Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

The stone I selected for my class project is a Plume Agate.   I did not realize how healing the process of setting it into silver metal clay would be.  As you know, Prescott had two fires close by this summer – the Doce Fire and the Yarnell Fire.  It is not possible to have a fire close to your town without being affected.  It is not possible to lose 19 firefighters in one of those fires without being affected.  When I selected this stone, I saw plumes of smoke with the sun setting behind them.  I saw the burned ground with the lacy texture at the base of the stone.  I saw the beauty and the destruction of fire and I knew this was going to be my commemorative piece.  As I sketched the design for the setting, I wanted to emphasize the texture at the bottom of the stone.  I wanted to keep the main part of the setting simple so the eye would go to the plumes and I wanted to continue a flame from the front to the back.    The fine lacy texture at the base of the stone contin

Peter and I just returned from a road trip to Utah.   We drove to Coral Pink Sand Dunes that were once (170 million years ago) covered with ocean.   We climbed a steep wet sandy hill of beautiful coral colored sand and stood at the top looking across miles of coral colored sand dunes, high ridges swooping into flat beaches.   We carefully walked among the Welsh’s Milkweed plants taking pictures of the lovely thick-skinned leaves and the globe-shaped blooms.   The thick skins protect the plant from heat, wind and sand damage as the deep roots tap into water under the sand and send horizontal runners making new plants.   These plants are only found in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona and are on the federally threatened plant list. This is where I began to pay attention to the repetitions of shapes and lines throughout the road trip. I always try to be aware of design elements around me and I enjoyed focusing on this idea. I think I could have spent hours studying this inte

Finished!   After 2 days of trying several techniques, this necklace is finished!   I started out thinking it would be cool to make links from polymer clay with some brownish clay, some cutters for the links and complete a quick project.   Cutting the links was the easy part.   Deciding how to attach the links and what to combine with them was more difficult.   The links were baked.   I drizzled Sculpey Bake and Bond and dabbed Pearlex Powder on the baked links to add interest and baked again.   Holes were drilled for metal rivets and the links are ready.     Later I realized I needed to put color accent on the back sides and again drizzled the Bake and Bond and Pearlex Powder.   Baked the links a third time.   Next came stringing the group of beads with flex   wire and using crimp beads to attach the group to 18 g jump rings.   Testing by pulling the flex wire parted the jump ring.   GRRRR!   Maybe soldering the jump rings closed would solve the problem.   When I tried that I b

I made cages!   Tiny cages!   While practicing some of the steel wire techniques I learned from Keith Lo Bue’s http://www.lobue-art.com/  online class, I realized that my collection of tumbled stones just might be the start of a new line of jewelry…..Caged Stones!     So here is my first necklace.   Watch for the new series on my Etsy store www.etsy.com/shop/lindabrittdesign    First I made spirals and turned them into tiny cages.   Then I made ‘s’ links and jump rings and combined everything.     I brushed and buffed them, waxed them and inserted the dyed turquoise.   I need more practice to really control the consistency but I like the first piece!

Feathers with beautiful textures and colors.   As an interior designer, I had access to many exotic products and one was borders of feathers.   These were feathers to sew on edges of drapery; feathers to accent exotic bed pillows; feathers to do almost anything clients wanted.   So when I retired, I kept some special samples (which have been discontinued now) and decided someday I would figure out how to use them.   Thank you Bargia for making them available!   Yesterday I decided to try my hand at using one of the samples.   Feather jewelry intimidates me a little.   I’m afraid the feathers will come apart or fall out but these samples are sewn to a tape and look secure.   The sample feathers for this project are iridescent green with black edges.   The sample measures about 4” wide.   I looked through my beads and went to Bead-It (Prescott AZ) to see if there was anything that caught my eye.   I found a strand of beads that picked up the iridescent quality and brough

Sometimes when you finish a project or in my case a piece of jewelry, you just want to show it to someone.   So I took my just finished necklace, bracelet and earrings to show my friend, Kim, at Bead-It here in Prescott.     This group of jewelry was my experiment into using sheet metals with eyelets and rivets.     She had asked earlier if I wanted to teach a class in cold connections and I agreed.   Cold connections are ways to connect individual parts and make a piece of jewelry without soldering or using a kiln.   I’ve learned many techniques at the classes I’ve taken in cold connections from some of the best teachers – Susan Lenart Kazmer and Deryn Mentock .   So I thought why not? Well, Kim was as excited about my new pieces as I was and so I will be teaching how to make this necklace.   In order to teach a class of 4 to 6 people, I need to be organized!   So I’ve started a syllabus with a list of materials needed and how much the cost of materials will be.   I have an outline o

Do you find yourself drawn to thrift shops, second hand stores, recycle shops, antique shops and estate sales?   No matter how I try to avoid them, an invisible magnate pulls.   Why do I try to avoid them?   Well, there are so many possibilities for all the things I see.   And I tend to keep things until I’m inspired to use them.   That means there are boxes under beds, in closets, and stacked in corners waiting …waiting … waiting!   One of my goals for this next year is to make a glorious piece of jewelry once a month that uses one of the treasures I’ve found; something that creates a story and connects the now with the past.   Being in a new town, Prescott, with so many intriguing places to explore is similar to being in Wonderland.   Looking in, around and under the items encourages me to make up stories about who made something, what the owners lives were like, and inspires me to combine the old with the new.   I’m sharing a few of the pieces I’ve made and will share more in the fu

