This was created with a sea urchin shell and amethyst cubic zirconia.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
My Latest Creation in Metal Clay
This was created with a sea urchin shell and amethyst cubic zirconia.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
England Part One
Blogging is not my forte. I would rather do many other things than write...such as visiting with friends, sampling local cuisine, finding amazing chocolate, and acquiring new skills in jewelry making. So, that is what I did for four weeks in England. I arrived in London on July 11. After checking into my hotel and taking a very short nap, I went exploring. I was staying in the "jewellery" district of London and thought I should take a look around. I found my way to the Orange cell phone store to pick up a local phone. I also found out I could not get a SIM card for my iPad without a local address. Oh well. On the way back to my hotel, I twisted my foot while crossing the street. It hurt, but I could walk. Four weeks later after arriving home, I learned that it was a slight fracture instead of a sprain. So I am now sporting a lovely boot!
The next day I began my summer of learning at the London Jewellery School. I took a class with Chu-Mei Ho http://www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/metal-clay/metal-clay-paper-clay-class/ I had experimented with the paper clay a little, but really wanted to learn the technique of origami. It is harder to manipulate the paper clay than traditional origami paper. It was totally worth taking this class. I now feel much more confident in working with the paper clay.
My husband, Todd arrived from Germany that evening and we headed up to the Lake District with our friend Val the next day. We had been to the lake district 25 years ago and have always wanted to go back. We went sightseeing everyday and enjoyed Lake Windermere and many other lovely sights. These included a Beatrix Potter Museum, seeing the latest Harry Potter Movie, a short hike to a lovely waterfall, and a visit to the Carnforth Train Station where the 1940s movie "Brief Encounter" was filmed. We also enjoyed an outdoor production of "Merlin and the Legend of King Arthur" at Williamson Park, in Lancaster. The trip was topped off with a trip to the Preston LDS Temple in Chorley, England on Saturday.
Sunday afternoon we headed back to London. On Monday, Todd flew back to Germany for a few days, Val went to meet her sister for a day of sight seeing, and I headed off to my Soldering Masterclass with Elizabeth Bone: http://londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/silver-jewellery/soldering-masterclass/
I saw a taxi outside the hotel and stepped off the curb without looking...to find myself sprawled on the drive in front of the hotel with a new injury. I had sprained my left ankle so badly, I could not put my foot down. On the upside, I could feel no pain in my right foot anymore. I hobbled on my toes to the taxi and somehow made it to class. Fortunately we sat most of the time. After class, I took a taxi to Harrods to meet Val and her sister, Elizabeth. We met in the chocolate room of the Food Hall where you can find many of your favorite European chocolates in one place. After that we went to a favorite cafe for a lovely salmon dinner. It was raining buckets when left the cafe, so everyone wanted a cab. Val finally ran down the street to catch one before it got to the crowd at Harrods. After returning to the hotel, Val helped me ice the foot and then I took a warm bath. The next morning I could put my foot down flat. Val and I headed to Paddington Station for our train to Cornwall.
The next day I began my summer of learning at the London Jewellery School. I took a class with Chu-Mei Ho http://www.londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/metal-clay/metal-clay-paper-clay-class/ I had experimented with the paper clay a little, but really wanted to learn the technique of origami. It is harder to manipulate the paper clay than traditional origami paper. It was totally worth taking this class. I now feel much more confident in working with the paper clay.
My husband, Todd arrived from Germany that evening and we headed up to the Lake District with our friend Val the next day. We had been to the lake district 25 years ago and have always wanted to go back. We went sightseeing everyday and enjoyed Lake Windermere and many other lovely sights. These included a Beatrix Potter Museum, seeing the latest Harry Potter Movie, a short hike to a lovely waterfall, and a visit to the Carnforth Train Station where the 1940s movie "Brief Encounter" was filmed. We also enjoyed an outdoor production of "Merlin and the Legend of King Arthur" at Williamson Park, in Lancaster. The trip was topped off with a trip to the Preston LDS Temple in Chorley, England on Saturday.
