sneak peek

I've been taking pictures of the new work to list on Etsy.  I do so love it when I get excited all over again just looking at my jewels.  Gotta say, I am really really loving these new pieces.  Here's a sneak peek of a few I'm willing to part with ...

Epic Cubes - steel with bronze overlays on linen cord with a Basha bead

Monolith Cairn - steel, bronze, fossilized bone, moss aquamarine, Basha bead on nylon cord

Nugget Cairn - steel nuggets, Basha bead on silk cord

Petal Cairn - steel, bronze, sanded amethyst nugget, Basha bead on silk cord ... I really love this one!

Mixed Coins - steel, bronze and moss aquamarine on nylon cord ... ditto with this one

It'll be tomorrow when I get these (and more) listed ... so stay tuned!

l i g a - kvk

tabletop inspiration

assorted things on my worktable that caught my eye ... inspiration is right there all the time ...........

there's treasures from the sea ...

potential materials ...

and bits of creation by my own hands ...

........ I just need to remember to look up.

l i g a - kvk

collaboration

A design challenge came from my Port Townsend friend, Laura Popenoe.  I've written about Laura before and shared images of some of her work.   Laura is famous for her enamel work and elaborate collaborations with Lucia Antonelli.

Laura & Lucia's collaborations

 

She was also a tremendous innovator with electro-forming.  My favorite all-time Laura necklace, oft featured in Ornament magazine, has some wonderful examples of her electroformed work and pate de verre glass ... 

A few months ago, she called and asked if I'd be interested in a minor collaboration.  She had several of her enameled pieces that she'd like to put into jewelry so that she could wear them again.  Laura's dexterity is not what it used to be - she turned 80 not that long ago.  She's been a fan of my work since we met early on in PT, so it was a great honor to be asked.

A pair of pieces were made into matching necklaces to send to her great-granddaughters for their 13th birthdays ... thinking I forgot to take photos - bummer.  The other pieces were a set, inspired by a Turkish rug, electroformed copper and enameled.  They've been on my worktable for a while and it was way past time to finish the project.

So, my challenge ... create a necklace that speaks to both our aesthetics, honors the original intention of the components, integrate some of my own work, make it easy to take on and off and adjust for someone with nerve damage in her hands ... bottom line - the design had to be simple yet elegant.

My solution ...

Part of the challenge - the components all have 3 channels on the back, are quite heavy and the rectangular piece tended to roll when just strung by itself.  My solution was to make a frame of steel metal clay to stabilize the piece with channels to run the cord.  Amazing how such a simple design can take so very long.  I've been playing around with these components for months and the final assembly took hours of adjusting and re-working.

But I am quite pleased with the results ... it gets sent off today.  I'm hoping Laura likes it as well ... my gift to her for all the inspiration she's given me through the years.

l i g a - kvk

the week's work

In the realm of best laid plans and all that ...
The original idea was, after last week's trunk show, to get a whole bunch of new things listed on Etsy.  Turns out my new sales rep (Deb) is heading out on a road trip starting the 26th and needs my samples and catalogs and a whole lot of stuff that I've been, in classic ostrich fashion, ignoring ... the samples have been sitting on a shelf in my workroom since early December.  I've been feeling less than enamored with my wholesale line of jewelry.  It needed freshening up, some new energy, some culling and purging and reworking.  This is not to say I find it any less beautiful or worthwhile ... it's just not been my focus for a long while and it was time to give it some nurturing, love and attention.

So I dismantled pretty much my whole Fusion collection, ran everything through the tumbler, and reassembled a whole new Fusion collection.  A lot of pieces are virtually the same, but most have been tweaked, lots have been discontinued, including all the earrings with my silk cord.

Here's my week's work - that's a ton of silk cord making and knotting and rethinking and, I've gotta say, the results are a much more cohesive collection ...

    
The work's been assembled, then it was on to photographing, editing pics and then plugging it all into a new catalog.  I got most of the layout done yesterday and had to stop last night around 9 due to bloodshot, exhausted eyes and being generally fried.  I felt kind of like this image looks - tangled.  Needless to say, my mind was still in overdrive and it took forever to fall asleep.

I've still got to price all the new pieces.  Bottom line, the catalog must be finished this morning.  Then, while it's printing, I'll be shooting the 'pretty' pics to update my website.  In addition to print catalogs, I do CD versions with the catalog cover printed on the CD - they're really very pretty.  Then everything has to get re-tagged, affixed to sample boards and packed up to get shipped 2nd day air to California so Deb has it by Wednesday.  Luckily the UPS office is open late in the day, so I'll have most of tomorrow to pack and assemble the whole presentation.

Here's the catalog cover.  I like the minimal look ... very clean and direct.

Okay, so it's been nice chatting ... but this girl's got work to do ... wish me luck!

l i g a - kvk

very proud lil' sis

Exceptionally beautiful new Terry Burns and Ron Kristy video ...

Directed by my big brother, Gene the video guy ... direct, shoot, edit ... the whole shibang ...

I'm one proud lil' sister.

wednesday morning inspiration

I'm copying this verbatim from Eilis Boyle's Silent Storyteller's post ... it's perfect.

"My secret for long life is simplicity"

My friend Maia from julia warr on Vimeo.

 "Shot in Fire Island, New York, this film (4min. 23 sec) captures the secrets of eternal youth as Maia Helles, a Russian ballet dancer turns 95 but still remains resolutely independent, healthy and as fit as a forty year old.

 Made by Julia Warr, artist and film maker met Maia on a plane 4 years ago and became utterly convinced by the benefits of her daily exercise routine, which Maia perfected, together with her Mother, over 60 years ago, long before exercise classes were ever invented. (2011)

Film by Julia Warr
Music by Lola Perrin
 www.juliawarr.com"

I think I could watch this every day.
l i g a - kvk

wishing you a ...

l i g a - kvk

epic

"Thou shalt do epic sh*t" ... that's from Jonathan Fields' "10 Commandments of Epic Business" and the idea's been weaving and worming its way into my psyche since he first posted it.  There is absolutely no point in cranking out okay work ... no point in anything that falls into the "this is okay for now" or "this will do" category.  If a finished piece doesn't illicit an immediate smile and make my heart sing, ditch it, take it apart, set it aside, rework it until I every time I look at it I smile and I know I have succeeded in creating something worthwhile and even, dare I say it ... epic.

And with that mantra I set to work assembling my new palette of components.  It takes time to get to know new components.  When I start in, I'm always reminded of Andy Goldsworthy in Rivers and Tides ... a new place, new materials, new stone, new environment ... it takes time to learn the nuances of shape and weight, to see new possibilities, new forms ... to see the true, maybe hidden potential, not just what strikes at first touch.

As I unpack my work from yesterday's trunk show (fun afternoon, good connections, few sales - ahh well), I'm smiling ... a lot.  I'm actually kind of glad I didn't sell much of anything.  I wasn't ready to part with this new work.  It feels so fresh and inspired, I wanted to touch it and photograph it, soak up more of the delicious energy of my newest creations.

Cairns still seem to be a vital theme and I am absolutely smitten with these combinations.  Steel and bronze and Basha beads and gemstones and creek pebbles and fossilized bone fragments on hand-plied nylon, linen or silk cord ...

Then I took some familiar forms, my pinched coins, and tweaked them a bit.  Love love love these ... they're very fluid, nothing is 'nailed' down.  Two variations of the steel, one polished and two left black - how they look straight out of the kiln. 

But these next two pieces are my absolute favorites.  First, another variation on my coins.  These components look exquisitely ancient but reside in a decidedly contemporary design.

And this last one is truly epic.  A magnificent Basha bead as the focal, a sumptuous stack of steel with bronze overlay rings and cubes and discs.  The linen cord is made from single ply unbleached Irish linen - dark and rustic and perfect ...

I've also started doing a blessing wrap on all the necklaces and bracelets.  I'm going to do a retro-fit on all the other pieces I have on hand.  Each piece will have a scrap of silk or linen, inscribed with L I G A, lashed to the cord with waxed linen or silk.  So every time someone wears the piece, they are reminded they are always embraced by love, infinite grace and abundance.

Epic indeed.

l i g a - kvk

blood oranges

I'm supposed to be finishing up preparations for our trunk show tomorrow.  I'm making berry/ginger zinger tea and thought it would be pretty to slice up some blood oranges and freeze them to float in the tea.  I can't remember if I've ever bought them before ... when I sliced them open the color and patterns were just so gorgeous, I had to take a couple of quick snaps to share .......

Mother Nature is just so amazing.
Okay, back to it ..............

l i g a - kvk

journey of dreams

Ron Roman is an old friend from our NOC days.  He's exceptionally talented and an overall really nice guy.  Join me in helping Ron and Diane complete their Journey of Dreams ...

"be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid"

l i g a - kvk

anticipation

New steel components waiting to compose new work ... this is my palette, my starting point ... delicious anticipation ... sweet surprise awaits ...

pebbles

small rings

wedge nuggets

spires

vertebrae

nuggets - cubes and pebbles

pendants

wafers - the darker ones are what the steel looks like straight out of the kiln ... love the contrast

back to work for this little peep .......

l i g a - kvk

knuckling down ......

Closing in on our Trunk Show ... still so much to do.
Working on the on-line aspect and I'll post details in a couple of days.  For the time being - our flier is lovely ... not bragging or anything.

ciao for now ......

l i g a - kvk

sunday morning inspiration

Woke up thinking about our 2010 trip to Provence ... I'm still so inspired by our photos.  A while back I 'shopped' some of my favorites ... these are the ones that are inspiring me and my work on this bright Sunday morning .........

Bonnieux rooftops

Lacoste archway

Roussillon clock tower

Lacoste stairway

Bonnieux stairs

Lourmarin teal doorway

Ancient steps and craggy archways - still making my heart sing .......

l i g a - kvk

feedback please ... techie ideas

So a friend and fan of my work suggested we do a Skype video conference of our trunk show.  I'm looking into it.  We could do a day pass on Skype that would allow 8 - 10 people on the call at a time.  There's another free one, Videoconference.com that has potential. 

Anybody out there have experience with this sort of thing?
Anybody interested in joining in?
Feedback, advice, help .... please!

the trunk show is a week from Sunday - yikes ... got's so much to do!

l i g a - kvk

gaussian to laser

Today ... 

streamlining

shifting focus from gaussian blur to laser

ditching things that annoy or don't serve

honing in

standing tall

shoulders back

moving forward

unapologetic

determined

seeking the edge

being brilliant and authentic and true

onward

l i g a - kvk

thanks Danielle for the kick in the pants reminder