Grow where you are planted...

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately and it's been creeping into my work bit by bit.

I'm feeling the upheaval of the move and the wedding and I've been pulling out things we've collected over the years that will finally sit in hallways and on countertops and hang on dining room walls....

The weather has also been beautiful 70 degree days that have been perfect for flower planting and bike riding and reading books outdoors.

So, it was no surprise to me when this cuff evolved from a simple strip of copper.

The design is an art deco inspired row of little blooming flowers that I've etched onto the copper.

I then sawed out the whole thing following the line of the flowers to give a lot of texture to the edges of the cuff.

I sanded and smoothed the edges so it won't catch your skin and then I riveted a little brass bloom onto only one of the flowers. Why one?

Well, that's me, or maybe you, individually special, my own bloom.

It was given a little bit of an aged patina and then hand rubbed again to make it glow.

I'm pretty sure I'll be wearing this one today and probably tomorrow as well.
I'm still debating as to whether or not to put it in the shop, if you're interested, please let me know.  

I also set this cab the other day.

It is a gorgeous chunky piece of Imperial Jasper and I love this swirling orb pattern.

Each time I looked at it, my mind kept wandering back to this:

^"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
-1 Corinthians 13:12

There's this really old dresser at a local antique store that has been sitting there for probably two months now. The glass is old and chipped and faded and has these lines running through it, so it's almost impossible to clearly see yourself in it.

I wanted to reflect that dresser and that verse in this piece so I roughed up the back plate by hammering the metal into concrete, and then I cut out window panes with a saw that was too big so that it kind of chunked out the silver instead of giving it a clean edge.

I stamped my favorite part of that verse on the back to remind myself that things that look so hazy and unclear now will eventually be pulled into the light and clearly seen if we're patient enough to wait.

Finally, I created just a fun piece.

The little initial charm was a little piece of copper that I sawed out and enameled in bright cobalt blue. I followed the lines of a handwritten M that I doodled on a piece of copper.



The bracelet was really thrown together to match the charm, but I love the intense colors and I'll probably end up wearing it all summer long to compliment the hot summer skies and deep blue swimming pools.



I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend and that you'll enjoy the upcoming week.

 Mine promises to be busy...

How about yours?