Keum-boo Workshop

We had a great October get-together and workshop today. Keum-boo! Bodil demo'd, Sherry and Dana tried it, Christine, Mimi and Karen watched. Thanks to Bodil for the demo and instructions. Fun!

Thanks to all who came (l to r): Karen, Mimi, Sherry, Caroline, Christine, Bodil (and Dana, taking pic).

Caroline's studio in Falls Church worked perfectly for us- she recently returned from Italy and collected wonderful beach stones complete with fabulous graphic lines.

Caroline tried gold-leafing one of her stones and may drill a hole or bezel-set it. Nice experimentation!

Gorgeous Italian beach stones above.

Bodil demonstrating keum-boo.

Sherry's applying thin gold foil (keum-boo) on top of reticulated silver- full of texture.

Dana's ring after keum-boo. I like it!

Dana's ring after liver of sulfur patina (maybe a bit too long??) and with opal set temporarily. Love the colors! The technique seemed easy! If you're interested, order Celie Fago's book from Rio Grande or email Bodil for instructions!

Yesterday's show and tell

I had a wonderful time meeting everone and hanging out at Mimi's wonderful home yesterday.

I just wanted to quickly post the cufflinks that I tested out with the new resin Mimi introduced us to. I love that it doesn't take hours to cure like the 2 part epoxy resin and is non toxic. I've just ordered some from the online store and look forward to playing with this some more.

Thanks again, and looking forward to meeting up again in October!

P.S. here's a li'l video i took of Mimi's cute bird...haha
had to share

Kick-Off Meeting for the New Year

We started another season of get-togethers at Mimi's house. She treated us to fruit, cake and coffee and we also got to see results from the 5 classes she took at Bead Fest Phily this past summer. Thanks for hosting, Mimi!


These images are captured between 2 pieces of class and then soldered (stained glass technique) and loops were added.

This is a metal clay ring Mimi created and then added the resin "gem" in layers.

This copper flower was covered with Jax patina (from Metaliferous) and then colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. The class was held by Debra Weld- she's known for this technique. It will be finished when it's riveted to the metal clay base beneath, complete with loop for hanging.

These pieces were done in a resin class. The collages were covered over by a powder resin called Amazing Glaze and baked in a toaster oven at 275 until melted. We got to try this technique! The powder was like embossing powder, but non-toxic. All the resins were very safe to use. Feel free to contact Mimi for any and all information regarding resins, techniques, hand-outs, and other information.

This is the collage, set in a brass pre-made commercial bezel, covered over with Amazing Glaze.

Finished pieces cooling after being heated to 275.

Laura adding the powdered glaze to her piece.

(l to r) Bodil, Laura and Deana in Mimi's studio.

Lucia and Mimi in Mimi's studio.

Bodil applying a heat gun to the finished piece to remove any remaining air bubbles.

This was a fun get-together! We got to make stuff! Mimi's final word on these classes, specifically the resin workshop, was that it was a bit "crafty". But they're great for ornaments, keychains, etc... especially for the upcoming holidays. And it was fun to get some creative juices flowing.

See you next month at Caroline's studio on Oct. 20th for a keum boo workshop!

June Meeting- Drilling Rocks, Shells, Glass

l to r: Laura, Mimi, Karen, Caroline drilling and chatting. Dana's taking picture!

Using a diamond bit l to r: core drill bit, 1/8" bit for hole and for carving.

These holes went thru like buddah.

June 3rd we met at my house (Dana) and hung out on my porch drilling rocks, shells and glass. How fun! Caroline, Karen, Laura and Mimi came and brought a TON of stuff to drill. We used diamond bits under water(slightly, so as not to electrocute ourselves) and had success with most everything except some really hard shells which will take quite a while to drill through.

Workshop - 5.23 - Openings!

Loren Damewood is coming to teach in Ellicott City tomorrow - Saturday the 23rd of May.

There are still a few openings - if you are interested email me please:
janiceihg at hotmail dot com

If you are unfamiliar with Loren's work you can see it here:

http://www.golden-knots.com

We'll be working in some area of my house - low key - maybe in the garage or out on the deck - its cold work for the most part.

Hope some of you can make it!

Starfish Pendant

Our mini PMC workshop was fun and informative. I made several pieces using different techniques, since this was my first time using metal clay. I found the process slightly stressful, but upon completion am in love with the silvery whiteness of the metal after finishing. This simple starfish pendant is one of my favorites.

Thanks Mimi and Dana and all the other ladies for your help and guidence during our class.

Metal Clay Workshop- March 2009

Here's a sampling of our pieces drying on a heating pad.
Here's another view. It's amazing how little clay you get for mucho dinero!

These are Dana's pieces- the glass in the pendant piece cracked during firing- heat wasn't even enough!

Here's Sherry's finished piece- beautiful!

Sherry hard at work on her Trees at Twilight piece, above.

Sherry used metal clay paste to "paint" on small leaves, then dried and peeled them of to fire.

Mimi set us up such a nice area to work. Sherry's working hard, some of the rest of us are busy chatting! (l to r: Sherry, Ellen, Bodil, Mimi, Dana) Also not pictured- Karen, Caroline, Mary.

Mary's gorgeous shell pieces created with a hand-made mold.


One, two, three- action! Mary torch-fired then soldered on a bail. The possibilities are endless!

Stay tuned for the next post- more pics of pieces created in workshop and some finished jewelry pics!

A Bloom of Jellyfish

While I was snowbound, I finished up a limited edition series of seaglass jellyfish pendants. Here is a sampling of a few of my favs. The found seaglass is bezel set in fine silver, and then I added a variety of gemstones to complement the color of the glass. The little gems swish and sway just like the tentacles of real jellies.

Can you all tell that I just adore the beach!

February Metalsmith Meeting

Here's a shot of Mary's very compact and efficient workspace: Mary has an exquisite collection of chasing/repousee work- Wow:

Some paintings done by Mary Benton:

Our group: Some are not pictured (Dana-me and Karen) l to r: Mary, Sherry, Cari, Bodil, Ellen, Mimi.

Mary's display for craft shows- handmade from toy crates and hand-decorated trim, complete with hooks and lights:

What a great meeting today at Mary Benton's house! BIG thank you!