I was thinking about sending a number of you personal invites to this website, but I don't want to be a pain in the you know where, so I'll just tell you what it is to me, and if you want to join, you can.;-) It is a social jewelry site more than a selling place (although you can sell ) and I've met many great people and seen lots of gorgeous work at all skill levels. The tone is always pleasant and people are so friendly and helpful. There are also free tutorials and videos as well as a place to blog, individual groups, such as wire wrapping, chain maille, lapidary, metal clay, and lampworking , a forum to ask questions, share thoughts, and more! I am not affiliated in any way other than being a happy member. So if you're into it, go check it out and, of course, come say hi!! (my user name is ShayStone).

Here's the link: JewelryGeeks

Because I'm the best lemon out there! No? Oh... ummmm....... okay.

In all seriousness (I can be sometimes -truly I can). Kristin gave me this award because she thinks I am one of those who have "a giving and sharing attitude" ...(she can't hear the evil laughter can she?)

Thanks to Kristin Smith at KS Jewellery Designs (check her out!)

For those of you who wonder where the new jewelry is (come on Shay!), I'm posting to let you know that my hands are in the "off" mode right now. They have issues and are on strike from creating at the moment, but believe me, I can't wait to get back to it! Hope you all are having a kick a*s day!
Shay

Oh MY... I saw this today and took about 80 photos of it. I thought it was the most magical, beautiful thing I had seen in a long time (ever?). I am amazed by what happens when light moves through water within colored glass. The source of the water is a watering globe in a plant that I have sitting here by my computer. I looked over and just gasped when I saw it. Here are some more images:
I don't believe the photos can do it justice. As I was leaning over clicking away, the images shifted and morphed as the sun moved along it's path, ever changing in these amazing colors and patterns. I think this last one is quite reminiscent of labradorite. What I can't capture is what it was like to be so up close to it. I felt like I stepped into another world. I'm not sure how long I was taking photos; it could have been 5 minutes or an hour. If I was a better writer, I'd try to take you on the journey with me:)
Oh.. how beautiful!!

Shay

I realized that I don't really have any information here about who I am, so watch out! Here it comes... No really, I only wish it was that exciting. ;-)

My name is Shay (bet you got that already). I'm a 38 yr old woman living with my partner in the mountains of Northern California. Art has always been a part of my life in one way or another. In the past 3-5 years I've been pretty solidly interested in jewelry making, but prior to that I dabbled in photography (my original college major), painting, drawing, framing, coloring (yep I did that way-back-when), pottery, and fimo clay, to name a few. Some of my fonder memories are of making clay beads with my mom, using a pasta roller to squeeze out thin layers of clay, and selling jewelry on the streets of Portland at about age 20. That is, until the police came by to chase us away. I'm sure there are lots of other great memories as a kid, but right now I'm feeling a bit older than 38 and can't remember!

Today, I sell by word-of-mouth, online and at an occasional festival, but I can't say I really enjoy the selling end much. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy if someone falls in love with something I've made, or feels connected to it in some way; that's the ultimate reward. If I could just give it away, that would be even better. I'm a bit too shy and I really like to sit back and watch people interact with what I make, rather than trying to sell it. Although, if someone shows genuine interest in a piece, I love to talk to them about it! I get so much pleasure when someone loves something I've created that it may bring me near tears. It is that connection that I most value. My pieces come from my heart and I get excited when they find good homes.

My focus is on gemstones and sterling silver wire, for the most part. I also love using whatever else I can find in nature -- beach glass, driftwood, shells, horn, bone, etc. I find that my style really varies in what I make. I usually don't start with a specific idea in my head, but rather with whatever materials I am drawn to use. Sometimes this is a few stones or beads or sometimes a piece of wire and my pliers. It's a pretty exciting process to see what develops as I go. I'm also currently trying to develop skills around sketching an idea first. I usually don't stick to the sketch, but it has helped me come up with and keep track of lots of ideas. I always have my camera with me to photograph images that inspire me -- usually a shape, a combination of colors, or something else in nature.

There is so much out there that I want to learn, both in jewelry making and in general. Sometimes I wish I could be living many parallel lives just so I could try taking different paths and see where I would be now in all the different versions.

I adore other artists' work and spend way too much time reading their blogs and web pages! I just love to see how creativity expresses itself differently in each of us. I believe we are all creative in one way or another, whether it's how we arrange our food on our plates, or how we paint a masterpiece. I value the artist in everyone.

This post is about the wonderful artist, Beverly Ash Gilbert, and my explorations of color based on exercises she has written about in her blog. Let me tell you... this woman is a brilliant artist and knows how to use color! Check her out at her blog, beverlygilbert.blogspot.com.
or her web page: gilbert designs.net.
Here is one example of her work... (It's very hard to not show more so you'll just have to go see yourself!


I'm partial to carnelian and amethyst myself so this one just blew me away. (well honestly, they all do.) I can't remember how I even stumbled upon her blog, but I found it a couple of days ago and I've been on a color ride ever since. Woo-hoo!!
If you read her last couple of blog entries, you'll see that she is introducing some color exercises. Beverly has posted 2 steps in a series that she uses in her teaching. The second step has resulted in that image I've shown to the upper left. I began with red and blue magazine bits and then formed the rest around them. I'm astonished at what came of it! The first step was a matter of using just one color in a 10 minute quick exercise. Here's a photo of that one:
I know, my greens look brown, but at the moment I decided they were green-brown and she encouraged us not to think about it too much! lol... The first exercise is about understanding different value differences in color, as well as using the right side of the brain and not "over thinking" (my words) it. I was happy to find that I had no problem about whether my greens were really "green" at the time (as we can see!). I even had no problem when it came to making a big "blob" and not trying to make it pretty. I was actually amazed that it wasn't difficult for me because I'm pretty heavy on the perfectionist side of things (a blessing and a curse I'd say). The part that was challenging to me was that I ran out of time before I got all of my pieces glued on! And being the honest type that I am, I'll admit it... I was bad. I took an extra 30 seconds to glue those babies on! Bad Shay... (I'll try to do a real 10 minutes again soon -- promise!)

So, step one was the one-color, 10 minute blob. Step two is about color transitions. We are told to start with two color blobs on opposite corners of our gluing surface (a piece of cardstock for me) and rip out colors that will transition from one color to the other (adding in an additional color between the two if that worked best) . In my piece, I started with blue and red. I intentionally did not look much at her example because I wanted to be sure to do my own without outside influence. Before I started I was sure to see if there was a time limit on this one. No limit. Now, when I look at my final piece and think about how long it took me to do it (2 hours?) I laugh out loud at myself. I look at Beverly's versus mine and she made the transition in quite a few steps less (pieces) than me. Of course, this was my perfectionist self trying to find the exact right blend. I wouldn't have even thought it possible to do it in fewer steps as she had done. Her is hers on the left and mine on the right: I did the whole rainbow without realizing it!


LOL.. still laughing at myself. I know there is no "right" way to do it, but of course I would make it more time consuming than need be! It was a great project and I can't wait to see what the next step is!
In a post soon to follow , I'm going to show a photo montage that I've created based on the first step.
Fun!