Is it a spoon, or is it a ring??

This week I thought I’d tell you a story about a piece I’m working on for my mom. It’s a nostalgia thing. It’s part of a common trend of using cutlery for jewellery, so it’s not particularly original, but it is a nice story, and I’ve been playing with AI photo processing again.

This sterling silver teaspoon (or, if you’re my mom, it’s a demitasse spoon) is one of half a dozen that was a wedding gift when my parents got married. Mom swears that this particular spoon is exactly the one she used to use to feed me, and then some time later, my brother. So, she decided since we don’t really use them IRL, that she thought it would be great to have a ring. She saw a video somewhere of what she wanted, so, armed with my orders, I made a start.

So, I decided it was a fun idea and wanted one for myself. I flattened the bowl and I reshaped it, I thought it was a bit too big over my finger and then I started bending it. It’s not finished yet, and the other one won’t quite look like this - my mom has a bigger ring size than me, and she wanted a particular design. But I think it will serve it’s purpose - it will provoke memory in both of us every time we look at them! I’ll share a pic when they’re properly finished.

New custom T bar pendant

I love it when people buy my stuff (seriously, the validation of someone actually wanting to own something that I made really never gets old— thank you so much to all the people out there that own a little piece of my creativity!). But, as I’ve said before, I like to do custom work too. I had a recent order that sort of combined both — a piece that I designed as part of my ongoing obsession with all things immunity, but in a bespoke combination!

Here it is: my sterling silver T bar pendant on a string of beautiful garnet beads with garnet needled felt, with a special flower motif.

Exciting pop up Maker's Market!

I'm quite excited about doing a pop up next week!  You may not know this about me, but I curl.  It's amazing.  I only started about four years ago, and I wish I'd started 20 years ago, I love it that much!  Anyway, I curl with the Women's League at the Royal Canadian Curling Club, and this holiday season, we're doing a little market on Wednesday December 6th, 6:30-9:30 pm, featuring Curling Themed crafts, Hand-Crafted Jewellery, Kids' Gifts and Snacks.  Stop by the club and see what the creative ladies of curling can do!  As a wee incentive, I'll have new pieces, hot off my bench that are priced nicely for holiday presents, that NO ONE has had access to yet! If you're looking for contemporary and Science Art jewellery gifts, you know I've got you covered! (And, if you can't make the popup, you can always visit my shop page, or email me for some options!)

:Sterling silver, hammered texture with high cut lapis lazuli beads, pendant and earrings

New Retail Outlet!!

I’m very pleased to announce that you can see my work (in person!) at the Craft Ontario Shop on Queen Street West.

If you don’t know about Craft Ontario, they’re a not-for-profit organisation that supports craft across Ontario. Part of this is through the Craft Ontario Shop. They are fantastic promoter of professional craft, and it’s a bit of a milestone for me, as an artist, to have them take my work for sale. If you haven’t been there before, they have a fantastic selection of quality craft work that is definitely worth seeing (if not buying :). They also always have an exhibition in the back half of the shop space, which is also always worth seeing (and free!).

This is just one of the pieces by me that you’ll find in the Craft Ontario shop! I call them my Misfits of Science pearl ring. With its classic pearl, and whimsical cup, it’s a great stacking ring that will stand out.

Re-stock of earrings and rings

I’ve done a bit of re-stock of my asummetric earrings, and some new topaz stacking rings (I love blue”).

M form asymmetric earrings in the popular oxidised/low volume felt, and brushed silver finish with colours!

sterling silver stacking rings-I love blue topaz, shown here in swiss blue (bright), and London blue (darker)

Like what you see, or feel like something different? Drop me a line, and let’s talk!

The eternity band

Who doesn’t love the never-ending band of stones? Traditionally, the eternity ring has been reserved for couples/anniversaries/wedding bands, symbolizing a life-long committment, and are often set with diamonds. But…..as with many things, this is no longer strictly the case, and it’s become a bit…..trendy…..to wear them regardless of your coupled up state….and why wouldn’t you? We all like a bit of bling!

Eternity bands are generally made with calibrated stones-this means they are all the same size-in order to achieve that completely edgeless stone-to-stone look. They are also pretty difficult to size if your fingers change (as they generally do over time!). However, that;’s getting a bit off topic.

My client wanted to upcycle some stones from other pieces that they weren’t wearing, as a nice gift for one of their young person relatives, and settled on a “faux” eternity band style ring. As the stones were slightly varying sizes, rather than a prong setting, I went for a bead setting, and to accomodate for sizing later, made it a bit thicker, so that metal can be removed later to make it larger.

The band ready to be set with the diamonds and rubies shown— we used a total of about 26 stones!

The finished ring- it looks amazing in sterling silver with the bead set stones. There’s a slight metal bumper on either side to give it a bit more dimension, and to provide some protection to the setting.

So, have you been looking at your jewellery and thinking you never wear it? Let’s start a conversation and do something exciting and fresh with it!

New SciArt Necklace

As I’ve said before, I like to challenge myself to make a new major piece at least once a year. This year’s piece is entitled In the Blood, and it appeared for the first time as part of my offereings for the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair in July. It incorporates some of the elements that I have been using, in a new way, and on a bit of a larger scale. My thoughts were about blood circulation and the movement of cells through the body via the vessel “highway”, particularly red blood cells and the prominent role of macrophages in the landscape of immunology research at the moment.

An early stage of construction

I love green tourmaline, and the colour green in general, and it’s been a while since I used any cabochon gemstones (flat bottom, usually no facets) recently, so when I came across these little beauties, I decided green it was!

The final piece: an off-shiny finish on sterling silver, with the central hand-cut hollow form filled with green needled felt and two green tourmaline cabochons.

I’ve used a bit of artistic licence here, the tourmaline set dishes are meant to represent red bloods cells, but of course, human red blood cells don’t have nuclei (although , fun fact, chicken red blood cells are nucleated!).

some sense of the scale, modeled by my lovely colleague Alexis!

A closer look at the central pendant

I was really pleased with how it turned out. Of course, I’ve already started thinking about my next large piece—I think it’s going to involve a LOT of hammering, and I’m thinking bangle……so, I should get on that!

If you love this piece as much as I do, just pop me a message to find out more. Also, if you have any questions related to immunology, I’m always up for a chat!