Sunday afternoon we headed back to London. On Monday, Todd flew back to Germany for a few days, Val went to meet her sister for a day of sight seeing, and I headed off to my Soldering Masterclass with Elizabeth Bone: http://londonjewelleryschool.co.uk/silver-jewellery/soldering-masterclass/
I saw a taxi outside the hotel and stepped off the curb without looking...to find myself sprawled on the drive in front of the hotel with a new injury. I had sprained my left ankle so badly, I could not put my foot down. On the upside, I could feel no pain in my right foot anymore. I hobbled on my toes to the taxi and somehow made it to class. Fortunately we sat most of the time. After class, I took a taxi to Harrods to meet Val and her sister, Elizabeth. We met in the chocolate room of the Food Hall where you can find many of your favorite European chocolates in one place. After that we went to a favorite cafe for a lovely salmon dinner. It was raining buckets when left the cafe, so everyone wanted a cab. Val finally ran down the street to catch one before it got to the crowd at Harrods. After returning to the hotel, Val helped me ice the foot and then I took a warm bath. The next morning I could put my foot down flat. Val and I headed to Paddington Station for our train to Cornwall.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
England Here I Come!
Tomorrow I am off to England to visit with our friend Val and take a few more Jewellery courses. What a perfect combination. I will try and post more frequently while over there to share my adventures.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Spring Time Creations
We have been busy since Christmas getting our new creations ready for Etsy. You can find our new store at: http://beadsjustforyou.etsy.com
Ami has already begun listing a few of our designs. We plan to have a bountiful selection online by May 1st. You can still find photos of our Jewelry at www.beadsjustforyou.com
I have also developed a line of Autism Awareness Jewelry. Three of the designs were created from drawings by students with autism from Tempe High School. Half of the profits from this line will be donated to SHADES which stands for Students Helping Access Doors Educationally & Socially. You can read more about this program on Jennifer Laurence's home page http://staff.tuhsd.k12.az.us/jlaurence/Room_D110_Online/Home.html
I plan to head north soon to find new maple leaves for my precious metal clay designs. Please look for some new leafy creations later in May.
Ami has already begun listing a few of our designs. We plan to have a bountiful selection online by May 1st. You can still find photos of our Jewelry at www.beadsjustforyou.com
I have also developed a line of Autism Awareness Jewelry. Three of the designs were created from drawings by students with autism from Tempe High School. Half of the profits from this line will be donated to SHADES which stands for Students Helping Access Doors Educationally & Socially. You can read more about this program on Jennifer Laurence's home page http://staff.tuhsd.k12.az.us/jlaurence/Room_D110_Online/Home.html
I plan to head north soon to find new maple leaves for my precious metal clay designs. Please look for some new leafy creations later in May.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Kathleen's Summer Creations
The summer of 2010 has taken me on the most amazing journey. I grew up believing that although there were many artistically talented people in my family, my talents lied elsewhere. That was until I found my medium, precious metal clay.
I first learned about PMC in May 2009. While traveling in England, I found a simply elegant strand of pearls with a beautiful heart pendant and matching earrings at Vinegar Hill, a boutique in Bath, England. I purchased the set with the hope of finding out how the artist had created such texture in the silver. I found the answer in a beading magazine I purchased while in England. It was made from precious metal clay! An online search led me to the PMC Guild. I took my first class in August 2009, and the rest is history. The International PMC Conference, held at Purdue University, was the high point of my summer of learning. There I was able to meet many of the people I have read about and done business with. I also reconnected with all of my previous PMC instructors. PMC Connection offered many pre-conference classes. I chose three:Level I PMC Certification – Ruth Greening, Pine Needle Casting – Sharon Gillespie, and Figure Sculpture – Vera Lightstone.
