One thing leads to another, and another...it never ends!

Well, happy Friday everyone!

Here are some pics of my latest creations....hope you enjoy!

This is a pendant that I made from Silver clay and silver bezel wire...it was a lot of fun!  But of course it lead to other things and now I think I am officially hooked!

Have you ever noticed that you start out trying one thing which leads to another path?

I started out with polymer clay, which I then set in silver plate which lead me to an interest in silver clay.  This has led me into silver metalsmithing and now I am even playing around with copper and bronze.  Which wouldn't be a problem if you could use the same tool set for everything.  So now I am starting lists of tools that I need to pick up eventually, and this list just keeps getting longer everyday!  One tool comes in, I play with it and then I realize I need another tool...you know the drill!  But slowly I am accumulating a nice set of stuff!  Just hope my kids realize this when I am gone!  LOL!

Even though I keep picking things up here and there my list keeps growing.  So now all my friends and family know that for gifts...all I need are gift certificates to my fave metalsmithing shops!  Hint Hint!

Anyways....I think eventually I will have everything I need......yeah right! :)

But now I am interested in what everyone else has in their toolkit....let me know what your faves are!

Lastly here is a pic of a pair of silver hoop earrings I finished yesterday!

They are silver clay that has been textured, shaped and fired.  Then I patinaed them with LOS and soldered earwires on them.  Enjoy!

The F Word

I'm back!  Sorry about the prolonged absence but the family just got back from our annual family trip.  So, I am back and refreshed and ready to go!  One of the best parts of going away is getting excited to come home.  I had a wonderful time, picked up a few books and magazines on metalsmithing and soldering and when I got home it was time to pull out the tools and get to work.

Being as I live on an island and am not surrounded by people with the same interests as me, I am a totally self taught individual nowadays.  I would also have to say it is thanks to my mom, who taught me to be able to teach myself.  She taught me not just to look at something and see it's beauty, but to look at it and immediately question, how did they do that?

The next key is failure.  Ooops, did I say the F word?  Actually for me failure has become a part of learning.  I have found that if you allow yourself to try new things with the attitude that you will not punish yourself if you fail, it opens up so many new avenues.  The fact that you are prepared for things not to be perfect, it gives you the ability to TRY.  And from those attempts, whether they be perfect or not, you learn so much!  And some even lead to brand new things to try.

So, when I got home I had decided I wanted to try to make some rings and solder them.  They aren't perfect, but I never expected them to be.  They are just what I wanted. 

These are sterling silver rings that I made and soldered.  I made the earwire and attached gorgeous peridot briolettes at the bottom.  In my opinion they are awesome.  Hubby had to deal with the squeals of joy...the constant "Did you see these?  What do you think?  Aren't they awesome?" to which he smartly replied "They rock hon!" (Good man!)

This of course has opened up a whole new can of worms.  But.....that is for another post!

Past Projects

Morning everybody!  Took a few days off to start getting ready for our family vacation that we head off on this Friday. 

Thought I would continue the reflections into the past and show you some of the resin and polymer clay work I have done recently. 

 

This is a ring I made for breast cancer month. 
It is polymer clay that has been painted, distressed, silkscreened and then set in a bezel setting and glass like resin poured on top. 

I love doing this stuff, you never get the same thing twice!

Here is a view of some stuff I had put together  for a show on the island.  Notice the blues...they seem to just pop in this stuff!

Okay well that is it for now...I will try to put together a kick ass post before I head out!

Commissions.....love 'em or hate 'em?

Yes, I did it....day 4 with a new post!  Not going to be able to keep this pace up but thought I would spoil all of you early on!

Today I want to talk about commissions.  Do you take them?  Do you enjoy them?  Or are they hard for you? 

I recently had a friend come up to me and ask me to make two pieces of jewelry for his wife.  All he told me was her ring size and that she liked big, bold silver jewelry.  Which is very vague but immediately I got busy coming up with ideas.  When I presented the ideas to him, he liked them but said they weren't quite right.  Eventually I came up with something that he agreed on and I started creating a gorgeous ring (imho) and a set of earrings.

The pieces turned out wonderfully and my friend's wife really enjoyed receiving them.  But the whole process got me thinking.  Is the turmoil of a commission worth it?  I do plan on taking commissions from friends in the future but I will be more specific...they can tell me size, colour and brief idea of what they want but then it will be up to me.  I just can't get into people's heads and figure out what they want even though I think they think I can! 

So let me know, do you take commissions?  And how do you deal with them?

Day 3! Oh my goodness I am unstoppable! :)

Day 3 I thought I would give a little background into other things I have made prior to this experience of blogging. 

Just recently I finished a bronze cuff bracelet that I made to look like pieces of bamboo stuck together.  It turned out better than I thought it would!

Here is a view from the top of the piece just after coming out of the kiln.  Notice the gorgeous colours...love the patina straight from the kiln.

 

 

 



Here is the bracelet after being polished.  It is a gorgeous light piece...not too heavy to wear but open and very fragile looking!

Now to go look for day 4 stuff!

Day 2...I did it...two days in a row!

I am still trying to figure out this entire blog thing but I just wanted to let you know that I am already thinking of my next post!

If you like listening to all the "interesting" things going through my head please go ahead and follow me.  I would love to see what you guys are doing so will check out your stuff and follow you back!

I plan on posting stuff that I have done in the past so you can see my growth...if there has been any! lol

Next piece I want to do is a gorgeous orange/red one so keep coming back!

Well hello there!

I finally succumbed.  After being told for years that I needed to start a blog I have finally taken the plunge, bit the bullet...you get my drift.

Let me tell you a little about myself.

My name is Lisa Pakosh and I am a wearer of many hats.  I am a mom to two amazing young women, both blow my mind on a daily basis.  My husband of 21 years is my best friend and someone who surprises me every day with how spectacular he is.

Now onto the reason for this blog.  I said I wear many hats....which is true.    It makes me feel all funny when I say that I am an artist.  For years I never admitted that.  I don't paint, I can't draw worth beans....even my doodles need help!  But I have finally accepted the fact that I can say I am an artist.  Why?   For many years I have fooled around with a wonderful medium....polymer clay,  and have just branched into another field...precious metal clay.  I am like a kid in a candy store...there is so much to learn, everywhere you look a different technique, a different tool...it is endless.  I am excited and overwhelmed at the start of this journey.

So be patient with me...it will take me awhile to get into the whole keeping up to date bit.  But I will try!

I start off with a picture of my latest creation in PMC....no name for it but I love it anyways.  It is going to be a donation for an event happening this weekend for my local Humane Society.  I hope the winner likes it as much as me!