Kind of Strange » jewelry

Wandering Herbalist’s Apothecary – v1

KoS — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:49:48 +0000

Just a quick shot of a proof-of-concept.

I’ve learned a decent amount in making this piece, so the ‘real’ piece should be a great deal easier to construct. Close up shots to follow once the v2 piece has been constructed and cleaned up.

Tender Infestation

KoS — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:46:05 +0000

On their own:

The necklace on its own:

The earpiece on its own (prior to adding the mink bones):

More behind the cut!

A close-up showing how the earpiece fits on the ear:

The set on the ‘model’ aka, the tired artist:

Idea spawned from the ‘Leave Yer Mark’ contest up at: http://www.themoltingcomic.com/contest/

The core idea behind these is to represent the ‘infestation’ of old memories. You know how it is; you’ll be sitting at your desk minding your own business, when suddenly an old memory skitters across your brain, pulling up emotions, whispering thoughts and images of the past. They collect around us constantly, gathering as we grow older and experience the world, darting into focus as we rouse them from their hidden nests in the recesses of our minds.

A large group of cockroaches is known as an Intrusion. So too does this tender infestation of memories intrude upon our lives, for good or for ill.

Materials: Bronze metal clay, old ‘Thing Maker’ roach molds, sterling silver, copper, leather, mink rib bones

Some in-progress photos and notes will follow within the next week, if anyone is interested in seeing how this came together!

WIP – Navigator

Protective Ornament

KoS — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 18:22:56 +0000

In which I actually have some professional photos of my work! Many thanks to Val Mohney for his fantastic photography skills. You can see more of Val’s work here: http://www.valmohney.com (also responsible for the infamous Bone Mask photos)

Without further ado, the pics!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

Progress Pictures

KoS — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 05:14:37 +0000

Not just another porcupine quill earpiece post!

…well, there is a new earpiece, but there are other things to see as well!

Note: Click the pic for a larger image.

Copper, sterling silver, 3mm fire citrine, wolf snout fur scrap

Sterling silver, fine silver, 14k gold, 12mm rutilated quartz, African porcupine quills

Barnacle, sterling silver, fine silver, 3mm moissanite, fox fur scrap (pending verification)

African Porcupine Quills, v2

KoS — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:39:16 +0000

Also known as ‘The Slightly Less Dangerous’ model. The quills used here are in the 6-8″ range and look downright small in comparison to the first version, though still quite dramatic.

This one uses much smaller quills and has an additional accent in the form of a peridot cabochon set in fine silver and 14k gold.

I’ll be taking pictures of this one on its own, but wanted to show the context of where on the ear the piece lies.

African Porcupine Quills

KoS — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:31:03 +0000

Just a quick look at one of the pieces I’ve been working on:

Sterling silver, african porcupine quills.

That’s the first version, the proof of concept, and will be sticking around in my personal collection. A smaller, more polished version will be up shortly.

BenchCam page updated!

KoS — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:32:04 +0000

http://www.kindofstrange.com/livestream

Next scheduled broadcast will be this upcoming Saturday, March 27th from Noon PT until whenever I wear out. (3pm being the earliest possible end time)

BenchCam – Making stuff while you watch

BenchCam – Making stuff while you watch

KoS — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:15:07 +0000

You may have noticed a new link at the top of the page. It can also be directly reached via:

http://www.kindofstrange.com/livestream

I’m experimenting with the idea of broadcasting my bench work live. The wonderfully talented illustrator @3liza has been broadcasting her work live for some time now over at ye olde Sweatshop.tv, and has inspired me to follow suit with a stream of my own. Using a LifeCam HD, a Livestream account, some dubious mounts (I’ll be building a proper rig at some point) and a steady flow of tunes from Pandora, I’ve set something up that (mostly) works!

Starting next week I’ll be posting a schedule and broadcasting on a fairly frequent basis. Random, unscheduled appearances may also happen and are usually posted to my Twitter account 5-10 minutes before broadcast. Check back on the BenchCam page for a schedule and some general guidelines early next week!

Sneak Peak

KoS — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:51:44 +0000

One of several objects I’m making this month.

Sterling silver box ring, duiker horn and wolf fur (pending confirmation, came from a very tiny scrap).

Random Gifts

KoS — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 22:38:58 +0000

In my rush to get these ready for the holidays, I really didn’t take the time to take decent photos of these pieces. I will attempt to bribe the new owners into letting me have them back for a bit at some point, so that I can get a better set of shots.

The running fox. Simple pierced pendant using flame oxidized copper (18g, I think) and sterling silver (22g). Riveted together with sterling wire. This was made as a gift for a friend and neighbor of mine that helped watch my fat blob of a cat while I was in San Francisco.

Dragon pendant for my aunt. 18 & 22g sterling sheet, pierced, soldered and engraved with a florentine graver and then oxidized. 8mm carnelian cabochon bezel set with an open back.

Another dragon pendant, this time for my mom. 18 & 22g sheet, pierced, fused and engraved with a florentine graver and then oxidized. This one using an 8mm trillion cut london blue topaz. This was the first triangular shaped stone that I had ever bezel set, so the experience was rather ‘interesting’. Read: Lots of swearing and a healthy dose of patience.

All of these are original designs, drawn onto the silver with a felt tip pen before cutting. I’m pretty terrible at making any manner of template as well, so while I could likely make something similar in the future, each of these pieces is a unique object all on its own.

There are a few more gifts I should include here, but which I managed to take no photos of. I’ll see about getting pics from their owners in the future.