Bluestemstudio’s Weblog

One of my favorite things to do is visit antique stores to find pieces to incorporate into my jewelry. It is a great way to include the old with the new and save those wonderful elements that might have ended up in a landfill. I found a metal cross that I hung from a strand of turquoise beads that makes a dramatic necklace. The cross was probably an architectural element from a church. Many of the artists on bluestem studio are repurposing objects also. A rock found on the beach during a honeymoon makes a wonderful ring. The fabric from mens neckties can be used to create cording. A fractured bit of a dinner plate found in a backyard? A necklace? A ring? How about both? Beautiful pieces from jewelery or clothing no longer in fashion? Make earrings of course! Capture those unwanted pieces to create new! It is re-purposing with a purpose and I love it!

Last Saturday was supposed to be a rainy day so my husband and I thought it would be good to escape to the movie theater. As anyone who has been married for more than one minute knows marriage is all about compromise. And we couldn’t. He wanted to see the new Indiana Jones movie and of course, I wanted to see “Sex and the City.” So we agreed to see them both. As you can guess, I don’t have any comments about the jewelry in Indiana Jones. Was there any??? On the other hand, “Sex and the City” was all about fashion and jewelry (and not much else).

About the “Sex and the City” jewelry … I am so pleased to see long pearls making a comeback. Sarah Jessica Parker, as Carrie, wore them alone and layered with other chains and looked lovely in them. I own a 32″ strand that my mother gave me about 20 years ago and for about the last 10 years felt like my grandmother when I wore them. I first fell in love with the long strand when I saw the movie “The Big Easy” in 1987. Ellen Barkin wore a white silk blouse with a strand of beautiful, long pearls. There is just something elegant and refined about them. So I am thrilled I can feel comfortable about taking them out of my jewelry box again. But unlike Carrie in “Sex and the City”, I won’t be wearing them with my jammies.

I met Lexi Erickson, as my instructor, when I took “The Artist’s Way” course at the Baum School of Art. My friend, Teri, talked me into taking the course with her. I was reluctant. I was very reluctant. I was one of the few creative people in the world who had never heard of the book, much less read it. I suspected it was one of those “let’s gather to share personal information with complete strangers” kind of class, which is not what I usually enjoy. But I did enjoy it, and I met some wonderful people through the class.

Last week our “Artist’s Way” group had to say good-bye to Lexi. Her husband accepted a wonderful position in Colorado and she is moving back. Her expertise as an instructor, and a bluestem artist, a mentor and a friend will be sadly missed.

The electricity was out in my house this morning so I had an opportunity to leisurely read the local paper. There were at least six full page ads encouraging people to sell their old gold jewelry. As of 10:26 this morning the market price for gold was listed at $882.07 an ounce so you could see why this would be tempting. But it is a sad time for vintage jewelry lovers like me. When gold prices are this high many wonderful antique items are sold for scrap.

I inherited an 18k gold branch pin with various sized carnelian beads from my step-grandmother. It is not my favorite brooch but I have worn it a number of times. And when I am not wearing it, I admire it in my jewelry box. I don’t know the story behind it - where and why it was purchased. Was it a gift? Did she purchase it for herself? But every time I wear it or I look at it, it reminds me of her. And that is what jewelry means to me. It is a memory, a story, a feeling … the ring I received from my parents when I graduated from high school, the watch my grandmother wore when she went shopping downtown, the pin my husband gave me when I was pregnant with my daughter. Whether it be a vintage item or a newly acquired artisan piece, I can carry around a wonderful bit of someone else as I move through the day.

So don’t rush to sell your jewelry, especially the vintage or artisan pieces. Enjoy them, embrace them and pass them down to the next generation, with the stories attached.

Ever felt a glass pendant against your skin? It is cool at the start, then warms to your body temperature. Through a stressful the day the pendant becomes a source of comfort as you touch the surface and envelop it with your hand. Try one. See all the beautiful glass pendants Nancy Sala has created on bluestem studio

Yes, I am one of those Pennsylvanians who switched from a registered independent to a democrat just so I can vote in the upcoming primary election. And by the title of this post you can tell who I am going to vote for. I think both democratic candidates are good, and very similar in their views, I just think it is about time for some estrogen in the White House.

Since this blog is about jewelry, I wanted to take a closer look at what Hillary is wearing around her neck. I went on her official campaign site and grabbed a couple of recent photos. She is a little too conservative for my taste with beaded necklaces and button earrings but perfectly appropriate for the position for which she is applying. I mean really, could you see her as president in dangle earrings and a long, dramatic necklace? Too distracting! We would be drawn to the bling and not the message.

Good jewelry choices, Hillary!

Not, really. I am just feeling guilty about starting this blog and not writing on a regular basis. I have been busy. I really have.

So, what have I been up to? Developing a bracelet design for the local AIDS support group to sell as a fundraiser. I love working on the designs. It would be great to work for a manufacturer and have the ability to request components with the specifications I need. But since that is not the case, I must rely on what is readily available. Yesterday I ventured out and found myself at Gilman’s at the Cave in Hellertown, PA. A wonderful place with more stuff than you can imagine for the jewelry artist (the actual cave is a great place to explore, also). Martha Westbrook (an artist on the bluestem studio Web site) works there and filled my head with wonderful suggestions on how to improve my design. The Lehigh Valley Hospital AIDS support group needed a lower price point for one of the bracelets I designed and I needed an unusual bead, at the right price, to help them out. After quite a bit of searching, Martha found just the right red bead. Thanks, Martha! If you live in the area, you have to go to Gilman’s. Directions can be found on their Web site, www.lostcave.com.

If you are have been making jewelry for a while as I have, you probably have tons of components stashed away in your work area. So, when I was asked again to contribute a piece of jewelry for the local American Red Cross’ silent auction fund-raiser, I was thrilled to do it. It was so much fun looking through the pieces and parts that I own. It was experiencing the joy of shopping without spending a thing! Anyway, that is what you see below.

The style reports for spring are out … not only are we revisiting the colors and shapes of the 60s and 70s, we are also throwing a bit of the 80s in there too. Bright colors, bold prints … they are all back in style but so is the big, bold jewelry of the 1980s. As a person who has been there, done that, I am not inclined to adorn my body with a large,  geometric print this spring. I am older, wiser, and unfortunately, wider than I was during the 70s. But I will embrace the big jewelry trend this season. As an almost mother-in-law told me many years ago, “Wear big rings, honey, as you get older. People with notice your jewelry, not the age spots on your hand.” Good advice.

My husband and I attended a charity ball a couple of weeks ago. It was a very nice event and as always, I was fascinated with the fashions and jewelry. We live in a conservative community so the majority of the women are still wearing black (including me) although I was glad to see some red, violet and yellow dresses in the crowd. I was disturbed, however, to see too many instances of the “crown jewels” effect…women who were wearing gaudy simulated gemstone jewelry. I will confess, I own a couple of pieces that can pass as diamonds but are really Moissanite or CZ stones. These stones are believable and fall into the carat weight of something I could possibly afford. What I was seeing here were simulated pieces that in their true form would normally be worn by either someone on the red carpet or the Queen herself.

To my delight, there was a momentary bright spot. I saw a youngish woman, wearing a lovely brown strapless gown with the most beautiful faceted smoky quartz necklace. Ah, a wonderful jewelry choice in natural stones that set her apart from the masses! How refreshing!

The short piece PBS Channel 39 created about the artists on bluestem studio is now on youtube. I have attached it below.