reflecting on Heritage

reflecting on Heritage, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

Aged Celtic knots etched into copper then enameled in blue and green.

entry for the October EJA giveaway contest.

Every few months, the Eclectic Jewelry Artisans hold a jewelry design competition with a theme. Our theme this time is "Reflection" and this is my entry.

To vote for my earrings, please visit:
www.EclecticJewelryArtisans.com

Click on Mailing List and enter your choice for the best "Reflection" in the note. (IgnisDesigns)

***When you vote, you will be entered into our free giveaway drawing!!!***

Leaves! leaves! Leaves!

I have been fascinated by these leaves for some time now, I finally got some at the last gem show. Then my mother picked up Alaskan Cottonwood and Aspen while she was in Alaska this summer. I love how each one is different, just look!

The first ones I made for my sister's wedding, it was a Faerie theme, so each bridesmaid had a leaf necklace. Then came the 24k gold Aspen leaf with aventurine and carnelian. Next was a Sterling Silver evergreen leaf with Thai silver and several different semi precious stones, then was the Copper evergreen leaf with some handmade lampwork beads I made in ivory, turquoise and silver, mixed with goldstone and turquiose, lastly a gunmetal oak leaf with picaso marbel and rose quartz. I simply love them.

Unfortunately there are people out there selling "dipped" leaves that are not actually dipped leaves but made using the lost wax technique. While I still believe they are beautiful, some leaves I bough on ebay recently are NOT real dipped leaves. I wish people were more honest. There is no way to really tell when you are looking at the skeleton leaves, but the solid leaves have a void in them from where the real leaf was and you can usually feel it when pressing on both sides of the leaf. If it is completely solid all the way through, you do not have a real dipped leaf, you just have a very pretty cast leaf.

The Great Revealing! The "Del Mar" Series

Drum Roll Please!!!!

So when three different artists are given the same materials to work with, how similar do you think they'll be? If you guessed not at all, you are right.

In my collaboration with Cindy Gimbrone aka the Lampwork Diva, which I do feel she has earned as a title by creating her gorgeous spiral beads... and Laura Bracken of Bracken Designs, no title but that doesn't mean she isn't a designer/ multi-tasker extraordinaire.

Here are my final pieces, I have titled them Del Mar, Of the Sea. I made a necklace a pair of earrings and a chunky bracelet.


























Cindy's piece is stunningly simple, Laura's is very intricate. Follow the links to their blogs above to see.

In my previous post you will see the gorgeous lampwork beads that Cindy sent included were some of her spirals that can be found on her website
I included 3 different enamels 2 circles and one rectangle I have similar pieces available in my etsy shop

The Great Revealing! Part II

Here are some extra images of me modeling the lovely pieces:

Collaboration! What happens when artists get together?

I am finishing up a collaboration project with two other artists, Cindy Gimbrone andLaura Bracken,we will all three be working with beads from Cindy and Enamels byME! The final pieces will be posted tomorrow.

In the mean time, here is a sneak peek at the beads we all started with.

Let me tell you about my very first artist collaboration project.

I had a rough start with collaborating as an artist. I remember being in probably 1st grade, maybe kindergarten, and having my very first art collaboration. Being from the Sesame Street generation, my FAVORITE word was co-operation. So when my teacher told us we'd be co operating during our art project I was very excited.

Then it began...

We were to draw snowmen. We sat at a circle of tables and each had our own colors and paper. She had us draw the head of the snowman...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!!!! I had plans for that snowman, I got the special color of blue to draw his coat. I was not happy, but I still wanted to do this co operating thing.. so I stayed quiet.

Then we drew the body on the snowman head we got from the kid before us. The kid before me wasn't so good at circles, so I had to be a little creative to make the body look right...

Then pass the paper to the child next to us...

NOT AGAIN!!! I had just spent a bunch of time on that one... This time, I was not able to keep quiet. As most people who know first graders I went from quiet to hissy fit.. no in between.

I was NOT going to share my work with other kids and I definitely did not want other kids touching my work. I felt betrayed by my teacher, betrayed by the kids next to me and betrayed by Sesame Street. This co operating thing was NOT fun.

After learning the hard lessons from Mrs Seeweepegaham, lets see how well I do this time. :)

Treasury love

Treasury love, originally uploaded by ignisdesigns.

I finally got a treasury on etsy.com ! It takes a little skill and a lot of patience.

I was able to showcase some of my favorite pieces by several jewelry designers.

http://www.Ahna.Etsy.com
http://www.JJBoz10.Etsy.com
http://www.peldyn.etsy.com
http://www.ntroske.etsy.com
http://www.BrokenTeepeeDesign.etsy.com
http://www.AncaNY.etsy.com
http://www.gypsydesignjewelry.Etsy.com
http://www.Baxtershouse.Etsy.com
http://www.sojourncuriosities.Etsy.com
http://www.deliasdelight.Etsy.com
http://www.CercaTrova.Etsy.com
http://www.studiobijou.Etsy.com
http://www.Dichroicdazzle.Etsy.com
http://www.GibsonWireCreations.Etsy.com
http://www.asilomarworks.Etsy.com
http://www.BeadJewelryShopgirl.Etsy.com

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.