Welcome to Studio Saturday! Each week one of our contributors gives you a sneak peek into their studio, creative process or inspirations. We ask a related question of our readers and hope you'll leave comments! As an incentive we offer a free prize each week to bribe you to use that keyboard. The following week we choose a random winner.
The winner this week is Mimi Gardner of Other Curiosities - Congratulations, you have won a pair of Heather Powers' fantastic headpins. Email Heather with your address, and she will send those out to you.
This week, we are visiting with Lynn Davis in her studio, where she's showing how her muse gifted her with flowers.
Here I am in the studio, putting together a jewelry piece from an assortment of pewter emblems, wire and hand dyed costume pearls. And for fun, here's a little peek at my organization in the roll top desk I've been using recently as my jewelry bench.
So, what's new in the studio?
For a long time, I've loved the look of enameled color on medals and medallions.
I racked my brain for ways to get more sparkle, bling and color on the pewter reproductions I've been making. I wanted the color to remain authentic to the faux antique look I like so much. Like glass enamel that's fused onto metal, allowing the light to bounce on the metal and pass back through the color, giving it that glowing, sparking rich color.
I wanted to replicate that look with pewter, to create faux antiques with that same shiny, colorful look.
The real antique french medal this replica was cast from was loaned to me some time ago by a friend, and I like the way it looks in plain patinaed pewter. But I wanted to give it that bright red bling that you see on real, old antique medals.
How, oh how, to get there?
I experimented, tried various things to reproduce that enameled glow.
I kept trying, playing around with color, and finally landed on something that I like.
Then, I had to experiment with charm shapes, to see how I could also apply color to them.
This floral basket charm has a turquoise faux enamel look to the flowers - does look old and antique to you?
I'm pleased with the results, and can't wait for it to be made up into a very vintage, antique looking design! With two holes at the top and one at the bottom of the basket, I tried to make this blue floral basket easy to design with, to create a wearable design when it's all finished.
So, if you answer this question, reply in a comment to this post, you will have a chance to be the winner of the turquoise flower basket charm.
Have you had any brainstorms lately, or has an experiment with some new technique paid off? Are you struggling with an idea or image in your mind's eye, not quite getting the results you wanted - or has your muse smiled on you and granted some of your design wishes and desires?
Do share your story of struggle, success or frustration - you'd be surprised to learn how sometimes it comes hard, and sometimes it seems to come easily! Why do you think that is, I wonder?
Questions posed by Lynn Davis, who needs a new necklace to wear this weekend, better get stringing!
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