Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

As I sit at my desk or at my work space, Ravens swoop between the tall swaying pine trees.  In the evening they gather in those same trees and ‘talk’ to one another with their varying individual voices.  I am entranced with them. The Raven is the subject for my latest base metal clay pendant.  I want a pendant to feature the Raven and relate to its environment.  I want to use a piece of Poe’s poem and have the finished project look rustic and a bit organic.  I’m using some of the older clay from Hadar’s clay line-up; this time I used Quick Fire Copper, Friendly Bronze and Quick Fire Steel XT.  The Quick Fire Copper was used for the back and the bail.  All three clays were used for the applied sections.  I put them on coconut carbon and set the stainless round bowl on the camp stove.  When both sides were black, I added carbon and put the bowl in the kiln firing on the mid-fire schedule. Finished Piece Waiting is the most diffic...

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 pi...

Photographs!   I have a computer full of photographs I’ve taken and I bet a lot you do too!   While I love to look at them and remember the events, emotions and friends, I want to do more with them.   Since I make jewelry, I’ve been experimenting with ideas.   That’s what I do- experiment with ideas and then turn them into wearable art – jewelry. So as I went through my photos one day, I saw that I had a lot of animals.   Especially animals from Africa (what a surprise since I only brought home hundreds of photos from Africa!) and I decided to make a silver bracelet with a cat family.   I had great photos of a cub, a lion and a lioness.   I experimented with photo sizes and charm sizes and eventually figured out I could use 3 charms on a bracelet and have room for tiny beads.   And then I realized that this bracelet had endless possibilities. It could have photos of birds for a birder.   It could be a friendship bracelet.   It might be a...

I walked through the forest on a sunny day. Butterflies flitted from flower to wildflower gathering nectar. Bird songs filled the air.   I took a deep breath and was at ease with the world. Sunshine flowed through swaying pine branches. Rocks glittered with the light. Moss grew in the shade on the north side of the trees. Wildflowers scattered color and scent among the stones and trees. The yellows, greens, browns, rust and gold fed my soul. Here I sit with my beads, my wire, and my photographs. I dream of that walk again and create my ‘forest walk’ necklace.   The silver clay setting has a small polished dark stone surrounded by memories of flowers and leaves in relief.   A little engraving of vines and a hint of yellow (Gilder’s Paste) complete the silver part of the design.   My picture of a butterfly on wildflowers is set in the upper bezel protected with Ice Resin that magnifies the details.   Small tumbled beads, the colors of my walk, are amber, glass, ma...