FSOJ - Week 7 - Upstream

Once again not on theme. :-) The fish is Thai Hilltribe silver, the rest is liquid silver and lapis. The necklace is exactly how I envisioned it. However....

I actually completed this necklace a while ago (I am in grad school, and with school-craziness, I can't take pictures every week. I make something every week, but it might be a while before you see it.). In the meantime, the necklace has gotten tarnished, mostly the liquid silver bits. How can it be cleaned? I have tried the baking soda / aluminum foil thing, and it did nothing. I used silver cleaner (which you are specifically not supposed to use on lapis, I know, I know... but I had nothing else, and with lapis I didn't know of any other options). The silver cleaner worked GREAT, and showed no immediate ill effects. I put it in a bag and sealed it up, hoping to prevent future tarnishing. Now (less than a month later) the silver is all blue and purple. It doesn't appear corroded, but heavily tarnished and distinctly blue/purple. Any ideas on what to do? The silver cleaner would work again, but I don't want to sell it if I can't tell the person how to clean it (and have it stay clean for at least some length of time).

Thanks in advance. This is one of my favorite necklaces so far and I'd hate to just chalk it up to an impossible design.

Shy Violet

Meeting 41

I attend The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. We had a special question and answer session with former President George Bush on Sunday. I sat in the second row and although I didn't get to ask a question, I did shake his hand afterwards. How cool is that?!

I believe he is generally in attendance at graduation, too, and he reads the school newsletter that I write for and help edit.

I'm finally going rockclimbing this weekend with some fellow Bushies and my hubby. The wall at the rec center is pretty good, too, so I'm excited about it.

Shy Violet

FSOJ - Week 6 - Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not is made of sterling silver, fine silver, and blue lace agate nuggets. This is one of the bracelets where the clasp worked out pretty well - sometimes they are more difficult than others.

Shy Violet

FSOJ - Week 5 - Off-Theme

The theme this week was Something Old is New. The topic didn't really inspire me this week, so I'm off-theme. However, the piece DOES fit into my Garden Collection. It is called Primrose, and also has matching earrings. It is made of pink Peruvian opal, freshwater pearls, and sterling silver.

Shy Violet

FSOJ - Week 4 - Autumn Colors

Moss I - Moss opalite, onyx, sea green serpentine, Thai Hilltribe butterfly and folded bead, and handmade sterling wire links and clasp. I love the variation of the colors in moss opalite - I got on an earthtone kick while making this bracelet! It's sort of Autumn colors... I like it anyway.

I made a second version of this bracelet, Moss II (oh-so-creatively named!) with a Hilltribe round hammered pillow replacing the butterfly and the order of the stones slightly different. That one sold from my website in just a few days! Yay!

Shy Violet

FSOJ - Week 3 - Eastern Spice

Well, it's not exactly spicy, but this necklace does have a vaguely Asian feel to me. The necklace is Burmese jade, smoky quartz, and sterling silver. The pendant is handmade Thai silver stamped with a vine motif. The clasp, which you can't see, is a sterling tab-style clasp with the Chinese symbol for "joy."

This is a really simple necklace, but I think it's one of my favorite simple necklace designs ever - the colors just really matched my mood when I made it.

On another note, I finally went back and added the pictures for my week 2 entry in the FSOJ blog, so if you're interested, I would love comments on it as well. Thanks!

ShyViolet

FSOJ - Week 2 - Complementary Colors

We finally replaced our stolen digital camera, but hubby and I both had tests and homework that prevented us from taking pictures in time for the due date, so the picture was several days late.

The theme this week was Complementary Colors. The bracelet is a link bracelet with carnelian nuggets (look familiar?) and apple green chrysoprase nuggets. The links and clasp of course are SS wire, and the beads are bali silver. Simple, and also complementary colors (if you use your imagination a little bit!). The bracelet is quite comfortable to wear - I really like making these link bracelets. I've been on a real bracelet kick lately, so you'll probably see a lot more of them.

Shy Violet

Back to Teaching!

