I’ve been busy creating Sterling silver pieces using garden leaves, maple seeds, and acorns. Also, I have spent time curating & restoring vintage Sterling silver pieces, many with natural gemstones. Among my favorite are those designed by Barse. Melanie Barse started her company in the 80s using natural gemstones including shades of turquoise, blue agate, sponge coral, carnelian and more. Her casted silver and bronze jewelry are produced in a factory in Thailand.
Aside from my obsession with vintage Sterling silver, I am enjoying outdoor raku pottery firing. My naked (no glaze) raku pots are extremely fun to make- love their contrasting black & white!
Naked Raku Pottery
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Sometimes I am fortunate to stumble on an old piece of Sterling silver that has seen brighter days.
Antique and vintage Sterling possess their own unique and beautiful characteristics. Years of dirt, grime, and tarnish (well-earned patina!) may be hiding a sweet treasure.
My restoration process begins with bathing the piece for a few minutes in my rock tumbler. Stainless steel shot and Dawn dish detergent work their magic on the dark surfaces.
Re-purposing is the term I use loosely to describe any item that was intended for one purpose transformed into something else. My antique floral Sterling spoon rings are an example.
I just finished r&r-ing a dainty vintage Coro Sterling pin. The pin was a bit bent and posed a potential danger. So I filed it off, along with taking off the bottom 2 loops. All that was needed were the 2 chains & lobster clasp to transform it to a one-of-a-kind wearable pendant!
Over the years I have found a variety of beautiful antique and vintage Sterling spoons and forks. My favorite are the highly detailed floral designs from the Art Nouveau era. I enjoy repurposing them into jewelry pieces, creating several keepsake pieces from loved one’s silverware.
Because I often only use the handle, I am left with the bowl of the spoon or the tines of the fork. Many these are just as ornate as their handles. It would be a shame to let them go to waste…
Left: antique gold washed Sterling spoon with Sterling rose Right: antique Sterling spoon with amethyst
While my gardens sleep under their blanket of snow, I am still inspired to create Sterling Clay leaves!
I only have two indoor plants at the moment- a large coleus I dug up last fall and a small primrose from my local market. Thought I might try another type of leaf to imbed in the clay. Inspiration struck as I was eating my spinach salad! Why should flowers have all the fun?
For years I have wondered about this fascinating firing technique. Although I am quite familiar with raku firing, I never tried “naked raku” until recently.
And yes, while it does sound like I am showing off for my neighbors, I am actually fully clothed while firing these pots!
Naked raku refers to the notion of using no glaze on the pots. Instead of my usual glazes, I roll the bisque fired pot in a thick layer of wet slip. The slip dries & cracks during the next firing, leaving some naked exposed areas on the pot. Once the pot reaches the desired temperature, I remove it from the kiln and place it quickly into a small container of recycled shredded paper. The fire & smoke finish the pots to form a striking black & white pattern.
Low fired naked raku and feather decorated pots.
A few of the advantages of this firing technique: the firing temperatures can be lower, thus resulting in faster firing times. I usually pull the pots at around 1300 degrees. The process is nearly fool proof, however, thicker slip seems to produce more pronounced patterns (and it is much easier to clean off the residue!) The best part is using all that slip I manage to accumulate!
For a bit of fun, I also experimented with rolling slip over a previously finished glazed pot (see the blue pot above) and the results were quite satisfying! Also pictured above are a few of my feather decorated pots. In place of the usual horse hair, I used some seagull feathers I found at the beach to swish onto the hot pots. They are a work in progress….
Over the Buffalo Moon 