Thankyou Harry Potter

I actually cried over this video, it's a beautiful tribute

Etsy Treasury Purple Sunset

I've made a pretty Treasury based on the theme of a late Autumnal sunset, with golden and purples hues.Click the preview pic above for the full view

Making treasuries cheers me up, and I am feeling blue, having has flu for the past week and with so much work to do. I was just about to launch into my Lichen/Coral inspired piece, when illness stopped me in my tracks.

So I am to start again today with sketches to ease me in, then I'll try to actually make this piece, which is driving me mad at the mo.
Wish me luck

Samantha

Symbiosis - Algae, Lichen and Coral

I'm becoming obsessed with my new pet project.

Lichens arise in those amazing natural forms , shapes and colours because of the mutually beneficial relationship between algae and fungi, whereas coral arises from the same symbiotic reliance formed between algae and marine invertebrates

Sometimes Lichen and Coral look so similar to each other, in macro it's hard to tell them apart.

Anyway, I'm in love with this subject (blame the growing collection of coral sitting on my work bench). So. I'll be in lockdown, holed up in the studio because of this burning idea I have in mind, thats erupted from my new obsession.

My husband will be so pleased(not), he often catches me with a glazed look, and makes the mistake of asking whats on my mind, only to be regaled with the wonders of radial symmetry in marine invertebrates or some such nonsense. He's going to love my new found algae/lichen/coral fixation won't he?!

Anyway I've included some images of Corals, and Lichen colonies, and have mixed them up just to confuse you LOL. The sources for all the images (and tons more), can be found HERE at my Flickr Favourites page.







OK...so now I'll grab a bite, and head to the studio :)

Samantha Braund

Happy Dances All Round

Autumn is by far my favourite season of the year. I think I'm still hardwired into school schedules. Autumn to me meant getting out of the house, and new beginnings

The turn of the new season has been wonderful so far, and it's only just got going. I've been selected to participate in one of the UK's finest Contemporary Jewellery Fairs, for this year and next *cue happy dance*

This means more face to face time with people that love art jewellery, and love to meet the artists in question. It won't even feel like work will it?!

Anyway, I've added another collection to my Etsy shop today, which is an achievement in itself, considering how much I loathe listing. The photos here are a sneaky preview of the Pearl Barnacle Cluster necklaces. Be sure to have a browse...the shop is looking prettier with every new listing. It's the variety I expect...













The other major development for me, has taken me by surprise. Every year metal clay artists from around the globe, submit their latest and most innovative creations to be included in the Art and Design of Metal Clay Jewelry Calendar. It's held in high regard, and to be included is a real accomplishment...well, you guessed it one of my pieces has made it in there!!

The link to it is HERE

This will be the 2012 cover...


This is the official description of the calendar


...and snuck in there on "November", is my Coral Reef necklace *cue another happy dance*

Silver and Aquamarine Sea Urchin Pendant

This is my new piece, which will be the start of another collection, as part of my ever growing Shipwrecked jewellery menagerie

This piece is inspired by the radial symmetry seen in Echinoderms, and in this case, Sea Urchins.

The dimension and intricacy is created from a silver wire sculpted element, I made first, which is incorporated and fused into the metal clay , to create the overall look

I have explored radial symmetry with my wire sculpted pieces before, like this one , but I’d never combined the two. I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out, being as metal clay likes to crack around wire, so I feel I played it safe a little. I’d like to have been more adventurous with the base, and created anemone like fronds lol, but I guess I’ll bring those ideas into the rest of the collection

I have even included pics of the piece in my hand and of the back, which I never remember to do. Anyway you get a sense of the pendant’s size, and can nag me about not decorating the back more lol.

So, so far for the show later in the year, I plan to have a collection of Sea Urchins, Spider Conches, and Labradorite Coral Reef Pendants. I think I’ll stand there wearing a snorkel to blend in !!!

Treasury Fun

(click the image to view the collection in full)

I became a member of the Wire Goddesses Team on Etsy this week, which was lovely. I remember mentioning here that selling online is quite a cold business compared to selling in person. Etsy seem to be aware of this, and have various ways to conjure up a sense of community there, amongst it's sellers. I found joining Teams and making Treasures kinda fun

Treasuries can be time consuming at first, but I'm sure that,any creative person would enjoy curating their own mini gallery, from all that Etsy artisans have to offer.

I made the first one, based on the theme of Enchanting Blues, using creations made by members from The Wire Goddess Team. There were tons to choose from, and the end result displayed a nice variety of wire sculpted jewellery, I think.


(click the image to view the collection in full)


The second one was a whimsical collection based on the theme of An Art Nouveau Wedding. All very pretty, with hints of bridal wear and fantasy thrown in there.

I didn't expect to enjoy the process, but I really did. Also the unexpected spin off, has been getting to bond with lots of the artists featured in the treasuries :)...so I'd recommend it to anyone

New Jewellery For The Etsy Shop!

These are the new pieces of jewellery going into the Etsy shop over the next few days. They are my Gemstone Circles Collection mainly, as described on my website HERE, and a couple of other pieces thrown in too.

It's been a great week so far. I completed my experimental Conch Shell Necklace, which was subsequently received very well by my metal clay peers.I was thrilled about this and really surprised by the response.

I try not to become too reliant on feedback from others on the internet, on the whole. I try to gauge for myself if the pieces or collections are good, and have faith in my own judgement. Of course, this is all very well in theory, but as any angst ridden artist will tell you, trusting yourself is not easy. Often I complete pieces, and absolutely hate the sight of them by the end of the lengthy process lol

Anyway, other news is that a magazine that I love wants to do an Artists profile piece on me. This was one of the best emails I'd ever received EVER lol. I was dizzy with excitement for a whole day... I'm much calmer now

So here are the rest of the photos of the Etsy shop pieces, that will slowly trickle into the shop listings. Then I'll be back in the studio working on another of my metal clay marine life inspired pieces.