Well, I'm teaching at karate in an hour and a half. The club is semi-traditional, at least in style if not in overall mood. I'm teaching practical self-defense, basically the stuff you could really use on the street to defend yourself. I'm a bit nervous, because I always am when I have to get in front of people. But I also know that I am qualified to teach, and I have a lot to say and show them, so that helps.

The piece for Week 2 of FSOJ was due last night, and mine was completed but not photographed. Hopefully I'll be able to actually post it tonight.

Four Seasons of Jewelry - Week 1

This is my first of the Four Seasons of Jewelry project, which is part of the Creative Wire Jewelry Forum. I'm excited about participating this year. My goals are:

- to improve my technique and design (color, overall design, structure, technical details, etc.)
- to learn 3 entirely new techniques, specifically chain mail, double viking knit, and possibly stamping and/or riveting
- to increase my website visibility, professionalism, and effectiveness/profitability
- to participate in at least one decent-sized juried show

Autumn
This is one of the pieces in my Seasons Collection. Obviously, I was very much inspired by Eni Oken (one of my jewelry-making heroes!), but I tried to make her technique my own as well. The nuggets are carnelian, the chips are Mexican fire opal, the accent beads are sterling, and the coiling is done with fine silver over a sterling wire frame. I have to confess, this bracelet has been done for a while - I can't take pictures of any newer stuff because my digital camera went missing in our recent move to Texas from South Carolina (for grad school).

Also, I didn't use Eni's tutorial for this or any of my bracelets so far - I was inspired by her work before she had the tutorial up, and I figured out my own way to do the bracelets. This one is obviously a bit different in structure, being composed of two main frame wires, each doubled. This was actually my solution to a technical difficulty, but it resulted in a really unique bracelet I think. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.

The theme this week was "Counting My Blessings"- inspiring jewelry artists, the fix for the technical problem in this bracelet resulted in the little curlies that look like I designed it that way

Shy Violet

Rita

Chase the Muse has already asked for another shipment of earrings in the next few weeks. Yay! Specifically, one set of earrings requested was the faceted rutilated quartz, onyx, and gold-filled earrings above. They are part of the Lotus set.

We're hunkering down for Hurricane Rita - the gas stations and grocery stores are like mad houses. Texas is pleading for some other states to do their share of helping the Katrina evacuees - we have something like 250,000 evacuees in Texas now. Houston is trying to accomodate evacuees from Katrina and prepare for possible flooding at the same time.

In other news, school is definitely picking up pace - I really feel kind of swamped, but I guess that's what grad school is all about. We had mock interviews today, done in class by classmates. Pretty scary - I'm shy, and that kind of thing is hard for me. It went off well enough, but still.... scary.

Soccer

I've had several sales lately from the website, which has been encouraging. The new look definitely seems to get a more positive response. The necklace above is "Saisons," the inspiration for the Seasons Collection. It is freshwater pearls, faceted garnets and diamond shaped garnets, citrine chips and buttons, and peridot chips. It is closed with a sterling silver hook clasp. You can also view it at Shy Violet.

I've also decided to play intramural soccer. I haven't played since middle school. I have no cleats, shinguards, or even workout shorts (for years I've been doing non-outside activities such as karate and even a brief stint in fencing). But tonight is our first practice, and I'll have to get some shinguards and hopefully shorts before then. Fortunately, we're playing indoors, so I don't have to get cleats.

Karate

I think I've decided which club to go with. Although they say they spar full-contact, the instructors and students seem pretty nice and not as if they would enjoy hurting anyone. Also, we've sparred once, and it was limited contact, and everyone followed the rule - it's sometimes hard to switch from full-contact to limited, especially if you do full- most of the time, so this is a good sign.

I'm thinking about offering to teach some self-defense combinations, etc. I'd like to be involved, but I don't have the time to teach alone.

On another note, my jewelry will soon be appearing in an art gallery in North Carolina, Chase the Muse.

I also have an interview this afternoon for my dream internship. I hope it goes well - they're pretty selective, so I'll be ecstatic if I actually get it.

Great Article

Go read this. I couldn't agree more.

Also, I will have new pictures up for jewelry in the next few weeks - I'm waiting on a new digital camera to come out before purchasing a replacement. Go check out the existing photos at Shy Violet.

