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

Wonky Bead Blog Hop Reveal

Wonderful quirky polymer clay beads in vibrant colors called for an eclectic design. So I abandoned my comfort zone, and tried my hand at using nylon cord to link these Kristi Bowman clay beads with bone, bits of silk, brass bells etc. I hope I did them justice :) and I can't wait to do another piece with them.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Tribe L Earrings

Tribal Totem Earrings

Tribe "L" for lively,  liberated, lighthearted, luminous, and luscious earrings! Tribal jewelry is my style!! Every few years, tribal jewelry makes a comeback on the high profile fashion runways, but it is my style all the time. 

In the top photo, the artisan copper components are from Kristi Bowman Design. In the bottom photo, I have used ceramic spikes from Petra Carpreau of Scorched Earth on Etsy.

For more earrings in the Art Jewelry Elements blog hop click here.

Tribal Spike Earrings

Summer Whimsy

Orange Polymer Clay Earrings

August signals summer's waning days before the season changes again. Still hot and steamy, but each day mercifully a little shorter than the one before. There is a frenzy of warm weather activity taking place, because we know our time for such things is limited.  

That frenzy is what I wanted to capture in these new whimsical summer earrings.  Orange polymer clay discs by Kristi Bowman, to which I have added a waterfall of brightly colored Greek ceramic and Czech glass beads, with a couple of copper accents.

Gloria Ewing jewelry on Etsy and Artfire.

Boho Tribal Flashback

OK, you know how old I might be to even think of a title like that:) but I love that style and I always will love it. Not everything that happened in the 60s was bad; much of it was an awakening of mind, consciousness and perception (with or without chemical enhancement). Instead of being a country that was content to be isolated from the world, we opened up our thinking to include America's heritage from the native tribes, acknowledgement of eastern religions and customs, and a realization that our life style and freedom, no matter how much we cherish it, is not the only way of life.

When you think of the colorful images of that era, they are mostly hopeful and uplifting. It was a rebirth of idealism, which is a wonderful thing if you are not blinded by the rheteric and neglect to research the facts. That is the most political comment I will ever make on this blog.

Copper clay components handmade by Kristi Bowman of Kristi Bowman Design on Etsy.

You can see more boho tribal jewelry here or here.