shows ~ artwalk

{artwalk - tonight - Booth 15- stop by}

RC studio ~ bead sourcing

Today was spent sourcing new beads at a show in Santa Monica & then quick trip to Berger Beads downtown. I got a taco downtown that was delicious, a very successful day all in all. Except for the evil Russian lady dressed in gypsy attire who tried to sell me 20 brass jump rings for $40, then attempted to strong arm me when I declared I was no sucker. Yea right I could get sterling silver ones at that price. Luckily things perked right back up when I found my old friend with his dazzling Bi-color citrines. He always has the best quality gems, is honest and priced competitively. I spent my whole month's alloted supply funds on his sparkling beauties in less than 20 minutes, but as you can see below it was worth it~ blue topaz, garnets, citrines, moonstones, turquoise skulls....

RC studio ~ seahorse pendants galore

The holidays are fast approaching, so I have been up every morning long before the sun gets up to make new jewelry. I love getting up at 5am and creating in silence, it's feels like no one else is on the earth and nothing is important, besides creating of course! Just me and my mind get a chance to hang out and with work, life, stress, etc. that doesn't happen to often. So it's nice to relax + create and being well prepared for the Holiday Season doesn't hurt either. :) Please feel free to leave some feedback on the start of my new seahorse necklaces below.

RC Studio ~ relics & progress

All week using some of my finds from my recent trip to Martha's Vineyard I have been waking up early and creating new resin pieces and posting my progress. And recently I re-ordered my epoxy supplies, I guess that's good....things are slowly moving along! Anyways, when I ordered I got a real nice fellow on the phone eager to share his tips and tricks, and they have worked like magic. I have been having perfect pours all week, no funny drying issues, no bubbles, no guessing! So I have been excited to experiment more since I don't have to worry about all the little technicalities anymore. I have been wanting for a long time to make little sea relics in found seashells, and I made my first one (below) Also I made my first batch of cabinet drawer pulls (second picture down). I have lots more ideas for next week, things are starting to get funky around here!

Spaz Case Chaos

sometimes...actually most of the time I am in full throttle ADD mode, stressed-out & unnecessarily nervous. Something that calms these abundant mind nuances is just letting my fingers so whatever they want without consulting me. It gives my brain some much deserved time off from it's self....

I made this little bugger using one of my porthole belt buckles, lots of beads, sea treasures, pigment powder & tons epoxy

TA-DA-Clean Studio!

Poured some new resin pieces today, worked on some new handbags and most importantly CLEANED the studio!

Tisk Tisk Messy Studio

Inside The Studio-

This morning I woke up to a messy studio, again. So, I decided to take a picture of it and post it, in hopes it will force me to clean it. This is what it looks like after preparing for Unique LA in a frenzy. It hurts to look at! Tomorrow it will be officially one week of avoidance, so tomorrow I am going to clean it up.

After I clean it I will post the after pictures as proof!


Some fun things to take note of:

*The mink flung on my desk (not sure where he came from and how he got there!)

*Meet Albino Giraffe (in the front)- If you have not met him already- He is my VERY popular belt model at shows.

* $10 flea market alligator- probably the most prized possession I own (above my desk)- . I gave him a face lift, by taking the baby spoon out of his mouth that was used to prop it open at the market and use epoxy to put him back together. He has lost a few toes through my moves that need to be reattached.

Seahorse, Ray, Shark Jaw

Polished and finished-seahorse, ray and shark's jaw cast in silver

Before the polishing

Before being cast

Casting Turtle Shells in Sterling

I am going to attempt to cast empty turtle shells on Tuesday.

Real Seahorses in Resin Silver Ring

Recently, I have been feeling comfortable enough to solder on my own and not set the cat on fire or burn the house down.

So, I finally found some time yesterday to go downtown and get the supplies I need to solder in my studio.

This is my first silver soldered ring I made in my own studio!

Turtle, Ray, Turtle

The turtles and ray chillin' before being cast.

Snake Vertebrate Pendant

Snake vertebrae I bought at Venice Beach over the summer. I just cleaned it up and polished it tonight after casting it last week. I wasn't so into it at first, but it's growing on me. I like the way it looks all polished up!

After the Silver Casting.....

This is the shark jaw, seahorse and ray after being cast in sterling silver, before being cut off the sprues and cleaned.

All Sprued Up and Ready to Cast....

Sprued up with wax and in the kiln! Cross your fingers because on Tuesday I will be attempting to cast these special friends (a shark jaw, some kind of baby ray and seahorse) in sterling silver.

RobinCharlotte's Sterling Silver Pendant Critter Gang

Recent work in the casting studio.
I want to add them to my line!
Someday....
I would love to find an investor of sorts, so I can go forward with them and put them into production!
Everyone loves the seahorse when I wear him. The crabs are also are quite the hit. As for the fish, people love them or are scared (it's hard to see, but the flat fish above the coin has scary teeth) I haven't worn turtle out yet, but will keep you posted!

Copper Alligaor Wrist Cuff

I made this alligator in my jewelry smiting class at LACC. Originally I wanted him to be gold, enameled in white with a ruby eye. So he would be a albino gator, but that proved to be way too hard and way too expensive. So I used copper and a patina instead. Next semester I am going to put tiny rubies on him for little gator warts. Someday if I have enough money and learn how to enamel I would love to make a gold/ruby/albino gator cuff!

I started out by making a line drawing of a alligator using ADOBE illustrator. Then I got a big flat piece of copper and began sawing and sawing. Then I hand engraved the lines in, hammered it into shape and used a patina on it! Next semester I add my tiny ruby warts on him!