Flower Power

Here's the next finished Lucky Penny ring, Flower Power! lol. The date on it is 1968. Kate suggested 1969 as Woodstock's year, and suitable for a Flower Power ring, but I'd already picked out a 1968. The stone is a 3 mm blue topaz.


Which brings up a funny point. As I stated before, I started picking up change I'd find in my walks for lottery tickets. Then I started admiring the varying road textures of the coins, and began making jewelry with them. The end result is, a growing mound of unrecycled road change. The only coins I use for lottery tickets anymore are quarters and pennies younger than 1983. (the last year of good copper content in pennies.) If I come across a totally unscarred dime, sure I'll recycle it. But, I have lots of great looking dimes, nickels and pennies covering my table top.

Which means, of course, I need to start selling lots or get a life! Eh. Maybe I'll go get a beer instead....

Indecision...

I have a bunch of small glass boxes. About 40 I think. The boxes are big enough for a small ring, or some pennies. I had these boxes made up with the plans for lids, and have finally started on them! Because I only have so many boxes, I'm thinking on only molding one design. So of these two lids, which do you like best? i haven't finished them so its kinda unfair to ask. And I'm thinking on doing one more design. *The finished lids will be in brass or bronze... or maybe even "pink" silver. (Pink silver has a high copper content, and is not .925 sterling silver.)


Both of these designs I've done before. I've used this particular house motif in drawings, earrings and a pendant. I have also made a My Town ring. The house motif is pretty iconic. Some day I'll sit down and try to verbalize why I keep returning to this, my particular version of it.

New Goodies

Here are a couple of new models I've been working on. I was unsure of the Fish ring... fearing it might turn out too dorky. I don't think it ranks obnoxiously high on the dork-o-meter though. I made it for pennies fished out of a fountain. Right now the bezel (where you put the stone) got crunched down a bit in casting. (Insert favorite gosh darn it phrase here.) So I can't fit any penny in. I can fix it. It just was taking a bit too much time and patience so I decided to go ahead and take some pictures with a dime.


**One of my problems with the fishy ring is... I kinda have a dork asthetic. Obviously. But when I tried to stylize the fish at all... I was messing with symbols, it seemed to me. And since I'm not religious, I don't like to utilize such symbols in my work unless its for a particular purpose. A fish symbol with the casual inference of religion didn't feel right. If I could stylize the fish successfully, to where I didn't see such casual inference, that would be best. I didn't make it in this round. I was left with dorkiness.

**This may seem like over thinking. (lol.) But this is one step where things succeed or not. It is not just that a design is pleasing, but whether there is a sense of coherent thought or intention behind the work. Which, in all honesty, may be one reason why my successes are dwarfed by my failures. I do not excel in coherence. In fact, I think dorkiness is okay, the way pizza and beer and football can satisfy if a few brain cells and a certain portion of the psych is left, fumbling for the ideal.
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This is the flower POWER ring. Both of these models need to get cleaned up, then molded and recast for the finish piece. (They are carved out of wax then cast into the silver shown here.) I made the flower ring so that I can use nickels too. Or dimes.

*new post*

*text to be added later... I don't have a scanner at home!*
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Well. I'm finally going to attempt to add verbiage. This post started out with the proposed title of "The Indistinctness of Ideas and Dreams." I have since become attached to the "*new post*" title. What follows is exerts from a rough draft.

I've always had this image of a cartoon kid striding forth on a cartoon road with multicolored balloons in hand. That's what I think when folks say "follow your dreams." And there's a circus somewhere.

I have tried to record my dreams. My writing becomes very blunt and sparse. I'm just trying to get it all down and sort out the fuzz.

What I found with dreams... there's the major thingie, but the rest, all the filler that goes into sculpture or painting... the infrastructure connecting the idea or dream to real space and perception... the stuff that solidifies the line and sets the scene. That's conscious and sometimes a lucky choice. Dreams don't tell everything.

The picture I posted here is a piece I sculpted maybe 10 years ago. I don't remember the genesis of it. Probably an idea, not a dream. (I pretty much chose this photo over a painting I did of 2 odd men, twins, and a toilet. lol. I decided it would always be too early in the day to view the toilet painting. The toilet painting was a dream scene.) The finger sculpture (Finger and a few thumbs, I should say) is about 99-100 fingers, all individually sculpted. This was not life casted at all. And as I made them and placed them on the surface they established relationships to the fingers around them. They became a polite crowd of nun like creatures in a small space.

Singing Penny Ring

I might change the title of this ring. Who knows. I just listened, yet again, to little Gina Marie Incandela sing the "Star Spangled Banner." The major thing I'm following in the NBA playoffs is did the little girl sing. Well, that and I hope the Lakers loose. Which has given me a very small sliver of insight on how anyone can't not appreciate the beauty of the Patriots' winning ability. ;)

Here is the temporarily named "Singing Penny Ring" (Before I showed it as a model. Here's the real deal. Its a Peridot semi precious stone I set.)



And Gina. You go girl!


*oh. Guess I should explain the connection. Gina is considered Orlando's Magic (NBA) good luck charm. They are 6-0 when she sings before a playoff game. Gina has a form of autism, and learn how to sing when she was enrolled in a program to help her speak. The song she became fascinated with was LeAnn Rimes' rendition of the national anthem.

*but frankly, I just like hearing her sing. And I just finished this ring.

Shadow Shot Sunday!

I have tried many times to take a picture of my gorgeous rose bush, and all the pictures look so banal. It never occurred to me until today how beautiful its shadow is.

On the Importance of Distractions

Here is a picture of the fountain I might fish coins out of for the fish rings. You think anyone will notice?

And here is the beginnings of the fish ring (carved in wax.) It helps me out to take a photo sometimes and look at things. Gives perspective or something. Right now I think I just want a bit of a break. Like I'm thinking veggie hot dog or beer. But still feel the need to be productive. So I'll say I'm contemplating, while eating a veggie dog and drinking beer.


*still needs tons of work.*