tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44946658288879783942024-03-14T03:54:56.680-04:00Creative InclinationsAnne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-74577308531482909202015-06-01T09:05:00.005-04:002015-06-01T09:07:23.112-04:00These are a few of my favorite things...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This month's Etsy Metal blog carnival is to show who we are with images of a few of our favorite things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To see my Etsy Metal teammates' blog posts, follow the links below.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: start;">Rebecca Bogan: </span><a class="postlink" href="https://adobesol.wordpress.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">https://adobesol.wordpress.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Andrea Ring: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a class="postlink" href="http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Debbie Ritchie: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Laura Jane Bouton: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Peggy Foy; </span><a class="postlink" href="http://peggyfoy.com/wp/studio-log/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://peggyfoy.com/wp/studio-log/</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2Roses: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com</a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: start;"> Cynthia Del Giudice: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-align: start;">Beth Cyr: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://bethcyr.com/blog" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://bethcyr.com/blog</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favorite movies, and naturally, I love the song "My Favorite Things"! So, moving on with some photos of some of my favorite things....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0RgL2DVub6SnY743LlIbfBtLh5rcox69dlplp2hUCU4aNs8zgTyKohJrEQsg8JTSJPCe3vvshFhJ6vZymGSoX_wx_BS7eFHUw4j9BW_VkfAzdmfAwnWQYZMDvmYMp7CD3dMMOX8LdzQ/s1600/2013-06-19+13.11.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm0RgL2DVub6SnY743LlIbfBtLh5rcox69dlplp2hUCU4aNs8zgTyKohJrEQsg8JTSJPCe3vvshFhJ6vZymGSoX_wx_BS7eFHUw4j9BW_VkfAzdmfAwnWQYZMDvmYMp7CD3dMMOX8LdzQ/s320/2013-06-19+13.11.21.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br />Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-16217934080874241522015-04-06T09:00:00.002-04:002015-04-06T10:06:41.612-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Other Creative Interests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This month's Etsy Metal Blog Carnival topic is about other artistic or creative interests beyond metalsmithing.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">I have a degree in studio art and started as a painter. When I began metalsmithing, painting fell by the wayside, although it is still definitely an interest. I hope to pick it up again one of these days when I have more time. Meanwhile, I've been pursuing more practical creative interests--one that feeds and one that improves our house! </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">At the beginning of the year I decided I wanted to learn to make bread, and I do consider that and cooking a creative endeavor. I love to cook (and eat!) and wanted to try baking. Of course I decided to start with a more difficult recipe for a rosemary and walnut boule. I threw out the first batch of yeast because I wasn't sure it was activating. Then I remembered I had a thermometer that could accurately gauge the temperature of the milk I was putting the yeast in. That helped and the bread came out wonderfully! I should have used two pans since the loaves grew together to look like one big butt.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">My next baking effort was flaky, buttery dinner rolls that were baked in a muffin tin. I didn't quite get them all to be equal size, but they were so, so good and were scarfed down at dinner time.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">My other creative interest at home is interior design. We are getting ready to renovate our second bathroom, add built-in shelving to the family room, and partially redecorate the master bedroom. We redid our master bath fairly recently (I did the design and a contractor did the installation), and changed it from 50's pink to modern beachy spa. We took out the bathtub and put a large shower in its place, and removed a second entrance (it was a jack & jill). I designed the vanity and had it custom built. I am excited for our next projects!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Read what my Etsy Metal teammates have to say on this subject:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Andrea Ring: </span></span><a href="http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Beth Cyr: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://bethcyr.com/blog" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">http://BethCyr.com/blog</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Debbie Ritchie: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening</span></a></span></div>
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Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-25549484089941430112015-02-27T17:04:00.000-05:002015-03-02T08:53:57.369-05:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: "My Jewelry Box"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.etsymetal.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This month's Etsy Metal Blog Carnival topic is to show what you have in your own personal jewelry box along with the stories behind your pieces or what your jewelry means to you.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #e1ebf2; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">First, I have to say that I have way too many things to write about! I've collected jewelry for a long time and so many pieces have meaning. I have always purchased jewelry while traveling, usually by a local artist, as a souvenir and to remember by travels. But since I can't write about everything, I will focus on three generations of rings.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa9M3a5qxojQ4iN5BuKGRe-ueLyY8Zibah4HHCY4F-B9PZ3YP_Ftk22Fe2K8rW2aan7ewkteCqPyAFkQELjxle98-R_TPXzHlmJcNxYQ1Z9YT8Le08U9a7kHBskku7fS0HRKLkoUzRW8/s1600/Moonstone_Ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXa9M3a5qxojQ4iN5BuKGRe-ueLyY8Zibah4HHCY4F-B9PZ3YP_Ftk22Fe2K8rW2aan7ewkteCqPyAFkQELjxle98-R_TPXzHlmJcNxYQ1Z9YT8Le08U9a7kHBskku7fS0HRKLkoUzRW8/s1600/Moonstone_Ring.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The oldest is first....we think this gold and moonstone ring dates from around 1880, and belonged to my great-grandmother, my mother's maternal grandmother. My grandmother gave the ring to my mom when she was in high school because she know how much my mom liked it. My mom told me she wore it alot and often twirled the stones during class because she liked how they caught the light. My mom, named Mary, never knew her grandmother (also named Mary), because she died before my grandmother was married. We think perhaps the ring was a gift to great grandma Mary from her husband. On a side note, apparently she was a great cook, a talent carried down to my grandmother and mom.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJlIisB8S8dsyyNIj7YN3TjyXLeBlKstdNYOKjRl5ksRvzbtZljGzfJlBhui1g7XFikeCThypCCvkwCJi8khEo_ElNpeM3ndwnBGmU_NYqhdfy-v7GtWH3GkR3heUeDJUDgWsZ0ZfXuA/s1600/Opal_Diamond_Ring_Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJlIisB8S8dsyyNIj7YN3TjyXLeBlKstdNYOKjRl5ksRvzbtZljGzfJlBhui1g7XFikeCThypCCvkwCJi8khEo_ElNpeM3ndwnBGmU_NYqhdfy-v7GtWH3GkR3heUeDJUDgWsZ0ZfXuA/s1600/Opal_Diamond_Ring_Collage.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The white gold, diamond, and opal ring was my grandmother's (mom's mom--named Anna, called Ann). The story is that the diamond in this ring was part of an engagement ring my grandma's brother planned to give to the woman he wanted to marry. Sadly, he died at age 26, just after serving in World War I. He had suffered lung damage from being gassed. My grandma had the diamond reset into this ring. She wore it often, but then gave it to my mom because she loved it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuJIo6p09syavVy22g5mdEgzbHS1664rDNAXvwqvMg79KW27jhpUpubM6Ke8VjiCNgRvz2wiNzVnLgLqlS6eTNoF5hNNpn2wIMpIilwhpzFQNsn2B8pyp8Nda8fPOFQTuD4en-6PiWiI/s1600/Flower_Opal_Ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuJIo6p09syavVy22g5mdEgzbHS1664rDNAXvwqvMg79KW27jhpUpubM6Ke8VjiCNgRvz2wiNzVnLgLqlS6eTNoF5hNNpn2wIMpIilwhpzFQNsn2B8pyp8Nda8fPOFQTuD4en-6PiWiI/s1600/Flower_Opal_Ring.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">The floral opal ring was a Christmas gift given to my mom by her parents when she was 13. Opal is her birthstone, and she told me it was her favorite Christmas gift and that she wore it all the time. She told me that when she opened the ring box, her excitement and delight were readily apparent, because she heard her mom say "Mary loves nice things." I have to say that the photo does not show the lovely flashes of multiple colors in the stones; they are much brighter than what you see here! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">My mom gave me all three rings at different points in time. She knows I like nice things too, and I love things that have been handed down, that have some history behind them. The opal floral ring fit me perfectly from the get-go, but I had to have the diamond/opal ring sized down and have a sizer band on the moonstone ring. I also enjoy wearing them often, and like to look down at my finger and think about the women who wore them before me, and how much love there is between us. They are truly special objects to me; they are so much more than just rings--they are history, stories, love, and family.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Grande, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">See what my Etsy Metal teammates had to say about this subject:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Laney Clark - silentgoddess </span><a class="postlink" href="http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Danielle Miller - </span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.daniellemillerjewelry.com/blog/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://www.daniellemillerjewelry.com/blog/</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">2Roses - </span><a class="postlink" href="http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Amuckdesign- </span><a class="postlink" href="http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Rebecca Bogan </span><a class="postlink" href="http://adobesol.wordpress.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://AdobeSol.wordpress.com</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">LjBjewelry </span><a class="postlink" href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/</a><br style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">Fenton Design: </span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(93, 143, 189); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #5d8fbd; direction: ltr; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Trebuchet MS', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; unicode-bidi: embed;">http://www.fentondesign.ca/whats-happening</a></span>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-28196227380783059602014-08-04T08:47:00.000-04:002014-08-04T08:47:55.259-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: A Peek Into My Studio<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwy51GnsufAyV-wbD5xCyWfR4PCmC3ZdFLNZyJGn4iOJLtt5LVLwbF23dvYyzdNu0kGXJKLgCXSR8VoKAYe2ulRE3FzewSrbPVy1Q-RQ4ObFEjgJZBWlsK0ZurYNXL8A-YE8rQw1drUQY/s1600/Blog+carnival+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwy51GnsufAyV-wbD5xCyWfR4PCmC3ZdFLNZyJGn4iOJLtt5LVLwbF23dvYyzdNu0kGXJKLgCXSR8VoKAYe2ulRE3FzewSrbPVy1Q-RQ4ObFEjgJZBWlsK0ZurYNXL8A-YE8rQw1drUQY/s1600/Blog+carnival+image.jpg" /></a></div>
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This month's Etsy Metal blog carnival topic is...<i>Show us your tools! Favorites, shop setup, desires...</i><br />
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A metalsmith's world revolves around the many tools of the trade.<br />
