Archive

Flashy Feldspars

In late July, I got to visit the very first Pay-to-Dig mine in the state of Wisconsin, called Wisconsin Moonstone LLC, in company of my mom! We joked that our rocks have terroir (a term usually used for wine, implying a unique taste imparted by the exact location where the

October Newsletter

Hello friends! First of all THANK YOU to the people who are still shopping small artists despite The Way The World Is Right Now. In the past month I got a few Etsy sales and a few Gallery sales, and they've helped to keep my spirits up. I

September Newsletter

Hello! The big news of the month is that I'm moving! Not far - staying in the same town actually, but we still have to pack everything up, move it, and unpack it all, plus some cleaning and home maintenance on both ends. Plus I get to build

Book Review: The Cartiers

I recently finished reading a book called "The Cartiers: The Untold Story of the Family Behind the Jewelry Empire" by Francesca Cartier Brickell

July Newsletter

Hello friends! First, because these items are timely: If you are in the San Francisco or East Bay area, there is a brand new summer art fair July 6th at the Crucible in Oakland, where I will be selling brand new chainmail and pendants. And "The Gray Area"

HooDooHex

I love chainmail. I think I enjoy it because it's a process-oriented art. The goal (usually) isn't a figure, a picture, an allegory; the glory of chainmail is someone going "wait you put how many rings together?" and marveling at the pattern you can

June Newsletter

Hello friends! Happy summer! Time is flying, I've been doing this full time for over 6 months now and I haven't remotely caught up on all the projects and ideas I have! (Or the baking, or the house cleaning...) In May I did a bunch of

Fragile Lily

This is a further chapter in my quest for a Red SeaDragon. For more background, start with Red Enamels. Red enamel reacts with silver, usually by turning yellow and opaque. During some experimental enameling (while creating 40 Earrings in 40 Hours) I discovered that sometimes the reaction happened even when

Making a SeaDragon Trio

I made one of those process videos you see all over Instagram! These things are a ton of work! 😫 But it is super cool. I didn't have footage of the wax molding / spruing/ casting / cleanup parts, so you'll have to image that until I get back

Blue Dragon

The original SeaDragon designs were developed somewhere around 2008 or 2009, while I was in college. And by "developed" I mean I did one round of sketches for class and then used the first set of shapes I liked and could successfully model in the 3D program. The

Green Wyrm

Here's a major accomplishment for the month! This SeaDragon 4-piece necklace (now being called a Wyrm necklace) is the second I've ever made with riveted construction, and the first one where I've done the riveting after the enameling 😬 That means smacking the thing with

40 Earrings in 40 Hours

I decided I needed more SeaDragon stud earrings. Many more. I also decided I would find out how many I could make in just one week! (because reasons) Day 1 (Monday): Luckily for this crazy idea, I already have a mold for the Mini SeaDragons. Each mold makes 4 pieces,

Black and White

ACCI Gallery put out a call for art on the theme "The Gray Area": The boundaries between light and dark, certainty and ambiguity—where do we find meaning in the in-between? "The Gray Area" is an upcoming art exhibition exploring the depth, nuance, and complexity of

Soft Clock

If you are exploring different art styles and movements through history, you basically have to make a melty clock. Salvador Dali's soft clocks are among the most famous examples of surrealism. So famous that, apparently, I'd never paid sufficient attention, because before this project I didn&

Le Chat Noir

If you do a google search for "vintage art nouveau cat" your image results will be peppered with this poster by Theophile Steinlen, in a wide range of colors and saturations. (If you search for "le chat noir" you will find the image available printed on

Red Enamels

An update on the trials and tribulations of temperamental techniques.

Year in Review: 2024

A quick look at the changes and accomplishments of this year.

SeaDragon

Greetings! Today I'm telling the story about my silver SeaDragon jewelry. It started as a college project, and is still evolving and growing. This sets the stage for the exciting plans I have for next year!

Ammonoids

I made a set of 3 pendants based on Ammonite fossils!

Hello World

Welcome! I'm Kat. I make jewelry, and I've decided to write a blog. Perhaps one day it will get beamed directly to your inbox. Why? We all say we need to spend less time on social media, including me. I want to break out of the