sticks and more sticks

I'm developing a real "thing" for sticks. Hammered copper sticks, hammered brass sticks, copper sticks with heat patina, brass eyelets to set them off. Mixing them up with gems and stones, they really are an eye catching addition to a funky necklace or earrings.



All day I've been at the bench, sawing and hammering and firing these little guys and then wrapping them up into earrings and connecting pieces for an upcoming art show in Richmond- Arts Around the Lake at the University of Richmond.



Brass connector with sterling loops on the ends... for charms, perhaps?



When I originally pulled this out of the etchant solution, I thought it was a goner-- too deeply etched after I flaked out and forgot about it, sitting in the chemicals, being eaten to the quick. Oh, rats, (ok, I didn't say rats...) I said when I remembered it and pulled it out. It's been perched on my bench for months now, but after some time has passed, I'm really liking how it turned out. Only a few words can be recognized, but the deep recesses of etching on the other words make it look like an ancient text or scroll. Kinda cool! So, I put an eyelet in it and posted it on Etsy. Ya never know...



This is a double sided piece of etching I did yesterday in brass. I traced an old Spanish coin that I found at the beach years ago (yes, I really found a coin from the early 1700's on Assateague Beach near where my parents live-- how cool is that?!) and used the rough shape as a template for this pendant. I don't have a fancy punch machine to cut out shapes, so I do it the old fashioned way, with a jeweler's saw- even round shapes. Anyway, on this piece, one side has a medieval lady on it, the other side has coral. I'm really pleased with it because it really looks like an old coin, which was the whole aim.


Reverse side, although really they are interchangeable. Look for Tosca coin pendant on my etsy site.

I haven't done squat today as far as cleaning things up or doing laundry or any other household tasks. This is thanks to Deryn Mentock, who kindly sent me a book during my healing process called The War of Art, a quick read with a huge punch. Basically it lets the artist know that the art isn't going to get done by itself and get the you-know-what out of you-know-where if ever you want your art to go places farther than the back of your mind. Good stuff. Thanks Deryn!

Even this early, we are starting to plan our trip to Italy. So far, we have forty bucks saved for it. :D Are we on top of things or what?
But, in a huge stroke of good fortune, a friend of my husband has a girlfriend who has a brother who lives in, yes indeed, Rome! And better yet, I've been in touch with him and he not only is a tour guide, but also got us an apartment in Rome for the duration of our stay for free. So things are looking up. So far, tickets- check. Accommodations- check. Passports- somewhere at the state department- check. Spending money- uh.... well, we're working on that one....