New Ideas, New Classes coming!

July 11-Aug 11   10:00-12:00   RM 1001 – Making Your Own Wire Art

August 22-Sep12   10:00-12:00   RM 1001 – Creative Jewelry Made Simple

October 3-Oct 24    10:00-12:00   RM 1001 – Advanced Wire Art



I have bought a Dremel drill, and I promised Gregg to not set off alarms while I'm practicing.  There are so many new wire projects coming.  Now  I  will use my work to show the future of wire work in a few weeks.
By July there will be a new series in all wire work.  As all of you know I love 20 gauge wire, and I will continue projects with gold, silver and many colors now available.  We will make earrings and necklaces, bracelets and even watches with wire braiding and weaving.  It will be exciting and fun. Blog will continue as I work along getting ready for the next class.

Sassy Sue supervises my work.
She has her own blog:
http://sassyfriends.blogspot.com/

We all enjoyed the last class.  It was inspiring for all of us to work together and the exchange of ideas is so important in class when projects are planned.  Pictures will include my work, and will identify artist is someone else.  Please write comments, ideas and new projects to take on.  This is intended to be a forum as well as information  on what  is happening.

Blessings to you all as you work on your projects this summer.

I plan to do quilting as well as jewelry in the next weeks to change focus, and get more inspiration.

I will write again soon.

Sincerely, Chris

May 23rd Class - NWACC - At the Crossing

Hi everyone!  Our last class for May finished today.  Everyone had lots of work to finish. We all had projects from last week and our work was exceptional.  Carol in blue is a stained glass artist with a studio all her own.  Tamarra works at Generations as a hair dresser.  Carolyn just finished packing for a trip to Phoenix and on to Grand Canyon, via Williams and the railroad.  This trip will be amazing.  We took it with our Grandchildren, and loved every minute.  It was also very inspiring for rock work.M.




Marj bought a hole punch and made some iconic earrings using it on bottle caps.  This instrument will be very useful for lots of projects.

Carol made a beautiful bracelet .  The greens are beautiful.C

Carolyn finished a new necklace to wear on her trip.

Carol is working on felting and beading.  Mixed media to say the least!

Tamarra has a beautiful necklace with wire wrapping and interchangable pendants.  This is a good idea so we can change our minds, and outfits!

May 16th Class at NWACC - At the Crossing

Today's class began with more work on the dremel drill, with new drill bits thanks to Tamarra.  This week we all saw dust as we drilled holes to put in wires to make jewelry.   As a special surprise, the fire alarm interrupted us (not really, there was a fire drill right then).  We do keep our work safe and steady.  I am continually thrilled with the leopard jasper, top left as an amazing example of rocks God gave us to enjoy the animal kingdom while we work with stones.  Most of these are from California, where Tamarra used to live. She started her hobby in her yard, and used stones she found on the beach.  This was a real lesson in how to fashion our own pendants.  The rock in the right foreground has some real gold in it.  The amount is miniscule unless the whole rock is shattered and more falls out.  Still it has some fascinating facets in it.  It is quartz, last weeks drusy source.T

Our drill instructor - Dremel drill.

Tamarra  is now able to give facials as well, at Generations to help us remove the rock dust which may escape to our faces. Just kidding--I'll be getting a facial soon!

These are Tamarra's work from today.

Carol showed us how to make "hangovers" for our glasses.  Below you see one on a glass. They can be used for any occasion.  More uses of wire and jewelry gear!

Marj has been working with earrings and wires.

Marj  is always adding new ideas to class too.

The Dremel Drill, Tamara, and Jewelry Making

Thank you to Tamara, our resident "rock hound", formerly from California, Calavaras County.  Tamara has collected rocks for years, and when she gets enamored with a piece, she unpacks the Dremel drill, with the very smallest drill, and finds a place to drill.

The process produces beautiful unique pieces of focal stone to use in necklaces and other jewelry.

