Saturday, October 22, 2011

Kindred Spirits, Fairy Sculpture is completed

This one took a while to complete, but I've got to say it's my favorite so far. The fairy sits upon a pokadot mushroom and beckons to an elusive butterfly whose wing pattern matches her own.
 All the finished copper pieces
The wood pieces
The finished work assembled (more views below)









She'll be going to her new home very shortly. I hope you've enjoyed viewing the process.


My Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LunarSkiesJewelry?ref=pr_shop
My Jewelry: http://www.lunarskies.com
My Sculpture: http://www.lunarskies.com/pages1/fineart.html
My Cabochons: http://www.gemalchemy.com
Creating The Hive Artisans Group: http://www.creatingthehive.com





Monday, October 17, 2011

I am the victim of a crime!

I think theft is one of the worst crimes of which to fall victim. Recently I've noticed small items disappearing from my shop. I've just identified the thief.
I don't like to single out any specific group, but these little guys have a well earned reputation for this very type of activity. That's right! I'm talkin' about pack rats.
I was out of the shop for a couple of days, and one of these little guys was VERY busy while I was gone. I guess I'm just going to have to lock everything up. I thought this stuff was over when my children grew up.

OK, back to my fairy project. It's getting closer to completion. I got the wings cut out. I start with the wing pattern glued to plates of copper.
Drill a hole for each opening
And saw out the opening along the pattern line (forgive the fuzzy pic)
For the butterfly body I start with a piece of round copper stock and carve until I get the final shape
Here's a view from the top
The mushroom top required a lot of hammer work
The body parts are about ready for assembly
And the hair is coming along nicely
So now it's just about time to select the pieces of cholla I'll use to complete the piece. Thanks for looking.
My Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LunarSkiesJewelry?ref=pr_shop
My Jewelry: http://www.lunarskies.com
My Sculpture: http://www.lunarskies.com/pages1/fineart.html
My Cabochons: http://www.gemalchemy.com
Creating The Hive Artisans Group: http://www.creatingthehive.com

Lunar Skies "Paisley Butterfly" is featured on Artfire Daily Collecton!

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=98fbd55a1d5bdaf9e1d296c27&id=bb3af0ba2b&e=69f5cba8fb

I keep hoping I'll win the $100.00 prize, but this is pretty cool too! One of my sculptures is featured in the Copper Age Daily Collection.
My Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LunarSkiesJewelry?ref=pr_shop
My Jewelry: http://www.lunarskies.com
My Sculpture: http://www.lunarskies.com/pages1/fineart.html
My Cabochons: http://www.gemalchemy.com
Creating The Hive Artisans Group: http://www.creatingthehive.com

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Kindred Spirits, Fairy Sculpture Work in Progress

This is blog number two as this project continues. I've got the body parts of the fairy rough shaped, and now I'm beginning to work on some of the details.



Above & Below: One leg shaped except for the foot which looks like long swim fin at this point
I like the feeling that the piece is already inside the metal and I'm just freeing it
Both legs shaped except for feet, the body is in good shape to except for the head which still needs a considerable amount of work
One arm shaped except for the hand
Both arms shaped, the arms and legs need to be mirror images. My method allows me to compare the pieces as I work. It's all subtraction of material and hand work, so it's imperfect by nature, but I can manage to get pretty close. Since the final pieces will be bent into different positions, any imperfections seem to disappear.
Body, arms and legs rough shaped and ready for some details. Right now it looks like there's been a terrible accident

My Etsy Store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LunarSkiesJewelry?ref=pr_shop
My Jewelry: http://www.lunarskies.com
My Sculpture: http://www.lunarskies.com/pages1/fineart.html
My Cabochons: http://www.gemalchemy.com
Creating The Hive Artisans Group: http://www.creatingthehive.com

Sunday, October 9, 2011

My Newest Fairy Sculpture is now a Work in Progress

Now and the I get a request from someone to create a work specifically for them. I enjoy this type of collaboration. This request was for a copper fairy on a poka-dot mushroom. Working with the client we came up with the following Photoshop version of the design. Now the challenge for me is to see how close I can come with the actual work.
The piece will be titled "Kindred Spirits"
I start these sculptures with some pieces of copper. I need a pretty big piece for the body so I have to cut it from a thick copper block (not really an ad for DeWalt tools)
These pieces will  be the fairy's body, arms and legs
Then I start the rough grinding
Each step gets a little closer to the finished component
The metal gets pretty hot during grinding. That discoloring is the result, but it's just on the surface



She's starting to take shape
I leave quite a bit of material for the head since I have to subtract the material (math was never my strong suit). She has a bit of an alien quality at this stage
She's in there; stay tuned.

Started it on My Vacation, Finished it at Home

One of my galleries back east requested some jewelry pieces with certain stones. I was headed to California right at that time so I took along my portable workshop and worked when I could. I finished the pieces in the week following my return. Hopefully the gallery will take some of these pieces and I'll have some left over to put in my etsy and Artfire stores.
Lapis Lazuli with Peridot acccents
Montana Agate pendants
Kingman Turquoise pendants and earrings
Petoskey Stone pendant and earrings
Ocean jasper pendants and earrings
Amethyst pendants and earrings