Monday, August 29, 2011

Lemons to lemonaide

I've been taking metal jewelry classes off and on for two years now. The first pair of earrings I made were nice but boy, were they heavy.(This was back when silver was less then half the price of what it costs now)  They are made of sterling silver with copper and brass bits soldered on top. After years of working in polymer clay my design  didn't account for the weight of all that metal. If you wore these earrings continuously, your ear lobes would be down to your shoulders. So, I stuck them in a box, (like so many unfinished or unsuccessful projects), and didn't think about them much until recently.
I decided to solder the tops together and make a pendant out of them. With the texture and reticulation, it might not solder well, but the planets must have been aligned correctly because the soldering took hold on the first try.



You can see they are now one piece. I should have photographed them as earrings, but you can kind get the idea.



You can see the patina brings out the texture and provides a bit more contrast. This is much better, and I will actually wear it now.



Here is a view from the back where you can see the small holes where they were once individual earrings. Notice the holes are not centered. Their placement balances the weight so they hang evenly.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Charity Events

Saturday was a busy day. My mannequin, Rene, needed to be dropped off at the Fashion Show/Lunch for St. Madeleine Sophie's Center at the Sheraton Harbor Drive. They had 800 people for lunch and hopefully raised a lot of money for a very worthy cause.
You can see from these photos Rene was in good company.




This beautifully tailored jacket was made from window screen.



Stopped by the SDPCG Clay Day between chauffeuring Rene, and made a few Bottles of Hope. If you refer back to the 10-20-10 post you can read a bit more about how Bottles of Hope came into being. This photo shows some of the creative bottles that were baked and ready to go to Moores Cancer Center.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Repurposed Computer Art and Fashion


Steven Rodrig at www.pcbcreations.com creates some great work out of old circuit boards including some great strappy sandles, and even pumps. "Supporting Her Data", made me chuckle. (Gotta love an artist with a sense of humor). Rene, my mannequin, would look great in that, wouldn't she?
Speaking of Rene, she will be making another fashion statement at:

Haute With Heart
Enjoy lunch, a fashion show, and support St Madeleine Sophie's Center. 

Saturday, August 20, 2011
10 am - 2 pm
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
1380 Harbor Island Drive
San Diego, CA 92101

Honorary Chairs - Sally B. Thornton, Jeanne Jones and Don Breitenberg Produced by Leonard Simpson's Fashion ForwardHonoring Sr. Mardel and the Kraemer Endowment Foundation
John Agostini with ModelsFor 34 years St. Madeleine Sophie's Center has benefited from the Haute with Heart Fashion Show. T.V. personality Leonard G. Simpson will be producing the fundraising fashion show, who introduced the theme,
"Big Dreams, Blue Skies" for this year's show. This show will include a "meet-and-greet" with well-known St. Madeleine Sophie's Center artist, John Agostini, whose artwork, Art Meets Fashion, is featured on all of this year's print materials.

In addition to the fashions that will be displayed at the event, the original founder of St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, Sr. Mary Mardel, will be honored by giving the invocation that day. Sr. Mardel is a Religious of the Sacred Heart and founded the center for children with disabilities in 1966.
The Kraemer Endowment Foundation will also be honored for its fundraising and financial support of SMSC. The Foundation was established in 1992 to ensure the financial future of SMSC.
In addition to the fashion show, vendors, and auctions, the Haute with Heart event will feature opportunity drawing prizes and both music and dance performances from St. Madeleine Sophie's Center's students.
All net proceeds from the event will make a difference in the lives of nearly 400 development developmentally disabled adults within the San Diego region.
For further information call: 619-442-5129 ext. 115
Email: jredondo@stmsc.org
















































































































































































































































Thursday, August 4, 2011

awesome kinetic sculptures



This video about artist Reuben Margolin's work is well worth watching. You will be amazed by the creative unfolding of ideas. Let me know if you have trouble viewing it. Its my first video post and I'm a bit insecure about it working OK.