Last week we were treated with a chance to drill ourselves, steady, strong and carefully letting the drill move its way through the rock.  Tamara explained how to find a place to drill that would yield a great stone to use when polished for jewelry.  She spent lots of time on the beach looking for great pieces to add to her collection.  This drilling is painstaking work.  A wrong move can crack a large stone, and make it no longer useful.  She brought leopard jasper, and other pieces to try, and a quartz crystal had a small accumulation of gold if we are correct.

Drusy is quartz crystals that attach to other stones.

There are techniques to get drusy pieces which are smooth enough to use for jewelry.  Recently these have been among the most popular for jewelry of all kinds.  The crystals alone are fascinating.  The rocks come in every size, shape, color and style to use in pieces which will be outstanding in necklaces and earrings.

The next week we will braid wire, make rings, and use hemp rope to make necklaces and earrings, and even belts.   It is a work in progress since stones can be combined on one of the braided strains to make a design to match your new mother's day gifts.

We have been exploring art principles of using odd numbers of stones 3,5,7,9 to make more harmonious pieces.  We try to introduce as many important aspects as possible.  Last week our photographer took a week off.  We will try to introduce those pieces in pictures this week.

This class on Wednesday will be next to last in this series.  We have accomplished a great amount of work with many styles and possibilities.  This week we look forward to exploring even more accomplishments to add to our pieces which can be made to match all of our new summer outfits.

Our next classes will be Wednesday and next Wednesday.  The new unit will begin in June.  We are working on many techniques to use our ingenuity and artistic abilities to combine colors and designs.


I am really looking forward to classes and continue to look for more ways to express ourselves to make our own jewelry, and presents for others.  It is a pleasure to work with you in this adventure.

Sincerely, Chris

Jasper

t

Pinterest / Home - Jewelry Box

Pinterest / Home: "Jewelry"

'via Blog this'

Jewelry Making - Free projects and DIY gift ideas from Craftbits.com

Jewelry Making - Free projects and DIY gift ideas from Craftbits.com:

• A collection of jewelry making projects, patterns and techniques from beaded earrings to step by step wire work and beaded projects.

'via Blog this'

May 9th Class at NWACC

Orange bangle

Turquoise flowers

Cherry blossom

The Tree of Life at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

Jewelry Making Is Fun

Hi everyone!

Our next class will be Wednesday, and we will make necklaces and bracelets.  This is always a very important basic class that also includes ways of putting wires among the gems that is really intriguing to all of us.  We will include as many variations as possible.  Whoever has a good idea should bring us new takes on it.  When fireworks are done, we still have our jewelry, thank heavens.  Colors, lights, and cameras, here we go.


The Art fair was a lot of fun.  Many of the jewelers came from all over.  I bought gems from people who had just come from Arizona--Tuscon fair most recently.  They had a wonderful and varied display.  Others brought jewelry from everywhere.  It was very worth looking at.  We can get new ideas everywhere.

We will begin mainly wire jewelry week 4.  There are many new things to try.  Please bring examples to class.

I will be looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.  I would love suggestions from anyone who would like to send them to me.

See you soon!

NWACC Class Was Fun And Y'All Did Great Work

Good morning friends.  Yesterday was class one for our May Jewelry made simple, and we began with earrings.

Amazing class.  Lots of talent, and many new things to learn to make wire wrapping more interesting and easy to do.  As you  see in pictures,  many produced 4 and more pairs of earrings, all different in color and style.
My husband, Greg does all the photography so everyone can show off their original work.  There is exilaration as we see new items, and ideas work out.

Next week we will work with necklaces, bracelets, rings and pendants.  More fun!

The final week will include repairing jewelry in our boxes that is not worn, and work with wire.

We really enjoyed class yesterday, and really that is the most important attribute of having a hobby.  We are all learning to make the most of pieces we have.  Adding to the collection is always fun.

I'm on my way to "All strung Out" to get new beads to feature in our work next week. Alberto and Jeff go to great lengths to provide us with special focal beads and needs for our work.

See you all next week!

May 2nd Class Makes Beautiful Jewelry