Sales!

Hurray! All three of these pieces sold in the past week! I can make duplicates of some of them, so if you're interested, please just let me know!

I just listed another ring on Etsy. You can see it here - purple quartzite and sterling silver wire.

Twilight - Amethyst and Sterling Silver Asymmetrical Necklace

Luxurious faceted amethyst pillow beads drape dramatically from delicate sterling silver wire. The asymmetrical design is bold and sophisticated. The necklace measures 16.5 inches, including the full length of the top section of amethysts, and is finished with a sterling silver hook clasp.

You can buy the necklace here.

New ACEO!

I just listed this ACEO on Etsy. It's ink on 120lb. watercolor paper, and it's only $3 since I smudged it a little. Phooey. But I have since gotten better pens, so hopefully that won't happen again. It's still archival, and I think it's still cool looking. And $3! You can't get much cheaper than that for an original.

www.shyviolet.etsy.com

ACEOs

I've just started adding ACEOs to my Etsy shop. What are ACEOs? Well, they're basically little playing card sized pieces of artwork - originals, prints, whatever. The only rule is the size must 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. You can find some more info at Art-Cards.org.

All of my ACEOs are originals. So far, all the ones I've listed are acrylic and ink on watercolor paper, but I'm also dabbling in collage and have some more ideas in the works. You can see my ACEO section of my Etsy shop here. All my ACEOs so far are only $4 each! That's quite a deal for original art! It's a great way to collect original art from many different artists and explore different styles.

Pictures of Rings!

These are the rings I made. The first is purple quartzite, the second rhodonite, and the third rose quartz. All the metal is sterling silver, handmade and wrapped (actually it's all one piece of wire per ring!) and accented with tiny little sterling beads. The first one turned out larger than I had planned, about a size 9, but the others are about a 6.5 and a 7. I'll have them all listed on Etsy in the next few days. I also made a whole pile of ACEOs today! I'm excited - I started several new series. Right now all the ones that involved paint are being "booked" (new word!), being smushed under some heavy books so they flatten back out. Hubby wanted them flat before he took pictures of them for me. Imagine that!

ShyViolet.net

Abundance

This is my most recently listed item on Etsy and on my website. It's a pretty simple necklace, but I really like it. The stunning green stones are actually green (grossular) garnet! It also has little faceted flat squares of labradorite (one of my favorite stones), tiny faceted amethyst rondelles, and tourmaline heishe beads, all on sterling silver. The chain is also sterling. You can see it here or here on Etsy.

Soooon, I will have more pictures! Stephen's still working on doing the photoediting for items that he photographed a while ago. Several of the items have recently been sent to galleries, so that's kind of annoying - there's no point in listing the items now, although we have good photos for them!

I'm working on several new things now. One is a design for reading glasses holder / brooch. I'd like to have it be at least semi-easy to replicate, since one of the galleries thinks that they can sell quite a few. But first I have to come up with an idea that works and is open to quite a bit of decoration, since apparently the ladies who are interested in them do NOT want something boring and cheap! If I can find a design that works, this could be really helpful.

More updates to come...

ShyViolet.net

Rings!

I made my second, third and fourth rings today. The first I made several years ago. I used a lapis bead and did something similar to the ones above. Sorry - credit goes to whoever made and photographed those - I don't have a picture of the one I made. Neither do I have a picture of the ones I made today (yet!). But they are similar to this design by Eni Oken, except I didn't build up the nest so high. I didn't buy the tutorial for the ring, since it seemed pretty easy (it was). But her tutorials are great, and her work is exquisite. I love looking at it, and although I obviously am not a copycat, her work is one of my great inspirations. I've used several of her tutorials, and they're great - clearly written, great photos, etc. The rings I made today used purple charoite, natural rose quartz, and rhodonite with sterling silver wire and little sterling accent beads.

And I've also spent entirely too much time working on a crazy idea I had - a riveted piece with bits of silver and rubber and.... it's driving me insane. I had to stop before I got frustrated and threw the whole thing out. I don't know what I'll do when I gather up my courage to approach it again. I need to do something easy to conquer my frustration.

www.shyviolet.net

Wild Rose Tourmaline Bracelet

The newest addition to the Garden Collection, Wild Rose is subtly sophisticated. Two strands of small translucent tourmaline rondelles range from deep rose to delicate pink, yellow, and through shades of light and deep green shading to black. It is finished with a delicate square sterling silver clasp. It is 7.5 inches long. You can check it out at my Etsy store or at my website.

