Lorena Angulo: Birds

Showing posts with label Birds. Show all posts

Friday, April 4, 2014

Celebrating my journey and recovery: Soulful Reliquary

Tomorrow (April 5) will be a year from the date I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. Although it was a little shocking to found this out I also knew this type of cancer had a bigger positive outcome and I was ready for the battle.

The best way I have to express my feelings is through my art and I wanted to make a piece of jewelry that will be a symbol of my journey and recovery during 2013; I am still working on getting my energy better but I am sure I will get there very soon.

The symbols I wanted to have in my pendant have been with me during my whole journey as an artists and I have represented them a lot in my work. Now they have a stronger meaning for me and this makes my work have more soul.

The tree of life on top with the Milagro heart is the representation of the family and friends's support during this journey with the heart symbolizing all the love I have received and also my own love and passion for my family and life. The two birds looking at the tree represent my husband and me; he was and still is my best friend and companion but they also represent my two kids, my great loves in my life!

Thank You to all for your love and positive energy!!!

The big butterfly in the center represents my thyroid but mostly is a representation of my transformation, faith and soul. the butterfly is the bigger element because I am stronger and ready to fly again!

The pearls are the tears I had shared with my love ones but they were not only sad tears they also symbolized the happiness tears we had when I was told after my surgery that they were able to take all the cancer out. The red coral are a strong statement symbolizing my passion, love and courage.

SOULFUL RELIQUARY
©2014 Lorena Angulo
Bronze, pearls and red coral beads
2.82 by 2.06 inches

Thanks again to all for making me feel loved during this experience in my life!

Monday, March 10, 2014

New "Pajaritos" designs for 2014

I have been making little sculpted birds since I started creating my jewelry and this year I decided to come back again and design new pieces. I can honestly say I enjoy very much sculpting the tiny birds with metal clay. Sometimes it gets a little difficult because they are super tiny but these miniature birds are the ones I enjoy making the most!

This time I created 2 sets of earrings and a necklace with the same bird motif, I managed to add a mini butterfly (one of my new elements in my work) into the necklace design.

I can not wait to show all these pieces in my show in April at SSA, Fiesta Arts Fair.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

It all started like this.......

I started playing with metal clay in 2006, I took a class with Claire Holliday in San Antonio. Claire was my metals teacher and she mentioned to me this practically "new" material that she though I will like to play with.
To be honest, I was not very happy with it the first time, I took the class but I was confused by the material and did not continue with it after the class.

Everything changed when I took my second class with Claire again and came to the class with a more open mind. Something happen during that class that finally made me understood the incredible use I could do with this material. I was able to translate my ideas into reality, ideas that I have been holding on for a while.

I was eager to start exploring more with this material and since that date I have not stop. It was during this class that I made one of my symbolic pieces, my Flaming Milagro Heart. The heart was 4 inches tall by 3 inches wide and I sold it almost as soon as I made it. This is why I decided to make another one and it was this second heart the first piece I had published, my Flaming Heart.

FLAMING HEART

Hand sculpted in pure silver.

Photo by Dean Powell

Since that date I have been creating most of my work with metal clay although I also fabricate my work and combine metal clay with fabrication techniques too.

Another piece that has a special place in my heart is my Tree of Life, I enjoyed making them and sculpting the little birds that I always include in them. This was my first Tree of Life that I had published.

Arbol de Vida
©2009 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver and a lab Garnet
2.44 inches by 2.22 inches

I am also known for my Calaveras and one of the calaveras that I have close to my heart and where I combined the use of metal clay and soldering and riveting techniques is my Corliss Calavera.

Corliss Calavera
©2010 Lorena Angulo
Pure silver, copper and bronze

Taking a look back at how I started is a great incentive for me to keep moving forward, after having a year of almost not creating as much I used to, I am now feeling great and I am ready to start creating as much as I used to.

I am BACK !!! I can not avoid to smile when I create another set of little birds, I have missed making them so much!

Pajaritos
©2014 Lorena Angulo
Sterling and Peruvian Opal

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Happy Summer to all !!

I am so sorry I have been so quiet in my blog this year. Lots of new opportunities are coming my way and I have been very busy. I can not say that I am sad about it because I am learning so much and having a great time, but I do missed writing in the blog and sharing with all of you what I am doing.
The kids are out of school now and we are getting ready to spend a wonderful summer with them. They did a great job at school and deserve to have a trip maybe next month.
What are your plans for summer? Are you traveling or taking any classes?
I will be going to the last PMC Conference at the end of this month and although I am sad because it will be the last, I can not wait to be there and see again wonderful friends and meet some of them for the first time.
If you are going to the PMC Conference, SEE YOU THERE !!
I am also teaching a class at SSA in July, my class name is PMC3: Making a Hollow Ring.
I have also been busy making new pieces and working more with Sterling PMC, I am very happy about this type of metal clay.

Here are some of my new pieces.

FAMILIA (Family)
©2012 Lorena Angulo
PMC3 and Sterling

FOLK BIRD
©2012 Lorena Angulo
Sterling PMC and Sterling chain

LOVEBIRDS
©2012 Lorena Angulo

I have also been working on some pieces I will display at the Dia de los Muertos: La Ofrenda altar at SSA. I was invited to be the lead artists and I am enjoying making these pieces and much more to come for that event.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

New pieces in my Arbol de Vida Collection

Since I started making and designing my jewelry I have been making various trees of life in different forms. I always love the symbolic meaning of the "Arbol de Vida" and it has been my passion to make them all the time.

The tree of life represent the union between earth and heaven. It was said that the founder gods in Mexico came down to earth through the trees. I love to make them using flowers and birds because they represent new life, hope and love.

My latest piece is going to be a necklace and I am still working in it. It gives me joy to see this piece come alive little by little.

My other pieces in this collection are one more brooch and earrings. Every piece I design is unique and have the same feeling of nostalgia about the wonderful folk art from my beautiful country, Mexico.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

The making of my "Tree of Life" brooch

Going back to my first days when I played with metal clay, I still remember how confusing this material was for me at the beginning. I already started taking silversmithing classes at Southwest School of Art and my mind was use to the rough playing with hammers, jeweler saws and metal sheets. Metal clay was such a confusion but I knew I will like it.

I played with metal clay two or three times and then I just decided to leave it on the side and focus on my metalsmithing work. It was until I took a casting class that I totally understood what this wonderful new material will do for me.

Casting is an option but I did not have the equipment to do it in my home, this is why metal clay was the perfect option.

I love to hand sculpt and carve and metal clay will give me the amazing opportunity to make pieces I have always had in my design note book. My designs are very three dimensional and with lots of details, metal clay will make all my ideas come to reality.

Since that day I have not been able to stop creating with metal clay, I still do some fabrication work but most of my pieces are made with metal clay. I absorbed myself into this way of working with the material, time can fly by and I feel like I have only been minutes working. I am so relax and happy hand sculpting and carving every detail in all my work and finally yesterday I finished my first brooch I made with my tree of life design.

The Tree of Life (Arbol de Vida) is one of my symbolic pieces, I have made it into earrings, pendants, necklaces and cuffs. Now it was my turn to make it as a brooch.

I am a passionate about detailing my work with a lot of attention in every side of my pieces. Spending time to make nice and clean finishing in the front is as important as taking your time to do the same on the back. I am not only talking about having a secret detail on the back, I am talking about having a clean and nice finishing. Craftsmanship is very important and we all must take our time to do so.

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