Jewelworx

Now on sale at .... Cole Haan!

I have expanded!  Look for my pieces at Cole Haan in Freeport, Maine as well as the Artisans in McLean, Va. 

Cole Haan purchased a bracelet and four necklace/earring sets of volcanic rock, handmade African glass and South American tagua nuts on my visit there in early September.  The bracelet was a beautiful charm style with scores of freshwater cultured "coin" pearls in teal and olive.  When I stopped by ten days ago on our "leaf peeping" expedition, Cole Haan had already sold two of the pieces!

Maybe I'll even spot Sarah Palin wearing one of my pieces since the New York Times featured a photo of her wearing new Cole Haan boots (purchased in Freeport?) on an outing in Maine with Senator Susan Collins.

Studio Tour report

Wonderful fall weather ... 60 degrees, blue skies ... and lots and lots of people.

Thanks to all of you who visited my displays at Laura's home in Great Falls. 

Don't forget, you can see more of my new work at the Great Falls Studio's Christmas Show at the Historic Colvin Run Dance Hall in Great Falls (Directions here.)  It's Dec. 13th and 14th.

Click on the photos to see larger images.

I've been busy!!!! Come see!

 

Come to the 5th annual Great Falls Studios Tour.

Saturday and Sunday, October 18-19, 10-5pm

New pieces featuring Technique Metalworx

I will be exhibiting and demonstrating at 438 River Bend Road.  (Google Maps link here.) It is the home of Pig Pen Pottery and Laura Nichols, President of Great Falls Studios. There is lots of parking.  The setting is absolutely bucolic: a winding country lane, a one-lane bridge, hills and dales, the way Great Falls used to be!

You will be able to see the work of a wonderful water colorist, Linda Jones, as well as the functional and decorative pottery of Laura. Weather permitting, Laura will be firing Raku in her outdoor kiln.

A color Studio Tour brochure with map to all the venues and with a description and picture of each artist's work is available at Great Falls Hardware, at the Library and many other downtown locations.   Many artists have "doubled up" as I have so that you will be able to see a variety of art, skills and talents at each location. I'd be happy to mail you one if you email me.

I'll be teaching this fall

I will be teaching an eight-week course this Fall on jewelry-making.  Entitled "Five Easy Pieces" it will begin on Monday, September 22, 10-1pm and run until November 17.  Held under the auspices of the Great Falls Foundation for the Arts (GFFFTA), the course will take place at 1144A Walker Road in Great Falls. 

I will be teaching:

• basic bead stringing and earring skills
• fringing techniques,
• wire working
• and my new-found love:  metalworking 

In wire working, we will be doing coiling and make clasps and a bangle bracelet.  Fringing is a decorative technique that makes any bracelet or necklace very special.  In the metalworks section, we will be texturing, torching, piercing and antiquing metals to produce unique earrings and a pendant. 

The cost of the course is $300 (half of the proceeds go to GFFFTA) and there is a $50 materials fee.  I will provide the tools and supplies.  If you have any questions, or would like to register, email me:  donna@jewelworx.com 

I will be teaching two more courses this fall at Star's Beads in Vienna.

Friday, October 31, 10-4pm.
Metalworks (at left), a microcosm of the course I will be teaching just mentioned above where we will be texturing, stamping, piercing and antiquing brass and copper to make decorative earrings and pendant.

Friday, November 6, 10am-4pm.
The second course is my fiber fantasy entitled "Froth and Glitz Necklace." (At right.) It's a concoction of fun fibers and vintage beads are woven into a funky necklace using beads from your stash or even old jewelry.  This necklace appeared in the Washington Post last October and was also in the program for our Great Falls Studio Tour.

For more information about Star's classes, go to www.starsbeads.com  Registration begins September 8.  Call (703) 938-7018.

Boy!, I'm glad that's done!

How I spent my summer: I produced a new Web site from which to sell my jewelry.  It is on "ETSY", a huge E-Bay type site for handmade items only.  There are over 60,000 vendors and it can be a little overwhelming (actually A LOT overwhelming).  My site is:  www.jewelworx.etsy.com 

It is a great opportunity for just displaying, describing and selling my pieces and payment is via Paypal. 

My greatest frustration, however, has been photographing my work, as Etsy uses both thumbnail pictures and close ups when you click on them.  My thumbnails, however, need help and are definitely on my to-do list.  Anyway, most of the items I have posted were created this summer and I have more to put up!

