Cape Town, I Miss You

Three weeks from today, I get on a plane bound for Cape Town. While I do enjoy winter and the beautiful scenery the snow creates, the freezing temperatures don’t exactly make me want to leave my apartment.  This i♥CapeTown ring is the result of me being cooped up and counting the days until I arrive in Cape Town.

Table Mountain Ring, Brass, 2014

i♥CapeTown ring, brass, 2014

Table Mountain Ring, Brass, 2014

Feel Good Inc.

Over the past few weeks in jewelry class, my confidence and skill has improved to the point where I am comfortable enough to attempt more complex designs like this one.

Feel Good Inc.

This one is relatively personal: my birthstone is amethyst, half of my father’s family is from the Netherlands – thus the windmill mixed with the lighthouse, and I’ve always wanted to live on an island far, far away from people.  But mostly it was inspired by the floating/flying island in the Gorillaz Feel Good Inc. music video. This one was fun to make.

Feel Good Inc., Amethyst and Silver, 2014

Inspired by the Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc. music video. (Amethyst and Silver)

Feel Good Inc. (back), Amethyst and Silver, 2014

 

Adorn Me

“Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.” – Michael LeBoeuf

One of the perks of having a university teaching position in Korea, is that you have 16 weeks of paid vacation time. I don’t know when in my life I’ll ever have this much time to myself again, so I’m planning to use as much of it as possible to travel or to learn a new skill.

During this past summer vacation I took a 8 week metal/jewelry class at the Daejeon Citizen’s College. I enjoyed it immensely and I’m planning to continue the next term. This is what I’ve made thus far.

Archi Jewels

Cooper Union, Villa Savoye, and Familia Sagrada. (Brass)

Movie Jewels

Casablanca (1942), The Godfather (1972), and North by Northwest (1959). (Copper)

Movie Jewels2

To give you a sense of scale.

Gold Fish (Copper), 2014

Goldfish. (Copper)

Goldfish, Silver, 2014

Goldfish. (Silver)

As my confidence and skill grew, I decided to make a pendant that I had designed when I was in high school. Back then I entered a jewellery competition and won in my category (fantasy). The prise was that the piece would be made and exhibited in the store. At some point the jewellers asked if they could try a new enamel technique, and gave me the option of bright pink or baby blue. Being young and inexperienced at  following through with design intent – I said yes. I should have said no. I learned never to have one’s designs used to experiment on again. Elven years later I acquired the skill to make the pendant as I intended it.

Fantasy, Silver, 2014

Fantasy. (Silver)