Sea Urchin Mermaid Amulet Gone To A Mermaid!

I had to post about this piece, one of my absolute favourites in the shop, has been sold
Inspired by the textures and form of a Sea Urchin I constructed the radial wire sculpture and fused it to the fine silver sculpted metal base. It is a technique I have pioneered and is unique to me , which makes this piece totally one of a kind. I know this amulet is going to a good home for a very special occasion and I am thrilled about that :) I even made a little certificate card to go with the piece as she  travels across the oceans onto her new Mermaid owner

I hope you love the photos...she will be very missed...






Thanks for stopping by




Samantha Braund

Getting Back On The Horse!

I haven't blogged an update here in a long time because quite frankly it would have been too depressing to document everything! Suffice it to say, that I have been looked after very well by the wonderful Oral Maxillofacial Surgeons in hospital, and thank goodness really because there were some scary moments during the last few weeks. Swellings in the neck were compressing my windpipe and making swallowing difficult in addition to a raging infection, in my jaw bone, that the antibiotics just couldn't seem to get a handle on! I ended up on antibiotics for 6 weeks continuously - can you imagine how that has affected my system as a whole....so I am taking my recovery time seriously and at a slow pace. My energy levels are not great at the moment but everyday I get stronger, so that's good. Anyway, the drama should be over for he most part now (touch wood)

I am itching to get back to being creative and have many ideas and experiments I'd like to work on. The only pieces left to list in the shop are the Spider Conch necklaces (the Peacock freshwater pearl one is in the photo above)...I still haven't edited the photos, so that chore is still hanging over me lol. Outside of that, it should be a case of all new work, which is so exciting... I'd really love to combine my jewellery making and book making , in addition to my usual style of pieces -we'll see...for now I am just happy to be back home and on the mend :)

Thanks so much for the supportive emails and well wishes they have meant so much to me. I need to acknowledge them all, when I can, and mostly thanks for being so patient lol .

The Prize Giveaway went very well - I didn't really get a chance to appreciate that fact until now really. I loved all the interactions and excitement induced by the event, and the video was sooo much fun to do. I will definitely do more Giveaways in the future. The best part for me is how happy the Prize winners are (yay!) and all the new fans of my jewellery page. The numbers have continued to climb despite my sick leave, which is so encouraging. I definitely would suggest following my Samantha Braund Jewellery Facebook Page for special offers, previews of new collections and more frequent updates

Bye for now xx

Lemon and Cognac Quartz Holi Charm Necklace (in the shop now)

























 

Samantha Braund

Getting Back Into My Groove

(Selena Necklace - inspired by Lunar cycles - contains a White beryllium Gemstone set in Sterling Silver)

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post! I have been very active both in the studio and online, yet I haven't blogged any updates. The short version, is that the last month has involved me getting back into my jewellery creating groove. I have made some sales (more on this later), and have been making new pieces at a fairly regular rate, and have even started to put effort into metal clay experimenting (hush hush lol)

I remember when I started out a few years ago now. I was bedbound with a chronic back problem and had left behind my professional job in Medicine. My outlet for dealing with everything was this jewellery making outlet. I never really thought I would be any good at it, and the things I made were promptly stuffed into boxes all around the house lol. My ambitions were to bring in just enough money to pay for my passion, and did not extend beyond that intially.

So much has changed since those days - but one of the most rewarding aspects of this kind of work is how my little fantasy creations are of such significance to others. Engagement rings, Commitment rings, Proposal gifts, Significant birthdays, Anniversaries and now a Bride will wear one of my Bridal Coral Drop Necklaces to walk down the aisle!! Being involved in these real life narratives has been incredibly fulfilling, and unexpected. As a Doctor I dealt with the darker side of things, and was immersed in the pyschosocial problems of my patients - can you imagine the contrast therefore of now being exposed only to the sunnier slices of peoples lives. It is the equivalent of getting a natural high, and is life affirming, even if on the surface what I do now is so frivolous compared to what I used to do....funny the way everything works out isn't it?

Anyway, enough introspection and onto the pretties.... the two pics below are the latest pieces to be sold, and the other photos are of new items that will be going into the shop


(Gold/Green Freshwater Pearls, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Barnacle Cluster Necklace)



(Copper Red Freshwater Pearl, Sterling Silver - Bridal Coral Drop Necklace)


(Labradorite Gemstone and Sterling Silver SeaWitch Necklace)


(Citrine Cubic Zirconia Gemstone and Sterling Silver - Fire and Ice Necklace)



(Rose Quartz and Sterling Silver Necklace)


(Smokey Quartz Gemstone, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Contessa Necklace)


(Copper Red Freshwater Pearls, Fine Silver, Sterling Silver Barnacle Cluster Necklace)

As you can see I have been busy! The Seawitch Necklace is inspired by The Little Mermaid fable and is already in the shop, along with the Fire and Ice Necklace and Selena. The other should be going in this weekend. The rest of the weekend will be spent continuing with experimentations and working on a new piece. No real rest, but the sun will will be shining so thats a bonus :) Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

The Joy Of Pebbles!