Ebay

Once again, eBay has failed. Not that there is anything WRONG with eBay, but there are eleventy trillion items listed in any given category. How are the two or three buyers buying that week ever going to find my listing? Only by paying oodles of money to eBay, and probably not even then. I listed a bracelet that normally sells for $295 for $79, and no one bid. I sincerely doubt it was even seen by more than one or two people.

On another note - what is your opinion of full-contact sparring? I'm disappointed by the limited choices here in the martial arts clubs, and the two I am interested in both do full-contact. One is primarily a fighting-competition team, and I have the most serious problems with them. The other is more focused on instruction, but happens to spar full-contact.

I have a few problems with full-contact sparring, some general, some specific to me.
1. General objection - martial arts moves, done correctly and hard, are designed to injure or even kill someone. Padding up does NOT make this impossible. One of the clubs, the more competition-focused one, spoke proudly of having knocked out many people in fights before.

It is possible, although a bit of a stretch, to turn a martial art, or fighting art, into something suitable for sporting competition. Point-sparring is such an attempt. To win, you must be skillful, but you do not need to hurt each other. It is a step away from the self-defense aspect, but it can be a legitmate sport. If you do full-contact, you negate all attempts to make the art safe and it's simply a fight. I have a moral objection to being in a situation where my goal is to HURT the other person.

2. General objection - The primary goal of martial arts is self defense. Competition can be a way of refining your skills, gaining confidence, and a fun recreation, but it is not the purpose of martial arts. Martial arts were not designed to be a competitive sport. Focusing on the competitive aspect can seriously interfere with your ability to effectively defend yourself in a real life-or-death situation. If some guy tries to grab me and drag me into a dark alley to sexually assault me, I do not want my reaction to be to kick him in the head. It's too risky. I want my reaction to be to kick him in the groin, poke his eyes, break his knee.... whatever it takes to protect myself, whether it's pretty or not. This is self-defense, and I will do whatever it takes.

3. Specific objection - I have had 11 1/2 years of martial arts experience in 4 different open-hand styles and 1 weapons style. I have three black belts in different styles. I am fully capable of injuring or killing someone if I go full contact. I do not WANT to do this. I do not have any desire to hurt anyone. I am the person who, in the Nationals sparring finals, apologized to my opponent for knocking her breath out. (I did win, by the way, 5 to 1). I LIKE being nice, and I should not have to be mean in order to be respected as a martial artist.

4. Specific objection - While I am very skilled, I am also small. I am a 23 year old girl, a hair under 5 feet tall, weighing 98 lbs. I am NOT convinced that having a 5 foot 11 inch 200 lb guy, hit me as hard as he can is a good idea, regardless of his skill level. Knowing that we will be padded up helps, but doesn't mean that you can't get hit in the head hard enough to knock you out, or hit in the face by accident, or whatever. Accidents happen, and going full-contact is a good way to ensure that when an accident does happen, someone gets seriously hurt. And regardless of who made the mistake, being the smallest one, it would probably be me.

5. Specific objection - Being small, and yet being a black belt, I think I will be a target. Clearly in one club, there is no stigma associated with hurting people. It isn't outside the realm of possibility for some brown or blue or whatever belt to say, "Hey, I bet I can knock out that black belt." I am fully confident of my ability to stand up to anyone within 30 lbs of my weight in a structured fight, but I'm not so confident of my ability to stand up against someone who outweighs me by 70 lbs and is willing to hit me as hard as he can.

6. Specific objection - In a street fight, although small, I have an advantage in that a random hoodlum would not expect a 98 lb girl to fight like I would. I have the element of surprise, as well as the benefits of the training itself. That's one of the few benefits that being a small girl has in self defense. In a full-contact fight, that's gone, yet their weight/size advantage remains. I do not trust the people in the competition club to make allowances for my size when deciding how hard to hit me. Their coach clearly looks benignly, if not approvingly, on people going as hard as possible at all times.