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The ugly but very practical table above was in the basement of our house when we bought it. It has new legs, but is otherwise untouched. The little set of drawers was also there. I could see some faint lettering that indicated it was originally used in a store to hold spools of thread. Because this table is so sturdy I use it for tools that need to be bolted down (rolling mill, metal shear), and for hammering.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHxEpJZuj7sByRh96OmcRxyu50XPovA8moYNLMrP3Z2KJfDQYg9uRoeNygnl0vsekAr2rK8FvjJXMjvLvlGQk3GL4bMOQl_ojdyddPm1lb_gDLdV7-RXtym2nZA_G1hGo704CDg5rKY8/s1600/IMG_3153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHxEpJZuj7sByRh96OmcRxyu50XPovA8moYNLMrP3Z2KJfDQYg9uRoeNygnl0vsekAr2rK8FvjJXMjvLvlGQk3GL4bMOQl_ojdyddPm1lb_gDLdV7-RXtym2nZA_G1hGo704CDg5rKY8/s1600/IMG_3153.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This large black tool is my sheet metal shear, like a paper cutter for metal. I love it since I work with lots of squares and rectangles. It quickly and easily cuts thick sheets of metal into those rectangles, or strips for cuff bracelets.</div>
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I re-purposed the thread drawers to hold various forming tools--hammers, dapping blocks (to form domes in metal sheet), etc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroerHR6JJGCiux446-rddF4sRb9aNq6wKE_AVbA40R06_gww2eWw6Kcc7sWvRM2qj-DCxgyKRd8WNNoaspHFzy9fMTHwlFKYTUIbh1V_b9No0Ve3mRSA1I9TkhkcyNf6_3F5AdztgEFo/s1600/IMG_3159.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhroerHR6JJGCiux446-rddF4sRb9aNq6wKE_AVbA40R06_gww2eWw6Kcc7sWvRM2qj-DCxgyKRd8WNNoaspHFzy9fMTHwlFKYTUIbh1V_b9No0Ve3mRSA1I9TkhkcyNf6_3F5AdztgEFo/s1600/IMG_3159.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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A drawer of hammers</div>
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More forming tools on top of the bench.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLPBF513f27deWCEws2q6fKCGc6Q4VO_vFs2W2NnznLK2fQK1f45Xl7bSskdwER4xKieYC6r23904Xhjm_xKtQMCxRP8QWxgT_oyFinmqh5x4d7mXZ3-gIOEKCFIPYZjgDSSeZSkZ9CE/s1600/IMG_3161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLPBF513f27deWCEws2q6fKCGc6Q4VO_vFs2W2NnznLK2fQK1f45Xl7bSskdwER4xKieYC6r23904Xhjm_xKtQMCxRP8QWxgT_oyFinmqh5x4d7mXZ3-gIOEKCFIPYZjgDSSeZSkZ9CE/s1600/IMG_3161.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is one of my favorite tools, a disc cutter. Not just any disc cutter, but a really easy to use disc cutter that cuts clean discs from sheet metal.</div>
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This is a relatively new tool, a rolling mill. I've mostly been using it to emboss designs/pattern/texture onto metal. There's a little pile of stuff next to it that I've been using for the embossing. If I really wanted to, I could roll out sheet metal myself with this nifty tool, but I don't plan to do that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1r7khBq2yvVdo8gBJ21h2s_UqqRXD6gdih2vHGJ4q7NXLMoe5_VD5I9W4jx7qOTs7G1aHWinjtZyXQjpwrt8SAwxNz0iMi1VgDwFAAaq5g2RKSOwfPqeURKxUMVg4WXK3k0LkMAWa3TU/s1600/IMG_3172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1r7khBq2yvVdo8gBJ21h2s_UqqRXD6gdih2vHGJ4q7NXLMoe5_VD5I9W4jx7qOTs7G1aHWinjtZyXQjpwrt8SAwxNz0iMi1VgDwFAAaq5g2RKSOwfPqeURKxUMVg4WXK3k0LkMAWa3TU/s1600/IMG_3172.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Mandrels for forming hoops and bracelets.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgAkA5dtUImfc8Ka8DadaS8gJ2jKt4-mrwlF1erZX4Wb0Wb8soD9zOXqRGVTSZd2zFIC74jUMFLfrDl9lE0uHLDWp1eR86-lzoB-7PlBinDoEb9MaBS7UOUYD97SLaDuPuLP5BfOd020/s1600/IMG_3163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWgAkA5dtUImfc8Ka8DadaS8gJ2jKt4-mrwlF1erZX4Wb0Wb8soD9zOXqRGVTSZd2zFIC74jUMFLfrDl9lE0uHLDWp1eR86-lzoB-7PlBinDoEb9MaBS7UOUYD97SLaDuPuLP5BfOd020/s1600/IMG_3163.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's my workbench, where I saw, file, form, and finish. This photo doesn't capture one of my most useful tools, the flexible shaft, a rotary tool used for many purposes. I use it mostly for drilling and finishing/polishing.</div>
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This bench drawer has sanding and finishing wheels for the flexible shaft, and a tube cutting jig (the thing with the red handle).</div>
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On top of my bench, some of my pliers and more flexible shaft tools for finishing.</div>
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More pliers, plus sanding pads and sandpaper.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmJt1H4KnIUhwk1o8VB5KsamZCEZR3bPP4X9ZObj6PX7zZMUsZtaLPdyi0lsJsQck1gQ3AIfxnRkb0Lr18k7j_I9jyJiNVMZnMSqJIqLMbUHW0kQ2N2ieBAxAVtPU5e9pjKq7cJJlAqY/s1600/sawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipmJt1H4KnIUhwk1o8VB5KsamZCEZR3bPP4X9ZObj6PX7zZMUsZtaLPdyi0lsJsQck1gQ3AIfxnRkb0Lr18k7j_I9jyJiNVMZnMSqJIqLMbUHW0kQ2N2ieBAxAVtPU5e9pjKq7cJJlAqY/s1600/sawing.jpg" height="320" width="286" /></a></div>
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I use my jeweler's saw constantly, for cutting wire, tubing, sheet, and for piercing out designs like this one: <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/69340347/sterling-silver-reeds-pendant-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_5">https://www.etsy.com/listing/69340347/sterling-silver-reeds-pendant-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_5</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV7V5x9WYpQR5j3QG08Z3VvwQY8Orcd4xtP-C8YzG77j6j__Rw3urDPcfiyJn73z_CJr3uJ-nVJVPtC7UJBy7p5ZxgfHmTF7QUWex-H0zIUMz5qRvO84Jnv_kBl34u-7iLMdFhLhNi1w/s1600/IMG_3164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnV7V5x9WYpQR5j3QG08Z3VvwQY8Orcd4xtP-C8YzG77j6j__Rw3urDPcfiyJn73z_CJr3uJ-nVJVPtC7UJBy7p5ZxgfHmTF7QUWex-H0zIUMz5qRvO84Jnv_kBl34u-7iLMdFhLhNi1w/s1600/IMG_3164.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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On another table I have my soldering area. In the foreground are fire bricks and charcoal blocks (soldering surfaces). In the back you can see part of my ventilation system and a small crockpot that holds pickle (an acid used to remove flux from soldering). I covered the wooden tabletop with ceramic tiles to protect it from the torch flame.</div>
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My air-acetylene torch for soldering.</div>
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Yet another table holds my photography setup and the drawers hold additional supplies.</div>
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See what my fellow Etsy Metal members have to say about their tools:</div>
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2Roses: <a href="http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/">http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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Peculiar Forest: <a href="http://peculiarforest.blogspot.com/">http://peculiarforest.blogspot.com</a><br />
KSkilesJewelry : <a href="http://kaskiles.com/2014/08/04/studio-tools/">http://kaskiles.com/2014/08/04/studio-tools/</a> <br />
Nanopod: <a href="http://www.nanopod.me/">http://www.nanopod.me</a><br />
Cynthia Del Giudice: <a href="http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/">http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com</a><br />
Nodeform: <a href="http://nodeform.com/blogs/news">http://nodeform.com/blogs/news</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-15295458912236984032014-05-05T06:00:00.000-04:002014-05-05T19:40:27.710-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Musical Inclinations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This month's Etsy Metal Blog Carnival topic is "are you musically inclined?" May 22 is Buy a Musical Instrument Day (according to the "Bizarre and Unique Holidays" website). Have you ever bought or played a musical instrument? And funny or interesting stories about that? Is any of your metalwork musical in some form?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like many young kids, my parents decided to have me start piano lessons. I started at age 7 with the Suzuki method (learning by ear). After a year of that, we moved and we started with a "regular" teacher, learning to read music. In another year, we moved yet again, and my parents enrolled us in piano at a music school. This included piano lessons, music theory classes, and performance classes. This school loved the fact that my brother and I were twins because that meant we could play duets for the performances. We weren't too enthused. Practicing duets involved a lot of pushing, shoving, and arguing on the piano bench.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our weekly music theory classes were, I suppose, helpful, but definitely not fun. I liked playing the piano, but wasn't serious about it. Music theory just seemed like too much. I felt sorry for the nice nun who taught the classes--a roomful of kids who really didn't want to be there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Several times a year we were required to attend Saturday morning performance classes. This was basically practice for the annual recital. We had to memorize a piece (which was so hard for me), and perform it for our peers. We also received instruction on how to announce the piece, sit down properly and how to adjust the bench, then the proper way to bow after the performance. I remember some kids standing up there bowing over and over again until it satisfied the school's director. My brother and I kept all this up from 4th grade until the end of high school, although in high school I was able to find a way out of the detested music theory classes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In middle school I started playing the cello. I was in my hated daily gym class (always the last one picked; not athletic) when the orchestra teacher came in to talk to the class. She was looking for students who could read music--she needed cellists for the orchestra and was willing to take beginners. Joining the orchestra meant I could get out of gym class 2-3 days per week. My hand shot up so fast that day! I liked the cello too--it has a beautiful sound, although at the beginning I did not really produce that beautiful sound. I never took private lessons in cello, but played for about five years. I only stopped in the middle of my high school years because I wanted to take more art classes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is my jewelry influenced by music? Not exactly or directly, but the elements of music (including composition, form, harmony, rhythm, texture) are remarkably similar to the elements of art (texture, space, shape, tone/value, line, color). I do feel that music training was helpful in developing an artistic sense and vice versa.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Read what other EtsyMetal artists have to say on this topic:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">KSkilesJewelry: <a href="http://kaskiles.com/studio-updates/">http://kaskiles.com/studio-updates/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beth Cyr: <a href="http://bethcyr.com/blog">http://bethcyr.com/blog</a><br />Su Trindle : <a href="http://www.quercussilver.co.uk/blog.html">http://www.quercussilver.co.uk/blog.html</a><br />Evelyn Markasky <a href="http://www.evelynmarkasky.com/blog.html">http://www.evelynmarkasky.com/blog.html</a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-45483732959009003742013-06-03T12:25:00.001-04:002013-06-03T12:31:07.229-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Summer's a'comin'!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQj62uAxL2uhIJ_RVL0Bhtb1LdVuyqCi4VDUA90c5KooU4raOvz-CuntqDXyjSkEtj56OeRqe7vIKFTluiCIB3UjEog6dPgVR5hZhGDDQpvBd98P0oz9uDg-D-KUusn7dnHErahjuiqg/s1600/emblogcrn-tent_stripe_red_copy1.jpg" /></a></div>
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This month's Etsy Metal Team blog carnival topic is about summer plans and dream vacations.<br />
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I am excited to be going to the coast of Maine for a week with my husband, daughter, parents, and brother. We're all staying in this beautiful house. We've been to Maine a few times on vacation and I just feel this incredible connection to the coastline. Water makes me calm and content, and I love searching for interesting rocks and pieces of seaglass. I'm sure we'll kayak, go sailing, hike, visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, build fairy houses, and hopefully work in a day trip to Monhegan Island. If I were every to win the lottery, I would buy this house and start using "summer" as a verb.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsDRtkanQJU0dJnV0BsO6CgVAgxWG7HbQHlqHOsAJUrcHTfyfdjCH78FJFcJqv7BoqysuGihHZC0u8m2RbbXov8bZcQRSMhiqAThg8hmn_rdWTaGvvGztMdL7tDulCeTYLMS6O2ad36I/s1600/Maine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHsDRtkanQJU0dJnV0BsO6CgVAgxWG7HbQHlqHOsAJUrcHTfyfdjCH78FJFcJqv7BoqysuGihHZC0u8m2RbbXov8bZcQRSMhiqAThg8hmn_rdWTaGvvGztMdL7tDulCeTYLMS6O2ad36I/s320/Maine2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Any vacation near the water is a dream vacation for me. We are dreaming of renting a villa on Lake Como in Italy for a couple weeks next summer. This is a dream that (fingers crossed) might actually come true. I adore Italy.<br />
