Metal Therapy

When designing jewelry, my ongoing challenge is finding balance between disciplined technique and crazy unbridled creativity. I really can't have one without the other. Too disciplined is uninteresting, and too crazy is just chaotic. The earrings above lean more toward the disciplined end of the spectrum. I hammered the copper shapes and applied a darkening patina first, then the red patina later, and finished them with wire wrapped connectors. While the earrings below are a little crazier, with two colors of patina (blue and green), that have been wire brushed to reveal some of the brass metal beneath. Then a layer of slate gilder's paste over the patina to give a little added dimension. I have connected the brass charms to donut beads (from Outwest) with antique bronze wire and darkened copper wire.

Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

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

Black Friday Sale - One Day Only!

Aqua Terra Agate Necklace


Hmmm . . . Black Friday, do I get up at well before dawn, shower and wrestle my clothes on to go shove through 500 overly caffeinated bargain hunters for the 20 available pieces of the latest and hottest electronic gadget that everybody has to own? I don't think so! When the alternative is to sit here in my pajamas, with a cup of my favorite coffee, and browse the internet for more "off the beaten path" gift ideas, guess which one I choose?

To commemorate Black Friday, I am doing something I rarely do. I am having a sale!!! Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY13 in my Etsy shop today only for 15% off with a minimum $30 purchase. My jewelry is all handmade, meaning it is designed and assembled by me. It is definitely one of a kind and distinctive in its style.

Visit my shop, Chrysalis Too on Etsy!

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

One Way to Make a Difference

My son and I were having dinner together at a restaurant a couple of years ago, discussing the candidates for an upcoming election and their different ideologies. He said at the time that he was not too concerned about the rising number of people in our country who were totally dependent on the government for their survival. So I paraphrased the old Chinese proverb into a question and asked: "Would you give a man a fish, or would you teach him how to fish?" His answer was "I would do both." He is right, of course, but giving the fish should be a short term solution and teaching him to fish is obviously the better long term solution.

The jewelry I make is a reflection of this belief. I feel one pathway to peace in the world is to encourage those people who are willing to work hard to better themselves and provide for their families. I use handmade and recycled jewelry materials made by independent, productive people in all parts of the world.

Krobo Beads Handmade in Ghana from Recycled Glass

Handmade Brass from Africa

Kazuri Bead, Handmade in Kenya

Made from Brass Blanks, Hand Cut in Mexico



History tells us that a common thread that causes friction and eventually war is poverty, which can be manipulated by people who are greedy for power. The one small thing I can do is try to close the poverty gap a little bit, by using beautiful handmade materials from hard working people who want to succeed.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire