Storque Appearance

On Monday, March 15, I was checking my view stats on CraftCult. I was blown away by the number of views and hearts. I thought "What nice artist friend has included me in their treasuries?" LOL

Couldn't believe it, but my silver bangle "But Never Doubt I Love" was featured on a Shakespeare themed Storque article on Etsy. I want to thank all the love I received in the past few days; it is very encouraging, especially for solo artists like me. I've blogged about this bracelet before and you can read more about it here. The bracelet is available at both my Etsy and Artfire stores.

Thank you all, once again.

Rings Large and Small

Just finished these sterling rings 2 days ago:

Green and Chocolate Brown Turquoise rings with 14k gold dots.

Smaller Amazonite ring.

And a smaller Labradorite ring with a stepped design on the bezel.

Plum Flower Pendants

Took me a little while to finish these 3 pendants but I'm pretty happy with how they turn out. The sterling flowers has a black patina and a hand-rubbed wax protective coating. 5 gold (14kt) dots and the shimmer in each the (sunstone, labradorite and star ruby) is a great light-play against the dark patina.

Plum flowers have a lot of symbolic meanings in the Chinese culture. It represents virtue because it thrives in the coldest of winters and signals the upcoming spring. Each of the five petals of a plum blossom stands for the five major ethnic peoples of China - Han, Manchurian, Mongolian, Muslim, Tibetan. Sometimes the five petals refer to the five elements - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. And it is also the official flower of the Choy Lay Fut kungfu system.

Round Top Rings

Here are 3 new rings where all round cabochons are 30mm in diameter. I used 1-1/2" diameter sterling backing so that there is room for tiny custom inscriptions on the edges adjacent to the bezel. They are huge and will certainly be attention grabbers.

I just bought stones of various types and sizes that can be custom made into rings to fit anyone or necklace pendants. You can contact me through my Etsy or Artfire shops. I've created separate listings at each shop if you want personalized inscriptions. This way, there is no obligation to have a piece of jewelry bearing any messages.

This cabochon is a Chinese jasper with striking maroon red, freeform color spots set against a gray background. It reminds me of the plum blossom painting at my parent's house, which has dark pink and red flowers against a white background. The painting was the work of one of the last Qing Dynasty imperial scholars, Yu Yao Yum. Click here to see a similar painting.

An agate that reminds me of Orange Dreamsicle.

A fossilized coral that looks like a photo of chrysanthemums.

Ikebana & Kusuma Necklaces

Just finished these 4 pendant / necklaces:

1. Ikebana with Red Quartz. This red quartz is really unusual because it has these really sparkly mica inclusions, like pieces of glitters embedded.

2. Ikebana with Labradorite. I thought this half round labradorite makes a perfect "bowl" for this miniature ikebana arrangement.

3. Kusuma is an Indonesian name that means flower. These agatized Fossil Coral is a natural stone formed when ancient coral is gradually replaced with agate. They usually have small flower-like patterns. Each piece of coral can display different colors, depending on weathering/oxidation and original mineral content.

I added some 14k gold dots to complement the warm tones of these coral.

4. The back of this pendant is inscribed.

Raised Bead Setting

This is my latest commission piece - a 14K gold pendant with a 4mm round faceted ruby. Due to the high cost of gold (eeek!!! $1,004 per oz as of this very moment), I sweat solder a piece of 14K with a piece of 10K, to achieve a .006 inch (1.5 mm) thickness of this pendant. Hey, you skimp where you can , right? The rest of the necklace is all 14K.

The ruby was set with bead prongs that were raised from adjacent materials. This technique is the basis of pave stone setting, which is one of the most challenging of all stone setting techniques.

After setting the stone, I put a sandblasted texture on the front and back. Edges are brought to a high polish. Finally touches are the quality stamps and then I signed on one of the edges. Ah yes, I still need to design and have a hallmark stamp made. Soon!

The group of photos below are my progress pictures.

Hammered Rings

Haven't quite finish all of them yet, but here's a sneak peak of the rings I've been working on. I'm really excited about how they all turn out.
I started off with very heavy gauge, uniform straight sterling wire. Each of the wire piece was then hammered into these different shapes. Due to the designs, you can make slight adjustments to these rings when needed.

I can leave the hammered texture, which has it's own appeal, or I can sand it smooth and give it a matte finish, or I can bring it to a high polish finish. The high polish finished interior gives these rings a luxurious feel when slipping them onto the fingers.
Each is made to order. More designs to come - watch for them as I post them to my store.

Confetti Cuff - The Making

This is my latest bracelet listed in my etsy store. I'm using the photos to send with an application for a show in October. My friend, Jodi, bless her sweet heart, took photographs of the creation process:

Materials I used - bronze sheet, sterling wire

I use my AutoCAD software to plan out my design and figure out the amount of materials I need to cut. This creates a template for tracing onto the metal sheet, as well as keeping a record of my designs. I only use the computer for some of my pieces, not all of them.

