Post TOAE

After typing in the title for this installment of my blog a vision of a post-apocalyptic world sprang into my mind.  Myself scaling decaying glass, steel and cement structures, heading towards the nearest forest cover where my feet will eventually reach an expanse of natures most beautiful creation, grass.  I can imagine the damp cool feeling between my toes and the comfort of the slight give of the soil beneath my feet. There may or may not be zombies in the vicinity, or the threat of an unknown military attack that I will somehow miraculously survive through again, but in that moment I am happy.   

Okay, I digress greatly.  This is all coming to mind after participating in the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibit for the past three days and standing on a cement square for 30 + hours.  My feet are KILLING me. STILL.  I should have mentioned before my strange tangent that you should probably just skip through to my pictures and captions for a normal post about some of my most current work. If you are one of the lucky ones you have done that already.  In all seriousness though, grass is marvelous and if you need convincing please borrow, rent or buy the Planet Earth series to watch the segment about grass. Your welcome.

I would like to thank everyone who came out to visit and support me, anyone who bought any of my work, stopped by to give me treats, or lent a helping hand during the show.  If you are stumbling across this after taking away one of my postcards please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or comments concerning my work.  After wandering through my blog a bit your will most likely notice that I love creating custom pieces so don't hesitate to get in touch for a special creation!  alexis.glaciale@gmail.com

This past weekend was a great success and I had such a blast interacting with people and talking about my work.  My sister took a break from her myriad of responsibilities to help me out and spend time with me all day on Friday (my birthday) in the blistering heat <3(love ya, sis!)<3  

"Night Owl" Double sided hand painted enamel necklace with handmade chain

Here you can get a sense of the volume.  The enamel components have been set in sterling silver bezels.

Enamel and Uvarovite ring.  Uvarovite is a type of garnet... I just love how unreal the green colour of it is.  Reminds me of grass ;oP

Here you can glimpse the sterling silver band that I fabricated for the settings on top.  The shape makes it awkward to get a good picture of.  You could always come and visit me in the studio to see it in person!

"Whoop-a-Daisy!"

Here again you can see the volume of the pendant on the necklace.

This is the reverse side of the same necklace.

Dog Charm

Woof! woof!!

Meet Picasso, one of my recent custom orders.
I have been finishing some last minute holiday commissions before I leave the city for some family time in the country.  I was excited to work on a piece that will be dangling from the charm bracelet that also holds the gargoyle charm I made a while ago.  I took a shot of the wax before I casted the charm in 18 karat yellow gold.  I ended up using two different types of wax - the blue wax I could carve into using wax burs on my flex shaft as well as dental tools that I use for carving and then the pink wax on the ears.  The pink were tiny wax sheet pieces that I folded and then bonded to the blue wax by melting it in place.  The dog became more and more delicate to carve as he got smaller and I ended up having to give him surgery a few times when almost all his legs fell off, but I think he definitely ended up being well worth the effort.  I am especially proud of the texture I gave his shiny gold fur.

Cutlery

I feel like since I created a ring for one of my brothers as a birthday gift, that this is the year that I make something for everyone in in my family. (We'll see about that...) I knew that my sister wanted some "threader" earrings (posts attached to a tiny chain that you pull through your piercing) and since we're both a couple of foodies I wanted to make her a set of cutlery to wear on her ears. These were so much fun to make! I realize I say that about everything I make, but I really do mean it. These were a joy because I turned such a small amount of material into something. They measure around 1.5cm. Using two tiny scraps of copper and sterling silver I butt soldered the two materials together and then filed them into their shapes. I added a bit of patina to them to give them an aged and used look. Hope my sister enjoys them.