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I'll also take my daughter to St. Louis to visit family later this summer.<br />
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Finally, I hope to use this beautiful new rolling mill to "roll out" some new designs!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6im_CsWQ8v2c3I52rLB1TVxFkUJXPKw0U7HYm6-KzO7ykj736wUTsYGtBaqkz3dWtSBQ_MUzAFLyuWGZGspbU8kvEOIiRb3wRcAX0pImUtIK7I5FxIMsOYgjXN8Cs1_W-zcxn8wrHDI/s1600/2013-05-24+08.21.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6im_CsWQ8v2c3I52rLB1TVxFkUJXPKw0U7HYm6-KzO7ykj736wUTsYGtBaqkz3dWtSBQ_MUzAFLyuWGZGspbU8kvEOIiRb3wRcAX0pImUtIK7I5FxIMsOYgjXN8Cs1_W-zcxn8wrHDI/s320/2013-05-24+08.21.28.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Check out what other team members have to say on the subject!<br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"> <a href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Laura Jane Bouton </span></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://peculiarforest.blogspot.ch/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Lou Hunter </span></a></div>
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<a href="http://adobesol.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Rebecca Bogan</span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://amuckdesign.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Andrea Ring </span></a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://abellablue.com/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Abella Blue </span></a></div>
<br />Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-14917025231167450412013-03-05T08:44:00.000-05:002013-03-05T08:59:08.148-05:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Where do you live?This month's Etsy Metal Team blog carnival topic is "Where do you live?"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-_aCDoL4JfyqO83ela5NXTOp5jvVQGfYMSPMj77TzimZzXfuRZPsmCUVZzxIXgFc9Jioa3PtkLzl7lEkj-xKMfUev0Wo54_XlYE1dM0Uj3AcJPaC7HWoE22EZdHxbTXCxDnb7SeGEps/s1600/Stone+Mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-_aCDoL4JfyqO83ela5NXTOp5jvVQGfYMSPMj77TzimZzXfuRZPsmCUVZzxIXgFc9Jioa3PtkLzl7lEkj-xKMfUev0Wo54_XlYE1dM0Uj3AcJPaC7HWoE22EZdHxbTXCxDnb7SeGEps/s320/Stone+Mountain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well, I live in Stone Mountain, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. I've lived in the Atlanta area since 1996, and in Stone Mountain since 2004, when my husband and I bought our first house here. Stone Mountain is most famous for the mountain itself, the largest exposed granite dome in North America. There is a large <a href="http://www.stonemountainpark.com/activities/history-nature/Confederate-Memorial-Carving.aspx">carving</a> on one face of the mountain depicting confederate heroes, and down the street is a cemetary with confederate graves. Georgia actually has a holiday called Confederate Memorial Day. As a non-native southerner, I really don't get all the adulation.<br />
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The mountain is surrounded by a huge <a href="http://www.stonemountainpark.com/">park</a> with lots of family activities, as well as bike paths, hiking trails, campgrounds, and a great playground. You can walk to the top of the mountain, or take a gondola. Walking up is great exercise, and I love getting above the world for a while. Being able to walk to all of this from our house is wonderful. The strange thing is that, while the mountain is maybe 1/10 mile behind our house, we can't see it because of the masses of huge pine trees in our yard. Trees and plants grow on the mountain as well--strange to see them growing out of a big rock! One of my favorite times of year is late August/early September when the yellow daisies bloom on the mountain--masses of them (see photo below). It's just gorgeous.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKptaV6eRbIrhhsHTkJVaEVLFFF0QsNZrqIhs85zCbUk_CHc6QYG6W2pQN5UFkv9q1WMLN9iWAgd4SY4s_Ku0M5CR-zggDGRE0nC3lF6VzosSSP4FLj-vj2LpLmUpUbN82P3mlUjqbRs/s1600/daisies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYKptaV6eRbIrhhsHTkJVaEVLFFF0QsNZrqIhs85zCbUk_CHc6QYG6W2pQN5UFkv9q1WMLN9iWAgd4SY4s_Ku0M5CR-zggDGRE0nC3lF6VzosSSP4FLj-vj2LpLmUpUbN82P3mlUjqbRs/s1600/daisies.jpg" /></a></div>
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For the record, where else have I lived in my life? Berkeley, CA (where I was born); Moraga, CA; Flint, MI; St. Louis, MO; Northfield, MN (college); Montgomery, AL; Decatur, GA; NYC, NY (summer internship); Florence (study abroad) and Venice (internship), Italy, and London (study abroad). Not to mention in my own imagination!<br />
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See where other Etsy Metal members live:<br />
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<a href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Laura Jane
Bouton</span></a></div>
<a href="http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">2Roses</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.inbarbareket.info/blog/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Inbar Bareket</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.silentgoddess.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Laney Clark</span></a><br />
<a href="http://abellablue.com/blog/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Abella Blue</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Cynthia Del
Guidice</span></a><br />
<a href="http://adobesol.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Rebecca Bogan</span></a><br />
<a href="http://metalmusing.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Erin Austin</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.e5jewelryblog.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Deborah Lee Taylor</span></a><br />
<span style="color: #2288bb;">
</span><a href="http://tkmetalarts.blogspot.fr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #2288bb;">Theresa Kwong</span></a>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-47214790330249962682012-11-23T10:04:00.001-05:002012-11-23T10:04:08.136-05:00GratefulI love Thanksgiving. I love having a break from work, time to spend with family, and time to reflect on the many things I am thankful for. <br />
<br />
I am so grateful for my loving family, my amazing husband, and beautiful, imaginative and spirited daughter....for our safe and comfortable home...for dear friends near and far....for my job, great co-workers, and benefits...for the opportunity to run my own business that allows my creativity to flourish...for my good health...for a bountiful Thanksgiving dinner yesterday.<br />
<br />
I am grateful that we are able to afford a safe home and that we can afford nutritious food, as much as we need, when so many do not have safe housing and enough to eat. I am grateful that my daughter is able to go to a school with loving, supportive teachers.<br />
<br />
I am grateful to live on an earth that sustains us in so many ways, and that provides us with so much beauty. Take time out from this busy, commercial season, to breathe in the air outdoors, really look at the trees, the sky the clouds, the beautiful leaves.<br />
<br />
Below, some images of fall, taken on a trip to Missouri in October.<br />
<br />
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Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-82667173503119937022012-11-05T10:59:00.005-05:002012-11-05T21:04:26.901-05:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Why do you make jewelry?This month's Etsy Metal team blog carnival is on the topic "Why do you make jewelry?"<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDWdZmPSeKx52f_IZdQ2tBx0nJlRFlug6P7uDAsyfEcb1d9GsSoIN0X0XUFu8OgQoCpW9M5o8oJ2J_ZwZNyG6j8vzHf8wu61SL_1fMnZwYHjYcPa2RgEDDng1x3ZEAx_Z_OjImrsNPac/s1600/Greek+pendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxDWdZmPSeKx52f_IZdQ2tBx0nJlRFlug6P7uDAsyfEcb1d9GsSoIN0X0XUFu8OgQoCpW9M5o8oJ2J_ZwZNyG6j8vzHf8wu61SL_1fMnZwYHjYcPa2RgEDDng1x3ZEAx_Z_OjImrsNPac/s320/Greek+pendant.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pendant purchased in Athens.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When I was younger, I always like to accessorize with
interesting jewelry. As an art major at a liberal arts college, I was schooled
in the traditional art making 2D and 3D techniques (painting/drawing/sculpture,
etc.). At that point in time, I was mostly interested in drawing and painting.
However, I was able to spend a semester abroad and purchased jewelry as
souvenirs. After college, I traveled again, and did the same thing. In Athens,
I bought a large silver and brass sun pendant from an artisan at a market (see image at left). That’s
when I started thinking, "it would be so great if I could do this."<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24pBZF-nEtpoIGY4YPjXlmC5ihUzXEEpBkXm8dr6MvAhbivKpOJi0hLk8Hy1GdK4KG4-7_o6vO5h10d65HgThRp30MIpnPJcpzsK_DpJTIbXRCqvE0h_5uk3Zwuf-L0jOxVY7IsDlgHg/s1600/chain+necklace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24pBZF-nEtpoIGY4YPjXlmC5ihUzXEEpBkXm8dr6MvAhbivKpOJi0hLk8Hy1GdK4KG4-7_o6vO5h10d65HgThRp30MIpnPJcpzsK_DpJTIbXRCqvE0h_5uk3Zwuf-L0jOxVY7IsDlgHg/s320/chain+necklace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First piece of metal jewelry, a linked silver chain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Fast forward
several years, and I started taking classes and loved metalsmithing. My first piece was a simple linked, hammered chain,<br />
but I was so proud and excited when I finished it. Along the
way I’ve learned enameling, granulation and stone setting, but mostly I am
drawn to the simplicity of forming, shaping and forging silver and copper.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Here’s what I like about it:<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul>
<li>It is small scale art that can be worn. It also doesn’t take much storage space, so people (including myself) can own a lot of it! When I was painting, it was a challenge to find space for everything I produced. Now I can fit a large number of pieces in just a shoebox!<o:p></o:p></li>
<li>I find it what you can do with metal interesting and challenging—for example, taking a rigid piece of sheet and forming it into a soft-looking flower. There are infinite ways to work metal, add color, texture it, etc.</li>
<li>Making art is meditative and calming and satisfies a deep creative need for me.<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
Read what other Etsy Metal team members have to say about this topic.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cynthiadelgiudice.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Cynthia Del Giudice</span></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Laura Jane Bouton</span></a><br />
<a href="http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">silentgoddess </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Beth Cyr </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://peculiarforest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Peculiar Forest </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nanopod.me/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Tosca Terán </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://nodeform.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Nodeform </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Mary Anne
Karren</span></a><br />
<a href="http://mypreciousstudio.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">My
Precious Studio</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.e5jewelryblog.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Deborah Lee Taylor</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">2Roses</span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amuckdesign.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Andrea Ring </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.gracebourne.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Gracebourne Design</span></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Danielle
Miller </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://markasky.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Evelyn Markasky</span></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.inbarbareket.info/blog" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Inbar Bareket </span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.jewellietta.blogspot.gr/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Jewellietta</span></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.abellablue.com/blog/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #5588aa;">Abella Blue </span></a></div>
