Featured Artist!

Featured Artist!, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

This month I am the featured artist for Eclectic Jewelry Artisans (EJA)
www.eclecticjewelryartisans.com/
Store Name: Ignis Designs

E-mail: Bridgette@IgnisDesigns.com

Describe your style:
Very eclectic. I love color and I love learning new techniques, I combine them and come up with my jewelry. I also make jewelry boxes and cards. I learn by doing, so I will take a class to learn the basics then take those basics and experiment until I get what I want.

What is the first piece of jewelry you made that you felt ecstatic about?
The first piece I have ever felt ecstatic about was a fine silver cloisonné pendant. It is a night scene with a tree in the moonlight. The pendant was dark blue, brown and green with a yellow moon. I finished it off with glass beads from all over the planet in blues and greens. The colors were just beautiful. I gave it to my mom for mother’s day.

Where do you draw your inspiration?
From nature, although it isn’t instantly obvious when you see my work. I’ll look around and see color combinations and recreate them in my jewelry. Think about it this way, if you were to draw a leaf up close, you wouldn’t just use brown or green.. There is orange, purple, black, blue and yellow along with the green and brown.

How long have you been creating jewelry?
For at least 15 years. I have been enameling for 2 years and doing lampwork for just over 6 months. It is my stress relief, because these two take total concentration on the task at hand, it is my few hours where I cannot possibly be thinking of anything else, be it the laundry, work or anything else.

What is your favorite piece and why?
My favorite piece is almost always my newest piece. It is a Necklace made with colorful tourmaline chips and 4 of my lampwork beads. The lampwork beads are bright pink with fine silver accents and dark purple with fine silver and copper accents. The necklace is finished off with a sterling silver ginkgo leaf pendant and an over-sized sterling clasp. The ginkgo leaf looks like a whale tale which I love.