Yeah that was probably too long for a blog post title.  Tinyurl.com, here I come.  But guess what?  I'm the official live blogger for the 5th Annual Charles Lewton-Brain Conference!!!!!!

Maybe I'm a little excited :-D

LIVE BLOG AUG 3-6, right here on SueLacy Wired! 

What have I been up to this week?  Well, about that.  Grrr

Cuffs, cuffs, cuff... they are so much fun to make.  Recently it occurred to me that I almost never plan a cuff.  Literally, I often pick up a sheet of copper with no idea where it's going.  There must be a big piece of my brain operating under my radar because next thing I know, I'm banging away.  Kind of freaks me out.

Since that seems like a weakness rather than a strength, I sat down with pencil and paper to plan out some cuffs.  Because I so admire and envy all you artists with your little sketch books filled with ideas.

Instant brain freeze.  Jeesh.

So I decided to peruse my cuff photos to get things going again.  It seemed like a good idea to collect a bunch into a collage for future reference.  And that's where I stand at the moment -- with a collage but no new cuff this week.  LOL.  Might as well share the collage.

On a positive note...

I did finish up a made-to-order, wire-wrapped Tree of Life this week.  It's fine silver, amethyst, and peridot -- very nice combination!    I like making these by request because it's always fun to see new colors unfold.  I seem to tweak the frame design a bit every time.  But I try to make just one every month or two, to keep it fresh and fun.  Trees should not be tedious ;-)

These are a few new foldform cuffs I've made recently.  Two styles of ruffle and a thin 1" wide synclastic design.  Cuffs are really satisfying to make.  It's a chance to pound out a pretty substantial sized piece of copper so to me, it borders on sculpture... which is a place I'd like to go with this at some point.

I'm really curious about your reactions to the ruffling.  Do you prefer the tighter ruffle or the loose wavy one?  Comments appreciated!!! 

And as for baby pics, here is the little guy keeping me busy three days a week -- my grandson.  He's taking me off task for sure, but how can I complain?  Yeah I'm partial but isn't he adorable?

It takes all my willpower not to splash him all over my blog every week, but these recent photos are just too darn cute to pass up.  

Don't you just want to pinch that chubby cheek? 


Thanks for stopping by and see you next week...  :-)

Do you want to learn foldforming from Charles Lewton-Brain, its inventor?  You can!!  He will be at Center for Metal Arts Aug 3-6.  I'll be there again this year... why not you too?  Click here for the invitation or leave me a comment and I'll hook you up.   Still not sure?  This video will give you a little taste...   http://youtu.be/_0Noad96KsI  ***And here's a new development -- for a special discount, say that Sue Lacy sent you! 

(Hmmm, note to self...  when my post jumps around like a cat on a hot tin roof, type some headings in a bold font and act like it's organized.)

Plumbing pipe gets a makeover
A couple weeks ago, I started experimenting with foldforming using copper plumbing pipe.  That post is here, if you want to see.  The original idea was just to play, not to make jewelry, but some of the pieces looked like beads to me.  So I went with it and made the set below.  The earrings and all the beads on this necklace began life as various-sized plumbing pipe.  

A photography tip
If you're an artist (any type of artist, not just jewelry) you might want to check out Time Tank Labs here in Columbus for photography.  Their Meghan Kwast shot these great photos for me.   If you've been following my blog you've seen the jewelry before, but Meghan is a great find worth sharing.

Blog hours
Where is my Wednesday-post discipline?  Out the window for the summer, it seems. Wednesday has been turning into Thursday or Friday, and I hate to be late!  So the solution --for now -- is to change the text on my home page to "I post weekly."   (hehe, if you can't follow the rules, change them.)

Getting away
Just two days but I'll take it!  Looking forward to a little getaway with friends and family this weekend.  We're planning to check out Warren Dunes in Michigan... can't wait!  Here is a photo I found online.  Doesn't that beach look yummy? 

This is my first brass foldform cuff and also my first anticlastic (turns up on the edge) cuff.  It still needs some filing and sanding, but thought I'd share anyway.  If you look closely at the ends you'll see they're rough and scratchy.  I'll replace the image after it's finished.  Or maybe I'll just add an "after" pic.

I think it started out as 20 gauge brass but it's about 22 gauge now.  It seemed stiff and a little bit more difficult to work with than copper.

[update; I just couldn't leave it.  This was before finishing...] 

[and this is after filing, sanding, burnishing... much nicer color and highlights now!]

I'm going to try and catch my family at the pool now.  It's a hot one... again.  

Happy 4th of July!


Do you want to learn foldforming from Charles Lewton-Brain, its inventor?  You can!!  He will be at Center for Metal Arts Aug 3-6.  I'll be there again this year... why not you too?  Click here for the invitation or leave me a comment and I'll hook you up.   Still not sure?  This video will give you a little taste...   http://youtu.be/_0Noad96KsI