well, just as soon as i made my “indian summer” necklace, it ended. it seems fall/winter has arrived. it is now cold and rainy here; it will snow any day now. when jim remodeled my shop/studio, he removed the crazy old wood stove that i had. he said that he couldn’t, in good conscience, put it back in; it wasn’t safe. so, it is now very chilly out in my shop, and i have no stove. luckily, good ol’ patty has saved the day again. she is giving me a fantastic old stove, that even has a cooking surface on top, for tea, potpourri, etc. hopefully it will get installed tomorrow because it is currently:
in there.
(incidentally, if you click on the above link, notice the temperature! and then i was complaining that i needed an air conditioner…)
i got a delightful compliment yesterday. this is a snippet from an e-mail i received:
I am trying to control myself with your jewelry, but all the pieces I have I just love so much….I get compliments on them all the time. I used to collect a few pieces of Jes Maharry jewelry – are you familiar with her? This was quite a while back when she was somewhat unknown (and MUCH more reasonably priced). I just don’t care much for her jewelry anymore – it seems to be mass marketed, and the prices have gone up so high that it has kind of left a negative feeling with me towards her jewelry… anyway, I have sold several of her pieces on ebay and this has funded my “silver sparrow” collection.
surely you know jes maharry‘s work? she used to be a HUGE inspiration to me, before i got started silver-smithing. i loved the feel of her work, and the messages her pieces conveyed. i even wrote her a letter when i first decided to get serious about making a living with my jewelry, asking for advice, etc. she never wrote me back. what a wonderful note to get from a beloved customer!
so now, i am all bundled up, even have a hat and fingerless gloves on, and heading out to work. i have a full day out there today and i can’t wait! i am going to attempt a hollow form ring today, with this stone…
an absolutely incredible faceted golden prehnite
see how the back is made to be set in prongs? but i don’t much care for prongs, so i am going to try a hollow form. i’ve never done one before and am not exactly sure how to go about it, but i will let you know how it goes, and hopefully have a finished piece to share with you tomorrow. i also have several totem pieces i am working on and hoping to complete today.
have a lovely saturday!