I learned so many new things from these classes, that there is not enough time to do them all. I met many new friends, including Mia Zoll, who took me under her wing and shared her knowledge, contacts, and experience. She lives across the country in Florida, but we plan to keep in touch and share our jewelry making experiences. Mia also makes beautiful glass beads.
The PMC Conference was beyond my expectations! I learned more in a few days than I would have in a year. I met many talented artists who work in this medium and hope to take classes from them in the future. I also purchased several pieces of art to wear from renowned precious metal clay artists.
My summer of learning has not ended. I am traveling to Cornwall, England at the end of August to visit with our friend Val Hawkins. While in England, I plan to work on new creations and reconnect with a few of the artists I met at the PMC Conference. I would also love to meet the creator of the elegant necklace that inspired me to try precious metal clay.
Kathleen
I first learned about PMC in May 2009. While traveling in England, I found a simply elegant strand of pearls with a beautiful heart pendant and matching earrings at Vinegar Hill, a boutique in Bath, England. I purchased the set with the hope of finding out how the artist had created such texture in the silver. I found the answer in a beading magazine I purchased while in England. It was made from precious metal clay! An online search led me to the PMC Guild. I took my first class in August 2009, and the rest is history. The International PMC Conference, held at Purdue University, was the high point of my summer of learning. There I was able to meet many of the people I have read about and done business with. I also reconnected with all of my previous PMC instructors. PMC Connection offered many pre-conference classes. I chose three:Level I PMC Certification – Ruth Greening, Pine Needle Casting – Sharon Gillespie, and Figure Sculpture – Vera Lightstone.
I learned so many new things from these classes, that there is not enough time to do them all. I met many new friends, including Mia Zoll, who took me under her wing and shared her knowledge, contacts, and experience. She lives across the country in Florida, but we plan to keep in touch and share our jewelry making experiences. Mia also makes beautiful glass beads.
The PMC Conference was beyond my expectations! I learned more in a few days than I would have in a year. I met many talented artists who work in this medium and hope to take classes from them in the future. I also purchased several pieces of art to wear from renowned precious metal clay artists.
My summer of learning has not ended. I am traveling to Cornwall, England at the end of August to visit with our friend Val Hawkins. While in England, I plan to work on new creations and reconnect with a few of the artists I met at the PMC Conference. I would also love to meet the creator of the elegant necklace that inspired me to try precious metal clay.
Kathleen
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Imagine a Happier You
I found a new website today I would like to share with our viewers. I have posted links to the website and their news feed at the bottom of this page. Please click on the link and check out what they have to offer. It could change your life. I have included a short excerpt from Imagine a Happier You:
"Imagine A Happier You is an initiative created to help women achieve financial freedom through an engaging and interactive campaign. It is called Imagine A Happier You because its creators would like women to visualize certain financial scenarios that could be positive or negative depending on the preparation behind it (e.g. Imagine if you couldn’t take your grandchildren out of ice cream, Imagine if you could..Imagine A Happier You)."
Retrieved July 8, 2010 from http://imagineahappieryou.com/about
From this blog I learned about the Smart Women Smart Money Conference sponsored by Zions Bank in Salt Lake City. It will be held on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. For more information check out this website:
https://www.zionsbank.com/womens_finance.jsp?cid=3557
Have a wonderful day!
Kathleen Skinner
Saturday, May 29, 2010
A piggyback update
So Kathleen rocks for updating the blog. I was, indeed, occupied with my nearly obsessive compulsion to have everything clean and orderly before our third baby, Simon, arrived.
He was born a week and a half ago and my nesting instincts have subsided...completely. I don't want to hang a picture or clean a dish or do any more laundry than is necessary, though I seem to be doing those last two tasks much more frequently than I did pre-baby. Nonetheless, Simon is sleeping, my other kids are swimming at a neighbor's with my husband and my sink is not full of dishes at the moment. So, I am sitting at the computer for a few minutes and attempting to fulfill my obligation as blogger.
