New Work in Browns

Thistle Pendant

The following is a series of pictures of work I have been doing using an iron oxide stain.  

Thistle pendant and beads set

Maple Seed Wings Pendant

Purslane Leaves and beads

Spruce Bough Penant and beads

Fossil Like Snail Pendant

Daisy Blooms

In a French Veggie Garden

Ginkgo Leaves and Beads Set

Daisy Fan Petals Flower

                                                  Spruce Bough Bracelet Bar

Thistle Flower Heart

Diamond Pendant

Another Diamond Pendant

Most of these pieces are sold but I am making more.  You can find a few of them in my Etsy shop right now.

Thanks so  much for stopping by.

Mary

Experiment Results

Here is how they came out after being fired this last time.  Are you surprised?  I know I was even though I know that firings can change a piece a lot.  And best of all, I am happily surprised.  Here is the list again of what I did to the pieces.

Here is what I did, starting at the top--going from left to right
1. Brown daisies stained with iron oxide--2 loop pendant
2.  Daisy cabochon stained with iron oxide and then lightly colored with a red glaze on the petals and a blue glaze on the center and lightly clear glazed
3. Round cabochon stained with  cobalt and covered with clear glaze ( left side of plate) That was a mistake.  No cobalt stain, just hand painted with several colors of glazes.
4. Stick pendant stained and then partially painted with a orange glaze and a light coat of clear
5. Rustic snail pendant glazed in a pink brown.
6. 2  hole pendant stained with iron oxide and lightly colored with several glazes and then a light clear glaze added--garden image
7. Fan of Daisy petals  rustic cabochon stained with iron oxide and then lightly clear glazed just on the petals.
 (small stained tab piece--from a broken pendant I didn't include in this picture-- it came out pretty blah!!) One thing I did notice is that the clear glaze significantly lightens the oxide color and makes it almost pale.
8. Donut with lightly color glazed small leaves and some other areas.  No clear glaze.
Most of the pieces were fired first with just the iron oxide glaze--after they were bisqued so when I fire these pieces it was for the 3rd time.

I have a few more experiments to do.  Like tumbling some beads I stained with iron oxide and trying out some new clays.  Will post them when I do them but it may be awhile.
Thanks for stopping by.
Happy New Year!!
Mary

Experiments

                                          Ceramic pendants by Mary Harding

Now that winter has actually set in--we are in the middle of  a snow storm as I type-- and the holidays are mostly over, I find that I have time in my studio for trying out new things and ideas.  I have been playing around with oxides and have made several experiments to see what will happen.
My photo above is before I fired them.

Here is what I did, starting at the top--going from left to right
1. Brown daisies stained with iron oxide
2. Round cabochon stained with  cobalt and coverd with clear glaze ( left side of plate)
3. Daisy cabochon stained with iron oxide and then lightly colored with a red glaze on the petals and a blue glaze on the center and lightly clear glazed
4. 2  hole pendant stained with iron oxide and lightly colored with several glazes and then a light clear glaze added
5.stick pendant stained and then partialy painted with a red glaze and a light coat of clear
6. snail shaped pendant lightly colored and clear glazed--very rustic and fosil like beforehand
7. small stained tab piece--from a broken pendant
8.  fan of daisy petals stained and then lightly glazed with red and a clear glaze--no color on daisy head
9.Donut with lightly color glazed small leaves and some other areas.  No clear glaze.
Most of the pieces were fired first with just the iron oxide glaze--after they were bisqued so when I fire these pieces it will be for the 3rd time.

I will post the results tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by!!

Merry Christmas to All

                               

Happy Holiday LED Lights Earrings

My earrings are dong a Happy Dance for you!!  Enjoy your Holidays!!

You can see the free tutorial for making these earrings on the Art Bead Scene Blog

Have a wonderful Holiday!!
Mary

Winter Exhibiton

I am excited that my free form peyote stitch jewelry is being featured as a part of this exhibition.  Weather permitting, I will be at the opening on December 2.  Can't wait!

Details of some of my pieces in the exhibition

If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by at the Thousand Islands Art Center, Clayton, NY

Cyber Monday 40% off sale

Enjoy 40% percent off everything in my Etsy shop today.  Use coupon code CYBER40 at checkout to get your discount..  Sale continues until midnight Monday ET.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Mary

After the Frost Before the Snow: Plants in Beautiful Decay

I have been wanting to share these pictures here with you since I took them in late October.  They are all  pictures of flowers in partial decay after a killing frost in October.   They are located in the King George Garden at Fort Ticonderoga in upstate New York.  It was my first visit there and it was the last day they were open for the season.  What a treat to happen upon all this beauty.

