Be clever.

Be clever.Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBekNew boxes…. Gocco’d them last night… The faux bois came out pretty spotty on the words “be clever”… I wound up writing over the words with a pen to match the imprint on the side of the box with my web addy and eureka…. worked….A little different from my last ones, but if you know me then you know that my obsession with the representation of natural things using manmade materials runs deep…. So I have faux bois. fake paper grass, and my packages come lovingly sealed with a plastic grass sticker…. Good stuff.

This and that and Industrial Sunshine.

CitronOriginally uploaded by CleverGirlBek Eeep. None of my format is keeping…. So this looks like it came straight from my brain! (I’m the queen of the run-on… I had a prof in college tell me I was “comma-tose”….) Sorry :-)  My love of juxtaposing opposites is endless….Even when the differences are more subtle or cerebral…I love mixing natural and manmade materials (silver and plastics)…. Different textures…. Different colors and shades…. Old and new…. Most of my pieces have a marriage of opposites – it’s part of who I am and has always been a part of my art… I would say that less than a handfull of my pieces that have this dynamic were intentional at the get-go… Often the details that comprise the contrasts, are only revealed to me at the very end or close to the end. On occasion, I’ll have a piece that is technically finished but I’m not getting that giddy, goofy jumble of excitement fluttering around my belly. That lack of feeling is a sure sign that a piece is not done. Around a quarter of my more intensive pieces (those that demand bezel settings and handmade chain) are put in a tin to await additional inspiration….There’s no rush. These are typically not custom or made to order pieces.These are typically new designs and they just need a little push from me… I like to explore and I love the way this scenario works my brain. I also like to follow my pieces wherever they want to take me during “the build”… Often I’ll have a satin, semi-satin, brushed, or completely matte finish in mind when working on a piece but when I get to that point my gut pushes me on- I want to make sure I’ve made the best creative choice for a piece- so most piece in the finishes I’ve mentioned above have actually been brought to that finish and then painstakingly finished to a mirror shine- which for me acts as a blank canvas for whatever final finish I come to… I apply the tiny scratches and rub with sandpaper a little bit at a time- like a painter laying paint and pushing it around a canvas… The picture here is of my Citron earrings- which I also make in other colors…. This is one of those pieces of contrast- matte and shiny, light and dark, sunny and cloudy… A little industrial sunshine for all of you….This style is near and dear to my heart because it required a whole bunch of problem solving…The problem? How to make sterling silver chain where one link was glass and not have the glass shatter or become weak from thermal shock on the way up (torch soldering) or the way down (just cooling) without a kiln…. Hmmmm….Sure I could have just left the rings open- even a paper thin gap in the ring closures would have held the glass ring secure, but that would have been too easy… I’m in this to learn, to explore, so I pressed on…Tried a few different ideas (top secret, of course) and finally a durable answer (durable in regular wear…the yellow rings are glass after all…a sharp smack onto a marble floor is not considered regular wear…although I did drop my pair on tile and they were fine)…And I think the look is pretty fantastic… Links of hammered sterling silver (in a heavier gauge than usual- your lobes won’t notice the extra weight- it’s more visual than anything…Wires are still standard gauge) with a link of fabulous glass (yellow! green! cobalt! a milky carnelian that is just fabulous! gray! black!)…. Ok. Enough of my babble for today… Going to run to the store for some mini-ravioli’s for boy’s dinner…. (I put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, heat it a little bit, and then gently slide in some frozen mini raviolis (mini- seriously less than 1cm square) -carefully so there is no splatter…. then cook until they start to brown/toast….let cool slightly…. mmmm. yummy. it’s pretty much the one food boy requests aside from chocolate milk…) Oh and there are a few new pieces in the shop  Happy Friday!B 

CleverGirl and the Destruction of the Toy.

This post may be in multiple fonts.  I’m having a technologically moronic day. It happens on occasion….

