Weathered Wild Flowers

My hubby and I can't resist snapping pictures everywhere we go. Thankfully, in this digital age, it's easy to take and store a ton of images almost effortlessly. I love having this huge pool of images to inspire me, and remind me of the places we've visited together throughout the years.

My inspiration this week is a picture taken by my love, as we strolled through a field of wildflowers at sunset in the Peace River region, Northern British-Columbia, Canada:

Northern Wildflowers at Sunset by "Mr. Nathalie" :)

I just love the colors, and that sense of freedom and peace I feel when I look at that photograph.

These flowers have been there for a long time, wild and free, sun-kissed and happy.

I used both copper and sterling silver in making these wild flowers earrings.

Softly weathered, definitely wild and rustic.

 Topped with small handmade multicolored artisan glass beads from Little Crow,

which capture a variety of colors that we found during our sunset walk in the forest.

The antique patina creating shadows, and the satin texture on the petals softly catching the sunlight.

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

... and believe in your dreams... 

Nathalie Lesage

www.MyGardenOfLove.com

Sexy Solder

So okay, it's not really sexy; I was looking for an S word! :) But it does make me feel powerful!

I would never have believed I would enjoy anything that had to do with fire, beyond that in a fireplace. But I really do like soldering. It does give me a feeling of power! almost. Makes me feel as if I could build things!

The earrings I have to show you are not what I intended to. The Sterling hoops below are what I planned to share. But when all was said and done, I wasn't happy with them. They're a little too rustic, even for me. I have to do some work on the copper, and then there's something missing. I worked with them trying to add different things here or there and eventually just put them aside. They are my first soldered Sterling pieces. Big Sterling Hippie Hoops is what I envisioned. Who knows where they'll end up.

So I pulled out a pair of copper teardrops I had soldered at the same time. I like making plain shapes, rounds, teardrops, triangles, and soldering a bar across, generally not straight across, on an angle, and the angle may not be the same on each earring. And then I select a group of beads and wrap the daylights out of the bars. The picture below shows a few I've done in the past.

They are challenging to wrap. I have wrapped and re-wrapped and re-wrapped many pieces. Some never to be completed. I used to use wire until it finally occurred to me to try waxed linen! Much kinder to the hands!

hand-forged copper teardrops

The top beads are ceramic by Nadia Karapencheva of Nadia Terra.

Thanks for stopping by! My wishes to you and yours for a year filled with Love & Laughter, Peace & Joy. Happy New Year! And enjoy a little fire!
I'll be back on 01/05/16.

Norbel Marolla
She Flies Again - My Shop on Etsy
She Flies Again on Facebook

It's the Great Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Orange Ceramic Earrings

It's the time of year for harvest colors and images, cornucopias, dried flowers and cornstalks. You get my drift? My favorite one is Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, so these brought to mind that image.

There are four pieces of heavy wire, two forming the loops and two that will eventually form the ear wires. After attaching the wire to the ceramic focals (from Outwest on Etsy), I hammered the wire loops and the tails to the desired hardness. Czech glass dangles hang playfully from the primitive copper loops.

Linus, Charlie and I haven't lost faith. The Great Pumpkin will come, but maybe not this year.









Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Hammer Therapy

Copper Earrings with Labradorite

When I have a bad day and get discouraged because sales are slow, I can't find what I need to make something, or two components on my brand new computer fail within a month of each other, I pick up the hammer. No, not to inflict injury on Etsy, harm myself for being disorganized, or take a whack at the computer demons; instead I vent my frustrations on copper.

The earrings pictured above are a smaller scale chandelier design, stamped and hammered, then heated to get the glowing patina. I really like the combination of labradorite with copper, and these faceted brios are the perfect size to wrap and use as dangles with the trapezoid shaped copper bodies.

Arabesque Copper Hoop Earrings

These big and bold hoops began with Arabic shaped blanks from Supply Diva on Etsy. Again, I hammer the bijeezis out of them and heat them to add some warm color. The wire wrapping with tiny copper rounds was kind of an experiment. I knew it would be difficult to hold the wire in place on a curved piece like these hoops, so I added some Permalac to see if it would hold the wire in place and not show. It worked!

I feel so much better now.


Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry on Amazon Handmade

Ashes and Embers

Ashes and Embers Earrings

Imagine a volcano erupting with super heated magma and gases in red, orange, pink and yellow spewing into the air, and hot lava flowing down the side of the mountain. Flakes of volcanic ash falling from the sky like withered rain drops. The lava cools gradually to a dark charcoal gray and black stony crust.

