My apologies...

I'm very often working away from my blog and realized that no one knows when that is - it just looks like I'm not responding! I popped in to see if I had any unmoderated comments, was shocked to see I hadn't stopped in since February, and then saw how many comments were sitting in the comment box.

But wait, it gets worse... I read through all the comments (more than I've ever gotten before, of course), and then when I clicked to delete one of them, all of the other approved comments disappeared! Good grief.

Anyway, I am sorry to have been away so long; things can get really busy around here. Since the last show in Columbus I've had a tough time balancing making enough new work for upcoming shows and making several custom pieces along with having kids and life and stuff, etc.

I think it's fair to say that unless I have a special project a client wants to follow or new professional photos I'm probably not going to post - it's just too hard to find the time!

To answer as many comments as I remember: thank you everyone for the sweet compliments! The baby spoon wasn't a commissioned piece, I just really wanted to make one. It was recently accepted into the Ohio Craftsmen Best of 2010 exhibit, and is currently touring different gallery stops throughout the state. It's an honor to have my work chosen for the second year in a row.

The green amethyst ring just sold to a lady who was absolutely crazed over it, which is one of the nicest compliments of all!

And if you're interested in my work, need a custom piece, or want to purchase a piece you've seen, please contact me through the "about me" link and click on my email address - I'm not ignoring you! Artists always need new work and I'm no exception!

Again, sorry to everyone for losing the comments and slipping into a studio-driven coma!!!

~Jeni

Green amethyst ring

Here's the latest off my bench, in all different stages - pleased to enjoy!

~Jeni

New ring to see

Back on January 11th I posted a picture of a sapphire ring propped up with another ring to take the photo. Here is the process for that ring: a winding vine with hand hammered leaves and a labradorite cabochon. It's been worked off and on for the last couple of weeks in between other projects, and I started to polish it today.

Here are the leaves - hammered and in place next to the vine with solder bits ready for the torch. Next everything is wrapped around the mandrel to form a ring shape.

I like the way the vine undulates and seems to beg for something to

be added for ornamentation where the two ends meet. So, after a few minutes of thought and searching through gemstones, I added a bezel to hold a round labradorite cab, and then set the stone. The blue flash in the stone is a little hard to capture on camera, but I tried! Enjoy the pics. :)

Enough snow, ok!?

The winter wonderland was really magical... can we have summer now, please? Here's a view from my studio:

The newest thing on my bench is this beautiful sapphire ring with a vine pattern similar to the wedding rings. One picture shows an unusual way to solder the prongs on (I was experimenting). The other shows it fully put together with prongs cut and leveled. The ring is resting on another ring design I'm playing with to see if I can get a more open design.

Then there's the photo of the ring completed and waiting for a final polish. The stone is a unique cut of sapphire, cleaved along the chatoyance, I suspect. In other words, I think it's been cut alongside what would normally be a ray from a star sapphire. The end result is a deep, dark blue with a wonderful flash along the face of the stone that makes you look twice! I really like this one...