Starry Road Studio

The Hare

2012-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

A pendant I created nearly a year ago made it's way into a gorgeous necklace by Denise Yezbak Moore, featured in the current issue of Stringing Magazine. I love using vintage illustrations in my work - I plan to make more of these for some Spring offerings.

Art Heart Beads - Sneak Preview

2012-02-09T17:46:00.000-08:00

I have a smattering of new heart beads from my latest firing in my shop for your viewing pleasure (one of my new favs is that delicious aqua crackle glaze!). Look for more of these in the coming weeks, in other yummy spring and summer colors.

And if you want to try a cool project with an Art Heart Bead, check out Shannon LeVart's blog post : Art Heart Bangle.

Enjoy!

Friday Night Kiln Unloading

2012-02-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

Lots of hoops, links and beads, including tube beads, heart beads, whales, fishes and birds... all in spring / summer palette.

Kristi Bowman Shop Hop

2012-02-04T06:43:00.000-08:00

Kristi Bowman Copper Component Blog Hop!!
I had planned to participate in this awesome hop, but couldn't get my bracelet done in time. But head on over to these other blogs to see the AWESOME jewelry everyone made using Kristi's copper components!

Kristi Bowman Design http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/

Jean Wells http://jeanawells.blogspot.com/

Melinda Orr http://orrtec.blogspot.com/

Sue Kennedy http://suebeads.blogspot.com/

Shannon Chomanczuk http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/

Pam Brisse http://bluebetween.blogspot.com/

Melissa Cable http://createrecklessly.blogspot.com/

Cindy Wimmer http://www.sweetbeadstudio.com/

Mary Harding http://maryhardingjewelrybeadblog.blogspot.com/

Jan Molten Mayhem http://moltenmayhem.typepad.com/molten-mayhem/

Linda Landig http://lindasbeadblog.com/

Kristi Harrison http://kristibasket-itsanewday.blogspot.com/

Kimberly Sturrup http://bahamadawn.blogspot.com/

Sally Russick http://thestudiosublime.com/

Textiles and Leather!

2012-01-29T10:35:00.000-08:00

Barabara's Giveaway got me looking at what Modern Fabrics has to offer. Oh. My. Goodness! Beautiful designer textiles - these are top of the industry. I know because back in my youth as an architectural designer I used to specify some of these for many of the projects I worked on (Knoll, Bernhardt, Unika Vaev, Maharam...the list is goes on!). This has me thinking about all sorts of fantastic ideas for jewelry.

Floridity Giveaway!

2012-01-29T10:14:00.000-08:00

Barbara Bechtel is celebrating her 3rd Anniversary on Etsy by hosting a fantastic giveaway. This is not to be missed - check it out at Second Surf.

Early Explorations in Copper Clay

2012-01-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got to try copper clay. Took 3 firings in my little Paragon Caldera Kiln to produce reasonable results. Still some bugs to work out (mainly in areas where cracking occurred), but for the most part its pretty easy to handle: works much like porcelain only spongier and stickier. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it is MUCH easier to work in the leather-hard stage than traditional clay. You can sand it, drill it, etc. - it's very sturdy and tough, unlike traditional clay which is much more likely to crumble or break.

Gifty Stuff...

2011-12-22T02:15:00.000-08:00

This was my first time participating in the Oh Hello gift swap and omigosh, when I learned that my gift partner was Lorelei Eurto, I could hardly wait to see what would arrive in the mail! I received her package late in the day on Tuesday - too late (dark) to photograph (and I PROMISED myself that I would take pictures)....

...holy cow I could barely contain myself but I managed to resist busting open the package until the next day...

Then.... what is that expression I see everyone using these days (?) ... oh yeah: "SQUEEE!!!"

I always thought that was so silly (I'm way too mature for that) ... until I opened the box...

I instantly fell in love - palette, textures, everything - just beautiful! I am thrilled to pieces!!!!

Every detail exquisite - I truly feel like this necklace was made for me (oh yeah, it WAS!): my love of owls, the woodland-mixed-with-shoreline theme (missy L was aware that that I really liked owls, but how on earth did she know of my love for beach pebbles ?! - that was NOT in the mini bio I submitted for the gift swap!)...

These stones remind me of my girlhood days along the shores of Lake Superior - where I would often collect little smooth stones very much like these...

....so, in addition to being a brilliant jewelry designer, missy L is also a mind-reader!