Here, I transfer the design from a heavier paper stock template onto the metal sheet.

I saw cut the bronze insert part out from the sheet material.

Filing the edges smooth. Then I cut enough sterling wire to frame around the bronze insert.

Soldering the 2 materials together. Then I release Jodi so she can go home and get ready for work. Sorry, no pictures of me with the hammers, dust mask and eye protection.

The bracelet is bent into an oval shape. Now comes the FUN part (eyes rolling) - sanding and finishing.

The finished product. I could have skip the silver edging, which would save a ton of time. But here with the two-tone look, it seems to add so much to it. What do you think?

But Never Doubt I love

I finally settled on a Shakespeare quote for this sterling bangle that I made last week. It is from "Hamlet".

Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love.

Shakespeare is such a great writer, and I'm learning to appreciate his work only after my high school required readings.

Extra time was spent in truing up all the surfaces so it can have clean crisp lines. The corners are rounded off slightly for comfort. I've signed and dated the year on the inside. All surfaces have a high polish. Actually, the high reflectivity made it quite a challenge to photograph.

I hope a Shakepeare fan will buy this bracelet from my etsy store.
3/31/09 Update - This bracelet is on it's way to a happy home. Yay! Upon request, I can make another one with the same or an entirely different quote. Check out my store listing for more detail.

5/21/09: Here's a customer's feedback - "I'm extremely happy with my purchase. As I write this, I'm deployed in Iraq, and the gift I bought my wife through Studio618 brought tears to her eyes. If that's not good work, I don't know what is. Doing business with you was a pleasure, and I'll make sure to visit your store again. Thanks for bringing a smile to my wife's face."

3/15/10: I feel very fortunate that Etsy is featuring this sterling bangle in the following Storque article - http://www.etsy.com//storque/spotlight/etsy-finds-such-stuff-as-dream... Many thanks, Etsy!

Clematis Ring

Took advantage of the warm weather the last 2 days, I got myself out of the slump from being on the road doing holiday shows. With some sterling materials lying around, I made some bangle bracelets and matching rings. Oxidized to show the intricate flower pattern, but mirror polished to slide on you like silk. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Prototype Ring

This is the first time I made this ring, using sterling sheet, sterling wires, and colored resin. It has over 6-1/2 grams of sterling and my hand-signature on the back. The top has a circle within a circle, allowing up to two color combinations. They can be complementary or analogous colors, providing me hours of adventure in mixing and pairing them.

The ring shank is made from heavy gauge round wire and is soldered only to the back of the ring top. The ends overlap, which allows for easy size adjustments. I smoothed out the wire tips for comfort. Customers will never have to worry about their fingers swelling in the summer heat, nor the ring slipping off their finger during cooler weather.

It is a really fun ring to wear, with its bright colors. It’s a definite show-stopper. I finished the ring two days ago and garnered compliments each time I wear it. I made the top almost 1” in diameter so it doesn’t flop around. It is also a good way to camouflage my big knuckles. :)

I haven’t quite decided whether to put this into production yet. I thought I would give my readers and fans a chance to vote. Send me your vote or suggestions/comments below.

I'm Featured on Judaica Journal

What a nice surprise when I find my work featured on Judaica Journal . It is the only blog journal (that I know of) that dedicates to all things Jewish, and it has an international following. I feel extremely honored to have the exposure on this journal.

My First Blog Post & Free Earrings GIVEAWAY

Wow, this is a historical moment for me - my first blogging effort. It's about time, huh?!

To celebrate this occasion, I will be drawing a name from my list of blog followers. Click "Follow This Blog" on the right sidebar. The drawing will take place at the end of the day on my birthday - October 14. This one lucky winner will receive a pair of earrings that I created. They look like this -

Amethyst and rainbow color coated clear Swarovski cubes, separated by twist wire rings. Ear wires and all findings are sterling silver. A great pair of Everyday Earrings.

Now a little bit about myself (so I can get this self-promotion behind me, lol):

After many years of practicing as an architect, I craved to create with my own two hands instead of just sitting behind the computer or drawing board and have other people carry out my designs. From mega-scale projects to micro-sized adornments, I execute my jewelry designs/fabrication with an artful eye, precision hands, and human comfort in mind. I hope my jewelry collections will bring you as much meaning and enjoyment as the passion I pour onto each piece.

My inspiration comes from my past experiences in life, my cultures, my environment or it can be a specific moment in time. Sometimes interesting techniques will challenge me to come up with different designs too. My work keeps evolving, with fresh ideas all the time.
I try to keep my designs simple and timeless, using materials of the highest quality. My preference is to use silver or gold since they are highly recyclable and highly shapeable. On the other hand, with the cost of precious metals these days, I do explore other jewelry grade metals as well. These materials will be specified in my descriptions and materials sections on my Etsy shop.

I'm also a proud member of the awesome, one and only, incredible team called eSMArts Guild. Go to our team site to find out more, and to get to know my extremely talented cohorts.