46/52 Japanese Mask

As I'm sure you know I've made masks pendants for quite a while now. Most of my masks are based on Venetian ones, but I've also made an assortment of animals and aliens!

When I was in Japan I saw lots of festival masks and decided I really should try to make a Japanese style mask! I was just taking a photo of them in this shop window when Dice Minagawa did his impression of one as well! ;)

That kind of made up my mind which style to try! I think this comic mask face is whistling and is called Usofuki from Kyogen traditional comic theatre (but of course I might be wrong!!) :)

I started out using my own mask mould, the same one I use for all my masks. This mould has the eyes cut out though and for this mask I wanted to add eyes (a first for me!!). I decided to fill the eye holes with more Art Clay silver and then set about building up the cheeks and nose to make the comic face. This is a work in progress photo. At this point I was still creating the shape and just trying out how the eyes might look with some dry scraps of clay. 

Once I was happy with the face I finished the back (more on that in a moment) and then fired the piece. Here it is after a quick polishing.

Next was enamelling. A little red in the mouth, some white and yellow for the eyes and black for the eyebrows and nostrils. The dark around the eyes is from a patina I added after enamelling, which I then polished back when I added a stain finish to the mask.

As well as having eyes the other difference for this mask is that I decided to make it into a brooch. Another first for me!! :D

I added a tube and a hook, both made of of silver clay, before I fired the mask. The very last job I did was to add a length of hardened sterling silver wire for the pin.

I've tried wearing it and it sits quite nicely! 

It was a fun brooch to make and something different for me...which has gotten me thinking a lot more about some new styles of masks!!!

That's something to watch out for in 2016!

Have fun!

Joy x

A Host of Angels - Past & Present

I've made several angel pieces in the past.

 I've been searching back through my photos to try to find them.

It's always fun to look back and see the things I made before. I find it interesting how my work is changing and my photographic skills are gradually improving!! :)

 

Recently I've been working on a new design for an angel, based on a heart.

So this is the prototype, just to see how it looks. It's quite tiny, only 19mm in diameter, with enamel and 24k gold in the halo. 

The design needs a bit more work, but I'm liking it so far! :)

It will be interesting to see where this ends up!! :)

Have fun!

Joy x

Weekly Critter Challenge 4/52 - Bluebell

 

Here is this weeks critter - Bluebell!

 

She is fine silver and enamel and she is a brooch. She was a commission and guess what, I forgot to photograph the back with the brooch pin before she went off to her new home! Oh well. I am sure you know what a brooch pin looks like! :) She measures approx 35mm x 40mm.

 

She is based on Bluebell, the cat belonging to the new owner of the brooch. Bluebell is a ragdoll. I really enjoyed making this so watch out for more cats!! If you want to commission a cat brooch or pendant just let me know! 

 

Here is Bluebell's poem

 

Her fur is as white as the freshly lain snow
Her markings are delicate shades
Her eyes are as blue as the clear summer sky
Her intelligence shows in her gaze
Her manner is mischievous, haughty at times
She is Queen over all she surveys

 

Have fun!

Joy x

 

In Print!

 

I was delighted to hear yesterday that one of my pieces had been juried into The Art & Design of Metal Clay Jewelry and More 2013 calendar! My Piece is my lovely fine silver and enamel seagull brooch called Wot! No Fish? Joyful Jewellery! I was so pleased, this is the third year I have submitted work for the calendar and the third time I have been accepted!!

 

The calendar is created by the wonderful Holly Gage, and you can read all it and see thumbnails of each page here. It looks like it is stuffed full of wonderful pieces and I feel very privileged to be a part of it:) It is available to pre order now and will brighten up any wall, or make a great Christmas present!!

 

I am also delighted to tell you that the book Metal Clay & Color is now out and I have a chapter in it! I was invited to write a project about enamelling and I called my piece Luminosity.

 

Here is a little sneaky preview of my chapter. There are 24 excellent projects in the book covering lots of different techniques for adding colour to metal clay. You can buy it at various places including Amazon.

 

With the run up to Christmas about to start I have quite a few fairs booked over the next three months, but I am also teaching all the while as well, so if you are thinking about coming to Hastings for a workshop with me just get in touch! I still have dates available ;-)

 

Have fun :)

 

Joy