new chains for Oxide

Several new copper chains have resulted from Chery’s request for one for Jean. I made an 18-gauge 5/32 Byzantine as a trial, and part of a wiggle chain with the same links. However, Chery liked best a several-inch section of 18-gauge 3/16 snake chain (half persian 4-in-1) that I think dated to my trials for Rhonda last spring. Anyway, I finished that one late on New Year’s night, except for the largish, easy-to-grasp S-hook clasp that I made the next day. I have already gotten some mileage out of it by posting on About and on YOJ.

I stopped the wiggle chain at bracelet length, and tried out a little three-loop finding that I think I can use (after soldering) to make a compound three-chain sampler bracelet. So for Oxide, so far, I have the copper Byzantine necklace, part of a three-strand bracelet, the unfinished jasper-and-bronze necklace, and two pairs of jingly scale earrings. If I order the sterling, I will make a graduated persian necklace, and some simple sculptural earrings. A pair of amethyst disc earrings should not take long. And a copper-wrapped ammonite needs making. That’s nine. Deadline is January 21.

And I must stop fudging the prices down, despite lack of confidence that people will pay more. If I have to pay Warren a submission fee, I have to get more return. Hope it works... If I say the Byzantine necklace took four hours (more, really), I have to get $32 plus the ring cost. If Oxide’s going to get 40%, then the math says I have to set the price up at $60, more or less. We’ll try $58.

Reminder - put a tag on pieces, or a card for earrings, so Warren can stick on a number ID for the jury.

Chery and Rhonda and I got our application for Jazzfest put together at last, and I got it to the Post Office Friday afternoon, Dec 30. The clerk said it would go directly to their box and be there Saturday. They promise and answer within two weeks. I sure hope it’s sooner! However, it's been a week now. I really want to know!

Eventually I chose these four images for the application. The table-display from DHS in December was pretty well mandated -- my previous Jazzfest was ages ago, and my pictures from Ponder this spring are nothing to write home about. My picture of beaded ornaments is brighter and more fun than the winter cardinal one, but the cardinal is certainly a more “finished” piece. As for the sculptural wire, I was undecided between the rings and hematite earrings and the oval Russian serpentine pendant, but Rhonda instantly voted for the earrings, and also for the silver leaves chainmaille necklace as more distinctive than the diamond-shaped dragonscale earrings.

new stuff for Oxide

Warren is trying to rejuvenate the jewelry case at Oxide with some new “funky, fresh, and artsy pieces.” So I broke out the anodized aluminum scales I have had for a while and not done much with. The assorted pack of 100 had enough for one or two five-petaled flowers in several colors, and a whole mess of black ones. So I made a necklace with a whole row of pendant scales, including the two red ones I got as asymmetric accents. Mostly just assembling, not major artistic fabrication. But it came out really pretty, I thought, and Warren liked it too. If I had had more time, I might have made the back of the strand byzantine weave. But I was pulling as close to an all-nighter as I am capable of these days, as it was, so it got a quick 2-in-2 chain.

The pendant, that I hung on the helm chain that I already had, involved more fiddling. The pattern for the 5-merous flowers is all very well, but I wanted to put 5 green sepals behind the five blue petals. I managed it, after considerable fussing. When I have more scales I have some ideas to make it work better, notably a sort of flat washer behind the whole thing to keep the sepals from flopping backwards.

Then I had a couple of flowers done pretty closely as the original directions, if not with the clunky machine-cut bright aluminum rings that came with the kit. There were only enough pink scales and silver scales for one flower each. But I thought, after I used pink jump rings on the silver one, that they would make an acceptable pair of earrings.






Warren has, in the past, rejected the rubber o-ring stretchable bracelets, but I think he is missing a bet here. So I entered two of them, and we’ll see what his jury decides. (Whoever they are.)