Sneak Peek Of WIP!

The first picture is my sketch of what I am making.  A lovely pendant with an Art Noveau flair.  I am putting a gorgeous multi-colored white dichroic cab into the center.  It has reds, gold, blues and greens.  I am using copper beads to add contrast and to bring out the reds of the cab.

Soldering and Fusing

I finally dug out my torch and soldering brick.  I've been wanting to make fused fine silver frames for a while and while I was at it I wanted to experiment a bit with copper and bronze.

The fine silver is for a current WIP.  I was unable to get the frame to fuse so I ended up grabbing the flux and silver solder and soldering the sucker together.  I did get the wire pieces to ball up nicely!  I was using 18g wire.  I am thinking that my little butane torch was unable to keep up with the heat sink on the soldering brick.  I have an idea to try for next time.

I was unable to get the 20g copper ring to fuse together, same problem as the 18g I think.  However I did get the 22g bronze wire ring to fuse together!  And I made some bronze 26g headpins while I was at it also.  Fun, fun fun!

And I discovered I have some gold colored solder I had purchased for soldering gold filled wire.  It was a pleasant surprise.

New Pendant

I have finally finished a new piece. Now to come up with a name for it.  I won't be listing it until after Memorial Day Weekend.  If you are interested please contact me.

This is my first piece that I've finished with my new tumbler.  I had to wait for my tax refund to purchase supplies.  ;)

I am planning on putting my shops on vacation from May 5th until after Memorial Day Weekend.  I will be busy making new goodies for the summer show season.  I have lots of sketches and tons of ideas.  Now if the rest of my gems would just hurry up and arrive!


At this point I am tempted to put aside all my older work (pre-August 2010) and start a new display with all my newer, fancier "Noveau" pieces.  I can always recycle the cabochons into newer pieces.

Annual Birthday Bash Sale!

Happy April Everyone. It's April and that means it is time for my Annual Birthday Bash Sale in my Artfire studio, Willow Walker Designs!

Throughout the month of April take 30% off your purchases in my studio by using the coupon code "B-DAY2012"! Help me make this the best sale yet!

Ancient Forest Earrings & More!

I've managed to list two more pairs of earrings! They are up for sale in my Etsy and my Artfire shop.

The first picture is of my Red & Gold Drop earrings. I'm not a big fan of reds, oranges and yellows. I must admit I am very pleased with how they turned out!

The second picture is of my Ancient Forest Earrings. These took me several days to create. Making all the little components was the easy part. Putting them together is what took the most time and patience.

New Earrings & Necklace Listed!

I have finally started listing again. It feels good to be able to say that. I'm hoping I am finally over/through my winter doldrums. I have listed these earrings and the necklace in both my Artfire and my Etsy shops.

Also probate is finally done and and I am now a homeowner again!!!

My "Style" Very Art Noveau-ish!

This amazing and lovely pendant is one of many stunning pieces produced by Rene Lalique. It is a Art Noveau piece of a winter wonderland with snow covered coniferous trees. (I have yet to find the actual name of this one.) I love this piece and it is one of my favorites of Lalique's work. If I could ever own one of his pieces this one would be it! This image is courtesy of a Sqidoo article.

Art Noveau originates partly from the Arts & Crafts style. The original idea of the Arts & Crafts movement was to bring quality, handcrafted, beautiful items to the general public at affordable prices. The use of natural, lower cost materials were embraced. Preferred metals were silver or copper. The use of semi-precious stones, horn, bone, glass and enamel work became popular.

Arabesque, floral or animal figures and the feminine form were typical of this period. Graceful, flowing sensual lines, new and different shapes, elegant floral motifs with beautiful colors characterize this era. Of course we can't mention this era w/out mentioning how enameling techniques were refined and especially plique' a jour which created some of the most beautiful jewelry. Plique a jour was an enameling technique where after the enamel was fired an acid bath was used to remove the metal backing allowing light to shine through the enamel. (Still reminds me of stained glass.)

I feel I have found where I "fit" You will definitely see the influence of the Art Noveau period along with a touch of Arts & Crafts and Art Deco in my work. Art Noveau definitely fits in with "my" new style and with where I want to go with it. The ethics of that period also fit with what I'm doing. I'm using glass, semi-precious stones and will be using a lot more copper, bronze and silver. (Gold is up to $60.00+ per ounce for my wire!) I have always been fascinated with sensuous, flowing, elegant lines that are so predominate in Art Noveau jewelry.

To better understand this post just Google "Art Noveau Jewelry, images" and I think you'll see what I mean!