7. General and specific objection - I am here for a purpose. I am in an extremely challenging and fairly exclusive graduate program focusing on national security, with the goal of working for the intelligence community. It is much more important to my life, long term, that I do well in school than that I win or lose in a martial arts competition. While competition is fun, I have more important things to do. Jeopardizing my ability to do well in school is not an option. I do NOT want to have to miss class or get behind in my work because I have a concussion or broke a bone. Aside from the basic desire not to get hurt, there is much more at stake here than my comfort... school is thousands of dollars, an 1100 mile move, untold amounts of student debt, and two years of my life (if I'm lucky). I do not want to mess it up by getting my nose punched through the back of my head.

I've taught before, and I'm capable of starting a new club here. It's a really tempting idea, and I think there's a definite lack in the martial arts instruction available. All the coaches are skilled, but at least one I have serious issues with. I could do it... except for the reasons listed above. Teaching takes time that I probably don't have to devote to it. I'll also only be here for two years (again, that's hopefully). I'd feel pretty bad starting something and deserting it after only two years.

So... that's the frustration of the week. Any thoughts, anyone?

Go to Shy Violet and buy some jewelry!

Counterpoint (Point?)

Here's my contribution to the school newsletter - part of a point/counterpoint on the drug trade. It's a drastically shortened version of something I did as an undergrad - the original was about 15 pages. As always, comments are welcome.

Drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime feed on and reinforce each other, thriving in the same environment of lawlessness and violence. Organized crime is focused on the financial benefits, the business, of crime. The less attention the activities involved receive, the better. Terrorism, on the other hand, seeks a wide-ranging public profile. However, the groups are often linked through the drug trade. Organized crime groups often run trafficking organizations while terrorists and insurgent groups often control the territory where the drugs are cultivated and transported. Both groups use funds obtained from the drug trade to finance their organizations and operations. Drugs are the chief commodity of organized crime and vital in at least 30 ongoing terrorist campaigns.

Heroin and cocaine are the most lucrative commodities on the black market. Because drug trafficking is so profitable, many different criminal and terrorist groups are involved in some way. Some of these groups are primarily organized crime groups, focusing on the business aspect. However, many criminal organizations whose main focus is something other than profit also turn to drug trafficking to finance their primary activities. Many terrorist organizations have seen a decline in state-sponsorship in recent years, and have been forced to rely on drug trafficking for an increasing percentage of their funds. Money independently earned gives them greater autonomy to pursue their own ends without interference or compromise with state governments.

Just one example of the national security implications of the drug trade is Afghanistan. The Taliban derived a significant amount of income from taxes levied on the opiate trade, and was an example of a state supported primarily by the illegal drug trade before the US-led invasion. Taxation was not standardized but was institutionalized to the point where the government issued receipts for collected revenues.

Groups that are chiefly politically motivated, yet still highly involved in the drug trade include: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), National Liberation Army (ELN [of Colombia]), Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso SL [of Peru]), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK [of Turkey]), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [of Sri Lanka], United Wa State Army [of Burma], Shan United Revolutionary Army (Shan State Army/South [of Burma]), Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Abu Sayyaf Group, Basque Fatherland and Liberty [of Spain], and others.

The illegal drug trade funds attacks against civilized society and destabilizes democracies across the globe. Failing and failed states (such as Afghanistan and Colombia) are particularly vulnerable to the corruption and violence that result from drug trafficking. It is vital to consider drug trafficking within this context in order to minimize the threat to U.S. security. The drug trade undermines America’s culture, funds terrorism, and erodes democracy, presenting a clear danger to our national security. The illegal drug market in America is one of the most profitable in the world. Thus it attracts the most sophisticated, ruthless, and aggressive drug traffickers.

The “War on Drugs” is not in competition with the “War on Terror.” While some question whether America can fight both at the same time, they are not two unrelated campaigns. With an effective fight against drugs, the threat from terrorism is reduced because the financial base that supplies terrorists is starved. Organized crime and the illicit drug trade must be a target in an effective war on terrorism.

Ebay

I've decided to try ebay again. You can see the Autumn bracelet here. This bracelet took about 15 hours of work to complete. The colors of the carnelian and fire opal are absolutely gorgeous - to truly appreciate them you have to see the piece in person. Please go look, bid if you want, and also check out the new and improved Shy Violet website.