<ul>
</ul>
Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-47726065893585671892012-10-01T08:59:00.000-04:002012-10-01T13:06:36.189-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: Back to School<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The topic for this month's Etsy Metal Blog Carnival is "Back to School" (you and/or your children).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband and I have a five year old daughter who started kindergarten last month. She is going to a Quaker school, and so far we are all loving it. Kate comes home telling me how much she loves school, and is excited about everything she's learning. This school is unique in a couple of ways. One is that they have mixed age classrooms, so they have 5-6 year old's together (kindergarten & first grade). There are two teachers, and they separate the grade levels for math and reading, but for most everything else, they are together. The kids stay in the room for two years. The other unique thing is that they integrate the Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship into the curriculum. We figure if a Quaker education is good enough for presidents' daughters, it will be good for ours! The only downside to this school is the commute; it's about thirty minutes in traffic, but it's in the direction of my other job. We have to leave pretty early, which has been kind of a challenge for my husband and me, but not for our early-bird daughter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I'm not making jewelry, I have a part-time job in the dance department at Emory University. One of the great things about working at Emory is that I can take (audit) classes if I can fit them into my schedule. I've taken several dance classes since I started working there, all in modern dance. This semester they are offering Gyrokinesis movement training for the first time, so I've been trying that out. It's often referred to as yoga for dancers, and helps to mobilize the spine and strengthen the core. It feels so good if you sit most of the time, as I do. I do some yoga almost daily, but I really like Gyrokinesis because of the fluid movements, and the fact that you are moving pretty much all the time (no holding of poses). Here's a video on YouTube if you are curious what it looks like: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH-NWfjFT-M"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH-NWfjFT-M</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To see what other Etsy Metal team members have to say about this topic, follow the links below.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Evelyn Markasky <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://markasky.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://markasky.blogspot.com</span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2Roses: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com</span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">silentgoddess: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com</span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kate Jones: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.katejonesdesign.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.katejonesdesign.blogspot.com</span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abella Blue: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://www.abellablue.com/blog"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.abellablue.com/<span class="posthilit">blog</span></span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LauraJaneBouton: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://laurajanebouton.blogspot.it/</span></a><!-- m --><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mary Anne Karren Studio: <!-- m --></span><a class="postlink" href="http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress.com/2012/10/01/back-to-school/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://silverpearlmetalworks.wordpress. ... to-school/</span></a><br />
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<br />Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-88230189378189266112012-08-02T21:51:00.001-04:002012-08-02T21:51:37.780-04:00Inspired by Alexander CalderThe <a href="http://www.etsymetal.com/" target="_blank">Etsy Metal</a> team that I'm a member of has monthly challenges to create a piece of jewelry around a theme. In July the theme was to make something inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Calder" target="_blank">Alexander Calder</a>. I've always loved his mobiles, for which he is best known. He also painted, did stationary sculpture, and painted. So, here's what I created, inspiration photo first.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hIgkv4Fep2-yLztB_uCFFAm3wJ_UqY27oE0btg14XmgOiToEoiWWu0kqQ6A-MYcQrkvVk3n1zdULFiJ2E-NSpPb6dkfzbTVKTv_lkmCXmnTG-3DY7-BuxolidKhWK1SmSiAkW2Flf0s/s1600/Caldler+Untitled,+1930+Calder+Fdn+NY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5hIgkv4Fep2-yLztB_uCFFAm3wJ_UqY27oE0btg14XmgOiToEoiWWu0kqQ6A-MYcQrkvVk3n1zdULFiJ2E-NSpPb6dkfzbTVKTv_lkmCXmnTG-3DY7-BuxolidKhWK1SmSiAkW2Flf0s/s1600/Caldler+Untitled,+1930+Calder+Fdn+NY.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled by Alexander Calder, 1930 (courtesy <a href="http://www.calder.org/" target="_blank">Calder Foundation</a>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XmDFuARIsM03U2lfTM2equcVtkbX5ihi0C6X3j_0ArhFoSp4-uqLowQD7HCCpvFOnnx7NGjD34mhaSyGm_x3EUbfVWzVtKE4gexjJ8_Iz0jBgFUdV1godPy3lIsi4r1gutV2C6ZuXfI/s1600/Calder+pendant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4XmDFuARIsM03U2lfTM2equcVtkbX5ihi0C6X3j_0ArhFoSp4-uqLowQD7HCCpvFOnnx7NGjD34mhaSyGm_x3EUbfVWzVtKE4gexjJ8_Iz0jBgFUdV1godPy3lIsi4r1gutV2C6ZuXfI/s320/Calder+pendant.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pendant inspired by the painting, sterling silver and copper (the piece with the copper swings freely)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4au_WzYJj5gkxdpBKMxvxZX7V6FmfiE1d6Ni4hsqW0Bg4oorKbIBLu7owDsSRPfJt3niwYYkHRIQWHFKQ0f7nqM2BSfE_IQPOlGHghyphenhyphenXtpBxJBfsb8aZk4Rs_GB40IP5eWPzWGMmPdQ/s1600/Calder+Intl+Mobile%252C+1948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY4au_WzYJj5gkxdpBKMxvxZX7V6FmfiE1d6Ni4hsqW0Bg4oorKbIBLu7owDsSRPfJt3niwYYkHRIQWHFKQ0f7nqM2BSfE_IQPOlGHghyphenhyphenXtpBxJBfsb8aZk4Rs_GB40IP5eWPzWGMmPdQ/s1600/Calder+Intl+Mobile%252C+1948.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">International Mobile by Alexander Calder, 1948 (photo courtesy <a href="http://www.calder.org/" target="_blank">Calder Foundation</a>)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg573ilXYjETaeVJ0LjzAAc75oLmBnTbnW7wpmZZgxwttrkc1Yhxz03YqKsKQjVm4Bpgkwhm5bqSz4K236abE510z8uYBv3mFWEHI4v9xzBXAfwVLwBmj8emdTeRNWZyoNoWDNolJWDfyM/s1600/Calder+earrings+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg573ilXYjETaeVJ0LjzAAc75oLmBnTbnW7wpmZZgxwttrkc1Yhxz03YqKsKQjVm4Bpgkwhm5bqSz4K236abE510z8uYBv3mFWEHI4v9xzBXAfwVLwBmj8emdTeRNWZyoNoWDNolJWDfyM/s320/Calder+earrings+2.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kinetic earrings inspired by Calder's mobiles. The pieces at the bottom rotate with the motion of the wearer.</td></tr>
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Check out the <a href="http://etsymetal.blogspot.com/2012/08/emjc-august-2012-inspired-by-alexander.html" target="_blank">Etsy Metal blog post</a> about this challenge.<br />
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I've always enjoyed looking through art history books looking for jewelry inspiration, so this is not the first time I've created things inspired by modern art. Some of the others:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pR2Zg4-F_bfuOqPHJYv2St4c2i890bsHcWzDuwFkJ7m16zwi_eoZikogBjUYt6X2H4lA4elX7EuWn5pYoAMe-AMF96x3m0bqq2DCHRPPgrzX4sidVNLQoWSdRiJhI2AfsKwYiJyfNmw/s1600/Calder_Earrings_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pR2Zg4-F_bfuOqPHJYv2St4c2i890bsHcWzDuwFkJ7m16zwi_eoZikogBjUYt6X2H4lA4elX7EuWn5pYoAMe-AMF96x3m0bqq2DCHRPPgrzX4sidVNLQoWSdRiJhI2AfsKwYiJyfNmw/s320/Calder_Earrings_4.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More earrings inspired by Calder</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTXoWzER8Y00R-7A2YO6suKBE87SOSxmqwsPkQ79DFWsnPBChlfoR7tdNirML09mX3YlOHKvhRKki3yPcZ-8Ay7nciym1O2onh2prOyBmIIYrvroTTuJc5Rh-Ux8Sl25dVOrgY-LEgWI/s1600/Miro_Abstract_Earring_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMTXoWzER8Y00R-7A2YO6suKBE87SOSxmqwsPkQ79DFWsnPBChlfoR7tdNirML09mX3YlOHKvhRKki3yPcZ-8Ay7nciym1O2onh2prOyBmIIYrvroTTuJc5Rh-Ux8Sl25dVOrgY-LEgWI/s320/Miro_Abstract_Earring_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earrings inspired by<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Miro" target="_blank"> Joan Miró</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSSzUT5Ifvzf4NUlAundvX-WPwTrHDxPsocKnLELmoPOkScl2So8kZHoMvleGsl7cH-EgCRNGyt5E1-Wz1ZoXzCUNknekauS6D20mI7az5GogdDNARMSK2UOCfjnul1q3nvQwQ15MKbo/s320/Miro_Pendant_5.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pendant inspired by Joan Miró<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCSSzUT5Ifvzf4NUlAundvX-WPwTrHDxPsocKnLELmoPOkScl2So8kZHoMvleGsl7cH-EgCRNGyt5E1-Wz1ZoXzCUNknekauS6D20mI7az5GogdDNARMSK2UOCfjnul1q3nvQwQ15MKbo/s1600/Miro_Pendant_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0Y7egHTYjSNCsAmN5_aI9hyphenhyphendkRlrF4-Kd9fMwYVVR6BbEf1cg8XnO27uK3Fjy7w0_FZLmURjYMyI9d8U14Dkz7u38jh5A5o226wUqnqWoYIynW1P9yb9AgxjEZlOfHVQ0ipBThpECEs/s1600/Matisse_Post_Earrings_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0Y7egHTYjSNCsAmN5_aI9hyphenhyphendkRlrF4-Kd9fMwYVVR6BbEf1cg8XnO27uK3Fjy7w0_FZLmURjYMyI9d8U14Dkz7u38jh5A5o226wUqnqWoYIynW1P9yb9AgxjEZlOfHVQ0ipBThpECEs/s320/Matisse_Post_Earrings_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Earrings inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse" target="_blank">Henri Matisse</a></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-3146376598948395482012-07-02T09:48:00.001-04:002012-07-02T09:48:11.250-04:00Etsy Metal Blog Carnival: What in the World are you Doing?The topic for this month's <a href="http://etsymetal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Etsy Metal Blog Carnival</a> is to talk about your current "goings on." I hope to get back to some posts about jewelry soon, but in the meantime, here's a little bit of my personal life.<br />
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First, our daughter graduated from pre-K at the end of May and will be headed to kindergarten this fall. I am so proud of her! Below is a picture of Kate, me, and my mom at her graduation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbTrvWxyVDq-8mnv_hyphenhyphenqx1POIOVa5wdD2DlelJEpKmnG4g2vZ-WDzjueYr0hjb2av1h3gBGLWx1isnkwU8JmgU285SrSs6XQq_mkCRkuWB0aGmcUmXIyjlq6LErWOeiVWIIMgJngPOGk/s1600/Graduation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipbTrvWxyVDq-8mnv_hyphenhyphenqx1POIOVa5wdD2DlelJEpKmnG4g2vZ-WDzjueYr0hjb2av1h3gBGLWx1isnkwU8JmgU285SrSs6XQq_mkCRkuWB0aGmcUmXIyjlq6LErWOeiVWIIMgJngPOGk/s320/Graduation.JPG" width="316" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Then we took a trip to St. Louis to visit family. We saw the <a href="http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/things-to-do/events/special-exhibitions/lantern-festival.aspx" target="_blank">Chinese Lantern Festival</a> at the <a href="http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/" target="_blank">Missouri Botanical Garden</a> (always a great source of <a href="http://creativeinclinations.blogspot.com/2009/02/inspiration-favorite-place.html" target="_blank">inspiration</a> for me). Chinese artisans came from China and lived in tents at the garden for several months while they constructed these beautiful structures of steel and silk. They are lit at night, but we were there during the day. There were also two incredible, huge dragons made of blue and white plates, cups, and saucers (bottom of the four pictures below). While in St. Louis we visited the <a href="http://www.magichouse.org/" target="_blank">Magic House</a> (children's museum) and ate plenty of <a href="http://www.teddrewes.com/home/default.aspx" target="_blank">Ted Drewe's</a> frozen custard (my fave: raspberry with chocolate chips). Yum.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">A couple of weeks later we flew to Pennsylvania to visit my husband's parents. We took Kate to </span><a href="http://www.sesameplace.com/sesame2/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Sesame Place</a><span style="background-color: white;"> (Sesame Street amusement park), and Tim met his childhood hero, Super Grover. Kate's favorite part was getting her face painted. We also visited the lovely </span><a href="http://www.tylerarboretum.org/" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Tyler Aboretum</a><span style="background-color: white;">. And when it's hot out, what's better than a Slip 'n Slide?</span><br />
