Rustic Roman Glass Jewelry

Much of the Roman glass available today in the form of beads, pendants and connectors, was excavated in the early 2000's in Afghanistan along the "silk road" trading route. The estimated age of this glass is 900 to 1200 years old. It has a characteristic scaling of white and has an etched appearance, perhaps from exposure to wind and sand over many years. I find the blue, green and yellow colors and the primitive look of Roman glass very appealing and I love to use it in designing jewelry.

In this pair of earrings, I have combined the aqua colored Roman glass tubes with nuggets of matte green fluorite stones and discs of Czech glass. Love the combination of these colors together!

I am finding Roman glass to be very versatile. There is really no limit to the creative combinations that will show off this beautifully rustic glass, and it blends extremely well with my primitive Bohemian style.

Atop a body of hammered copper, I have added two layers of leather, and then the pale aqua discs of Roman glass. Wrapping light weight oxidized copper wire with seed beads around the layers holds them in place and protects the fragile glass.

Roman glass jewelry has proven to be in high demand. These pieces do not stay long in my Etsy Shop! This particular necklace is already sold, but if you have an interest in Roman glass jewelry, I would love to design a piece especially for you. Just convo me on Etsy.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Joshua Tree Collection

My new desert inspired collection expresses the character of the southwest, simultaneously ruthless and fragile. At first glance, the desert can seem bland and devoid of color until you take a closer look. Then the textures and the surprising colors are revealed and you can appreciate the determination of nature to not only survive, but flourish in this arid climate. I have been to the southwestern desert areas several times, and each time I find it more intriguing.

All of the jewelry pictured in the collage is listed in my Etsy shop. I will continue to add new pieces to the Joshua Tree Collection, so stay tuned for more in the near future.

Joshua Tree Desert Inspired Necklace
Rough Ruby and Garnet Earrings



Check out all of my Joshua Tree Collection on Etsy!

Untamed Clay

It was inevitable. Polymer clay was calling to me, saying "Come . . . knead me with your fingers. Mold me into something wild.". So I listened. Whether it turns out to be a passing fancy or a direction for which I was destined, I am having so much fun making distressed and ancient looking beads and components.

When I can't find the right component for my design, it is so liberating to be able to sit down at my metal working bench or my clay table and make what I need.

Letting my imagination run wild, I can hardly keep up with all my new ideas. Just drawing and writing little notes, so I won't forget before I have the time to try them.

I try to use the clay color as just a base, and then after it's baked, coat it with layers of gilder's paste until I get the look I want. The colors are sealed with a matte fixative.

No plans at present for selling clay components, I just like having the freedom to make something outrageous for my own use.

Handmade on Etsy?

Carved Bone Statement Necklace

Supposedly in the spirit of protecting the consumer, several publications have featured articles on Etsy, the question being whether or not items are or are not handmade by the artist? While Etsy has stated that sellers MAY use additional people to help them in certain parts of their operation, shipping for example, the change in their policy did not affect the great majority of Etsy artists who make their products from beginning to end, without any outside help. All of the publicity about the change on Etsy has caused buyers to wonder about the legitimacy of the artists on Etsy, and thus has had an adverse affect on traffic and sales. The timing was impeccable, coming just before the holiday gifting season.

Let me assure you that there are STILL many talented artists on Etsy, who design and make their own pieces. We not only design and assemble, we also do sourcing of materials, photography, marketing, shipping and more. If you look for the phrase "One of a Kind" or OOAK, you will find creative and original work on Etsy that your family and friends would love to receive as a gift.

Teal Bracelet with Hammered Copper Toggle

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

The Kristi Kollaboration

Mayan Style Copper Clay Earrings

The "kollaboration" to which I am referring is between me and Kristi Bowman-Gruel. We found one another on Facebook, and I have been using her metal clay components since she first began to sell them. It was a pleasant surprise when I found Kristi because we share an appreciation of rustic style jewelry. So, of course, the components that Kristi designs are rustic and sometimes tribal, both of which fit well into my approach to jewelry design.