As Kathleen noted, she is off to Utah to hang out with her family and feed her muse. She took her little kiln, a bunch of clay, and abundant supplies to work on jewelry for the month of June. She plans to sit on her sister's back porch and soak up the gorgeous Utah summer. We are all a little jealous as we sit here and watch the thermometer creep up into the 100s.
Lynn is feeling the emotional and physical fatigue of breast cancer, but she is ever optimistic. She has informed us that she is soon to schedule her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in the next month or so. And she has an Edward t-shirt all ready to wear to show case her new rack.
Incidentally, she loves her doctor and knows he is absolutely the right person to treat her. He told her this last week that the two lumps they found on the right side were 8 mm and 5 mm respectively (I think I'm remembering the sizes correctly).
And Lynn's response?
"Oh, they're beads."
The doctor looked at her, puzzled. And her daughter, who had accompanied her to the appointment explained, "My mom is a bead artist. She creates all kinds of things with beads, so when you're talking in millimeters, it totally computes."
This is so Lynnie! She's going to be the spokes woman for early detection and regular mammograms. We are cheering her on and are confident that she's going to pull through this with flying colors.
Ami has designed the most beautiful business cards. I'm pretty certain that I have made mention of this before, but I can't help saying it again. They are beautiful! (And so is the soon-to-be-launched website.) About a month ago Ami was sitting near me at an event and she turned her head with a huge smile on her face and whipped her arm towards me with a chocolate colored card grasped in her fingers. I snatched it and proceeded to ooohhh and aaaahhh.
Seriously, they are gorgeous!
I think everyone else has her business cards except me. And this is because I'm still not sure what I should put on them as "irregular blogger" or "defunct blogger" doesn't sound entirely professional.
Any suggestions?
He was born a week and a half ago and my nesting instincts have subsided...completely. I don't want to hang a picture or clean a dish or do any more laundry than is necessary, though I seem to be doing those last two tasks much more frequently than I did pre-baby. Nonetheless, Simon is sleeping, my other kids are swimming at a neighbor's with my husband and my sink is not full of dishes at the moment. So, I am sitting at the computer for a few minutes and attempting to fulfill my obligation as blogger.
As Kathleen noted, she is off to Utah to hang out with her family and feed her muse. She took her little kiln, a bunch of clay, and abundant supplies to work on jewelry for the month of June. She plans to sit on her sister's back porch and soak up the gorgeous Utah summer. We are all a little jealous as we sit here and watch the thermometer creep up into the 100s.
Lynn is feeling the emotional and physical fatigue of breast cancer, but she is ever optimistic. She has informed us that she is soon to schedule her double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in the next month or so. And she has an Edward t-shirt all ready to wear to show case her new rack.
Incidentally, she loves her doctor and knows he is absolutely the right person to treat her. He told her this last week that the two lumps they found on the right side were 8 mm and 5 mm respectively (I think I'm remembering the sizes correctly).
And Lynn's response?
"Oh, they're beads."
The doctor looked at her, puzzled. And her daughter, who had accompanied her to the appointment explained, "My mom is a bead artist. She creates all kinds of things with beads, so when you're talking in millimeters, it totally computes."
This is so Lynnie! She's going to be the spokes woman for early detection and regular mammograms. We are cheering her on and are confident that she's going to pull through this with flying colors.
Ami has designed the most beautiful business cards. I'm pretty certain that I have made mention of this before, but I can't help saying it again. They are beautiful! (And so is the soon-to-be-launched website.) About a month ago Ami was sitting near me at an event and she turned her head with a huge smile on her face and whipped her arm towards me with a chocolate colored card grasped in her fingers. I snatched it and proceeded to ooohhh and aaaahhh.
Seriously, they are gorgeous!
I think everyone else has her business cards except me. And this is because I'm still not sure what I should put on them as "irregular blogger" or "defunct blogger" doesn't sound entirely professional.
Any suggestions?
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