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This past weekend I celebrated my birthday on a 106 degree day with friends, sangria, homemade vanilla ice cream, and peach pie. I love summer food! On the jewelry side of things, I'm working on ideas for some new pieces, hopefully coming soon!</div>
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See what other Etsy Metal members have to say on this topic:</div>
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Silent Goddess: <a href="http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/">http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/</a></div>
Evelyn Markasky - <a href="http://markasky.blogspot.com/">http://markasky.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Victoria Takahashi - <a href="http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/">http://vtakahashi.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Gracebourne - <a href="http://gracebourne.blogspot.ca/">http://gracebourne.blogspot.ca/</a><br />
Beth Cyr - <a href="http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/">http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Rebecca Bogan - <a href="http://adobesol.wordpress.com/">http://adobesol.wordpress.com/</a><br />
Erin Austin - <a href="http://metalmusing.blogspot.com/">http://metalmusing.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Danielle Miller - <a href="http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/">http://daniellemillerjewelry.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Nodeform - <a href="http://nodeform.blogspot.com/">http://nodeform.blogspot.com/</a>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-34775285425913298842012-06-26T21:51:00.000-04:002012-06-26T21:51:14.433-04:00Fairy HousesWhen I first visited the coast of Maine on vacation with my family about 12 or so years ago, we took a day trip to the beautiful Monhegan Island. Our hike took us through Cathedral Woods, where we discovered several little fairy houses, made with materials found on the forest floor. They were so charming and imaginative, and it was fun to look for them on our hike.<br />
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Fast forward to 2011, when we took our (then four-year-old) daughter Kate to Maine (her first time there). One of our first stops was the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which has a wonderful children's garden, and an area for kids to build fairy houses. You are only supposed to use found materials, nothing artificial, and nothing picked off living trees or bushes. We had a great time making fairy houses, and when spring came around this year, we took to the nature trail in Stone Mountain Park near our house to create some there. Some neighborhood friends from South Korea (with a daughter about Kate's age) came with us one day and we introduced them to fairy houses. Both little girls, even though they spoke two different languages, communicated through the language of a shared task (and a love of Tinkerbell).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkF3FAjS31J-2m3JrF4QRRwGVHAukhPUV52mTNH6MbHvkL8iqpskFj9H8P6qZ3E1WJPXcjEGcetWaz58cRw65g4UR9DAPHPbOThAehJ3EYA7twhAkiG6edfOnFkA18SBrnVBGhu9feeq4/s1600/fairy1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkF3FAjS31J-2m3JrF4QRRwGVHAukhPUV52mTNH6MbHvkL8iqpskFj9H8P6qZ3E1WJPXcjEGcetWaz58cRw65g4UR9DAPHPbOThAehJ3EYA7twhAkiG6edfOnFkA18SBrnVBGhu9feeq4/s320/fairy1.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate working on her house.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXXl4OzeXlDlK2Q338B0Z01Hf3BWR7t1341P_b8higZpWUStCdbIBusPzxD43Muk_iIDvVBKLzdsnPo77m2Hi478PykywENznuGXv0aHW14Da3Bsx2sLwtR5Dw7ZtU-i_ziXzt7v2feM/s1600/fairy3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVXXl4OzeXlDlK2Q338B0Z01Hf3BWR7t1341P_b8higZpWUStCdbIBusPzxD43Muk_iIDvVBKLzdsnPo77m2Hi478PykywENznuGXv0aHW14Da3Bsx2sLwtR5Dw7ZtU-i_ziXzt7v2feM/s320/fairy3.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kate's finished house, with a path to the front door.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOpnq7Bddi5H7rCZCKUfRUT5JBBnW0lO298GYyWfRTnRFFBGXT36uvRtTikvh4MWg76Xz0213LyBc2NJkuia6VVq6aVzHNB3mYQ-Ib62FDnNeCzCmVa3kr95LxG17zwA4K16QcXJtTq0/s1600/fairy4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuOpnq7Bddi5H7rCZCKUfRUT5JBBnW0lO298GYyWfRTnRFFBGXT36uvRtTikvh4MWg76Xz0213LyBc2NJkuia6VVq6aVzHNB3mYQ-Ib62FDnNeCzCmVa3kr95LxG17zwA4K16QcXJtTq0/s320/fairy4.JPG" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home under construction by our Korean friends.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdECLASXqIx2apr2xl359y0zXLq1OiAhFCDsxQ1Uk-EuhZ-5yfYRBa9WjkfgPmkVAMglBg3XY6OPxNLLx0vIX3wKTP4D7z7Fs-avBTH_8xXd25rihr1eAaq_kt2BdrX_3fdS-yWP1LSEA/s1600/fairy5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdECLASXqIx2apr2xl359y0zXLq1OiAhFCDsxQ1Uk-EuhZ-5yfYRBa9WjkfgPmkVAMglBg3XY6OPxNLLx0vIX3wKTP4D7z7Fs-avBTH_8xXd25rihr1eAaq_kt2BdrX_3fdS-yWP1LSEA/s320/fairy5.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the house I constructed, an A-frame.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZmiioiTZU0HTAZv15y30LiVwvUjxASt60dcTlGmvia5h3P-QvKmg-MRbWf1ofAHUTiydL8GQLcKfAI9zdb5574GpDHr-eZgKu7bITb1wS5o2_mVr89z75wDzKqBtjQyZmcgK7KhzX5Q/s1600/fairy+stream.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZmiioiTZU0HTAZv15y30LiVwvUjxASt60dcTlGmvia5h3P-QvKmg-MRbWf1ofAHUTiydL8GQLcKfAI9zdb5574GpDHr-eZgKu7bITb1wS5o2_mVr89z75wDzKqBtjQyZmcgK7KhzX5Q/s320/fairy+stream.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is part of a beautiful stream in the park that seemed enchanted this spring with multitudes of mountain laurel in bloom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOw7BUm1bOhBsS7Q6xAa9_L0gDxnPRjTws0w9v_a9eHOSiJV8y6hi98UepwIvZN18nmuuM5rZE5cSk-p40i5syqhePQjYeXhrWeShRQ4SvVzYUer1ZJNYVcs_ogUkRa5lUEOtZMobetWk/s1600/fairy+boat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOw7BUm1bOhBsS7Q6xAa9_L0gDxnPRjTws0w9v_a9eHOSiJV8y6hi98UepwIvZN18nmuuM5rZE5cSk-p40i5syqhePQjYeXhrWeShRQ4SvVzYUer1ZJNYVcs_ogUkRa5lUEOtZMobetWk/s320/fairy+boat.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the stream we made fairy boats (bark with a leaf sail) and let the gentle current carry them.</td></tr>
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This is such a great activity for kids--and adults! We have a really nice story book by Tracy Kane and a DVD about a little girl in Maine who creates fairy houses (goes nicely with the story book). See: <a href="http://www.fairyhouses.com/">www.fairyhouses.com</a>.Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-86474384345264705372012-04-25T19:45:00.000-04:002012-04-25T19:45:14.636-04:00Inspiration from an Old SketchbookAfter I graduated college, I went to New York for the summer to intern at the Museum of Modern Art (a great experience), then in the fall traveled to Venice for a three month internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection (incredible experience). This was such an amazing time in my life, full of art and exploration. I kept a sketchbook while in Venice, and tended to focus on small decorative areas of larger medieval and renaissance artworks. After Venice, my friend Heather and I traveled to some other places in Italy, then on to Greece. Then she returned to Italy and I went on to Turkey, back to Italy, then Spain (by way of Nice), and finally, Switzerland. Even though I had never made a piece of jewelry at that point, it was on my mind a lot during these three months of travel. In fact, most of my souvenirs were pieces of jewelry made by local artists. I knew I wanted to make jewelry someday, so my sketchbook included interesting pieces of jewelry and other art that I saw along the way..<br />
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Recently I pulled out this sketchbook hoping for some inspiration for a new piece of jewelry. I found a drawing of a floral decoration from the Accademia Museum in Venice. I didn't note what it was, but I think it was probably a decorative element on an altarpiece frame. Here's the sketchbook page, and the flower I wanted to use is in the lower left.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsVxRI2XFoLxe5v8ZstaE2fDoMOPwG5y1hScZoHCBzRQtMQcsIhyphenhyphenmF6QwDGFHyiiWmyYItJCwAkhxxx81jQ2J05iVMfVf2Xs-kp0ayaESziGkPoxurygFxnlMLXelJrYbombxrf2Z7dM/s1600/Accademia_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSsVxRI2XFoLxe5v8ZstaE2fDoMOPwG5y1hScZoHCBzRQtMQcsIhyphenhyphenmF6QwDGFHyiiWmyYItJCwAkhxxx81jQ2J05iVMfVf2Xs-kp0ayaESziGkPoxurygFxnlMLXelJrYbombxrf2Z7dM/s320/Accademia_1.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
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And here are the resulting pieces of jewelry:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV3ptrIO5Me3PgvqsRRZamm1Bnx1_PwcSYEX6Px5plc43MMXR-jzwuzYAjI50HO4j87L1cnoyGYlrNYq6QYlPz0VGC26UtwY1r90oNgenKc1xlMoqaYLuXLQIEKpeo2kP0Mq_au-FjJ4/s1600/Accademia_Lrg_Pendant_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDV3ptrIO5Me3PgvqsRRZamm1Bnx1_PwcSYEX6Px5plc43MMXR-jzwuzYAjI50HO4j87L1cnoyGYlrNYq6QYlPz0VGC26UtwY1r90oNgenKc1xlMoqaYLuXLQIEKpeo2kP0Mq_au-FjJ4/s320/Accademia_Lrg_Pendant_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1" wide flower pendant (I also made a smaller one that is 3/4" wide.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmywqpUi3CXQ3gIRRoQowOOsvmjLz8FVqLU1-asA0Iwe0HpVYzjN6PQnGfKpeOdiUjtv7xFMKivnpoK6jKHEdEhpvKg3OWWudyAAz70YhyphenhyphenkEG-y7L56pWASCGrGGswBv-nFUxiuD4kvQI/s1600/Accademia_Flower_Earring_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmywqpUi3CXQ3gIRRoQowOOsvmjLz8FVqLU1-asA0Iwe0HpVYzjN6PQnGfKpeOdiUjtv7xFMKivnpoK6jKHEdEhpvKg3OWWudyAAz70YhyphenhyphenkEG-y7L56pWASCGrGGswBv-nFUxiuD4kvQI/s320/Accademia_Flower_Earring_1.jpg" width="299" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Matching earrings with pale pink pearls</td></tr>
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The jewelry above is available in the "Flowers" section of my Etsy shop: <a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.etsy.com/">www.annewalkerjewelry.etsy.com</a>. </div>
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Who knows? Maybe some other new pieces will come from old sketches. Meanwhile, just for kicks, here are some other drawings from that sketchbook.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9L7ktN7nfktKZRX4aifx1AgFbO0P58dBFyaA689SakTt1SD-0Zh8NxVT8Fs7jpdbRM2ZALLRjOg9iOSMtTD7yb8FtdkbWr26fITvR5wfZYDc3rso8WnF6s8sOAy8rO3SUhiAujwbjMQM/s1600/Jewelry_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9L7ktN7nfktKZRX4aifx1AgFbO0P58dBFyaA689SakTt1SD-0Zh8NxVT8Fs7jpdbRM2ZALLRjOg9iOSMtTD7yb8FtdkbWr26fITvR5wfZYDc3rso8WnF6s8sOAy8rO3SUhiAujwbjMQM/s320/Jewelry_1.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sketches from the Archeological Museum, Iraklion, Crete (Greece)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hdjMClRD5CoAXgvO5HgOrbREKaobZHRtNTuowxeTxgtBMnGz-6ZMXKx5CkRKXyCSvfn1adN8HI0PtJ2wO0ehvvH8TiDRK4IxQjsaqR5TLkXoqP-Beu4MnBLIjjpPjORKbviK6CC-MaI/s1600/Jewelry_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4hdjMClRD5CoAXgvO5HgOrbREKaobZHRtNTuowxeTxgtBMnGz-6ZMXKx5CkRKXyCSvfn1adN8HI0PtJ2wO0ehvvH8TiDRK4IxQjsaqR5TLkXoqP-Beu4MnBLIjjpPjORKbviK6CC-MaI/s320/Jewelry_2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These sketches are from the Byzantine Museum in Athens (Greece). I actually made a pendant many years ago, inspired by the drawing in the upper left (see below).</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajtSt-mUQ6a6cfg9cBwdjCM3j1JcNDOMApZ3zEqlOn2tOyrBz4mkgcOfUWrbdp2E-Y4v2d3y5lNs35cOgY91SBTcryNk-vwnSly-FO6HLe0OFIqOkg7DgMswvXjQV4Un-VwCrOQvcQ4Q/s1600/amethyst+pendant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiajtSt-mUQ6a6cfg9cBwdjCM3j1JcNDOMApZ3zEqlOn2tOyrBz4mkgcOfUWrbdp2E-Y4v2d3y5lNs35cOgY91SBTcryNk-vwnSly-FO6HLe0OFIqOkg7DgMswvXjQV4Un-VwCrOQvcQ4Q/s320/amethyst+pendant.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Now for some non-jewelry decorative sketches...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Durer's "Jesus Among the Doctors," Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, Madrid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosyzMJWeXi7BnPcdQ_IXoW-3MNQaed5zE8yCJajfXqgON6EFVIjv0MU-LU8GR4eCpUGECajEHwiW9gn2vbXQACZc9gFgswS5T5bCnwQf827tmldgZhWP5nXo-Zw8z9JISKMAJabygjKY/s1600/Cuantas+Baras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhosyzMJWeXi7BnPcdQ_IXoW-3MNQaed5zE8yCJajfXqgON6EFVIjv0MU-LU8GR4eCpUGECajEHwiW9gn2vbXQACZc9gFgswS5T5bCnwQf827tmldgZhWP5nXo-Zw8z9JISKMAJabygjKY/s320/Cuantas+Baras.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A work by Goya in the Prado Museum, Madrid</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mHsev32eP8kojCfDB8LyZOLb5Okg1Mwg0ZgupbVVbdKIPRAK_LH6omfNr0UgbEJkzBsYaavQT90RmLkBXdgpACHmtyRkNnb-84p2b45zsIiItGj0hVYWUb9poVX9w9CLAWYlHdthyphenhyphen5U/s1600/Goya-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mHsev32eP8kojCfDB8LyZOLb5Okg1Mwg0ZgupbVVbdKIPRAK_LH6omfNr0UgbEJkzBsYaavQT90RmLkBXdgpACHmtyRkNnb-84p2b45zsIiItGj0hVYWUb9poVX9w9CLAWYlHdthyphenhyphen5U/s320/Goya-3.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not sure what this was from, but it was a work in the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, Madrid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMH11F0WtdTUCAejqGHUe9mAh2Jd5fT8x_GeNx1AJUyqhJmb4P1UKn4C4PQERw8Wy7L8KtO8Mdc5LI4T9oA-GXVbFYZieUjqjwQv3Nl9ndeharAkm9JjyM0gh4u3PzlMh6hjgAwq_WcM/s1600/Venice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGMH11F0WtdTUCAejqGHUe9mAh2Jd5fT8x_GeNx1AJUyqhJmb4P1UKn4C4PQERw8Wy7L8KtO8Mdc5LI4T9oA-GXVbFYZieUjqjwQv3Nl9ndeharAkm9JjyM0gh4u3PzlMh6hjgAwq_WcM/s320/Venice.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My beautiful Venice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-265613075617077362012-04-02T08:45:00.000-04:002012-07-02T09:39:33.924-04:00Nobody's PerfectLast month I was invited to join a great group of metalsmiths who all sell on Etsy--the <a href="http://www.etsymetal.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">EtsyMetal</a> team. Once a month they have a blog carnival where several group members all blog on the same topic. This month's topic is "Nobody's Perfect," blogging about pieces that didn't happen as planned, or some variation on that theme.<br />
