Friday, October 28, 2005

Kyanite and Lampwork

I do love ; first, it is a lovely shade of blue, and then, it has these wonderful hair-like striations when you look inside that give it a wonderful visual texture. For this , I've paired this kyanite with Gumeson Design floral and jewel also in the same blue (although the blues photograph slightly differently). The translucent kyanite looks wonderful with bright white sterling silver. The little charms are also kyanite. I've got more kyanite, but it's one of those stones that is expensive enough that I always hesitate to use it until I think I have some kind of utterly fantastic idea. I should just leap; I can always tear apart! Cluny

Currently this bracelet can be bought on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website. You can also see jewelry by Cluny Grey and Leslie Turtle at Studio G Jewelry.



Mother of Pearl and Kyanite Bangle, currently up for auction on Ebay: look for user id: chloemarie99 or do a search for Cluny Grey.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Citrine: The November Birthstone

Citrine is the birthstone for November, and a stone I really love since I love to wear yellow. I'm also fond of translucent stones and I don't really find

citrines that are opaque. Beautiful citrines range from the palest yellow to a dark orange colour. It is a member of the quartz family, like amethyst, because most citrines started life as amethysts that were exposed to extreme heat. I suppose this explains the existence of the gemstone ametrine, which is half purple, half yellow or half citrine, half amethyst: parts of the stone were exposed to temperatures that other parts were not. So it is a good idea to keep your citrine jewelry away from heat and strong light.
For those of you who are interested, citrine represents the astrological signs Gemini, Aries, Libra, and Leo. It has long been thought to be an antidote for snake venom, and it is considered to be a healing and protective stone. It also helps with intellectual powers, mental focus, positive outlook, creativity, will power, courage, dieting and self-confidence.
The bracelet above was created with citrine nuggets with a good strong yellow colour, tiny citrine rondelles, and citrine chips. Lampwork beads by Burt Gumeson and Alyson Straley add interest as does the Bali sterling silver. A sterling silver prayer box hangs beside the toggle clasp.

The second citrine bracelet features nuggets, large and small, citrine rondelles and tiny rounds, Bali sterling silver, lampwork beads by Burt Gumeson, a star shaped toggle clasp, and Karen Hill Tribe flower and leaf charms from Thailand.
Cluny Grey Jewelry

Studio G Jewelry

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Pearls in Technicolor: Cluny Grey

I've been playing about with freshwater pearls quite a bit lately. I'm intrigued by those in unusual colours (dyed). Some colours are a bit startling sometimes, but others, like these magenta pearls to the left have a beautiful nacre and though the colour is not really one you'll find in nature (well, where pearls are concerned anyway) they are lovely. I've put 2 different shapes together with some of my vintage lucite flower beads and Swarovski crystals, and made one strand one half a pearl strand and one-half a chain strand with the flowers and some pearl dangles hanging down. I like this particular sterling silver chain very much; it has large oval links alternated with long thin rectangular ones - very interesting. The all pearl strand is made up of little teardrop style pearls that are drilled across the top so that they tend to fall into a little scalloped pattern. This is currently up for auction on ebay: user id is chloemarie99 or do a search for cluny grey. Don't forget to click on the picture for a large screen view.

Cluny Grey Jewelry Studio G Jewelry

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Art from the Leftside! Jennifer Eustis

I often look wistfully at the work of my colleagues from the Internation Jewelry Designers' Guild and wonder how they came up with their ideas for such beautiful jewelry. But time and time again, I find myself drawn to the work of Jennifer Eustis of Leftside Art whose work ranges from the whimsical to the profound. Jennifer's use of diverse materials in her creations causes me to marvel at her skill with working with metals, and to be amazed by her imagination. The necklace above, "Monkeyshines," is a perfect example. It was made from sterling silver, brass, and "a colorful tin salsa can." Would I want to wear a necklace that has pieces from a tin salsa can? YES! Of course, I love the way that it looks, but I am also intrigued by the materials Jennifer used and how she has managed to meld them into a perfect whole. By the way, the yellow beads are also made from the tin salsa can! How did she do this!? To see this on her website, click here.
The necklace above, "Love Note," is beautiful and once again demonstrates the ability to make various materials work together. Sterling silver, brass, and tin from a candy container lose all vestiges of their origins when she combines them into a pendant and strings it on faceted dark salmon pearls that are hand-knotted. This necklace is contemporary, yet is reminiscent of some of my favourite Victorian jewelry.
My favourite of the 3 necklaces here is the sophisticated "Midnight Deco." This piece is made from sterling silver, 14 karat gold and a faceted smokey topaz. Its sculptural quality is proof that Jennifer Eustis is a jewelry designer that really deserves to be called an artist. One has the feeling that she could have been successful working with any medium, any form. Oh, she also made the sterling silver chain that this pendant hangs from. I told you she was versatile! "Love Note" and "Midnight Deco" will be offered for sale in the IJDG trunk show in November.
To see more of Jennifer's jewelry, and to read her weblog discussing her current pieces, her shows, etc., click here
Leftside Art.

Cluny Grey Jewelry Studio G Jewelry