In every respect, this suits me to a "T" and I cannot wait to show it off!

Thank you Lorelei!

Hmm...it occurred to me (after I opened my gift) that maybe we were supposed to wait until Christmas day (oops) - but since I will be traveling over the holiday weekend, I figured I SHOULD open it ahead of our departure. Yup - I'm going with that.

Holiday Plans

2011-12-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

I will be closing shop for vacation starting Dec. 21 (midnight Tuesday night Dec 20). Any orders must be placed by 9 PM DECEMBER 19 - Final shipments via Priority Mail on December 20. I will re-open on January 3, 2012. Have a safe and wonderful holiday!

Sparrow Salvage Needs Our Help

2011-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Sparrow Salvage had suffered a terrible car accident in which she lost her mother. She herself is in the hospital recovering. Needless to say, there is no income coming in. Please help in any way you can. The link below will go to her blog with a link to enter a raffle with proceeds going to help Sparrow:

http://fancifuldevices.blogspot.com/2011/12/raffle-fundraiser_15.html

Artists Helping Artists Auction - Winner!

2011-12-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

We have a winner - Jennifer Cameron. I was also pleasantly surprised when the runner-up Sandi Volpe contacted me and offered a donation! Thank you BOTH so much for your generous contributions! Thank you ALL for joining in on the bidding - your participation is so much appreciated! :)

Artists Helping Artists Auction

2011-12-08T01:06:00.000-08:00

Artists Helping Artists Auction

Several artists in the blog community have decided to band together to help a fellow artist in need. This is someone who due to an emergency situation requires immediate financial assistance. All participating artists have agreed to keep the identity of the artist-in-need completely confidential and private. I have personally given a monetary donation and would now like to extend the ability to help to you.

Now that I've explained a little background, here's how we are hoping to help. Each artist is contributing a work of their own to a silent auction.

For my part, I am offering my handmade Sky Blue Stoneware Bowl FILLED with a MYSTERY GRAB BAG of Starry Road Studio components! The components will include at least 12 - 15 components including an assortment of beads, leaf charms, star and flower links, at least 1 gear link, 1 pendant, and 1 bracelet focal.

I will start the bidding at $21. This is far less than the retail value of these items.

Would you like to be the winning bidder?

Please leave a comment along with your bid. If you are the winning bidder, you will receive an invoice after the close of the auction. There must be a way to contact you. If you have email preferences turned off in your profile, please leave your email.

Bidding will be open from Thursday December 8 - Sunday December at midnight.

Many people are auctioning items to help out! Please visit these the other artists below and place your bid! Feel free to return and bid again! Happy bidding!

List of participating artists:

Heidi Post

Marie Cramp & Lori Anderson

Barbara Bechtel & Staci Louise Smith
Erin Fickert-Rowland

Amanda Cargill Austin

Janice Everett

Rebecca Anderson

Shannon Iko Chomanczuk

Jennifer Justman

Erin Prais-Hintz
Erin Seigel
Love my Art Jewelry

Kerry Bogart
Courtney Breul
Patricia Gasparino
Love My Art Jewelry
Art Bead Scene Blog

Heidi Post: http://expostfactojewelry.blogspot.com/
Marie Cramp & Lori Anderson: http://skyejewels.blogspot.com/
Barbara Bechtel & Staci Louise Smith: http://secondsurf.com/
Erin Fickert-Rowland: http://elysianstudiosart.com/
Keirsten Giles and Susan Fincher: http://www.cerebraldilettante.blogspot.com/
Andrew Thornton: http://andrew-thornton.blogspot.com/
Kristi Bowman-Gruel: http://dreamsomedesigns.blogspot.com/
Nan Emmett: http://spiritrattles.blogspot.com/
Maire Dodd: http://mairedodd.blogspot.com/
Amanda Cargill Austin: http://www.seashoreglassgirl.com/
Janice Everett: http://jlynnjewels.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Anderson: http://songbeads.blogspot.com/
Shannon Iko Chomanczuk: http://formysweetdaughter.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Justman: http://soulsfiredesigns.blogspot.com/
Erin Prais-Hintz: http://treasures-found.blogspot.com
Erin Seigal: http://erinsiegeljewelry.blogspot.com/
Kerry Bogart: http://kabsconcepts.blogspot.com/
Courtney Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com/
Patrica Gasparino: http://www.mylifeunderthebus.typepad.com/
Love My Art Jewelry: http://lovemyartjewelry.blogspot.com/2011/12/5-huge-giveaway.html
Art Bead Scene Blog: http://artbeadscene.blogspot.com/2011/12/aritists-helping-artists-auction.html