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I feel like I have too much experience in this area! What you see in my <a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.etsy.com/" target="_blank">Etsy shop</a> or on my <a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.com/" target="_blank">website</a> are the pieces that did turn out right. The ones that didn't have either been recycled, relegated to scrap, are in my personal jewelry box, or sitting in my studio half-finished (and there have been many of them).<br />
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Things usually don't turn out either because of faulty design, or for one of the following reasons.<br />
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1) <b>Gravity, or not thinking about the laws of physics.</b> I like asymmetrical things, but asymmetry still has to be balanced so that things don't hang at odd angles--this has happened to me several times. It can be a challenge to figure out what will work during the design and construction phase of a jewelry piece. It is often hard to test the gravitational pull on an object until is is done. I wish I had some images to show you, but these pieces have all been recycled or put into the scrap pile!<br />
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2) <b>Forgetting about mirror images.</b> Earrings, to look right, need to be mirror images of each other if they have an asymmetrical design. Assuming they are hanging right (see #1 above), I also need to make sure they don't look exactly the same (see below for what I'm talking about). The flower on one of these earrings should be leaning on the opposite side of the frame.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nH4sMIiH-BCmsNR3i02WBiy-Pitw6sCYe58MPkMFJEReEMb1x9nM9RyvTd6fpRAd-I9PWeE1-JXBtzWZH7nacwp0dArOYSRgd_0j-uDVVTLhvKjfqgQ1TKOMniBn3oLFdCdSVwXWAZ8/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3nH4sMIiH-BCmsNR3i02WBiy-Pitw6sCYe58MPkMFJEReEMb1x9nM9RyvTd6fpRAd-I9PWeE1-JXBtzWZH7nacwp0dArOYSRgd_0j-uDVVTLhvKjfqgQ1TKOMniBn3oLFdCdSVwXWAZ8/s200/IMG_1096.JPG" width="171" /></a></div>
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3) <b>Never finishing.</b> I have several projects that didn't turn out the way I intended because they've never turned out! I occasionally start a project and then get frustrated halfway through and never finish the piece. Or I get nervous I'll mess it up so I don't finish it. Or I feel that the design is not right, and start over with something new. Below is a granulated silver bead that is tarnished because it's been sitting around for about 10 years. The problem? I'm afraid to drill a hole in it so I can actually use it! Below that are some Egyptian inspired cloisonne components I made while learning enameling. I would love to put them into a pendant along with the star sapphire pictured with them, but I messed up on the pendant design (melted a bezel when I was almost done) and was so mad that I never got back to it. That was probably about 10 years ago too! One of these days I will, because I really love them, and they'll make a dramatic necklace. Maybe I'll hang it on one of the fine silver chains I started to weave and never finished!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvBiqDGsJSp5bPmByk3n8NB0YqsGlWnBWltYaKVdqmydqk3tJISwkAfulBSAhVwucgbEZDY0kEesHtPtYJbCvfgCDHKXX1EZY4Vd135v1LSM6GxxuSKIBKHaKq4xSEQ1LFHx3-i_BFAE/s1600/IMG_1101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvBiqDGsJSp5bPmByk3n8NB0YqsGlWnBWltYaKVdqmydqk3tJISwkAfulBSAhVwucgbEZDY0kEesHtPtYJbCvfgCDHKXX1EZY4Vd135v1LSM6GxxuSKIBKHaKq4xSEQ1LFHx3-i_BFAE/s200/IMG_1101.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQZ7jNxjEJHVvoJzQGlbnsYFZECc7VevOWl0m5ycjGMBCJBgYtRdbI5EPT2L8BwDJhU-NwE01MA5y8wdqzn792rZ2X1lvVYUDSKO2LJjMpXASiLvY1iwPfgxJnxUsh3I1ZRvopQWsSak/s1600/IMG_1103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQZ7jNxjEJHVvoJzQGlbnsYFZECc7VevOWl0m5ycjGMBCJBgYtRdbI5EPT2L8BwDJhU-NwE01MA5y8wdqzn792rZ2X1lvVYUDSKO2LJjMpXASiLvY1iwPfgxJnxUsh3I1ZRvopQWsSak/s200/IMG_1103.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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Part of being an artist is trial and error. You will always have some things that work better than others. It's all part of the process of learning and growing!<br />
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See what other EtsyMetal team members have to say about this topic:<br />
Silentgoddess: <a href="http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/">http://silentgoddess.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Gracebourne: <a href="http://gracebourne.blogspot.com/">http://gracebourne.blogspot.com/</a><br />
2Roses: <a href="http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/">http://jewelrytutorial.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Inbar Baraket: <a href="http://inbarbaraket.info/blog">http://inbarbaraket.info/blog</a><br />
Beth Cyr: <a href="http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/">http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Wildflower Designs: <a href="http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com/">http://wildflowerdesigns.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Michele Grady Designs: <a href="http://michelegradydesigns.blogspot.com/">http://michelegradydesigns.blogspot.com/</a><br />
TK Metal Arts: <a href="http://tkmetalarts.blogspot.com/">http://tkmetalarts.blogspot.com/</a><br />
Evelyn Markasky: <a href="http://markasky.blogspot.com/">http://markasky.blogspot.com/</a>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-62844844744580867852012-03-31T16:33:00.000-04:002012-03-31T16:33:19.889-04:00Blooms in My Yard and StudioWhat was blooming in my yard last week. It's amazing to have so much inspiration right outside the window.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsWH1k5juZQIOd1P2uQ5NrmhvuDDX_eLX80zAv-LCqNstnLuJo3zoaYgJviIY-vI0KxHt4l8FDgBP6rV4W7atFrCSpnwXTew7b5sCAYRqR8hiNIgNsBdfxaz18fm1MJPxBGMI4jIvs2U/s1600/IMG_0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsWH1k5juZQIOd1P2uQ5NrmhvuDDX_eLX80zAv-LCqNstnLuJo3zoaYgJviIY-vI0KxHt4l8FDgBP6rV4W7atFrCSpnwXTew7b5sCAYRqR8hiNIgNsBdfxaz18fm1MJPxBGMI4jIvs2U/s320/IMG_0756.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cherry Blossoms</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QK10Vu890efCc3p8i1LiX4o0LzRG5reoUcAVsFuwZ3wcLuLlWFshM-H19gGDgtDeYP5MlTOA0z3BecsSgpve8KfTl7upnZhYz79tsPQY_K-stJ74NgDsF1uXXMme4u5ov1-LmzgWxqY/s1600/IMG_0758.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QK10Vu890efCc3p8i1LiX4o0LzRG5reoUcAVsFuwZ3wcLuLlWFshM-H19gGDgtDeYP5MlTOA0z3BecsSgpve8KfTl7upnZhYz79tsPQY_K-stJ74NgDsF1uXXMme4u5ov1-LmzgWxqY/s320/IMG_0758.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azaleas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaWixtDMGhtoaln7o_1C8j0gdAxIp4wUTVctFzTj5kEV6yFnbMO3iwU0gx_GjVCdVJ7yKxW6ZkWaLE8qfHO6CHiyVNKN-kbF1ELTtvLt6tAPyrzrOzlo_kyYTLfAWolhPYLzKsndO4Y4/s1600/IMG_0764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaWixtDMGhtoaln7o_1C8j0gdAxIp4wUTVctFzTj5kEV6yFnbMO3iwU0gx_GjVCdVJ7yKxW6ZkWaLE8qfHO6CHiyVNKN-kbF1ELTtvLt6tAPyrzrOzlo_kyYTLfAWolhPYLzKsndO4Y4/s320/IMG_0764.JPG" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wisteria (invasive but beautiful)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZ5l8UlLYVeHE-HcueALAsaw8aTANxb1VK83KKKaPCK9SlKxtqqHj2ETzriDjJe0TkhfZz_-SYIVLxuKB4xCKmUuxJaHhdGLxcgyRuHoKDIhK1ekG88WLgzk7kQ4lORzs8dMfzUpnZIU/s1600/IMG_0769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZ5l8UlLYVeHE-HcueALAsaw8aTANxb1VK83KKKaPCK9SlKxtqqHj2ETzriDjJe0TkhfZz_-SYIVLxuKB4xCKmUuxJaHhdGLxcgyRuHoKDIhK1ekG88WLgzk7kQ4lORzs8dMfzUpnZIU/s320/IMG_0769.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dogwood Tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOTOyKTyJGch5CwEz1bTpU2YyuiLulf5BbqexX-wb3spp3-f8qbuRhJyiNsVCAiBl6IioPkwopRCgtdsSurjxsJHdRVh_yPKmks0nDWuFxaezpXdD_1V6lhJogexVgbcxo8ETli9Teys/s1600/IMG_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhOTOyKTyJGch5CwEz1bTpU2YyuiLulf5BbqexX-wb3spp3-f8qbuRhJyiNsVCAiBl6IioPkwopRCgtdsSurjxsJHdRVh_yPKmks0nDWuFxaezpXdD_1V6lhJogexVgbcxo8ETli9Teys/s320/IMG_0783.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azaleas</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Inspired by the Cherry Blossoms:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LzYqX_84K8kofAiSFT93QZ9zuWtGwr6l6yXrkl2IzQwAVP-FidjiRWoByhdQNv2NugCiVJCXvo11Zd7NQKuqqZYyE5YgbgD3wsXrbqeo-rEw98LslwsU7c5aZzatCx0RU_-kFP7Lmt4/s1600/Fiori_Cherry_Pendant_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LzYqX_84K8kofAiSFT93QZ9zuWtGwr6l6yXrkl2IzQwAVP-FidjiRWoByhdQNv2NugCiVJCXvo11Zd7NQKuqqZYyE5YgbgD3wsXrbqeo-rEw98LslwsU7c5aZzatCx0RU_-kFP7Lmt4/s320/Fiori_Cherry_Pendant_2.jpg" width="292" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/95438772/sterling-silver-cherry-blossom-necklace" target="_blank">Cherry Blossom Pendant</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbUQYj8H1NFoiG6tqP9ta0jtBsXwOpCWlHXeBxGp3WF0M5XitL8nzZPicIHIURvOOpMIQVGlbNh-1fq3-lWMncmxtjsNzCqmmwLTXGSm-4n-FZ0HOU1l0_azmW6usXtznryys9ivbgkE/s1600/Fiori_Cherry_Earring_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbUQYj8H1NFoiG6tqP9ta0jtBsXwOpCWlHXeBxGp3WF0M5XitL8nzZPicIHIURvOOpMIQVGlbNh-1fq3-lWMncmxtjsNzCqmmwLTXGSm-4n-FZ0HOU1l0_azmW6usXtznryys9ivbgkE/s320/Fiori_Cherry_Earring_2.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/95464188/sterling-silver-cherry-blossom-dangle" target="_blank">Cherry Blossom Earrings</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5gKQTrefctRPzNdN7eWYprMw_dAuWRJLiAqcnWehVFYAUdSuitRYA6ol74UCPxn2qJyZyrdRUEDwMEVaViY43OkOUablKQtrAFbIWYYBPy0TwKUpMK2iiutjWwqkVdqcVIdSBPY2I4I/s1600/CherryTree_Pendant_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV5gKQTrefctRPzNdN7eWYprMw_dAuWRJLiAqcnWehVFYAUdSuitRYA6ol74UCPxn2qJyZyrdRUEDwMEVaViY43OkOUablKQtrAFbIWYYBPy0TwKUpMK2iiutjWwqkVdqcVIdSBPY2I4I/s320/CherryTree_Pendant_1.JPG" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/70311591/cherry-tree-pendant-sterling-silver" target="_blank">Cherry Tree Pendant</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>And inspired by the spring in general:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuqBBsHbxnxsTTmADj3iHeNNb6OCgnxsfEG5WCJwZYhzESzyy_eri9tyTd1oNLk6gsDL_obM2a-0dSKKdPfb6HuUwPJkWLCtpcPwiPt6z51GdO5UObgmX4ktr6-IkWCD03dgKFGkuCFY/s1600/Fiori_Round_Pendant_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZuqBBsHbxnxsTTmADj3iHeNNb6OCgnxsfEG5WCJwZYhzESzyy_eri9tyTd1oNLk6gsDL_obM2a-0dSKKdPfb6HuUwPJkWLCtpcPwiPt6z51GdO5UObgmX4ktr6-IkWCD03dgKFGkuCFY/s320/Fiori_Round_Pendant_2.JPG" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/60308623/circular-flower-pendant-sterling-silver" target="_blank">Circular Flower Pendant</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-71150120399083815062012-03-23T09:53:00.001-04:002012-03-23T10:04:01.562-04:00Millions of DaffodilsI have to warn you that this will be the first of several posts about flowers and blooming trees, because <b>I love spring! </b>My allergic body doesn't love spring so much, but I think the beauty outweighs the sneezing. A couple of weeks ago we went to visit <a href="http://www.gibbsgardens.com/" target="_blank">Gibbs Gardens</a>, a new garden that just opened in north Georgia. Thirty years ago, Jim Gibbs, owner of a landscaping company, purchased over 200 acres for his home and future gardens. He's spent the last 30 years developing the land around his home, and this March he opened them to the public. The grounds now have 20 million daffodils--probably 1/3 of them were in bloom when we were there. It was like rivers of flowers, one of the most amazing sights I've ever seen. He also has a gorgeous Japanese Garden (if you know me, you know I love Japanese gardens and my jewelry has been greatly inspired by them). So, here are a few photos from our excursion.