 

Anyway, here we go…

 

Boy was given a fabulous electronic horn/kazoo hybrid by his uncle for Christmas. And it broke within a couple of days after arriving.  So I emailed the company…. Anyone who knows Alex knows that music is his life.  Ok, it’s a young life, but every day is filled with music- either his appreciation of (and trying to educate me on the finer points of Bach, Beethoven, and my favorite, Dan Zanes) or performing as he follows me around the house or plays along with his favorites… I’ve always dreamed of having my own Pips to follow me around and back me up in everyday situations… For now I have my own personal wandering minstrel, which is a fine, strong start. 

 

So Boy has been pretty distressed about the demise of this most curious instrument….

 

Anyway, finally received an email back with instructions on how to obtain a replacement…. 

 

“If the unit is no longer working. The unit need tobe deliberately destroyed. Showing proof that the unit is no longer workingby via e-mail.” So we have to destroy the toy (referred to here as unit) DELIBERATELY and show proof.  Maybe I’m reading it in the wrong tone- because the toy is already broken, just not visibly (the sound doesn’t work…not really going to show up in the photo and I don’t have the technology here to do the whole youtube thing with this….)… But I feel like I have a mission.  I feel like I have been given the ultimate challenge.  I feel like I should call up the boys from Mythbusters to have a go at this because they have some really cool toys of their own that could take out this Kazoozamaphone or whatever the heck it is called….  Of course, being a goofball with the heart of a prankster who happens to love photography this has my brain swarming with possibilities…. I’ll post the photos here once the job is done. Gotta go drink some coffee and survey my instruments of toy destruction. (of course this destruction must be completed, photographed, and disposed of while boy is at school…. there wouldn’t be enough hours of therapy in the world to help him if he saw what we have to do to his innocent toy.)  (note: despite mentioning it was a gift in my emails they require, if a toy can’t be returned to the place of purchase, a sales receipt- which I do not have because that’s traditionally not how the whole “sending a gift to the nephew who is 4 and like pretty much everything” thing works…. Still waiting to hear back on that)   *hugs*CleverGirl  

Miss Parker and the learning curve

Miss ParkerOriginally uploaded by CleverGirlBekOk.First of all…Voila. Vintage glass pistols on a pink backdrop, set in silver by yours truly…I had a bit of an obsession with the film Bonnie & Clyde for some time (around the same time as my The Graduate obsession…still love both but I’m focusing on other things and I’m not searching for a film history topic these days)…. So I named this after Miss Bonnie Parker… Although Dorothy Parker possibly could have appreciated this…I have only done a few of this rounded rectangle shape in my metal career…This is, by far, I feel the best um execution thus far… The rounded rectangle is surprisingly, more of a learning experience than I ever would have anticipated…. Truthfully? When a project doesn’t go the way I really want it to go and become a happy accident- when I’m not 120% excited about the final piece, or even sometimes I’ll become disenchanted whilst putting on the finishing touches, it has almost always been my experience with the dread rounded rectangle … But no more. I will not waste another moment on procrastination of jumping on the rounded rectangle horse once more. I figured out the final detail – the key- and I hope I am not jinxing myself here by saying that my future attempts at rounded rectangles shall be triumphant! (cue victory music… maybe “we will rock you”….hmmmm).So here it is…And out it shipped this morning…. I will, of course, be making another one (possible another 2) in the future….So keep your eyes peeled, there may be more of this general shape in my shop soon! Woohoo!

Heart Attack.

Heart Cascade.

Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek

Remember way back when I vowed to stop using any metal parts that I could make myself? (the only ones I’m buying ready made are smaller link bulk sterling silver chain…the big link ones I make myself….Also lobster clasps are purchased)…

Well, found this heart I bought a year ago…Before I started exploring metal forming a little more seriously…

So I had to use it…With happy little burnt orangey red vintage glass hearts and leftover chain bits…And then of course I had to play with the once bright and shiny finish on the heart to make it a little more “me”…

Anyway- one of MagicJelly’s creations inspired me to add the little hearts in a spray at the bottom of the big heart….

Here’s MagicJelly’s inspirational (and fabulous as a v-day or any-day) print:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8743973