I have. No spirit of pure or joy of heart  lie in those of which I am entangled. I yearn for the freedom of expression that I so desperately seek. It crashes and ebbs within me, like the tide in the moonlight, with pure overwhelming desire to be released. To be set free to run among the wildflower s and snowie mountains of my mind. I face the day, not as I should, with excitement at the possibilities of what the dawn may bring, but with a heavy heart - a weight under which I slowly drown, stifled breath by stifled breath. But I will for another day solder on and do what I must. I will for another day, work to become just one tiny bit closer to the freedom of expression I desire . I will yet one more night, express my emotional bondage through my art so that one day, one day so

I made this purple pendent for my niece to match mine. Purple is her favirot color.

This was the first ring I made where I stamped the feather then sawed and sodored it to the band,  which was 12 gauge wire. It was a big accomplishment for this newbie! I also textured the band. It was where I first saw that I just might be able to actually make jewelry if I was persistent.

This ring was difficult for me. It was the most complex piece I had done and my first (and so far only) inlay. It's not that it's difficult to make, but as with anything creative, things sometimes just don't work out too well some days! There are two bands of half round silver wire on the top and bottom and I just couldn't get them soldered, even though I had done the same simple ring many times before. Then I crushed a turquoise stone and a black stone I had laying around and along with some silver scrappings, filled the middle. I made it for my husbands birthday.

Well today, the saga of the barbecue wasp came to a sadly abrupt end. Here’s the story. In early June we uncovered and opened the barbecue that sits on our deck, to use for the summer. There in the lower righthand corner, stuck to the cover, was a honeycomb and 2 wasps. We obviously couldn’t cook with it there, so we decided to remove it. But, being the procrastinators we are, opted to put off the the task for another day. The summer heat wave hit quickly and mercilessly and the thought of grilling in 95+ degree heat- yeah it just wasn’t going to happen. I began to watch these wasps, who I decided were a couple. They worked feverishly on filling the honeycomb, which upon examination, I found to be a fascinating and complex structure. I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell these tiny creatures with tiny brains created it. As the weeks passed, Mr. and Mrs. Wasp recruited other wasps to fill the honeycomb and great progress was made after a dozen or more joined the now growing wasp

My first pendent. The stone is Thulite. Thulite, as I understand, is found mainly in volcano's in the Iceland area and has to be helicoptered out- though I have heard lately that it's been found in North Carolina as well, but that sounds much less exotic so we'll go with the Iceland story! I was very threatened by making pendants. It involves sawing an oval piece of metal (my sawing skills are..let's say, in development) making a bail which I couldn't find much on how to make them, and soldering very fine bezel wire without melting it. Once again, persistence finally paid off!