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM5jnrYTi1PlHeRV3ZPSOvjOw2gO4WAaY3jXqhd91e1G3Ikf-9Sc604b-SCytyhFZIL-x3CMn7pPhbwYgb9riuVUzQJ3lQvNqlg64AdS-dp0hPNQ8n0Gw4mYnvVY7XD9ndpiy8BLMw04/s1600/IMG_0544.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglM5jnrYTi1PlHeRV3ZPSOvjOw2gO4WAaY3jXqhd91e1G3Ikf-9Sc604b-SCytyhFZIL-x3CMn7pPhbwYgb9riuVUzQJ3lQvNqlg64AdS-dp0hPNQ8n0Gw4mYnvVY7XD9ndpiy8BLMw04/s400/IMG_0544.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxquju57g1Xtpn83zY8R_AH2R8UkDxZ5NE4cfx3FDJ4kqU6sZnylgHMT5SHix8Wxvmqz0HtKisyXBembfyYSdeYJ8jhnbGLh_WQr1FWTFgqktM6naqLjRLr-f6XQu2bMXlXH4OnxKn-s/s1600/IMG_0553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNxquju57g1Xtpn83zY8R_AH2R8UkDxZ5NE4cfx3FDJ4kqU6sZnylgHMT5SHix8Wxvmqz0HtKisyXBembfyYSdeYJ8jhnbGLh_WQr1FWTFgqktM6naqLjRLr-f6XQu2bMXlXH4OnxKn-s/s400/IMG_0553.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daffodils as far as the eye can see</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLdRJlJhYOVcx7d-chVVQjTcS7UL7yMr7HTkhBW7gymK_c_7t-zV8n-58hHKtvZVGGZ23CbFMglV_Go9derSilaMXCtvkpYPtlxx1wycMFhAdKJc-q_zrGKY8mOp3LD8wezWDYBZ3uNw/s1600/IMG_0557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLdRJlJhYOVcx7d-chVVQjTcS7UL7yMr7HTkhBW7gymK_c_7t-zV8n-58hHKtvZVGGZ23CbFMglV_Go9derSilaMXCtvkpYPtlxx1wycMFhAdKJc-q_zrGKY8mOp3LD8wezWDYBZ3uNw/s400/IMG_0557.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRfr07vUDYUpY9VgNzGr4CbdYMAG7vx6nfWZRHBv3VjpjUG0SO8VK7kfFIZYfTvVk6nuV2H_KV1VKGPYYd7JtpRE77UziFZAs_S3_rNhW48jMTarKHSh5ZpOR0goBhIc8QEKwrXQHUzM/s1600/IMG_0612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRfr07vUDYUpY9VgNzGr4CbdYMAG7vx6nfWZRHBv3VjpjUG0SO8VK7kfFIZYfTvVk6nuV2H_KV1VKGPYYd7JtpRE77UziFZAs_S3_rNhW48jMTarKHSh5ZpOR0goBhIc8QEKwrXQHUzM/s400/IMG_0612.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weeping willow and lantern in the Japanese garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0y9Kymf6RF71MIqtxs_ejvguNDGbSwMi4UouH-p_EKJ37nRpaEJ54wFBglk3iKzhy7vf6Oo2j5mWVsQzJrzOBDLvtlZRWt7ZlbgO2qrrIIqcqJP6N4KG0OIfau7n2sGbnENBkRRYK-s/s1600/IMG_0665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic0y9Kymf6RF71MIqtxs_ejvguNDGbSwMi4UouH-p_EKJ37nRpaEJ54wFBglk3iKzhy7vf6Oo2j5mWVsQzJrzOBDLvtlZRWt7ZlbgO2qrrIIqcqJP6N4KG0OIfau7n2sGbnENBkRRYK-s/s400/IMG_0665.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3WpSmgWx3ZMwj9UWKiHuMizb5DbRv7D5sbJ6v-zIUzNFviUz-tmS3Khi6GagOdVSTMOWjpdoAzX-GKdkrcX9MLRvBzee_pp5sbGR3Qb2YaM5XmsfJU26PRV3udFL_8dmi224cqCe2NaY/s1600/IMG_0669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3WpSmgWx3ZMwj9UWKiHuMizb5DbRv7D5sbJ6v-zIUzNFviUz-tmS3Khi6GagOdVSTMOWjpdoAzX-GKdkrcX9MLRvBzee_pp5sbGR3Qb2YaM5XmsfJU26PRV3udFL_8dmi224cqCe2NaY/s400/IMG_0669.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River of daffodils</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUnxfyEEE7pBHt2CbUkozlVOSBbZz-oX8ZnaYcIFB7NEpQGGPD0Em2qyJOJd6D-BsjHqWscyjfpGgt-xjrrXShwBRqrDK-DVGePWASm7vk0eRIEbBEd_kWhSOULWUGBo6H14zAqEqgQU/s1600/IMG_0542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUnxfyEEE7pBHt2CbUkozlVOSBbZz-oX8ZnaYcIFB7NEpQGGPD0Em2qyJOJd6D-BsjHqWscyjfpGgt-xjrrXShwBRqrDK-DVGePWASm7vk0eRIEbBEd_kWhSOULWUGBo6H14zAqEqgQU/s400/IMG_0542.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We took our art supplies for a little sketching session.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-83183628006471492042012-03-15T09:46:00.000-04:002012-03-15T09:46:27.675-04:00New Year, New Look, New ResolutionsI am back, trying to reinvigorate my blog once again! I realize we are already three months into the new year, but my goal is to post more regularly about my jewelry and other creative pursuits.<br />
<br />
So, for my first post of the year--transforming my business "look."<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">Late last year I decided my logo and brand identity for my jewelry business needed an upgrade. The previous logo wasn’t easy to reproduce, and it was black and white. I wanted something more streamlined and something in color. I also wanted to change the typeface I was using from a san-serif to a more modern serif font. For those of you who don’t know the difference, serif fonts have little “feet” and extensions from the letters. San serif fonts don’t have the “feet” and therefore look more modern and streamlined, much like my jewelry.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkQBuf1l0FJRmkXlSKYTEx1nTrPRGs7fQrStvzfVyjNn67qWI-UERi52c_gq8_do8-Fp4bjVFF3UUhNSeun-eqqnaH-E3YwWOmO_-5HOreIEO9_5mxzVwhhqyJzy4hxdQIyZ1hQvCbzc/s1600/New+Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkQBuf1l0FJRmkXlSKYTEx1nTrPRGs7fQrStvzfVyjNn67qWI-UERi52c_gq8_do8-Fp4bjVFF3UUhNSeun-eqqnaH-E3YwWOmO_-5HOreIEO9_5mxzVwhhqyJzy4hxdQIyZ1hQvCbzc/s320/New+Logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old Business Identity</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">So I began the process of working on my new logo. First I decided I wanted something either geometric or something organic. Either would represent my jewelry, which has both components.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">I came up with one idea of interlocking squares with rounded corners, and a few ideas involving leaves. Once I had some ideas, I started playing around in Adobe Illustrator to draw them digitally. I should say that while I know Photoshop and InDesign, I had never used Illustrator before. So I watched some video tutorials online about creating simple logos, then had a go at it. See some of my ideas below.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PkSkCUcDmR3dkMtsgdY-elrisqvjMVmiumqCca72q9S-MYQYCH3Q064B6Jb6ga0zGnjWq44vBGYH8G9SY9D7sejr7TfQ7KsniXlkBIJtwMsbiHy1WvyfbPG_oHAdV8gmi_32EyzwJ_Y/s1600/Logo+Ideas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_PkSkCUcDmR3dkMtsgdY-elrisqvjMVmiumqCca72q9S-MYQYCH3Q064B6Jb6ga0zGnjWq44vBGYH8G9SY9D7sejr7TfQ7KsniXlkBIJtwMsbiHy1WvyfbPG_oHAdV8gmi_32EyzwJ_Y/s320/Logo+Ideas.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing around with logo ideas</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">In the end I chose a logo that combined my two ideas of geometric and organic—three leaves inside a square with rounded corners. I had long ago decided on green as the color, specifically a sage-y green. Not only has green been my favorite color since childhood, it accurately represents the large part that nature plays in the inspiration for my pieces.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">After designing the logo, I then designed new business cards—green logo and dark brown text. Century Gothic is my favorite san-serif font (okay, I’m a little bit of a font nerd), so that’s what I used. I added my tagline, "modern jewelry, traditional craft." Credit goes to my husband for that! Along with the business cards, I made round stickers, reversing the colors (green background, white logo and brown text). These are for the dark brown boxes I use for my jewelry. Then I designed some postcards using several images from my collections, with a short artist statement/description on the back. I had all of this ready for the holidays and the couple of shows I did in November and December.<o:p></o:p></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-5IaE2YsCiDGKE5etgQqehMe8VKNZSZlG4DWxsmU2cYIW0xCVWb3n97iS6KB5N9T4wnJ0xpFugeoIhkgzSQyQj6FulxmJPGlRBitTUcVOBQmiYBlNBqQZsCBUPeCnC58ipNZd__1UTY/s1600/Logo-Flower-Leaves-green-with-name.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-5IaE2YsCiDGKE5etgQqehMe8VKNZSZlG4DWxsmU2cYIW0xCVWb3n97iS6KB5N9T4wnJ0xpFugeoIhkgzSQyQj6FulxmJPGlRBitTUcVOBQmiYBlNBqQZsCBUPeCnC58ipNZd__1UTY/s320/Logo-Flower-Leaves-green-with-name.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Logo with Tagline</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaonUhyphenhyphenAsCKpmUi63Ewz_DfHwpLoFbnPBqsBcrvtov1RUGZOuG0HS9PLL26btl7HDFOhwGYHF4MrywM8GBsKKvDCUvqBdxbNWc2MQx-IK0yCJLU8TmpUYBraagS2EPZGF1js2uJi1Suy0/s1600/Anne_Walker_Studio_Postcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaonUhyphenhyphenAsCKpmUi63Ewz_DfHwpLoFbnPBqsBcrvtov1RUGZOuG0HS9PLL26btl7HDFOhwGYHF4MrywM8GBsKKvDCUvqBdxbNWc2MQx-IK0yCJLU8TmpUYBraagS2EPZGF1js2uJi1Suy0/s320/Anne_Walker_Studio_Postcard.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Promotional Postcard</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha21W9Z1ducMFdhtr_spOpECsi-xGPUWg0Fb3k9uXjyG0wJoYjFQswY7SIt_CazytEYy98juxPG0pjBIsw-ZlWrhm_emjn1NgmGAa3RI5tjxE_YuHR8l9YV4HUh74NA9kaISJnQg1U8Eg/s1600/Anne_Walker_Studio_Postcard2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha21W9Z1ducMFdhtr_spOpECsi-xGPUWg0Fb3k9uXjyG0wJoYjFQswY7SIt_CazytEYy98juxPG0pjBIsw-ZlWrhm_emjn1NgmGAa3RI5tjxE_YuHR8l9YV4HUh74NA9kaISJnQg1U8Eg/s320/Anne_Walker_Studio_Postcard2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postcard-back side</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In January I updated my website with the new logo. I’ll probably continue to tweak the site design as the year goes on, but for now I am quite happy with the updated look. See for yourself: <a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.com/">www.annewalkerjewelry.com</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-20880986182065796322010-09-01T19:33:00.000-04:002010-09-01T19:33:25.164-04:00FoldformingThis past weekend I took a day-long foldforming workshop. I wanted to learn something new, and it had been ages since I took a class to learn a new technique. Foldforming was invented in the 80s by goldsmith Charles Lewton-Brain (click <a href="http://brainpress.com/Foldforming.html">here</a> for more info on foldfoming on his website). It's a surprisingly easy way of manipulating sheets of metal into three-dimensional forms. Metal is folded, forged, annealed*, folded (or unfolded), forged, annealed, etc. in various ways to achieve interesting shapes. <br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Annealing is heating the metal to soften it. Manipulating the metal hardens it.</span></em><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzI0xEvqizX0eon6658Hu_VHxEFhuo5IAm-zCNjzgRb3tF_kE4nhBe76NxINASQYV8TaH4Tfy2EIS152q7HkyS8LV_LpvNpDMJA1frL7pFQUxKqcFb79y9sUAcVDGsIjlbgxQzdvy0p9Y/s1600/Foldforming+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzI0xEvqizX0eon6658Hu_VHxEFhuo5IAm-zCNjzgRb3tF_kE4nhBe76NxINASQYV8TaH4Tfy2EIS152q7HkyS8LV_LpvNpDMJA1frL7pFQUxKqcFb79y9sUAcVDGsIjlbgxQzdvy0p9Y/s320/Foldforming+1.JPG" /></a></div>The photo above has some samples of techniques I learned in the workshop (all done with copper). None of these are finished pieces of jewelry, but hopefully I can apply some of the things I learned to finished pieces.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGWSjzdQVmquqrLy1IFtCRYSW5_UeayF_Y9dS5TzBA5X4q8-RXhZEnaLHUal7NrgAaBBDJ86lxfNAuV0F1F0mlHaoz5_l4J4N8NfqjCAUKVvhZgsJP6FzJ_6Rm4oC2_OD93Hq4RhCLrs/s1600/Foldforming+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGWSjzdQVmquqrLy1IFtCRYSW5_UeayF_Y9dS5TzBA5X4q8-RXhZEnaLHUal7NrgAaBBDJ86lxfNAuV0F1F0mlHaoz5_l4J4N8NfqjCAUKVvhZgsJP6FzJ_6Rm4oC2_OD93Hq4RhCLrs/s320/Foldforming+2.JPG" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These are organic, leaf-like forms.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpI98T82ji9ca7jSQEcjuro19woKlpnvR7G7PcWiAeTk8sR8oy89xsw1kSIdEiknt9668yvRiox_DuVshPP2pQnky1itE6gLYYQuEv4Z3AG57uQYntxpbXJXDb83t49krFsI-dCYFC2s/s1600/Foldforming+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpI98T82ji9ca7jSQEcjuro19woKlpnvR7G7PcWiAeTk8sR8oy89xsw1kSIdEiknt9668yvRiox_DuVshPP2pQnky1itE6gLYYQuEv4Z3AG57uQYntxpbXJXDb83t49krFsI-dCYFC2s/s320/Foldforming+3.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Both of these pieces started with a "t-fold." The one on the right was then put into a hydraulic press to puff it out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRQlLAi62kxqb_7GNnDCGf7I_3A6BrsDGCBCsD85rv6XIK6xYdKqHg5ALhVZe9iskNzl4UOpM54HmPbyV4qFh3LNaBaodHsLkc7cpYRKAf1DUx-MxYLSTphtjpP5toNUzw0tCu43uEAk/s1600/Foldforming+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRQlLAi62kxqb_7GNnDCGf7I_3A6BrsDGCBCsD85rv6XIK6xYdKqHg5ALhVZe9iskNzl4UOpM54HmPbyV4qFh3LNaBaodHsLkc7cpYRKAf1DUx-MxYLSTphtjpP5toNUzw0tCu43uEAk/s320/Foldforming+4.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Some basic folds (above and below)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8oTtwSYAJgayE1scj-1BrNzRLPwo9NE7w23IxRTlD-wgyWN7YcXnw4ahJRKEx4_dXidZUczANjRyUKC2tSpHQB2ZTfatIvJVdUFqPFz3VROs59mOu8VOuZ1-X2XpFa3fxYfURKEraAA/s1600/Foldforming+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8oTtwSYAJgayE1scj-1BrNzRLPwo9NE7w23IxRTlD-wgyWN7YcXnw4ahJRKEx4_dXidZUczANjRyUKC2tSpHQB2ZTfatIvJVdUFqPFz3VROs59mOu8VOuZ1-X2XpFa3fxYfURKEraAA/s320/Foldforming+5.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-45554172592270889562010-08-13T21:11:00.000-04:002010-08-13T21:17:11.277-04:00International Left-Handers DayToday I celebrate being left-handed, along without about 10% of the population. I've always heard that left-handers are more likely to be creative, because the right side of the brain (the side known for creativity) controls the left hand. In reading about this, I've found that it may or may not be true--and certainly there are plenty of creative right-handers out there too. There's an interesting article <a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/01/brain.aspx">here</a> about brain lateralization and handedness. <br />
