Rose seal charm.


 
I made this charm not long ago for my charm bracelet. I used my pewter rose seal ring to make an impression in some silver clay and this was the result. I was very pleased with it. :)

 

 

 

 

Starfish Necklace.



This piece I recently made for a friend. The silver nuggets (pebbles) have an imprint from her Children. One has the imprint of her little ones toe as he was too young to make an impression with his finger and the other one has an imprint of her eldest son's finger these were also initialed. The starfish or sea star as they are known now happened to be a something that was part of a theme on her and her Husbands wedding day. Complimented with some blue lace agate beads. :)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A few experiments with copper and brass.

I made these as part of a project for 'design for industry' it was about the production of multiple forms. The butterflies I turned into a necklace. The butterflies were made so that different crystals would represent birthday months. The flower was added to a charm bracelet and charm necklace that also had leaf chams that had different materials sandwiched  in between pieces of acrylic and the flowers contained different stones that were used to represent wedding anniversaries. The brass heart I made using a hydraulic press and it is actually a bell pendant. I put this on a neck chain with pink agate and pearls.

Playing with pewter.

Not long ago at college we were introduced to pewter as a material and I have to say that I loved working with it. I think my previous experience from working with glass and lead gave me a little insight into how this metal worked and I was surprised at how natural it felt to use it.

I made a few rings that were inspired by a Victorian rose seal that I was given by my Father when I was a teenager and have always thought that one day I would of liked to get someone to make me a rose seal ring, but now find myself in a position to make my own rose seal ring which is a very pleasing thought and find.

          This ring was made by casting the pewter in a mould with a master that I made.



I made this ring with the intention of it being a nice piece of jewellery that also had another function. We now live in a world where very few people actually write letters by hand but tend to send a quick email. I personally am not that good at writing letters these days either, but really love it when a friend has taken the time to write and post me a letter, but it's also really nice just to recieve something other than a bill in the post. I thought it would be nice to bring back some romance and passion. I am a hopeless romantic at heart and the rose is a symbol of both love and beauty.


The following two rings were made when I was experimenting with pewter sheet. Parts of the ring did melt, but I was pleased with the results- not bad for a first attempt. I will be making more of these in the future because of the response I got. :)

This range of rings have been  popular with some friends and I have been asked to make some more.

            My Victorian rose seal :)

A few more glass bits (suncatchers).

I made this for a friend who collects hearts and who happens to be Welsh, whom had not long been married. It was inspired by Celtic knots and l'amour <3 This was one of the first glass pieces that I made.

 

The photos were taken before I tidied up the messy edges and you can see where I changed the way I made it by looking at the different cuts on the glass. I will try and find a newer photo of it at some point. I saw this one and the kingfisher at my friend's the other week and was pleasantly surprised by them. It made me want to make some more. :)

 

 

 

The next photo is of the first box I made. It is a hinged box and I made this for myself, it functions as a jewellery box and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I love the colours and it has one of my favourite flowers on it. I love Arum lilies and have some that belonged to my Gran in my garden. My Gran was South African and these flowers are native to South Africa. I also had a few (purple) black ones in my Wedding bouquet. I got Married in a Lavender pink trouser suit which to this day was informed by my son is very unusual and he asked me 'why did I do it?' The simple answer to that is because that is just me and I like trouser suits. :) I also love the colour purple! I love the iridescent glass I used but sadly I don't think this photo does it any justice.

 

 

                                                     

Amongst the chaos.

  A couple of months ago I purchased my first kiln and LOVE it!!! It has to be the best things I have ever bought. The kiln I bought is small but it is perfect for what I want to use it for. Enamelling on metal has become a new passion of mine. It makes sense after working with glass. A perfect combination :))) Unfortunately I've only been able to play with it a couple of times as things became quite chaotic with my Daughter breaking her arm and various other things so this has to take a back seat and just taunt me.

I've been asked to do a couple commissions recently completely unexpected and I'm very excited can't wait to get my teeth into them after Christmas. Jewellery is such a personal thing and when you get people actually asking you to make them something specific, especially if it has a story behind it, it has to be one of the biggest compliments and very rewarding when it's made.

Might actually get around to posting some photos of some of my pieces soon!

 

Getting started

Now that was a challenge in itself - Choosing a name, doing a search and seeing what comes up, only to find that not just one person, but a few others got there before you and so it's back to the drawing board for you...Phew! At least that's done and now the fun can begin.....
Something about me- My Name is Kerry and I am a student at the moment studying Jewellery & Silversmithing. I am hoping to start up my own business in the not so distant future making and selling Jewellery and a variety of things made out of glass. I will add more info and post photos etc later, I'm just testing the water at the moment. :-)

The name was partially inspired by the fact that I have always been keen of anything that sparkles. As a child I also had a pet Jackdaw called Hockney that I would regularly go out and catch grasshoppers for. I didn't realise that this skill would later come in handy when I showed my Children how to do this. My son was quite keen to learn as he is fascinated by nature. :) The rest of the name speaks for itself :) The name was put together by my cousin in the end :) I told her the names I had in mind and this is what she came up with and I thought it worked well and couldn't believe that with all the names I'd been playing with that I didn't put the two together myself!