Rediscovering Inspiration

Wow, I've been busy....and not in the fun way! Seems there has been so much going on lately that I've been barely able to spend any 'fun' time at the bench. Until last weekend that is..

It's kind of a long story, so stick with me. A few months ago, we had some rain. Not just some rain actually, a whole LOT of rain. This brought out the cicadas, big time. Phil called me outside one day when he found a cicada emerging from its shell on the side of our house. It was fascinating. The wonders of nature never cease to amaze me - how beautiful and complicated some creatures can be. Over the next three hours, we watched the cicada transform from a dirty, creepy looking thing into a stunning, if somewhat alien, creature. Of course, I was there with my camera......

Meanwhile, I'm guessing millions (OK, maybe not millions) of other cicadas were doing the same thing.....and what's a cicada to do after emerging from a long sleep in the ground? Sing, of course!!!

So for weeks, we were driven nuts by the sound of cicada love...really, really nuts...(but let's not go there). Anyway, while walking back to the house from my studio just after Christmas, I found a perfect cicada wing on the ground. The shape and the glimmery iridescence of it really caught my eye and I just had to pick it up and bring it inside. I placed it on my bench, just knowing that this shape would inspire something creative in me. But there was work to do, matters to attend to, the usual day-to-day stuff, and the wing sat there on my bench for weeks.

Last weekend, I was planning some jewellery-making workshops and was working on ideas for non-soldering projects for upcoming classes in South Australia. I saw the wing and sat a while, trying to use the shape for inspiration. Then it hit me. It was perfect just as it was, there was no improving it, no stylising or tweaking neccessary. So I scanned it, actual size, saw-pierced it and came away with the most gorgeous pendant. Sometimes you can try an try to come up with something creative only to find it's been right in front of you the whole time.

I'm so happy with this piece and very pleased to be able to offer it as a half-day workshop, so you too can make your own cicada wing pendant. The project is designed for beginners and will really get you used to using the jewellers saw. Not to mention the compliments you will receive wearing this little beauty, trust me, I've been wearing mine and people comment all the time.

The back plate is brass, but looks just like gold (it will be our secret) and it looks great on a leather cord.

 If you're interested in attending a workshop, or getting a few friends together for your own group session, drop me a line and I'll be happy to give you some details.

Help a Great Cause....

One of my Grafton Artsfest students, Sally, who has also become a good friend, is taking on a massive challenge and riding a push-bike from Sydney to Surfers Paradise. Now, I know what you're thinking.....she's mad!! Well, maybe, but she's going all out for a great cause and that is a wonderful thing (and it kind of cancels out the craziness).

 The Macsim Sydney to Surfers Charity Bike Ride is in its 13th year and raises money for Father Chris O'Reilly's Youth Off The Streets.

Sally leaves on 30th April for the 7 day, 1,000km ride and is hoping to raise $3,000 for Youth Off the Streets. It's a great charity and a huge effort by Sally, so I'm asking you to please be generous, show some support and make a donation. 

Just visit the website and be sure to enter "Sally Spillane" as the supported rider, so the donated funds go to her tally. Let's get her to that $3,000 goal, she's certainly working for it! 

Good luck, Sally.......

I'll post some updates soon on the studio as well as some possible classes that will be available soon.

Thanks for visiting and please check back soon. 

Welcome to 2010.....

The last couple of months have been hectic to say the least. With Christmas approaching faster than ever and a mad rush to keep up with Snake Jewellery orders, November and December went by in a heartbeat!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break. We had a lovely time in our new home with both our families visiting. Christmas day, although a little on the humid side, was thankfully nowhere near the temperatures of the previous week.

So now for some catching up........

As promised in my last post, I have some photos of Grafton Artsfest to share.
Here is returning student, Leslea, deep in concentration at the soldering station.

As always, we had a wonderful time with the class consisting of many familiar faces as well as some lovely new people whom we now consider friends. The students made a wonderful array of creative jewellery and I was once again amazed and inspired by the quality of work produced.

Unfortunately, my camera decided to get lazy (yes, I'm blaming the camera!) and the photos of the actual jewellery turned out pretty dismal. Being the high-tech gal that I am (not), I couldn't even photoshop them to a suitable degree to post here, so you will have to take my word for how well the students did.... My photography skills, on the other hand, could use some help.

I also had my photograph appear in the local Grafton newspaper with Richard, the only boy in the class!! He is holding a lovely brooch that he made.

Grafton Artsfest 2010 is running from September 25th to 30th. A discount is offered for early payment, so if you are interested in attending, please visit their website Grafton Artsfest 2010 for more information or email me for details on what you can expect in our 2010 class.

On the home-front things are progressing. Work on the studio should begin this month, although a few other things have cropped up which need to be taken care of first, such as the hole we discovered in the concrete water tank.