The embers and ashes of the volcanic lava are the inspiration for my rustic stacked earring design. Beginning with textured drops, from Natalie McKenna of Grubbi Ceramics on Etsy, in bright pink orange and red, with shadows of black. Slivers of glowing red Greek ceramic and warm pink Indonesian glass complement the colors of the ceramic drops.

Ashy gray brown recycled glass with a matte finish like volcanic ash give a little contrast to the composition. The dark shadows of the ceramic drops capture the cooled black lava. Add a few accents of copper, and wrapping with darkened copper wire, with my own handmade ear wires and there you go, Ashes and Embers.












Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Rustic Gemstone Hoops

Copper Gemstone Hoop Earrings

It's not often that I have the patience to sit down and seriously attempt anything this intricate, but I managed to overcome my tendency toward ADHD and finish these wire wrapped hoops just in time for today's post. I used a new jig to form loops for the bottom of these teardrop shaped copper hoops, and then added a little more embellishment with the wrapped seed beads. My goal was to make a pair of gem laden hoops that aren't too heavy or overwhelming.

It can sometimes be difficult to capture all of its beauty in photos, but I have always loved using labradorite in jewelry. It has a lovely iridescent quality along with its tantalizing flashes of blue. Here the dangles are faceted onion brios wrapped in oxidized copper wire. As a contrast to the labradorite, I use London Blue Topaz for the center drops, wrapped in the same style as the labradorite.

The result is a boho southwestern mix of rustic copper and glittering gemstones.












Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Madras Mosaic

Madras Mosaic Earrings

Let me take you to a marketplace in Madras, an Indian seaport city on the Bay of Bengal. Picture the street crowded with people, sellers of fruit and vegetables, fabrics and colorful adornments. Spicy curries are being prepared, each one with a distinctive flavor, and the aroma is everywhere.

My earring design reflects the mood of the Indian street market, with a rich mix of ethnic flavored textures and colors. The amazing drops are handmade by Natalie McKenna of Grubbi Ceramics on Etsy, and the accompanying beads are old chevron trade beads from the 1800s, Cheyenne pink seed beads, and recycled vinyl beads in a bright sea green. Stacked and wrapped in oxidized copper wire in keeping with the old ethnic look.

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
ChrysalisToo on Etsy

Emerald Isle Rustic

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!! Lively greens with rustic copper drops are a color combination that can't miss, and what could be more appropriate for St. Paddy's Day? I'm sure you all recognize the gorgeous copper components made by our own Kristi Bowman. In this design, I use faceted ovals of chalk turquoise that have been dyed a luscious shamrock green, along with tiny dangles of green onyx in a deeper shade of green that blends well and adds more dimension to the design.

You can almost smell the lush green fields and the musty earth after a rain shower. Ireland looks so alive!!! This country is on my list of places I would love to visit. If I were there now, I would put on my mud boots and take a long walk in the country soaking up all the freshness of spring. After the long walk, I might be thirsty and stop off for a pint in honor of the day?

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

"Esnorkeling"

Caribbean Copper Enamel Earrings

I can't help it! Those of us who haven't already been on a winter getaway are yearning for warm sunny beaches and clear blue green waters where we can play and forget for a time that winter is not yet over. My husband and I like the Riviera Maya, south of Cancun, where there are so many old Mayan ruins and beautiful places to go snorkeling, or as the natives tend to say "esnorkeling".

My earring design captures the colors of the Caribbean with tropical blue recycled glass, rugged turquoise and gorgeous enameled copper drops by Cathleen Zaring of BlueHareArtWear on Etsy. I used bronze accents and copper wire to wrap the stacked beads and blend the textures together.

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Northern Lights

Northern Lights Earrings

As a person who has lived in the northern tier of the country for most of my life, you would think that at one time or another I would have seen the northern lights. Charged particles from the sun that dance and shimmer in the night sky in awe inspiring displays, named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora. But I am still a northern lights virgin, and have to imagine what they might look like based on the eye witness accounts of others.

Gorgeous Basha beads have the look of ancient primitive glass, with colors that dance in the light like the Aurora Borealis. So, what to do with these ethereal and slightly intimidating lampwork beads? I fashioned rustic copper arches, hammered them with a rugged texture, and darkened them. The idea was to provide a primitive looking hoop earring base for the Basha beads to hang from, surrounded by messy wrapped copper wire.




Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Storm Clouds

Storm Cloud Earrings

When the clouds begin to build and turn darker and darker gray, many would find their mood turning as gloomy as the sky, but not me. I find the energy of the storm somehow refreshing and stimulating. Furious rain and wind somehow tap into my creative core and ideas begin to swirl about, ripe for elaboration. My gray birds eye rhyolite earrings reflect that frantic force of the swelling storm with their natural edges and soft gray and green markings.

I have a weakness for this stone in its red/brown variation and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it has other color combinations that are equally appetizing. These stones in soft gray and celadon green are luscious mirrored images. Wrapping the stones part way with darkened copper wire, I decided to finish the wrapping with pale green waxed Irish linen cord and complementing seed beads.





Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Primitive Patinas

Blue Peacock Patina Copper Earrings

Over the past couple of years, I have taken a break occasionally to create rustic hammered copper pieces. I play with joining different shapes and textures, using different weights of copper sheet, and of course there are the patinas. My goal is to develop my own style of applying colored patinas that is unique and appealing, so I play a lot. In the top pair of earrings, I use blue and green patinas over a darkening patina for a peacock effect. The colored patinas were purchased from Shannon German of Missficklemedia, who also sells tutorials on the subject.

Ruddy Red Patina Copper Earrings

On this pair of hinged copper earrings, I have combined red and yellow patinas over a darkening layer. The colored patinas go on one over another while they are still wet, so that the colors will run together a little. After the colors are dry, I applied a thin layer of Permalac to seal them.

Working with metal can be a welcome change from my usual direction with earrings. I like to mix it up, and I think it's important to maintain variety in my jewelry. Each pair of earrings should all be easily identifiable as mine, but I want each design to have its own character as well.

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Color Infusion

Color Infused Agate Earrings

If the "spirit of the season" is eluding you, maybe some color will give your mood a boost? When I am wishing I had more energy, and I am just not into it, bright colors are my natural antidepressant. My earrings this week are made with colorful hammer faceted sky blue and lime green agate stones from Beads of Cambay, combined with faceted orange carnelian and copper accents. The oxidized copper wire wrap extends down the back of the stones for reinforcement, because the small holes in the stones will only allow for 24 gauge wire. My ear wires are hand formed from heavier oxidized copper wire, continuing the rustic character of the design.

Agnes Land "Turmalin" 2008


Whether or not you are a fan of abstract painting, you cannot argue that the colors in this piece are uplifting and motivating. Much as I adore earth tones, sometimes I just need to break away and infuse some vivid colors into my work and this is the perfect inspiration for me.





Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Take a Risk

In a departure from the usual format of focusing on the inspiration for my idea, I would like to probe into the selection process for blogging about my earrings. I'm sure each of the participating artists on Earrings Everyday has her own method for building a post around their earring creations. Maybe you are curious about mine?

Detailed advance planning doesn't work as well for me as spontaneity. Please don't interpret that to mean I'm just being lazy! The truth is I cannot decide which direction to go until the last moment. So I usually have three newly made earring pairs from which to choose, one being a variation of a signature design of mine, in other words "in my comfort zone". The pietersite earrings below fall into that category. The other two pairs are the risky ones. This time, I have one pair of very rustic hammered and hinged copper earrings with a red patina (pictured below). I also have the pair I chose to feature above that are the most risky of the three, out on the edge in a primitive style. For the body of these earrings, I used my own bone shaped polymer clay connectors. The roughly wrapped oxidized copper wire emphasizes the primitive character, as do my handmade copper ear wires. The dangling beads are Czech glass with an aged Picasso finish.

"Comfort zone" wire wrapped matched pietersite stones with leather.

Medium risk, relentlessly hammered copper earrings in a 2-part hinged design with less than precise stamping and a red patina.









Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Hammered

Hammered Copper and Green Agate Earrings

What could be a better accompaniment for hammered copper trapezoids than hammer faceted trillion shaped green agate stones? Brilliant sea green agate stones (probably color enhanced) have been hand cut with a hammer and then tumbled to soften out their edges. The agates have a matte finish as though nature did the tumbling. On both sides of the agate trillion, I have added rustic onion shaped Peruvian blue opal briolettes that have a milky blue green color. All of the stones are wrapped in oxidized copper wire in a casual style that blends well with the hammered bodies. Simple and fun earrings for fall.

