This has to be one of the coolest features- not just because it is about my art, but because well, as some of you may be aware of, I was a bit of an alternative sort of Ninja back in a different life time. But more on that another time….I’m in a bit of a rush as the witching hour is upon us and nobody has had a complete meltdown just yet but I think I must go spread some merriment and delegate.
Check it out! Fantastic blog!
the :ninja blogs!: Series – Ninjas of their Crafts.
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Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek
Peace, love, health, happiness, laughter and prosperity of every good kind in 2009 and beyond…
xo
B
(photo is of my heart pendant, as a pin….Eventually I will have one of these in my shop…)
Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek
These were my first vintage plastic purchase.
These little vintage catalin/Bakelite cabs are why I stopped beading and started hammering and melting.
I bought these, early last year, from a seller on eBay… The purchase was the ultimate decadence to me then. And I had plans . I was going to set the little cabs in silver bezels that I had found when experimenting with PMC3/Metal Clay…Easy enough.
When they arrived I found that vintage catalin/Bakelite is not a precisely calibrated material. Each piece was just different enough that the die formed bezels, that came with my little PMC starter kit, were of absolutely no use.
So I put them aside.
I melted my first PMC piece. Purely by accident. I was captivated by the mirror shimmy that the liquid silver danced under the flame of my little butane kitchen torch.
I had some wire, so I melted that too. I must have melted a hundred little balls on my soldering block. My husband sat with me and watched while I teased the metal into perfect little orbs and tiny kisses on the ends of wire.
A brief search of the online card catalog for our county revealed a few books on the topics of silversmithing and metalsmithing. Some of them were fairly new, most of them were long out of print and some even rare. I had my husband borrow one for me and I read. I didn’t understand a word of McCreight’s Complete Metalsmith so I found a book by Jinks McGrath that offered a nice cross-section of information- it assumed little-to-no knowledge of metalwork and tools and provided many photographs.
And then I got to work making bezels, and I haven’t stopped since….
Originally uploaded by CleverGirlBek
Rascal, the ring…
Very, very old Bakelite (older than vintage, younger than antique, by definition)…
Had some scotties and some ring blanks and went to town….
Available in my little shop on the internet superhighway… or zip me a message for more information…
Always Be Clever…
xo
B
ps. I have that song stuck in my head (You Rascal You)…Boyo is forever on a Louis kick (lots of Armstrong and Prima)…Glad he is more into the tune than the lyrics…Yikes! I have to give this another listen! Not the nicest song in the world…But oh so catchy…Perhaps I’ll swap it out on his song mixes with The Music Goes Round and Round!
Finding old friends again, albeit too late… And curating my mind.
Do you remember the film “Crazy People”, in which Dudley Moore’s character brings refreshing truth to advertising? It’s hilarious. My internal editor left me a post-it about needing a break from trying to keep up with the pace of my brain and the demand by my heart and soul, in any conversation, any debate, to […]
Taking back Valentine’s Day.
Originally posted on Handbasket Airlines:
OK, so a lot of my Republican friends on Facebook are posting about how liberals need to stop whining now that the election is over. They can’t understand why we’re doing all this moaning and wailing when they had to go through the same thing eight years ago. I’m not…
Stop all the clocks Cut off progress.
Forget equality, this is a big fucking mess.
CleverGirl on Etsy
The Happy Aspie
Accidental Thong 