Ben and Bayly Go for a Swim

Frank and I and our two Bouviers, Ben and Bayly have had an active and fun-filled summer in Wiscasset, Maine.

• Ben has perfected his monkey-in-the-middle soccer ball game.
• Bayly continues to amaze us with her energy at 9 1/2 years of age.
• Frank completed a one-week digital photography course at the Maine Media Workshop in June and has gotten heavily into it over the past weeks. 

Certainly there is no end of interesting subjects to photograph in this wonderful state, from our fog-enshrouded Sheepscot River at dawn to exotic chickens at the county fair.

My source of inspirations: flea markets and travel

Susan Johns of the Wiscasset Newspaper wrote a very kind story in this week's edition.

 

Donna Barnako probably isn't the only artisan who scours the Montsweag Flea Market for items to use in her craft. But the Wiscasset resident might be the only one who takes her search international. The jewelry Barnako creates with her finds could include special glass she sought out on Murano Island, near Venice, Italy, or silk cocoons she brought back from Dublin, Ireland.

Read the full story here: http://wiscassetnewspaper.maine.com/2008-08-28/world_s_finest_beads.html

Etched Copper Earrings

Here is my first pair of etched copper earrings.  They're about an inch in diameter and I've made some tiny wireworked twisted Sterling coils as accents. 

They may look elegant in their simplicity, but many steps were involved in getting there. (Click on the photo for a larger version.)

    Starting with a thin 3" X 3" sheet of copper, I used very fine steel wool and kitchen cleanser to abrade it; stamped it with decorative designs using special carved stamps and ink.

    The sheet was then immersed in a caustic solution for 45 minutes.  It emerged quite blackened and had to be steelwooled vigorously to remove all the caustic agent.

    Next it was "antiqued" with Liver of Sulfur, a smelly concoction much used by jewelers to add a patina and definition to their pieces.  Again vigorous cleaning with the steel wool and then I used a disk cutter to make as many small 1/2" and 3/4" disks as I could out of the now-etched sheet.

Oh yes, I also tried to center the designs to best effect on the disks and each had to be sanded as the cutter had left edges which were quite sharp.  Finally, I used a dapping block to form and shape each disk.

At last they were ready to be made into  "simple, but elegant" pieces of jewelry!

Open House - Artist in Residence, Artist in Action!

Dear Jewelry Fans/Friends,

Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 17 and Saturday, May 24, Noon to 4pm. 

I will have TWO open studios to showcase my newly created jewelry pieces.  In addition to my intricately beaded works, I've begun incorporating chains of interesting design along with semi-precious stones in some necklaces.  They look great when worn with a silk blouse.  Then there are my Pagoda Earrings in which I hammer the silver or gold, pierce it and team it with a luminous "stick" cultured pearl.

I've just returned from Phoenix where I took some amazing classes (like etching on metal) and bought some awesome findings. Can you believe glass beads from 350 BC?  I will be madly at work during the next 10 days fabricating some new treasures and you can even see me at work during the Open Studio.

If you need directions, send me an e-mail.

My address:  (Link to Google Maps.)
9700 Beach Mill Road
Great Falls, Va.
Telephone:  703-759-3549

SPRING CLASSES!

I will be teaching two classes at Star's Beads in Vienna, Virginia in April.  One of them, Moons of Saturn, is new.  Here is the basic info.  If you have any questions, email me. If you wish to register, call Star's at 703 938 7018.

BANGLES:  Friday, April 11, 10-4pm; $60.

A fun and full day of learning wire working skills.  We will make 2 or 3 bangles in copper, brass and Sterling Silver.  Learn to coil, wrap and form metal, to make focal and accent beads and fun dangles that are heart and triangle shaped.  We'll clean and polish the metals and then learn to antique them.  We'll also make a beaded focal bead.

Lots of good info and everyone walks away with several bracelets! (Click on the photo for a larger image.)

MOONS OF SATURN, Friday, April 24, 10-4pm; $60.

I have been having loads of fun making needle felted beads and shapes and then embellishing them with seed beads.  In this class we will make felted balls about an inch in diameter and then sew small complementary-colored seed beads on them. 

You can make tubular shaped beads, or even a little "Devil" as I've done in photo at right.

In addition we'll learn some interesting new wire working shapes to complete a unique necklace.

(Click on the photos for larger images.)