In school related stuff, my classes look hard so far, but not impossible. I'm sure my impression will change as we get into the semester though. I'm probably going to try the Taekwondo Team as my martial arts fix. I would also like to try the Shotokan Club, but I have gotten no response about practice times, etc. I am not sure how much I will like the Taekwondo Team because they seem very competition focused (ranked 2nd in nation), but there are really not many choices here. That's probably the only thing I am disappointed in here - the lack of martial arts options. Even our smaller school had 6 or 8 different martial arts clubs. They may not have all been that good, but they did exist, and if you liked them you could be part of them. Here, there are only 4, and 2 of them were not even visible under Club Sports - I had to go searching around "Student Activities" to find out they even existed! The Taekwondo Team may be a lot of fun - it all depends on the people.

Unfortunately, though, it doesn't look like I'll have the time or energy to start my own club here. I've taught my own club before, for two years - it was fun, but time-consuming. Grad school takes priority over my addiction to karate.

New Website!

The new website is up! If you're interested, please go visit Shy Violet and let me know what you think of the new look. The Woodlands and Garden Collections will be coming soon, when we have our new digital camera available. I also have several more pieces in the works for all four collections.

New Collection

I have several pieces finished now that will be the showpieces of the new Garden Collection. Of course, with no camera, I can't get them on the site yet, but that is coming soon. The most time-intensive was Sun Dew, a coiled bracelet with citrine nuggets and sterling, citrine, and peridot accents.

We've been working on the new website and it should be up in the next day or two as well. I think it looks a lot better - I really like the new look.

Classes start tomorrow. I am taking four grad classes, for twelve hours. It's a bit much, but that's the program here. I didn't register for classes myself; the administrative people did it for me. I think I'm going to aim for passing the language test with Spanish, despite my deficiencies in that area. Then in my free time *wild laughter* I will try to work on Mandarin.

These earrings are simple drops of Botswana Agate and sterling silver. Botswana Agate is one of my favorite stones at the moment. It's so sophisticated.

www.shyviolet.net

Orientation is over. Welcome to grad school! I'm a bit intimidated, as several people, second year students, professors, the stress management person, etc, specifically told us, "you will have more work than is humanly possible." So, I may not be writing much for the next few months, but I'll try. The program sounds really fascinating, though, and I am glad to be here.

As far as jewelry, I don't have that much new to show, since we still haven't replaced our digital camera. These earrings are pretty popular - I've sold several pairs that are essentially the same. They are freshwater pearls and sterling silver.
Shy Violet

Orientation

Thus begins my two years as a grad student - orientation! Three and a half days of it, to be exact, beginning today after lunch. Luckily I found out that I'm not the ONLY one coming back to school after some time "off." Mine wasn't much of a vacation, since I was working while DH was finishing his undergrad, but still, I wasn't in school. However, I'm a bit concerned about the idea that I'm supposed to be functionally proficient in some language other than English in two years. I am terrible at learning languages, as evidenced by the fact that I had 4 years of high school Latin and 4 years of college Spanish and can read/speak neither. I can puzzle out some things, but I'm not exactly functional in them.

So... any suggestions, anyone? Keep in mind that this is to be a language suitable for getting me a job in national security. So far I am leaning towards Hindi or Mandarin as the most useful, though not necessarily the most possible.

Malachite cube earrings. I love malachite - it's so very green, and yet so very... interesting looking. Rocks are great! I think I'm a rockaholic. I haven't done anything with my new moonstone beads yet except take them off the string and admire them. I guess I'm really a crow at heart - anything shiny is irresistable.

www.shyviolet.net

Support your favorite grad student!

Just thought I'd share this:
Comic

www.shyviolet.net

Cyclical?

Are there any other artists out there? I've read someone's suggestion that many artists go through acquisitive/creative/destructive cycles in their creativity. I know that for me this is true. Sometimes, I just want to buy, buy, buy supplies, with ideas for all of them, but I don't really do much actual, physical creating. Then there are times that I just feel inspired and create piece after piece. Then there are times that I can't work up the motivation to come up with a new idea, and find myself redoing something that needed tweaking, or finishing off something that had been sitting on the work table 95% complete for weeks.

