BIRDS AND BEZELS...

I have been trying to cross post my new work between Facebook (where I try to do a quick daily post) and here on the blog (where I seem to be doing randomly times posts) so posts will not be repeats but I failed to do so on these projects...if you have seen these on Facebook you may be excused and my apologies for the repeat :) If not, I invite you to take a peek at my newest metal mania...

This is the first piece I designed myself and used some of my newly acquired metalsmithing skills, a wee wire bird cage.  It is a bit wonky here and there but I love it.  

This bird cage that looks quite simple but let me tell you I poured seat over this thing for hours before I got a finished product.  I would connect one thing and when I had to reheat to make another connection something else would come loose, such is the nature of the beast of this type of metal connection.  I found it requires a lot of forethought so you don't undo what you just did. 

I decided to turn it into a lariat style pendant...

I gave it the wear test the other day and I wore it too long, it captured my heart and now I must keep it.

Having had enough of welding wire for the moment I moved on to fill a couple of the beginner bezels I had previously made (which I also forgot to post here)...

I began with the large house shaped bezel.

I wanted to find a way to incorporate my nature photography into some of the bezels and make pendants with them.  I found a photo I took of an owl that was nesting in our owl box in the back yard and encased it in resin...

I created a vine from various wires to simulate the vine growing up the tree trunk...

And fashioned a "leaf" like roof...

Lastly I connected a bail and collaged a created quote onto the back of the piece...

I set my sights on spring for the next piece.  This photo of a robin was the very last photo I took of my childhood play area in the backyard of the house I grew up in the day we closed the house and put it up for sale.  I sealed the photo in resin...

Created a multi-metal layered base...

And did my first ever cast metal piece from a twig I picked up in my yard, hand fashioning metal leaves, and vine like bail...

I am taking a small break from all this metal mania to step outside my studio into the great outdoors, where Dame Spring is gracing us with her arrival, for new inspiration.  But, I'll be back!

blessings,

Sandy