Love My Art Jewelry: The Art Bead Love Tour

2011-12-07T00:30:00.000-08:00

The Art Bead Love Tour and Giveaway

The Art Bead Love Tour started by the folks at Love My Art Jewelry, as an ongoing project to spread the love of handmade to new and exciting places. It’s a way to reach people who may have never stumbled upon the LMAJ blog, and give them a chance to share the love of handmade. They chose to use a chain to link beads as a symbol of how this project links us all together ~ in our unity to stand behind handmade.

If you want to join the fun, click the link above and head over to Lorelei Eurto's blog for details and how to enter (Lorelei is the current participant / keeper of the chain).

The Love My Art Jewelry group has filled one and a half feet of chain with handmade beads, charms and pendants, donated by their own Love My Art Jewelry Group and by the current participant on the tour, Lorelei Eurto. There are 60 beads on this chain, worth approximately $450. It includes ceramic, glass, polymer, various metals and metal clay beads. It’s a true tribute to handmade in all its beady glory! These beads are ready to go on tour…….the Art Bead Love Tour! This tour is basically an art bead swap, which will go on and on and on.

Bowls, Bunnies, and Books...

2011-12-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

... that's all.

New Jewelry

2011-12-03T00:37:00.000-08:00

A few snaps from work I am showing at a local gallery... as you can see I kinda went bonkers over hoops! Most of the hoops and other elemetns I forged and patinated myself; a few hoops and some of the chain are by Shannon LeVart. And fishies - I have been making lots of fish and whales, and other critters (hehe). The little copper leaf (in the Precious Bird piece; second image from the top) is by Kristi Bowman. The aqua lampwork bead (in the Double Sky piece; second image from bottom) is by Amanda Bridges.

Exciting News!

2011-11-30T18:51:00.000-08:00

I'm SO excited!!! I got my January 2012 issue of BeadStyle - my Blue Grotto Toggle is featured!!! Find it on page 98 in a new column "Retail Therapy" (whatever that means... lol). This is a first for me (being featured like this, not as part of someone else's design). That's my toggle in the lower left of the page (right side of the photo). This picture is courtesy of Ms Genea who has the beautiful glass toggle to the right of mine.

Announcing the Winner!

2011-11-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce the winner of the drawing for a Starry Road Studio $25 Gift Certificate: it's Eve O'Sullivan from Ireland! Congratulations Eve!

Thank you again everyone for making this a wonderful sale and for being so patient as I catch up on shipping your orders. I'm preparing for an art show this week (gotta get my jewelry to the gallery by tomorrow!) so it's been pretty crazy around the studio but I'm making headway. :)

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

Come visit my shop for a great sales event - yup it's that time of year. ;-)

20% off everything in my shop
Black Friday through Cyber Monday.
Use coupon code STARRY20.

Sale starts TODAY, and ends at midnight Monday.
EXTRA!! I will draw a name from everyone who make a purchase over this holiday sale (one entry for each person) for a $25 gift certificate!
HAVE FUN SHOPPING!
(sorry for last minute change in start time - I had to move it up since I won't be able to kick it off at midnight tonight due to a change in our family holiday schedule).

Jewelry Artists Who Inspire Me

2011-11-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

I am so very fortunate to have bits of my work incorporated into pieces by some amazing jewelry designers. It truly inspires me to create more, and to push the boundaries of my own work.There are so many; here are just a few...

Gear Link Earrings by Lune Artisan Jewelry (Keirsten Giles)

Sea Witch Necklace by Shannon LeVart

Porcelain, Lampwork and Copper Earrings by KristiBowmanDesign

Cliff Dwellers Bracelet by Jean A. Wells

Woodland Treasures

2011-11-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

Jewelry Musings...

2011-10-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year - I'm hunkering down to get ready for the holiday season - which means: JEWELRY! I'll be adding new pieces to the shop. Here's a little sneak preview...

Love My Art Jewelry Cyber Sale

2011-10-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

All day Sunday
Receive 20% off of everything in my Etsy shop.

Use coupon code LMAJ20

Come see!!!

For other participating shops, see:

Love My Art Jewelry Cyber Sale!!!

New Reduction Kiln!!! And More Components!!!

