New Pierced Settings! "Jagged"

Jagged Turtle Settings
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

I have been working on a new way to set stones. The new "Jagged" collection will premiere at the Fourth Friday gallery opening Friday, January 28th at Port City Pottery. Louise Giordano and I will be the featured artists for February, so we are bringing in all new work. Louise and I will be donating a portion of the proceeds of our work at Port City Pottery for the month of February to the American Heart Association.

Left: Pink Sapphire in Fabricated Sterling Setting
Right: Prehnite in Fabricated Sterling Setting

I hope to see you there next Friday for some wine and cheese on Friday, January 28th from 6-9pm!

Go to my flickr photostream to get a sneak preview of my latest work.

Want to Make a Difference?

I find that after the big holiday rush, I have some time where I reflect about my year's accomplishments. This year was much busier than most years for me and I felt that many of my endeavors did not work out as I had hoped. Also I'm getting older and I have a need inside me to give back to my fellow human. I feel that one of the main reasons we are here in earth is to give back to our fellow humans and to help those in need. And I believe that we only get to keep what we freely give away.

I decided that I would start a team on Kiva (microlending for 3rd world entrepreneurs) and invite all of my fellow metalsmiths to join. You do not need to be in etsy or etsy metal to participate. The smallest loan is $25. I made a donation of $25 to be put with other money to make a loan via paypal. Its super easy to do.

Check out http://www.kiva.org/team/metalsmiths_for_change to see if you would like to join.

So please consider joining if you would like to make a small difference in the world of poverty!

Miniatures at Port City Pottery

milky with miniatures 2
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

Milky, one of our newest additions to the family, is very curious. She was more than happy to sniff the teapot so that I could show scale of my most recent miniatures.

Port City Pottery in the Cotton Exchange in Wilmington, NC is hosting a show on miniatures. All 20 artists are invited to participate. These pieces are some of my contribution to the show.

I hope that you will be by in January to check out the show!

Port City Pottery Hosts a "Miniature" show

New work for Miniature show
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

This January one of my local galleries is doing a show on miniatures. I wanted to do something other than jewelry, so I went with teacups and a goblet. I'm planning on doing some flatware and a teapot too, but I've been slowly recovering from the hustle of the holidays.

Come by the Cotton Exchange to Port City Pottery to see what 20 artists have done for their miniatures! I can't wait.

Secret Santa--Guess Who?

Secret Santa--Guess Who?
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

I have been in love with Shannon Conrad's (aka rubygirl) handcast "Lego" rings for some time! It just so happened that she was my EtsyMetal Secret Santa. I love the flush set stone in the corner. I have had such a wonderful Christmas and this Secret Santa definitely made me smile.

I didn't post earlier because I was such a dork and tried to shove this on my middle finger. (not the finger it was sized for either) I couldn't take pictures because my finger was all red and swollen. I drank lots of water and got my hands cold before I attempted to take it off again two days later. Good thing that I can laugh at how silly I can be....sigh.

I think I have the same level of impulse control as my 4 year old.

EM Secret Santa 2010

EM Secret Santa 2010 010
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

Dear Etsy Metal Secret Santa 2010,

I've been naughty and your Christmas present is shipping late. Instead of a bunch of whiny excuses, I'll post a photo here so that you might see your ring. I'm also terrible with keeping presents secret..... I'm so thrilled to give presents that I want to immediately tell what's inside.

I hope that you have a wonderful and joyful holiday.

Cheers,
Sara

A Stone Setting Story

Passionate Heart Pendant closeup angle 2
Originally uploaded by sarawestermark

Many of you know that my husband Hans has been learning lapidary, which is the art of cutting stones. He has been cutting cabochons--the smooth rounded stones--for about a year and has been faceting stones for about 6 months. He is very anxious for me to set his stones. I have put it off as long as possible. I have not really set many fancy cut gemstones, so I admit that I am a bit intimated. This weekend I decided to tackle them. I have a show coming up this weekend and I figured that I needed lots of bling!

This "morganite" cubic zirconia is cut from a pattern designed by Jeff Graham called "White Asterism". It weighs 12 carats. The pattern boasts 72.6 in light return with a mere 73 facets in 6-fold mirror-image symmetry. (I looked that up on the pattern page.)

Here's what I did:
I used 3 shanks of 16 gauge wire about 3 inches long and then notched them in the middle with a file. I bent them in half and arranged them so that they were equidistant from each other and soldered the center together. Then I gently bent the arms from my 6 sided wire snowflake shape over my "rings" and soldered them to 2 large jumprings--one at a time. (this made a little cage--can't wait to explore that idea too!) All solder was done with hard solder. I trimmed off the centerpiece where they were soldered at the bottom and filed it. Next I cut the top prongs to the correct height. I rounded the prong tips and notched them with a little hand tool made specifically for that purpose.

So far I'm really pleased and feel that I'm finding a definitive style by using these bigger, flashier stones. So my darling Hans, I just ordered you some more rough gemstone. :D