Am I the only one that does this?

I HAVE to be through with my current acquisitive stage, since I've just gotten such a big order of new supplies. So it's on to the creative phase for me. A lot of times when I'm not really creative I can do some simple earrings or a relatively simple strung necklace and that will inspire me to something more artistic later on.

The picture posted is of a bracelet of blue aventurine and sterling silver. It's called Navy Sky.

Classes start a week from Monday. My orientation starts Tuesday afternoon and goes until Friday night - because we're special. My hubby's orientation is nonexistant and he gets a two hour class on being a TA. That's it. Nothing else. I also get an office, despite the fact that I'm NOT teaching, while DH (Dear Hubby) doesn't. Fair? I think not.

www.shyviolet.net

New Beads!

I have new beads to play with! I got in a big shipment of gemstone and silver beads today. I finished several pairs of custom earrings and a pendant that had been waiting on jumprings. Now I have all kinds of fun things to play with - flat diamond shaped pearls, kyanite, coral, and lots more.

Unfortunately, in the move from SC to TX three weeks ago, we managed to lose the digital camera. It's the ONLY thing we lost, so it could have been worse, but still - it does make posting pictures of my new creations difficult. So for now, I'll post this one. These earrings are turquoise and handmade sterling silver earrings made by the people of the Hilltribes in northern Thailand.

Thai Hilltribe beads are certainly beautiful, but after my experience in Thailand, I'm even more glad that the beads are becoming popular here in the US. I am glad to support the artisans that make such beautiful beads by incorporating them into my own work.

www.shyviolet.net

Frustrating

I've been frustrated with the response of jewelry stores and galleries when I present my jewelry, hoping they'll want to carry it. There seem to be two responses:

1) "Oh, that's WAYYY nicer than anything we carry. If it's over $10 or $15 dollars, it's too much for our customers." or
2) "Is it gold and diamonds? We don't carry anything but gold and diamonds." (insert condescending tone of voice here)

Unfortunately, I'm not going to work with sterling silver and gemstones and spend hours on a piece just to sell it for $15 dollars - I can find easier ways of losing money. I like working with silver. It's inexpensive enough that I can make a few mistakes without bankrupting myself. It's popular - if you haven't noticed, everyone under 30 and a large percentage of those over 30 are wearing silver quite a bit more often than they're wearing gold. It's pretty, it looks good with the techniques I'm using, it looks good with the stones.

If I used gold in the type of jewelry I'm making, a bracelet like the first picture I posted Tuesday would be thousands of dollars. Instead, because I used silver, it's only $295. Considering the amount of work that went into it, and the quality of the materials used, that's quite reasonable. I don't want to make my art inaccessible. I want real people to be able to enjoy what I do.

www.shyviolet.net

I'm currently working on upgrading/redesigning my website, www.shyviolet.net. Although I think the website is very pretty, I'm not sure it conveys as professional of an image as I want it to. Any opinions, anyone?

This is a newish link bracelet I've made. It has fancy jasper faceted rondelles and faceted nuggets, moss agate ovals, and lots of sterling silver. The coiling came out nicely on this bracelet.

Shy Violet - Designs by Cecilia

So how did it all start?

In my quest for yet another hobby, about a year and a half ago I began teaching myself how to make jewelry, based mostly on pictures and info on the internet. Self-taught, I very quickly became impatient with simple stringing. With my love of natural stones and my taste becoming rapidly more expensive, I moved on to wire wrapping and coiling, trying to find my own voice or style. I am still developing as an artist, but I have found my own style.

I enjoy letting the natural beauty of the stones take center stage. The intricate detail of coiling, setting off natural stones, satisfies my perfectionist side. I also like casual elegance, as in the link bracelets, and these faceted amazonite coin earrings. Handmade silver beads are irresistable.

This blog hopefully will chronicle my progress in jewelry design. Currently, I use sterling silver, fine silver, gemstone beads, and occasionally Swarovski crystal. I use the techniques of stringing, hammering wire, coiling (a la Eni Oken), and other wire techniques. One of my favorite bracelets so far is this one. It's called Autumn, and it's part of the new Seasons Collection.

www.shyviolet.net