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| Bracelet by René Lalique (virtual collection of jewellery pictures) |
Jewelery Masterpieces. René Lalique
Friday, July 24, 2015
Virtual collection of jewellery boxes
What would you keep in this bowl? I would use it for jewellery!
Inspiration gallery. Top 10 wood carved owls
One of my favourite pieces that I made was a carved owl (and still is). Thanks to my blog follower Kate who mentioned a wood carved owl not far from her home I though it was a great idea to look for an inspiration in the wood owl sculptures. This does not mean that I will ever make another owl one day... but maybe! Who knows :)
So, here are my top 10 wood carved owls that I found in Internet:
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| Chainsaw carving by Jon Vincent |
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| Mick Burns, Chainsaw Sculptor. Flying Owl |
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| Artist: Aaron Booker at Bookersbears |
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| Tree of Life - Owl (Here is some info on how the tree of life was constructed) |
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| Oak owl bench |
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| Barn Owl carving by Josh Brewer |
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| four owls by Steve Iredale on the new sculpture trail in Errington Woods near New Marske. Each owl is carved from a separate trunk of one tree, in situ. |
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| Chau Pham displayed a $30,000 barn owl wood carving during the recent Calusa Wood Carvers show. |
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| Owl Wood Sculpture Attacking Pose Jason Tennant |
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| Owl bench by Raymond Wirick |
Polymer clay pen with Swarovski crystals by Expressó-Self A-Latté
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
I did not have a pen in my wish list, but I should have had one! It is always a struggle to find a pen in our house (this is not my fault, by the way!). However, if I have a nice one, I can keep it :) I will be using it for years!
So, I got a nice pen from Wendy, the owner of the Expressó-Self A-Latté etsy shop. To be honest, I have never had a nice handmade pen before! Can you imagine how excited I am? I love handmade things! I think I am very lucky! :)
This pen's barrel is made of purple (that is my favorite color!) polymer clay stamped in gold. The metal parts are 24kt gold! The jewels are Swarovski crystals! It also uses a Parker-type refill (this is why I am confident that I will be using it for years!)
Wendy has a good choice of polymer clay jewelry as well as pens. If you had been following my blog you might remember Wendy's giveaway not long time ago. I received a pen as an appreciation gift for hosting that giveaway. This is the second time I am receiving something from my giveaway sponsors. It is always a wonderful surprise, as I do not actually count on it :) Thank you, Wendy!
Beijing cloisonne enamel, the process of creating
Beijing cloisonne enamel, or "Lan Jintao" is one of the treasures of traditional Chinese culture. It has always been a sign of wealth and high social status. It could be found in a Chinese emperors' palace or in the temples only due to its high price.
Today we will visit an enamel factory located in the suburbs of Beijing and see how these unique products are being created now.
Cloisonne enamel art originated from ancient Egypt. Later it spreads to Byzantium and the Middle East. The technique came to China from Turkey and got perfected in 1271-1368.
The name "Jintao Lan" translates as "Lazur Jintao" due to the fact that mass production of enameled goods was established during the reign of Jingtang (1450-1456). The main color at that time was blue (lazur).
Beijing enamel technique got the most development as the Beijing Imperial "Forbidden City" was the main venue for the use of these products. Only the emperor family and people from high society could afford the enamel products until the 20th century. China has factories now that make the process cheaper than ever. The enamel goods are still not cheap, but they are a lot more affordable. All pieces are still handmade and unique.
The first stage is to forge a basic shape out of a thin sheet of copper or brass (or silver, or even gold for the most expensive products)
After that, the product passes the initial grinding to remove all burrs.
Then a complicated pattern is being applied.
Then we need to glue very thin walls (cloisonne) following the pattern onto the pieces we are working on. The cloisonne is made of thin copper or brass flat wire with the width from 1 to 3 mm.
Cloisonne is attached by a special mixture of glue and flux.
Each piece has hundreds cloisonne wires attached to it!
Can you imagine how much patience the workers have?
Cloisonne is attached. Now we cover the whole surface with silver solder...
Then we place the piece in a kiln. The adhesive is burned away in the firing process and the solder is uniformly distributed over the surface securely fixing the wires.
Now it is time for coloring. This operation is also done by hand.
Each cell enclosed by cloisonne is filed with enamel (which is powdered glass mixed with various minerals to give it color).
You cannot mix enamels to create a new color. This is achieved by applying different colors to the same cell with firing of each color separately. The more complex the design and the more colors it has, the longer it takes to accomplish the piece. The process of "coloring" may take up to 6-8 hours.
Enamel shrinks during firing, so it needs to be applied a few times until it fills up the cells.
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| The craftsman is inspecting the pieces. They are almost ready! |
After the firing is completed we need to polish all items to make them all nice and smooth.
Silicon carbide (SiC) with water is used for the first polishing stage and coal dust mixed with oil for the second stage.
Metal free of enamel is sometimes plated with precious metal (silver or gold).
After the final polishing all the pieces are placed in a factory store.
The most usual ornament of "Jintao Lan" enamel is naturalistic images of animals and birds.
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| Jewellery box |
Tourists take many pictures. Nobody can resist buying at least something here!
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| This vase is about $15000.00. The Emperor palace quality! :) |
Translated by Natalia Khon
Giveaway of 5 greeting cards by Heather Davis
Monday, July 20, 2015
Today we have a giveaway from a wonderful etsy artist Heather Davis. Here is her message to our blog visitors:
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I use my Etsy store, Vadis Artist, to sell prints of my original artwork, greeting cards and screen printed notebooks featuring my designs, and my newest items - handmade wooden art prints. Each print is cut, painted, sealed, and framed by hand, and features one of my original designs. I use some of the same designs on the boards as I use on the greeting cards, so if someone who really loves foxes wants to send a fox card (like this one) to a friend, and hang a wooden fox print (like this one) on their wall , they can.
I raised the money to start making the wooden art prints and greeting cards with an Indiegogo campaign, and thanks to the support of everyone who donated, they're finally available for purchase in my shop, and I'm running the giveaway through your blog in order to celebrate.
Here is the prize:
This set of five premium nature themed greeting cards includes a curious fox, a cheerful sunflower, a wise watching owl, tree branches against a blue sky and a long, lingering look from a giraffe. Cards are 5”x7” and printed on 120lb smooth, matte white paper, featuring crisp and colorful printings of original art work from independent artist and Vadis Artist shop owner Heather Davis. Each card is printed with the Vadis Artist logo and shop address on the back of the card, and are blank on the inside. White envelopes are included for easy mailing, and the 5”x7” size makes them perfect for framing once they arrive.
P.S. The greeting card set being available on the brickyard buffalo site with 20% discount for not much longer! Click here to get it while it is still available.
P.S. The greeting card set being available on the brickyard buffalo site with 20% discount for not much longer! Click here to get it while it is still available.
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