(Turquoise Freshwater Pearl and Fine Silver Spider Conch Necklace)

I have been trying to find different ways of photographing my jewellery, especially the more ornate organic looking sculptural pieces for the shop. As mentioned in the last couple of posts, I have been experimenting a lot with stone backgrounds, and black, white and grey gradients. However, the hubby brought home my favourite new photographic props, and who would have thought it would come in the form of smooth black pebbles lol. I stacked them in a Feng Shui zen stones kind of fashion, and lay them on a bit of distressed wood, and Voila! Gorgeous pictures! (if I say so myself.....)

So I've spent most of the weekend re-photographing old work including the rather ornate Spider Conch Necklaces, well the Green and Blue pearl ones, and they have turned out really well. I think it's the organic more natural setting that works, and the surrounding muted tones are unobtrusive to the eye, allowing the focus to rest on the jewellery. They really seem to pop, even when shrunk down to smaller thumbnails, which will come in handy for the shop I'm sure.I have bombarded my Facebook jewellery page with multiple of these pics in all my excitement, and they have proven popular, so I think it was all worth the effort.

Speaking of Facebook, I clicked one of those new shiny "Boost the post" buttons to see what it would do. I chose the little Bridal Coral Drops post to promote, it's still running, and has generated a bit more interest, so it might be worth doing more ads etc in the future . Anyway, after all that photoediting and promoting, and dealing with all the new queries and notifications, I feel it's time to get back to creating another piece. I have a lovely Labradorite gemstone that is too large and irregularly shaped for metal clay but would suit Wire sculpting....so that will be occupying the next few days :)

Enjoy all the pebble photos.....



(Green/Gold Freshwater Pearl , Fine Silver Spider Conch Necklace)




(Blue Aquamarine Nugget, Sterling Silver Mermaid Amulet)




(Serena - Green Aquamarine, Fine Silver Mermaid Amulet)




(Ebb and Flow Necklace I - Copper freshwater Pearls , Fine Silver)




(Turquoise Freshwater Pearl, Sterling Silver Barnacle Cuff)




(Sea Urchin Necklace  - Blue Aquamarine, Fine Silver)



Thanks for looking ...



Samantha Braund

My Serene Way Of Regaining My Mojo

This is my latest piece, called Serena. She is a necklace based on my shipwrecked jewellery themed collections, sculpted in Fine silver, with sterling silver wire elements. The gemstone is a pale green Aquamarine gemstone from the multicolour Beryllium family

Serena is a name with the dual meanings of Serenity, and calm, as well as meaning Mermaid in Italian. Creating this piece has been an exercise in serenity for me. I found having completed my wire jewellery commissions recently, that I had lost my "metal clay mojo". I came to realise that I hadn't sculpted in metal clay in almost half a year!

It was so frustrating having sketchbooks full of weird and wonderful ideas, and I just couldn't do a thing about it. Ultimately I decided to calm down, and indulged in zen like creative practices such as zentangling. This worked amazingly well for me. Initially, I tackled the patented zentangle exercises, then over a few days, having got the gist of it, I branched out and incorporated my own ideas. The last post has the large illustration I came up with in the end

It was a nice way of easing myself back into that rhythm of creative thinking , and designing in metal clay. I sought inspiration from my sketch and came up with a watered down design, as you can see below. Then I calmly and methodically worked out a way bringing the sketch to life as a 3D sculpture

The whole experience has been a joy, and I love the results. I'd recommend zentangling to anyone with a creative block . Anyway, I've added more images of the lovely Serena below. I hope you love her!















Samantha Braund

Experimental Chimeras

I’m starting to get back into my metal clay again (yay!). It has literally been months since I have gone near any metal clay work – I am a little faddish, and jump around from medium to medium anyway, but  commission work had pushed everything back a bit too.

So this week I have been doing a few experiments, drawing inspiration from my zentangle doodle thing that I posted below. I took a few elements from the illustration and tried to bring it to life in metal clay.  I’ve posted one or two of my experimental “chimeras” made by randomly combining various design elements I’m interested in

I kind of love the “centipede”  - and the “chimera” one is really weird isn’t it lol...I think it will sit on my desk  as a reference guide.  I’ll be making a proper metal clay piece next, incorporating some of these ideas... it feels sooo good to be back in the metal clay groove again


  (The doodle illustration my experiments are based on). Click the thumbnail to view in full

Samantha



Samantha Braund

Pearl Barnacle Cluster Necklaces

These necklaces are part of the Shipwrecked Jewellery Collection, based on the idea that gemstones and jewellery pieces are left on marooned shipwrecked vessels beneath the sea

These pieces lost in time, accumulate barnacles and other marine life, creating part living organic wearable sculptures

The Barnacle cluster collection is very much inspired by the theme, and each necklace contains clusters of freshwater pearls handwoven in sterling silver, nestled amongst fine silver barnacles and shells

I am taking this collection with me to the Desire Fair I'm doing at the end of the week. It will be one of ten collections I'll be exhibiting there...no wonder my hands are so tired

I've spent the whole day with the hubby arranging the layout of pieces and props, for the show. It was exhausting, and fun at the same time. I still have a few items to make unbelieveably, and have almost run out of time.

Anyway here are the photos of the rest of the collection...

















Hope you enjoyed the pics!!





Samantha Braund xx