I have been very busy with my Snake Jewellery website and have also been making some interesting pieces for my friend, Bronwyn's new gallery in San Remo, Victoria. Bronwyn is president of the Gold & Silvermiths Guild of Australia and the Goldsmiths Gallery is her new venture, showcasing guild members from around the country. Here are a couple of pieces I made specifically for the gallery.

I'm looking forward to a very busy and creative New Year. I have a pile of new designs ready for the making, with nothing stopping me but time!! Class programs are being prepared for when the studio is up and running and I have a couple of exhibitions coming up throughout the year as well. So, for me, 2010 is looking like a very full but enjoyable year and I hope you will share it with me. Don't forget to keep checking in. Better still, click the link to follow my blog.

Thanks for visiting. I wish you all the very best for an exciting and prosperous 2010 and hope to see you at my place sometime........

Settled In

Hello Again (finally!)

Well, we have moved and are pretty much settled in our new home.

We are absolutely loving the new lifestyle out here in the bush. There is always something new to see out here, including the biggest goanna I have ever seen!!
The photo doesn't do him justice, he was HUGE !!! Being a reptile lover, I was thrilled to have him wandering through my place.


Grafton Artsfest was a great success! We had a lovely class of six and the creativity was certainly flowing. Great to see some friends of previous years as well as some new-comers. We had such a good time, as always, and shared a lot of laughs, ideas and chocolate!!

The student exhibition drew a lot of attention our way, with visitors very impressed at the quality of work produced. Returning student, Tracy, again worked her magic on the computer and made us very classy name cards for our display. Thanks Tracy!!

To top it off, a photograph of myself and our only male student, Richard, appeared in the Grafton local paper a couple of days later. I have some photos of our workshop and the finished work, but they need a bit of cropping and resizing so I will get them posted as soon as I can.

Enrolments are being accepted for next year, with the class almost half booked out already, so if you are interested in attending Artsfest in 2010, visit their website or shoot me an email for more information.

Back to the home front and the work will begin soon on the new studio. It is quite a task, but I am hoping to be ready for classes in February 2010. I will certainly keep you posted on the progress once we start. In the meantime, if you are interested in learning to make sterling silver jewellery or would like more information on the type of workshops that will be running, just email me and I'll give you any information you require. Don't forget, you can also subscribe to this blog so you will be up to date with what's happening.

Will have more pics posted soon. Thanks for stopping by.....

The Lunch-Break Ring...

Finally got some spare time to update The Jeweller's File. It's Sunday and I've just done my end-of-financial-year stuff, so I deserve a bit of me-time, don't you think?

I have a couple of interesting things to show you this post, firstly (as the title suggests), The Lunch-Break Ring !

OK, it has nothing to do with food....here's the story behind it.

I work (as a jeweller) in a retail store a couple of days a week and a ring came in for repair which caught the eye of one of the sales people, Donna. She just loved the general design of the ring and asked me about making a similar one for her. Being a simple, no-solder design, I suggested she try making it herself and I set her the challenge of making it in her one hour lunch-break. Donna, being the fiesty chick she is, was definately up for it. So, lunch-breaks sychronised, we set to the task.... and so created The Lunch-Break Ring!

She took to the tools really quickly and had a great time making her own version of the ring (and yes, she did it with those nails!!). It looks fantastic and really suits her. OK, Donna, next step......the torch!!!

Another custom design order I recently made was for a snake neckpiece. I was contacted through my Snake Jewellery website and quickly realised that Jenelle and I were going to get along well. She had this fabulous idea of a snake neckpiece and I customised a design to suit her. The neckpiece was just stunning. Here are some photos of the process and the finished piece. The pictures, unfortunately, really don't do it the justice it deserves; it's a gorgeous piece.

I'm also putting together the projects for Grafton Artsfest....plenty of fun things to make! Don't forget, time is going fast so enrol now if you are planning to join us.

Hope to see you there !

One-Day Workshop Coming Soon : Canberra

For those of you who are wishing to get some hands-on jewellery making experience, good news!

I will be holding one-day workshops in Canberra in the very near future. You can make a fully-finished sterling silver jewellery item in just one day.... One project is the Flower Ring pictured on the right side of this page. Set with a cabochon garnet, this delightful ring will certainly impress your friends. Why not enrol and make it for your Mum.....Mothers day is not too far away. Better still, enrol WITH your Mum and spend an enjoyable day of creativity together.

Other project options will include sterling silver pendant with cabochon Jasper, or two tone earrings using sterling silver and copper. If you have something particular in mind, let me know. Classes will run with minimum of four students, so why not get a few friends together and make a day of it.


More information will be coming soon, but if you are interested in attending a workshop, email me now and let me know your preferred day (weekday or weekend, day or evening) and any preference in terms of projects.

Stay tuned for more details..........