Latest Commission - Another Aquamarine Siren Ring

Gosh, it has been a busy weekend! I haven't really had a decent break after the course assessments last week - instead I caught up on commission work. Ironically, it was a welcome departure from all the uni stuff and it was great to get back to my wire sculpting roots

This ring is from my beloved Siren Ring collection, they are part of the Shipwrecked Jewellery family . They are made for Mermaids, that have discovered barnacle encrusted gemstones on their travels, perusing the ocean beds for Shipwrecks. This ring contains an Aquamarine gemstone (bluey-green) and is sculpted in sterling silver. The attractive elegant finger displaying the ring is that of my husband's lol....he has very elegant fingers compared to me, so he is the designated ring modeller in this household lol











Samantha Braund

New Camera Fun!

I had my assessments at uni this week, and it went really well.  It was the first time I had ever really been assessed on anything arty before. I was sooo nervous as were the others in my assessment group - then I was chosen to go first and present my work, so it was a case of sink or swim lol. Anyway I won't divulge all the deets here, but it is safe to say that I came away from the experience on a real high!

The hubby was ever so proud, and felt it was high time I got a decent camera with  great zoom capabilities. I usually make the best out of my pocket digital camera, but the demands of the course has been proving to be a bit of a strain. So he got me a brand new Nikon Coolpic P510 - the brand had been recommended by a friend at uni, and I'd had a go on hers too. I don't usually go in for product endorsement, but this is one of the most amazing cameras I have ever had my hands on.

I have been playing with it all morning around the house and garden, as you can see. I love how it really focuses on one area of the composition so sharply, and it's macro function is unreal. I usually have to mess about endlessly with white balance , but not with this camera - it is all automatically done for you, with a special  night scene setting too. I cannot recommend it enough - anyway next week I will be running around museums in Cambridge (cannot wait) and Twycross zoo, so my new toy will come in very handy...enjoy the pics :)






An alarmed looking Jasper, "Oh no she has another camera to torture me with"





Oh, I forgot to mention that this little Peacock Pearl swirly Necklace sold this week too. It's one of my favourite pieces, as it represented a creative turning point for me at the time...I'm happy it is going to a good home though :)






Samantha Braund

Happily Exhausted

This is the first time I have managed to catch a breath long enough to be able to post an update here, since starting my Art and Design course at DMU (DeMontfort University).

As you can see, there is no jewellery goin' on here lol. I will be doing ceramics and metals, and dabbling in glass at some point, but the initial phase of the course was to break us in, with tons of drawing, painting and lately, maquette making...

Everything had to be done fast, the tutors insisted that outcome isn't important right now, just the process. Basically this means being set numerous tasks and being given a time limit within which to execute them. I have posted up a few of my favourites in this post. The little scene above on the loveseat, is part of a narrative I had constructed from similarly fashioned little dolls - it was fun and just a little nuts lol

The images below are scenes photographed at Leicester Market, and collages I made from those images. We had to include materials collected at the scene which is why there are random bits of corn husk, paper, and cardboard packaging stuck to the pages...

I am loving the course so far, and am also exhausted by it, in a pleasant kind of way. It is full on, and there are 160 students all rushing around in this hulking cave of a studio! (which incidentally decided to burst a pipe of boiling hot water onto people's work today...what a mare...)

Anyway, things will be slowing down enough for me to make jewellery again soon, but for now, I hope you enjoy this departure from the usual on this blog :))























Samantha Braund