Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

   My last post told how a mixed media wall piece combined wood, metal clay, feathers and ribbons to produce a story.   I introduced the 'Gastornis' - an extinct flightless primitive bird.  This week I'm sharing the 2 pendants I made at the same time I made the 'Gastornis' wall decor.   This post is about telling a story with jewelry and shows how color can add to the message. The pendant on the left above combines warm brass beads, meaningful red prayer beads and a handmade bronze wire clasp.  Does it made you feel excited?  The pendant on the right combines Hubei turquoise with silver and bronze.  The greenish color along with the silver cools the bronze.  Maybe this pendant makes you feel calmer?   Each of us bring our own color experiences with us.  I find it helpful to understand what we like and why.  That makes selections more meaningful and enjoyable.   Let's look at the pendant on the left and...

If you are like me, you have boxes of things that you just might need one day.   When I’m making something that looks good but isn’t what I want right then, it goes into one of those boxes.   And yes those boxes are organized with the hope that I will remember to look in them.    We jewelry artists work with tiny parts and I still wonder how to organize, catalog and remember to look.   Maybe part of the creative process is the surprise of finding one of the pieces. I just finished a necklace and did not like any of the clasps I had in my fastener box.   I took out my wire and made one.   I did not think it looked like the necklace either.   So I made another and another and finally made one I really liked.   Into the ‘fastener box’ went the ones that were not perfect for this project.   I realized that I was starting a collection of my handmade fasteners.   I have brass, bronze, copper and silver.   I think I need to mak...