The weather is cooling off and the bird activity is heating up!   More birds are coming to the feeder and luckily we have black sunflower seeds ready!   I want to share today’s birds with you.   Two Mountain Chickadees came to visit today and since we have not seen them for quite a while, I was excited!    They have white eyebrows which differentiates them from other chickadees.   I love to look for those field marks and they are very handsome!   Remember, the details make the difference!   These birds are tiny and flit through the high branches of our pine trees looking for seeds from cones.   They often hang upside down to gather insects and seeds – very acrobatic!   This winter they may also eat suet and peanut butter so I’m getting ready.   It is very funny to watch them shell a sunflower seed.   They usually hold it between their feet and hammer it apart with their beak!   Not to be outdone, the White Breasted Nuthatch also visited.   Talk about handsome with the sun hitting his w

Who isn’t drawn to fall leaves?   Colors changing, shapes drying, and there is a certain fragrance in the air.   As a kid, I remember jumping into a huge pile of leaves enjoying that crunching sound they made.   So when I walked along our sidewalk and looked right at a group of dried leaves hanging on the tree, I had to pick them.   They were perfectly grouped and hung together gracefully.   What a lovely necklace they would make! The stages of a leaf Studying the leaves, I noticed the variation in sizes and the variation in twists and turns.   I noticed the way they were attached to the center stem.   They sat on my desk for a couple of weeks and I would pick them up and look carefully at them trying to decide the best way to create them in copper.   Finally I made patterns of 3 sizes of leaves.   I cut them out of a copper sheet. Then I experimented with annealing (running the copper through a torch flame until the metal was cherry red and cooling them in water) and I loved the re

Noun  TEXTURE texture ( plural   textures ) The feel or shape of a surface or substance ; the smoothness , roughness , softness , etc. of something. The beans had a grainy, gritty texture in her mouth. ( art ) The quality given to a work of art by the composition and interaction of its parts. The piece of music had a mainly smooth texture . ( computer graphics ) An image applied to a polygon to create the appearance of a surface, Verb texture ( third-person singular simple present textures , present participle texturing , simple past and past participle textured ) to create or apply a texture Drag the trowel through the plaster to texture the wall. Texture gives us so much information.   It gives variety to shapes and it helps us distinguish between items.   It helps identify plants and animals and we can tell what kind of bird lost its feather by the size, color and texture.   It tells us about health.   Is the skin dry and flaky?   Is it soft and supple? W

Tomorrow morning, Sunday, I will be turning on my computer and signing into Facebook.   Jewelry artists from around the world will be meeting on Tonya Davidson’s Whole Lotta Whimsy Sunday Social Club.   We meet every Sunday and often during the week to share experiences, seek answers, gain inspiration and build friendships.   I had no idea when I signed up for this Sunday event how much I would enjoy and look forward to interacting with these creative people. You might like it too! If you are an artist and want to increase your network, learn new things, get inspired and see what is going on in the world, please join us.  https://www.facebook.com/groups/119787814767278/

When groups of people combine their energies and talents, great things can happen.   The jewelry artists from Whole Lotta Whimsy Sunday Circle are no different.   The circle on Facebook formed by Tonya Davidson http://www.wholelottawhimsy.com   consists artists from around the world.   This group (and yes, I’m part of it) shares experiences, talents, friendship and the commitment to ‘connect, create, and collaborate’.   Take a look at the fan page to see how to join https://www.facebook.com/WholeLottaWhimsy It did not take the group long to realize we could make a small difference in not only our community but the world community.   So we decided to create a project to benefit the victims of the Joplin, MO EF5 tornado that struck at 5:41p on May 22, 2011 killing at least 154 people, and injuring at least 900.   Our Collaboration Charms for Charity project was born.   More than 20 artists from the group produced unique handmade charms to create 6 charm bracelets to be auctioned at

Art Unraveled is a gift I give to my creative self.   Linda and Chuck started this art workshop in 2003.    A variety of classes are scheduled all day and evenings.   It lasts a week in August in Phoenix AZ.   Hot! But we are all inside the hotel playing and learning.     Deryn's Balanced Bangles  This year I met my good friend Judi from Tucson.   We roomed together for 2 nights and had catch up friend time.   We also took Deryn Mentock’s class “Balanced Bangles” on Friday and went shopping at the ‘Shopping Extravaganza on Saturday.   The attendance has grown to 400 people and I’m sure will continue to expand both in number of people and classes.   The website lists the classes and instructors and also has the information on ‘Adorn Me’.   www.artunraveled.com  Deryn's Work Table and Her Tools   My Stash for Charms  I took my tools, hammers, pliers, torch, wire, found objects, charms and more.     We drew beads on 14 gauge bronze wire, then hamm