Mother Lode Final Stage

I have binding and some needle sculpting to do but they're virtually finished so I can show you. They will be mounted on separate cradle boards as presentation. Everything you see on them is a form of gold, either in metal, color or gemstone.

As I was looking at the jpgs, I noticed what seem to be eyes and faces looking back at me. I tend to anamorphosize a lot of things from composits like bathroom tiles and marble floors. But then, say 'Hello Kitty' when you look at the bottom image and try NOT to to see it!

(Ed. Note: These aren't quite as garish as the picture shows. I promise! My camera tends to really intensify colors and come up with its own shades. You can see more detail by clicking on the pictures above.)

Mother Lode In Progress

I'm feeling closed to finished with this piece. I've decided to expand Mother Lode into a triptych with two more 'nuggets'. I'm putting both pictures I took up for your to see. The first picture was taken with my finger obscuring half the flash. Try this sometime if you have something that is so bright it's barking back at you.

You can see the bead frame around the chalcedony cabochon, earrings, the three plated chains, and the imperial and mystic topazes I put on. Lots of sun sitara, amber, garnet, fire opal, lemon quartz and one pretty bronze pearl surrounded by carnelian. I love the one 18K gold earring and tiger's eye star.

I'll wait to do the final shaping on the outside when all three elements are finished.

Go For The Gold

Here's a progress report on 'Mother Lode', the second piece in my Good Earth series. First, I went through a lot of bead boxes and trays, gemstones, old jewelry, threads, and then found the perfect embossed 'cloth of gold' in my big stash room. It's in the upper right corner of this picture:


I've been manipulating it by needle-sculpting, stuffing and trapunto as I embellish. I want to keep the shape of a gold nugget with its rounded bulges and depressions. I'm using flat lame' for the depressions. This is the darker version of the pictures I took so you can see the gold chain I couched on with gold threads.




The photo with the flash will flat blind you! The shots of iridescent green and blue are actually refracted light from off of the laser cut and iris AB sequins. And of course, I'm working at my computer desk - the only relatively flat and barely cluttered surface at my house.