A Complete Design

A few years ago I took an intensive design class from one of the premier jewelry educators in America - Alan Revere.  I believe that the best classes are the ones that give you something that you apply to your life and your art time and time again.  The one thing that I took away from his class was to make a complete design.  Don't just design a pendant, also put some thought into the chain, the clasp, and the presentation.

It's been my pleasure to take several classes

at Alan Revere's School of Jewelry in San

Francisco, California.  I love playing with

metal and fire.  

 I carry that through into my life trying to make sure that my stories are rich and fully framed, that my art pieces are truly illustrating the concept I wanted to portray, and that I have enough activities to keep me from drowning in boredom.  It also can lead to more work because I want the chains to be the proper weight for the pendant.  So, in a story I want to make sure that the backstory holds together and in my historic piece that I'm working on for NaNo, I need to make sure that the history is accurate.  It's been fun to hit the books again, I haven't had to do any research for many years.

Lake Superior agates are highly sought after

and prized.  They are found along the shores

of Lake Superior, part of the northeastern

border of my state.  

This weekend is the Minnesota Mineral Club's annual rock show and sale.  DH and I look forward to this all year.  It's small, but fun.  There are lots of slabs and rough to look at, lectures and demonstrations, and I often run into my oldest nephew and his youngest daughter out there too.  Since we rarely see him but have always gotten along well with him, it's another plus.  I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend of enjoyable activities.  *hugs* to all.