I've been working really hard to promote my jewelry recently, but I'm unsure whether it will pay off. I've joined EtsyLux, a group of Etsy sellers (Street Team) focused on promoting the finer works on Etsy. It's not just about pricing (although that is a large part of it). Part of it is a mentality - although there are sellers who sell gorgeous stuff for pennies, we're trying to promote the idea of Etsy as a place to get quality artisan pieces, not just handcrafted steals. Some of it as about the quality of the work, but sometimes artists (who make beautiful things - not just beginning crafters!) drastically undercharge for their time, expertise, and materials, either consciously in order to be competitive or simply because they don't value their work as they should. EtsyLux is NOT about overpricing - in fact many of us are STILL undercharging. But we're trying to recognize the value of craftsmanship, and promote that value to others as well. We value our own work enough to be confident in charging a price that's fair to us and to buyers.

I've also joined EJA, Eclectic Jewelry Artisans (another Street Team on Etsy). This group is more focused on jewelry (as should be obvious by the name).

www.shyviolet.net

Dog Park Frustration

My hubby and I take our dog to the dog park (an area on campus where you're allowed to have dogs off-leash - the only such location in the area) every now and then. We have a sheltie mix, who needs LOTS of exercise or he gets kind of nutty - runs laps in our apartment, that sort of thing. We want him to run and play, to get out his energy. He's a good dog - well behaved, always gentle, loves people, slightly scared of dogs but never snappy. He just runs to us and hides when other dogs sniff him too much.

Since he's scared of dogs, we try to mostly stay away from the big crowds of dogs and people at the park - we're there for him to run, not to be intimidated. This time, the weather was gorgeous, so we even brought a picnic. We sat well away from everyone, on our own.

BUT STILL, we were bothered! First, a dog that had jumped in the lake ran way the heck across the park just to sniff our dog, who of course ran around trying to get away. The big wet dog ran all over our picnic blanket, nearly body-slammed me while I was trying to protect my sandwich (sitting down, no shoes on), and then shook off 18 inches from my food! And of course the clueless owner was 150 feet away, calling the dog to no avail, etc. And did she apologize? No! Of course not!

Then later the same dog, an unneutered male, harassed and barked at another dog while it was trying to get out of the lake. The clueless girl took several minutes to even realize and decide that her dog was a problem, and then of course it was "Oh, why are you barking? I don't know what the problem is!" rather than doing anything for another minute or two before she pulled him away. Meanwhile the other dog was getting seriously tired because it couldn't get out (the edge is a concrete retaining wall, not just dirt).

Then we walked our dog through the other dogs to let him meet some of the smaller, less intimidating ones. He was doing ok with that until the SAME dog came over and chased him around a little. He wasn't really threatening, but our dog was scared. I know that was something to be expected, and I don't fault the owner for that really. But then, when our dog was cowering under my husband's feet, the dog lifted its leg and URINATED on my husband's leg! Of course we jumped away and pushed the dog away, but do you imagine the owner even knew?

NO, she was eating chinese takeout up with some guy. Now, I'm all about having a picnic in the glorious weather - we did that ourselves. But when you've had AT LEAST 2 instances of your dog being a problem in the last 30 minutes (and those were just the ones that we saw!), you ought to have the decency to at least pay attention to him!

I wanted to go up and chew her out for it (which is pretty unusual, I hate confrontation, but I was pretty ticked), or at least TELL her. But my sweet hubby said I shouldn't, because it wouldn't make any difference anyway. Irresponsible dog owners have problem dogs because they're irresponsible - someone alerting them to the fact that their dog is a problem makes no difference because they already know, they just don't care.

Now I wish I'd said something.

And it's not like she had a difficult to handle breed or anything, either. It was a yellow lab - any doofus who makes an effort can have a reasonably-behaved lab. And it would be one thing if she had a difficult dog but was there constantly TRYING to keep him in line - I would have assumed maybe he was a rescue dog, with a history of little discipline, that she was working with, or at the very least that she CARED enough to make an effort. But no, she was just oblivious and didn't care when it was obvious he was causing problems.

I'm glad she didn't have a more difficult to handle breed, like a pit bull or rottweiler - not because they're inherently bad dogs, but they're more dangerous in the hands of a clueless and uninvolved owner than a lab might be.

Phooey on irresponsible people.

I've completely wasted time...

that I should be using to write a paper or study for a final by making a wish list on Amazon. I've always shied away from the idea, but whatever, here goes.

Don't feel obligated or anything, since no one probably reads this anyway, I just thought I'd share my excitement. Of course, it's practically all books... surprise! That wasn't predictable or anything. The books recommended by Amazon for me are a bit light on the academic/political side, because I bought most of my school books through my husband's account.

