A “parliament” or “wisdom” of whimsical owl earrings.
Each month Erin Prais-Hintz presents a theme, with inspiration photos, and invites jewelry designers to create earrings for the “We’re All Ears” challenge. The earring design challenge theme for March is owls. Continue reading
Each month Erin Prais-Hintz chooses a theme and challenges us to design earrings inspired by it. The theme for this month’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was “patchwork.” I’ve noticed a bit of patchwork showing up in clothing fashion lately and had been pondering how to create some earrings in that style. The images Erin shared for this design challenge were exactly the push my muse needed. Continue reading
Every month, Erin Prais-Hintz offers a new inspiration for an earring design challenge on the Earrings Every Day blog. The inspiration this month is the Pantone® Color of the Year for 2017: Greenery. Continue reading
The song of cicadas is a fond summertime memory.
The Art Jewelry Elements team chose ‘Summertime’ as the theme for their June design challenge. I signed up to participate, even as I was thinking “How I am going to get inspired by my least favorite season?” Initially I planned to design jewelry that represented what first comes to my mind when I think of summer. But how would I translate “sweltering” into jewelry? Continue reading
Last month I joined the FitBit Nation when I received a lovely turquoise blue FitBit Charge for my birthday. I was not in the market for a FitBit for many reasons, not the least of which is I tend to run the opposite direction from any fad or trend. If “everyone” is rushing to get one, it’s the last thing I want. I think that makes me what the technology industry calls a “late adopter.” Continue reading
Some ferny components
The inspiration for April’s We’re All Ears earring design challenge was images of fiddlehead ferns. There are many design elements to choose from in the images, from the spiral shapes of the coiled fiddleheads to the feathery unfurled green leaves.
I’ve had fiddlehead ferns in salads and stir fry when I lived in Alaska. They’re quite tasty. I’ve looked for them in the produce section of my local Whole Foods here in the Mid Atlantic and have not seen them. Maybe I need to visit an actual farmer’s market for something so exotic? Continue reading
I’m so glad the Art Jewelry Elements design team is continuing the open challenges this year. I had a great time with the themes last years challenges. And the theme they chose to kick off 2016 is another fun one: Eye Love Beads. As in, jewelry with eyes.
No, not actual eyes. That would be a little too Silence of the Lambs. Rather, the challenge is to design a piece of jewelry, an art bead, or a component with eye symbolism. I had been hoarding an “evil eye” component and this was a perfect opportunity to set it free from my stash. Continue reading
Arabesque-inspired dangle earrings.
The inspiration for the We’re All Ears earring design challenge this month was arabesque architecture. Our hostess shared photos of the elaborate ceiling designs and precise geometric structures in a variety of mosques.
The colors and repeating shapes within shapes were mesmerizing. At first I wasn’t sure how I was going to interpret that for earrings. Should I focus on the geometric shapes? The colors? The patterns? Continue reading
As I prepare to flip the cover on a new calendar, I wanted to look back at what I’ve done this year. Luckily, I have my blog posts to remind me of the design challenges, blog hops, and creative adventures that took place in 2015. Continue reading
When my acupuncturist asked if I could make some fish ornaments to decorate her treatment rooms, I said I’d give it a try. She wasn’t specific about how the fish should look, other than that they be colorful. And I had an approximate size reference.
With that much creative freedom, I headed into the studio with no idea where to start. That’s not a bad thing. I tend to get the artistic equivalent of writer’s block when someone custom-orders something overly specific. My muse needs a little inspiration, and a lot of space to play. In this case, I had all the play space I needed. And no deadline. Perfect working conditions. Continue reading