As you can see, we both have a wild side. I love to come up with new ways to use these amazing components, so you will see them often in my work. The earrings in the above left photo are called "Rag and Bone", and are listed in my Etsy shop.

Kristi is branching out into polymer clay (in the picture on the left) and is applying her uniquely original style (she calls it "wonky") to this new medium. I look forward to working more with her polymer clay creations and whatever brilliant idea she may dream up in the future. The bracelet on the left is also available in my Etsy shop.

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Rag and Bone

A recent acquisition of a dozen or so strands of bone beads from one of my favorite vendors at a gem show has prompted the theme for this AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 21, "Rag and Bone". In the above pair, the "rag" is actually recycled sari silk. The brilliant red color is great with the black and white batik bone beads and Kristi Bowman's Lotus Seed Pods. In the design below, I stacked the rectangular brown fish motif bone beads with green turquoise and natural colored carved bone discs, and added copper accents and ear wires.

Rag and Bone Earrings on Etsy

Fish Bone Earrings on Artfire

"Ancient" Artifacts

For this weeks AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 20, I designed earrings to look as though they were just uncovered at some remote archeological dig. Darkened copper with a layer of copper relief to which I have added a verdigris patina. Brass rivets add to the primitive look of the design.

Another primitive earring design using copper metal clay discs from Kristi Bowman and terracotta colored ceramic daggers from Petra Carpreau, that have ancient looking characters painted on them in black, very similar to what you might expect to find on the wall of a prehistoric cave.

Copper Relief Earrings
Ceramic Dagger Earrings

Ethnic Magnetism

 Mixed Trade Bead Necklace

Bone Ceramic Necklace with Turquoise

Black and White Trade Bead Choker

I have been drawn to ethnic art my entire life. Even as a child, I had an interest in clothing, art and jewelry from other cultures (especially native American art).  If the hippie era had not come along and made ethnic apparel more popular, I think I would have found a way to wear it anyway. Native American and Mexican weaving and jewelry were my first love. Later, I moved on to tribal African beads and weaving, that are so full of character and individuality. 

Creating a piece of jewelry from beads that have been circulated for over 100 years, or handmade using 1000 year old methods, fills me with awe. Unless you feel that northern European roots are tribal, I have a strange and spiritual connection to this style of art. Tribal art is so free and expressive! 

Copper Earrings with Recycled Glass

Uninhibited tribal jewelry by Gloria Ewing on Etsy and Artfire.

Peek of Summer

It is supposed to be a play on words Peek and Peak, maybe someone will catch it? Anyway, we are half way through the summer season and it has been a little shorter than usual this year, so I thought it deserved a little celebration. Boldly colored copper and pewter jewelry pieces with a casual summer 2013 attitude.

Red Flower Earrings
Copper Charm Bracelet
Turquoise Yellow Copper Earrings
Sunburst Pewter Earrings
Copper Heart Polymer Clay Earrings

Recycled Blue Jean Necklace

Recycled Blue Jean Necklace with Jasper Pendant

One day I got an idea for a necklace with denim cord and started looking around the internet to find something suitable for my design. I couldn't find anything even close to what was swirling around in my brain, so I decided to make my own. My husband volunteered some retired blue jeans he was saving for summer painting chores. The denim is torn or cut into long strips, which I wound around one another and secured with cotton cord. Some of the detail from a back pocket of my old jeans is woven into the front of the cord, and each end is embellished with rusty orange silk ribbon. The pendant is a freeform green snakeskin jasper pendant with patches of rust brown and blue.

Asymmetry

The Japanese are masters of using asymmetry in design. You see it in their lithographs, their architecture, and in their gardening techniques. Using asymmetry is one more element that can create interest within the composition of your design.

In these earrings, I use rusty brown Czech glass nuggets and transparent brown nuggets along with copper in an inverted asymmetrical design.

Monochromatic by bohobeader featuring leather handbags

Alice + Olivia summer top / Miu Miu / Paige Denim super skinny jeans, $345 / Sergio Rossi suede platform pumps / BCBG Max Azria leather handbag / Weston Scarves silk scarve, $275

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Earrings Everyday Blog Spot