Week 28 - Offtheme (as usual)

So simple it doesn't really deserve to be part of the FSOJ project, but it's one of the few things I have pictures of at the moment. I've recently sent a pile of new things (that actually involve wirework and that I didn't get pictures of!) off to a gallery in Houston, so at least you can imagine something involving wirework! Comments welcome, of course!

Shy Violet

Week 29 - Offtheme

This necklace is peridot chips, freshwater pearls dyed a lovely green, and sea green serpentine with small sterling silver beads and a Hilltribe silver pillow centerpiece. All comments welcome.

Shy Violet

Week 30 - All in the Details

Freshwater pearls dyed a lovely cranberry color, sterling silver beads, and a pendant I made of sterling and fine silver wire with more small sterling beads. I really like making these pendants - they look really dressy with just a simple strand of something to accent them, and they're relatively quick gratification, too! All comments welcome as usual.

Shy Violet

Week 31 - Ceramic, Onyx, Silver Bracelet

Another ceramic and onyx bracelet. The ceramic beads are from Peru, I think, and of course bali silver and silver wire/clasp/etc. comments always welcome!

Shy Violet

Week 32 - Turquoise

Turquoise, sterling silver, and Hilltribe silver. It's pretty small (it's actually my size!), so whoever buys it will probably want me to adjust it for them.

I haven't been making much jewelry lately. It's the last two weeks of the semester, and grad school is kicking my batootie. I have another 45 or so pages to write on two term papers and then I'm jetting off to DC for a 10-week internship and then visiting family and THEN Guatemala for three weeks for Spanish study. Talk about craziness! I'm catching up a little bit on the project in my next few posts, but I'm still several weeks behind.

Deepwood Art Challenge Entry

Here's my entry in the Deepwood Art Challenge, using lampwork beads and hand dyed cord by glass artist Fran Lizardi of Deepwood Art. The frame is handformed sterling silver coiled with hairthin fine silver wire. The glass beads are accented by handmade sterling silver faceted beads. The clasp, not pictured, is an s-clasp that I handforged from sterling silver. You can see the other entries here as well as vote for the one you like best. My entry will be available on my website in the next few days. If it's not up and you're interested, just email me.

Held - Natalie Grant

Lyrics for Held, by Natalie Grant. It's a beautiful song, if you haven't heard it, from the album Awaken.

Held
Two months is, too little.
They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would
take a child from his mother while she prays,
Is appalling.

Who told us we'd be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We're asking why this happens
to us who have died to live,
it's unfair.

Chorus:
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved,
and to know that the promise was
when everything fell we'd be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred know our sorrows.
The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.

(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved,
and to know that the promise was
when everything fell we'd be held.

Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering,
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

(Chorus)
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life
and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved,
and to know that the promise was
when everything fell we'd be held.

FSOJ - Week 26 - Celebrate Different Cultures

The theme this week was Celebrate Different Cultures. My hubby worked forever on this photo, and we're still not happy with it. Gr! The bracelet is sterling silver links, a handmade sterling clasp, nephrite jade, black onyx, and handmade ceramic beads. The brownish coin shaped bead has a Chinese proverb (something about a flower opening) on the side showing and a brown and green flower/leaf on the other side. The picture doesn't show the colors well, but the nephrite jade is a gorgeous deep green - it kind of deepened into black. The round bead on the lower left is supposed to be green!

Available at Shy Violet.

FSOJ - Week 24 - Atlantis Sunrise

Since the Four Seasons of Jewelry project is through the Creative Wire Jewelry forum (at Delphi), this bracelet is a little out of place, being strung and involving no wirework whatsoever. BUT, I did make matching earrings that use a minimal amount of wire (no photo yet), so I'm going to count it anyway!

The theme this week was Atlantis Sunrise. I'm actually inspired to do something else on this theme, so I might revisit it later. But for now, this is what there is. It is Baltic amber, faceted black onyx, and faceted sterling silver beads, finished with a sterling silver toggle clasp.

As usual, all pieces are available at ShyViolet.

FSOJ - Week 25 - Off-Theme

Obviously I'm a bit behind on the Four Seasons of Jewelry. I'm posting this in week 25, but I'll be catching up on the last *counts on fingers* um.... 6 weeks in the next few days, I hope. I'm waiting for my hubby to finish the editing, etc. Since he does it (and I don't have to!), I'm not going to complain when things get a little slow!

This is blue lace agate and crystal quartz with sterling silver beads (bali) and my first swirly clasp, made of 16 gauge sterling wire and then hammered. I LOVE the matte finish from hammering. All comments, criticism, etc. are welcome as always.

Available at ShyViolet.