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I Googled lefthandedness and decided to ignore the articles that say lefties are more likely to have a shorter life span, be more prone to certain diseases, have more accidents. Yikes! I sure hope that isn't the case. Scientists haven't yet determined a genetic link, but say that left-handedness does tend to run in families (my three year old daughter seems to be left-handed). However, I read that there is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed--but my twin brother is right-handed (and I would say we are both creative--but I am probably more so). As with many lefthanders (I think), I have learned to do some things with my right hand out of necessity--it's not always possible to find tools made for left-handers, like can openers, cameras, and scissors. <br />
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You can find a long list of famous left-handers <a href="http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left.html">here</a> (including President Barack Obama--actually there have been a lot of left-handed presidents). There are some interesting tests online too; try:<br />
<a href="http://www.lefthandersday.com/tour3.html">"How Left are You?"</a> and <a href="http://www.lefthandersday.com/tour9.html">"Lefty Brain Teasers"</a>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-63237239182130239062010-08-09T20:53:00.000-04:002010-08-09T20:53:01.445-04:00The Beauty of Excess<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
I'm trying to reinvigorate my blog. I can't promise my posts will be frequent, but I do hope they will at least be occasional.<br />
<div><br />
<div>I love kid art. I love the imagination, the color, the scribbles, the freedom of expression. A few weeks ago, my three year old daughter and I made a drum for her out of an empty coffee can. She wanted lots of glitter, so we used glitter glue, and every sparkly sticker she had. </div></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDI_b8ivBcYdBJd__0whGUnxvEeczN_-jO7OHFPlCuYG3LY1f0lwTvqCrHb6kSvCEls-a8x0xZrz_RPKahv-0e7bcZyRNXGgEhNWD3LFNGOfKJcjJttsAG9jAWCeDiZy4mtbrUcywWs5U/s1600/drum1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503576887545847954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDI_b8ivBcYdBJd__0whGUnxvEeczN_-jO7OHFPlCuYG3LY1f0lwTvqCrHb6kSvCEls-a8x0xZrz_RPKahv-0e7bcZyRNXGgEhNWD3LFNGOfKJcjJttsAG9jAWCeDiZy4mtbrUcywWs5U/s320/drum1.JPG" style="display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 282px;" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WUvxMDfpHFWK3wnAVr13atOmJv9SeWc97k4eDyoYZWY9IuEdIhjsUDDr2NYXKt4fiOXvH58eo9ngR2l1zP_8b0SlYP4YEk50xISWrI4g4KqGbKCjxzFZW5Q0h8bpgYg7C0YOk1MH5Vc/s1600/drum2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WUvxMDfpHFWK3wnAVr13atOmJv9SeWc97k4eDyoYZWY9IuEdIhjsUDDr2NYXKt4fiOXvH58eo9ngR2l1zP_8b0SlYP4YEk50xISWrI4g4KqGbKCjxzFZW5Q0h8bpgYg7C0YOk1MH5Vc/s320/drum2.JPG" /></a></div></div></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-63489931188950149292009-04-29T17:46:00.000-04:002009-05-21T16:54:33.451-04:00Balancing Art and LifeIt's a tricky balancing act. When I started this blog a few months ago, I thought it would be no problem to put a post up every week. Wrong! I am trying to balance time with my wonderful toddler daughter and husband, my day job, time to create in my studio, time to exercise (essential for my mental well-being), time to eat, time to do chores, and time to just relax. I have lots of ideas for posts, but not always the time and energy to sit down and do it.<br /><br />Luckily, my creative mind can work even if it's not producing something tangible in short order. In the shower, during the unfortunately long commute to my day job, while washing dishes--my mind comes up with all kinds of ideas for jewelry and other creative projects. That can satisfy until I have a few moments, or, if I'm lucky, a few hours to actually create something (or write a blog post!).<br /><br />I'm happy to say I have recently created a few new pieces of jewelry, and will try to post photos soon!Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-4643788382767637462009-03-23T16:45:00.000-04:002009-03-23T22:05:58.633-04:00Cherry TreesIt was late fall when my husband and I moved into our house several years ago, so we didn't know exactly what was in our yard until the next spring. I was thrilled when I saw we had two beautiful cherry trees in our yard. Cherry trees are my favorite tree of spring--they are one of the first trees to bloom, and with their pale pink blossoms, they are just gorgeous and romantic. While I hate to see the blossoms disappear, there is nothing like the shower of petals falling from the tree that blankets the ground like pink snow.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316565475379681922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhY5j70S9-E7lRTEG3heUU-o7pQ9vd3Kxq72c99xNp08Of39AoC8DXtF-ax1bp6jBnCyKVgT8T9dH8E1h1wQlrzAIKqiHl5B1drXvvaB_Jfk5xnbqhGCKjq4XWBpDueoAqotAeMwGC0o/s320/IMG_2154.JPG" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316566619388056882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy0F9gODPEo1p0Et1TpfFYxvLkZihCIYSoJTQYn_P8HuZM5y3qiv2mTUbABnctpkNPi0g_vqzrHmDB7D0K4ppgpjXXpWeTWf0_rgnmWDX33WD77jKbi46auK5wAbbqU8tx91MRJRhat5k/s320/IMG_2153.JPG" /><span style="font-size:78%;">Cherry trees in our yard (above)</span><br /><br /><div align="left">A few years ago, I experienced cherry tree nirvana when we drove to Macon, GA for their Cherry Blossom Festival. Macon has over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees, and we visited during the height of their bloom. Streets lined with cherry trees, yards filled with cherry trees--they were everywhere!</div><br /><div align="left">Anyway, my love of cherry trees inspired me to create my Cherry Tree Pendant. The trunk on this tree is a little exaggerated--I would say it has some "bonsai flair," but sometimes artistic license is necessary to make a piece work. The tree in the pendant is sawn with a jeweler's saw, pierced through an original drawing glued to the top of the silver. I finished with with a matte surface to give it a softer look. To me, it almost looks like a cherry tree in the moonlight.</div><br /><div align="left"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 304px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316567691643443810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6BP2nmqK0dHk_X7leeKJCIUJlNxZpdX4jjFbMEph-ImWtlv9c_4zjnQvj8mIo1ytIy7T37AOCZKVCzFcLovQ8TD5HghZ7qw4ambhs4teAH6a8RtDhoQ6cMP3o6jZdWgTd4elGJRYpcc/s320/IMGP1923.JPG" /><span style="font-size:78%;">Cherry Tree Pendant (available at </span><a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.com/"><span style="font-size:78%;">www.annewalkerjewelry.com</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">)</span><br /><div align="left"> </div></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-55104149310593311902009-02-24T20:26:00.000-05:002009-03-02T21:26:34.979-05:00Inspiration-a favorite place<div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgpGGTjpMfnFNF4wcz9vYPtq9lxa5hBGFQKiwwMYZ6o-F9V9EWKv0wAy2_lvLT5b-37rl-l6pvYJAhr6sR4GSc-FEtAP3g61FjosAEWYcTEjvpN7ulb0SddAPmViBySluABBE4jwxmKQ/s1600-h/JapaneseGarden_JJennings.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306543921929068834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgpGGTjpMfnFNF4wcz9vYPtq9lxa5hBGFQKiwwMYZ6o-F9V9EWKv0wAy2_lvLT5b-37rl-l6pvYJAhr6sR4GSc-FEtAP3g61FjosAEWYcTEjvpN7ulb0SddAPmViBySluABBE4jwxmKQ/s320/JapaneseGarden_JJennings.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><em> Image by Jack Jennings, courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden</em></span></div><br /><div align="left">One of my favorite places in the whole world is the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, and in particular, their Japanese garden. The Japanese garden is called "Seiwa-en," or garden of pure, clear harmony and peace. It's a magical place of water, pathways, waterfalls, raked gravel zen gardens, cherry trees, Japanese maple trees, water lilies, carp and bridges. For me, it is a place of incredible peace and calmness, and a wonderful source of inspiration for my jewelry.<br /></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">I have a line of jewelry called "Zen Geometry" that was largely inspired by the quiet calm of Seiwa-en. The pieces called "Pebble Path" are inspired by both the secret pathways in the garden a beautiful beach of smooth polished river rock. The "Waterfall" pieces have a texture that reminds me of the rushing water of waterfalls found in the garden. The stone beads I've used in these pieces reflect the blue of the sky and the lovely green of new growth in the spring. A couple of "Zen Geometry" pieces are below. You can view the entire collection on my website: <a href="http://www.annewalkerjewelry.com/geometry.html">www.annewalkerjewelry.com/geometry.html</a></div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306546985868085554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 304px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPrasn9zcqf7odrxVzNLiS9ApjEVmlRSLA44K1U4Bt743_u-ERyUDvkVUM7LWM_pt-QbGAETiNNJqWSQlXNZ62hfQnP-eDY-hASXv3G5n9r8eZ0RKpMbAbyLodm7cx5kf0kjfai7O1a8/s320/IMGP2095-2.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Pebble Path earrings with faceted peridot</span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">(above)</span></span><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306546045819264354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtk21RLTRLh6APwChdwdPM_fwcdrAnbuaYVfwJo2yyyEE4D_RvtbJ8IXL6f6cuoLsRoKo2QJ_2c4MafhTwK8vigLmDrGsr4MyhCASSBBLdz2-aCWihXXEzRKxQUtzJyPe3BDovEqC6ATo/s320/IMGP2086.JPG" border="0" /><span style="font-size:78%;"> Waterfall Pendant with faceted Amazonite (above)<br /></span></p>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4494665828887978394.post-14683266079464513792009-02-15T12:03:00.001-05:002009-03-02T21:27:14.688-05:00Happy Valentine's Day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p6cXWQpyocJEDZPvC5KdLFo32ufChrCGQzWTI3BOV0XdOE8fFFBtBbfv64rv0wgaPd2ZhHFzZm1lGVN7U7mvMyTz2OwHiFMEluveuLAs3JcLhGa_s1tFU0-qYWA_Tnr-DxYs4BDwkB8/s1600-h/Love+Bracelet2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303074656292844770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 207px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p6cXWQpyocJEDZPvC5KdLFo32ufChrCGQzWTI3BOV0XdOE8fFFBtBbfv64rv0wgaPd2ZhHFzZm1lGVN7U7mvMyTz2OwHiFMEluveuLAs3JcLhGa_s1tFU0-qYWA_Tnr-DxYs4BDwkB8/s320/Love+Bracelet2.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SFs29uBJGno1DEl5uOfIraJ8g7Sdq78WOs9W2Y0E3De2SwgCPk38x2pJJVGYWyzFe-JtDUSkT0jCQ4FxlkhSf9liVlEzK3PUDrh6nJ4SlSyI0q7cgJFsKfLnkTZPTa4P_K-O7qzgxgw/s1600-h/Love+Bracelet.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303074655086733650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 204px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SFs29uBJGno1DEl5uOfIraJ8g7Sdq78WOs9W2Y0E3De2SwgCPk38x2pJJVGYWyzFe-JtDUSkT0jCQ4FxlkhSf9liVlEzK3PUDrh6nJ4SlSyI0q7cgJFsKfLnkTZPTa4P_K-O7qzgxgw/s320/Love+Bracelet.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>Yesterday we celebrated Valentine's Day in several ways. One of the things we did was go to the birthday party for the daughter of a friend of ours. They called it a "Love Fest," a combination birthday party and Valentine's celebration. I decided to toast her daughter's second birthday by making her a love bracelet. I don't expect her to actually wear it; I made a baby bracelet for my own daughter who will be two in a couple of weeks, and she won't keep it on, but at the least, it can be a sentimental souvenir of birthday number two.<br /><div> </div></div></div>Anne Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01624755693158887878noreply@blogger.com0