2011-09-10T17:05:00.000-07:00

Just picked up today from Kentucky Mudworks. Hubby laid black pipe. Propane tank to be delivered in 2 weeks. I can't wait to fire this baby up! Now I just have to get more sales going to make this little investment pay off!

In other news, 2 bisque fires this week:

Lots and lots of yummy new components - pictures show top shelf, middle shelf, and bottom shelf, and a close-up of new leaf charms (to be glazed in warm autumn colors).

And pottery, including a new batch of oil lamps - just in time to chase the fall / winter darkness away!

The components will require several glaze fires, starting tomorrow night. Stay tuned for pictures!

Free Art Project by Shannon LeVart

2011-09-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

A beautiful bracelet design featuring one of my heart beads...

Summer Days Winding Down to Fall...

2011-08-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

From today's kiln unloading - some new autumnal glaze schemes mixed in with some old favorites...

Arrival

2011-07-31T14:39:00.001-07:00

After a frenzy of packing and two days driving, I arrived at our little cabin, which Don and I refer to as "The Studio". We unpacked the car and set all my tools and materials in my corner work area near the spiral stairs...did I ever mention how much I love spirals? ;-)

Sneak Preview from the Kiln

2011-07-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

A few of the goodies I unloaded from my latest fire...

Kiln Unloading

2011-07-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

This was probably the most bead-intesive firing I've done to date. Normally, I fire mostly large components and pottery with only a few beads. Though it doesn't look like much, this load took an incredible amount of time to form, bisque fire, paint, carefully arrange onto bead racks, then finally fire. It turned out to take a good deal more time than I planned, causing me to delay my trip to the cabin by a day (leaving tomorrow - yay!).

But I am super excited because I am keep a good portion of these for my own jewelry work instead of selling them outright.

A Collaboration...

2011-07-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

I could barely contain myself all day. I had checked the shipping status for a package I was expecting and saw that it was due to be delivered today (!!!). It contained the results of a collaboration with Shannon LeVart (missficklemedia). About a month ago I made a batch of ceramic hoops and sent them off to Florida for Shannon to make toggles for. I was so thrilled to open my box of treasures (which contained a whole bunch of other amazing goodies too!) and find these...

Blue Onion

2011-07-04T14:26:00.000-07:00

While visiting my folks in a little town in Illinois, I bought this precious little cream pitcher from a local antique store. I immediately fell in love with is clean german-tankard style lines, and the lyrical blue onion decoration. I want to explore this shape in my own pottery, and perhaps the blue onion style as a slip decoration.

Gulf Coast Days

2011-06-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

In my early childhood, we lived along various places near the Gulf of Mexico (Texas, Louisiana, Southern Georgia - my dad was in the air force so we moved a lot back then). I have fond memories of the ocean and white sandy beaches. So much so, it creeps into my work every now and then in various ocean-themed collections.

I can still smell the sea salt in the air.

;-)

Inspiration...

2011-05-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

Each time I visit the southwest, I never cease to be amazed and inspired by the color and magic I encounter. One of my favorite spots is Canyon De Chelly. Here are a few photos from my trip a few years ago and recent work inspired by it.

I am intrigued by the marks left behind by ancient people who once lived there. In the 2nd photo are 3 marks that I am most drawn to: a circles-in-circles glyph, a 4-way glyph, and a scorpion. I am told that the circles represent the start of a journey, and the 4-way glyph, a turning point. In my other (art) blog, I explored imagery related to these fundamental archetypes - the journey and the turning point: The Wheel Images, Whirl Glyph, Glyph 5, Equilibrium, Interlocking Worlds, Shield, and Mishepeshu, among others.

Customized Mugs in Progress

2011-05-07T16:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a batch of mugs with designs applied, ready for firing. I'm tinkering with a new technique to try to preserve as much of the glaze color richness as possible during the third and final decal fire. My first attempt did not quite hit the mark, so I'll be doing another round of these over the next few weeks.

New Designs...

2011-04-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

Over the past week I've been working on several projects: a load of jewelry components for low fire terra cotta work, and mugs...LOTS of mugs!

Latest From The Kiln

2011-04-19T22:50:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for a fiber show, I went into full BUTTON production mode. I now have to card all these lovelies...then make MORE button

Mandala Bowls

2011-04-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

Mandala bowls from this past winter - I've been away from these, about to create a new batch in my latest glazes. More to come...