I don't know the names of any of these flowers.  I was just so taken with the colors that had developed since the heavy frost.  Such gorgeous shades of brown and green, yellow and red.  Coincidentally we were recently given some bulbs to grow these flowers in the  picture above.  I look forward to watching them next summer.

                       Such perfect daisy heads amid the subdued shades of their summer colors.

                       These rosy tan leaves were on plants way over 6 feet tall.

                     Love the red orange flower amid these shades of tan and brown.

                                             Such a cascade of pink.

                                             And then the bright red.

                             And a black green silhouette.

    And a final dance before winter sets in.

I am just in time with this post as we are expecting our first snow of the season tonight.
What a sweet farewell to my favorite seasons.

End of Summer Color Inspiration

Goldenrod

Sky and Dark Brown Maple Lea ves

                                      Golden Rod and Drying Milk Weed

Garlic from my Garden Drying

Rose Hips from our Rosa Rugosa plants

                                                                  Maple Leaf

                                                 Carrot Flowers Gone to Seed

Gigantic Amazing Antique Show

This is a picture of the Madison Bouckville Week Long Antique show in New York state along Route 20

On a recent trip to the Finger Lakes we happened upon this amazing event.  It was fun to walk around and see all the cool pieces.  Luckily we did not have our truck with  us.  My only purchase was a very small ball pein hammer which I feel lucky to have found for just $6.00.  Below are some pictures I took with  my phone of a few of the displays.  Next year we will visit and be prepared to transport some treasures.

  

My husband found a long sought after piece for an antique latch for our guest room door at this very large booth of bit and pieces of antiques hardware and more.

Of course this was my favorite booth.  The owner  Cheri Moyer was very friendly and asked me if I was a jeweler when she spotted the small ball pein hammer I had bought.  I was  intrigued by her lovely displays, like the antique rakes she used to display necklaces and the wonderful umbrella she rescued and sewed lace on giving it a Boho Victorian look. See next picture) I would leave a link for her but she only sells out of shows.

Repurposed umbrella.  Love that Victorian look!!

If you live in New York state near Route 20 you are probably there right now.  It goes on through the 16th of August.

Thanks so for stopping by.

Mary

Swamplandia August Selection Inspired by Reading Book Club

                                    

Swamplandia by Karen Russell is the August selection for the Inspired by Reading Book Club.  I read this book when it first came out. I was so engaged by Karen Russel's lyrical prose and lush descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Everglades that the book has remained a favorite of mine. I also found the story of grieving and survival compelling.  The book has been on my mind for some time and a way to capture the book and the setting in jewelry has been as well. So you could say I had a head start on being inspired by this month's selection.
Recently I made a series of toggle clasps inspired by this book and Karen Russel's phrase "A Sawtooth Age."  And since I have begun a series of copper beads on the same theme but they are not far enough along to photograph.

I also blogged about some of  these clasps on ArtBeadScene  Toggle clasps inspired by Swamplandia  and the phrase  "a sawtooth age."  by Karen Russell.

To see what the others made, please check out Andrew Thornton's post for today. And the list of participants below:

Mary K McGraw

Jeanne Steck

Sarajo Wentling

Ann Schroeder

Mary Harding

Alison Herrington

Andrew Thornton, Amy Roadman, Dawn Berkebile, Terri Greenawalt, Laurel Ross, Nancy Noyes-Ward, and Marie D'Onofrio

Art Bead Scene Editors Take The Challenge: July

                                        Still Life with Shells by Balthasar van der Aast  1640

Taking the challenge with the July Art Bead Scene painting, Still Life with Shells, has been a fun opportunity to beach comb like I did as a child, but this time the shells are made of ceramic clay!!  I used a shell I had on hand to help me make my imaginary sea creature homes into wearable beads.  I was inspired by the the yellow, browns and orange in Van der Aast's palette when it came time to add the glazes.
Here is a selection of what I made

                                        Bracelet bar or two hole pendant

                                                     Sea Shell Spiral Pendant

Beachcomber's Pendant

Drops

Charms

Beads

Dancing Sea Creature Pendant

I have added some of these to my Etsy shop.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Mary

Here are the links to all the  participants in the blog hop:
Mary Harding
Claire Lockwood
Michelle Ann McCarthy
Heather Powers