Abstract by Suzan Buckner

Suzan Buckner's abstract acrylic on wood captures that same whimsical primitive character as my earring design.







Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Walking on Sunshine

Sunshine Earrings

It's one of those songs that gets stuck in my head, Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves, from 1983. I don't really want to like that song, but it won't go away and it's so upbeat that I can't help but feel better after I hear it. So now that we have to start saying goodbye to summer, it seems fitting to do a slightly schmaltzy summer theme as the inspiration for my earrings.

Yellow polymer clay focal beads in sunshine yellow from Beads by Earth Tones with Hubei turquoise in tubes and rondelles capture the colors of summer and the upbeat mood of the song. I use rustic copper flattened ball head pins and my own copper ear wires that I have wrapped with bronze wire and tiny copper tube spacer beads.

I dare you to listen to this youtube video just once and you will hear this song in your head for the entire day.




Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Maricopa Point

Southwestern Cross Earrings

I love the southwest! How can a person get to be my age and have never seen the Grand Canyon? I don't know, but it's true. So this year my husband and I traveled to some spots that I somehow have missed along the way. It mas May and still mercifully cool the day we drove from Las Vegas to the south rim of the canyon. One of the vistas on the southwest side of the canyon is called Maricopa Point. A beautiful name for a beautiful spot, but I was curious as to its origin. As it turns out the Maricopa are a native tribe that once lived in this area, along the Colorado River.

Our trip inspired me to design three collections, these earrings are from my Maricopa Point Collection. My first collection was called Joshua Tree, and a future one will be named for the eastern entry to Yosemite called Tioga Pass.

Maricopa pottery is still well known in the southwest. One of its characteristics is the distinctive reds and ochre, much like the colors of the Grand Canyon. This beautiful piece is from Andrea Fisher.

My native Maricopa inspired earrings focus around white copper southwestern crosses from Kristi Bowman, to which I have added colorful Czech beads for that tribal look and rustic copper accents and ear wires. Mixed metals make them more primitive looking, and I like the contrast it adds as well.







Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Earth Maiden

Woodstock Earrings

A bit of a flashback to the late 60s, these fringe earrings would have fit right in at Woodstock or Monterrey. Earth Maiden is just my idea of a potential Earth Mother figure, who is still being groomed for the position, sort of an apprentice type situation. You can almost smell the green meadow where dancers twirl about in a carefree frenzy, until the next morning when they wake up dehydrated, sunburned and covered with insect bites. Earth Mother and Earth Maiden will be there to nurture the wayward souls.

These earrings started out with the turquoise deerskin lace and the darkened copper ring and grew from there. I added nylon cord in blue and green, and the seed beads in chartreuse and turquoise with accents of African red orange seed beads, resulting in a tribal Bohemian fringe design. I make the ear wires from 19 gauge copper wire and oxidize them for that primitive look that is characteristic of my work.



Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Pyrotechnics

As the celebration of our country's birthday approaches, our thoughts go to a long holiday weekend with barbeques and beaches. Time for fun with friends and family at the height of summer! The highlight of the 4th of July holiday, of course, are the many fireworks displays that will be topping off the evening all across America. And being America with its competitive spirit, each town or city strives to outdo their neighbor with more extravagant displays.

In the spirit of the 4th of July, I channeled my inner pyromania into these rustic copper earrings with glowing red English cut Czech glass beads. To mimic the burst of lights, I wire wrapped small English cut Czech beads to my hammered copper connectors in a varied color pattern. They are listed in my Etsy shop.

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Boho Southwestern

Boho Southwestern Earrings

I enjoy overlapping design styles, boho, southwestern, tribal, rustic, primitive and ethnic. This crossover in styles seems natural and makes the designs more interesting to me. After all, these styles all have many common qualities.

In this pair of earrings, I have a mix of styles that always works well together for me. Smallish orange lampwork beads from Yvonne Johnson are capped with crusty looking pieces of eucalyptus in a dark blue green color. The rectangular copper drops have stamping and hammered edges in keeping with the rustic southwestern theme. Verdigris patina adds to the aged look and contrasts well with the lampwork glass.

What I wouldn't give to be able to wear a dress like this again! and look good in it. The dress is sort of tribal and minimalist, but still fits into the Bohemian realm.

This wonderful bag is definitely not minimal, but has elements of both tribal and primitive styles.






Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire