Author: Jodi Bloom

Taking a break from an intense day in the studio to survey my progress and share it with you.

This is Lawrence Moth, one of about 5 that are in various stages of completion. He’s a brooch with a slightly shorter wingspan than the necklace version. This is heavy duty old tin, tough to cut!

This is a new brooch, a Chanukah gift for someone special.

Second little book charm, will be punched for a necklace. This one has a bit of a gardening theme.

I couldn’t decide which piece to use for front vs. back, so this is the back.

Born in Ontario, Canada in 1934, the Dionne quintuplets were the first set of quints known to survive their infancy. Four months after their birth, their parents were deemed unfit and the five girls were made wards of the King and moved into a specially built compound where they lived for 9 years.

At that point, the government began to profit from them by making them into a significant tourist attraction. Approximately 6000 visitors per day arrived at the observation gallery surrounding the sister’s outdoor playground at Quintland turning the children into a $500 million dollar industry rivaling Niagra Falls.

In birth order the identical quintuplets were: Yvonne, Annette, Cécile, Emilie and Marie. A sixth baby was stillborn.

The year of their birth a set of five souvenir collectible spoons was issued by Carlton Silverplate.

In 1954 Emilie Dionne joined a convent in Ste Agathe, north of Montreal. In August of that year, she died alone in her bed, suffocating to death during an epileptic seizure. The Dionnes had kept her “shameful” condition of epilepsy a secret.

The spoons are highly detailed, with a front/back depiction of each sister in a polka dot dress, along with her name.

Bracelet from forged spoon, with 6 sisterly beaded/charmed dangles and a mourning ribbon affixed. Four other bracelets in progress.

Two of the sisters, Annette and Cecile, are alive today.

These are unfinished works in progress (WIP). Piece pictured above is a necklace and has been on the design boards in my studio for months. Yesterday, I figured out how I wanted the various elements to come together. These elements are so special, a handblown large glass bead, a rusted CrackerJack prize. Another aspect to working with these highly precious (to me) ancient found objects is a fear factor as I start to manipulate them… a fear of punching the wrong hole, of ruining something. It’s really scary at times, in a sort of exhilarating way.

Although I work really fast and furiously at times (and some pieces come together with immediacy), there is an element of patience that is underneath a lot of the work… materials lie in wait, a concept develops, and very often objects are moved around, pulled out, put in… then at some point I just know that I’m ready to start fabricating. Interestingly, some of the pieces that go more quickly often require adjusting and reworking after they are “finished,” ie, they really weren’t (finished).

This is a necklace focal that I haven’t quite figured out what to do with yet.

The centerpiece is one of those amazing beads I used in a ring pictured in an earlier post. Decided I actually like these much better un-patina’d. Sometimes ya gotta just stop splashing the patina around.

This piece is truly unfinished, a brooch that is in progress. The reclaimed tin focal is finished (and I love the fact that it’s a picture of embroidery lithgraphed onto tin), but the dangles aren’t. One thing I know is that the left and right dangles have to switch positions. A different tooth may replace the little pewter tooth charm.

I do know that the name of this piece is Home Sweet Home. I want it to be both sugary and ominous. I think it’s getting there.

I have loved miniatures since I was a child. BFF, Amy, will likely remember our mutual love of collecting all things lilliputian, and to this day I am still drawn to dollhouse furnishings and other teenies.

I made this tiny book charm yesterday, it is only about 1.25 inches tall. Reclaimed tin and newspaper; the hope is that the wearer will add to the pages by scribbling and collaging, so that the work becomes his/her own. As always, many problems to solve with this, but now that I have, making more should flow much more easily.

I’m not the only one in this family who adores small things. Pictured below, the boyfriend’s collection of itty-bitty commodes. Displayed… where else? On the back of the commode of course!

Been seeing these stacks of fun here and there and decided to try my hand.

My version has a tribal carnival vibe, all colors and tatters.

Some of the goodies included are lovely glass beads, sari fiber from India, brass African bead, vintage glass dice, a pretty piece of driftwood, a bone skull and a pair of gorgeous handcrafted clay beads by Marsha Neal. Maybe this is a new version of the charm bracelet.

Balance was an issue again, weighting these so that the heavy side doesn’t always swing to the bottom was key. I loved choosing the beads and charms and wrapping the fibers and wire. Plans afoot (ahand?) for more soon.

I love found objects and lately have been seeing a lot of images of little curated collections by artists who share my passion for hunting and gathering. This is my first of hopefully many such entries, a small composition of items picked up from the ground whilst out and about. The entire collection above was scored in the parking lot of Grainger Tool Supply. These items were all within just several feet of each other. Two bits of rusted wire, as-found, 3 small cherry red plastic bits, a scratched watch hand.

Here is a piece from my personal collection of found object jewelry; I wear this one a lot.

Grunge-tarnished vintage rhinestone princess necklace (probably 40’s – 50’s) with tortured little vintage metal heart locket.

Some artists on Etsy sell their little curated images, others sell supplies and present them as beautiful images. Above is one of my favorites, Jetsam & Juniper.

J&J specialize in industrial scrap found in/around Chicago, a piece of which I used in Vacant Lot in Bronzeville, pictured above.

Another of my favorite Etsy scavengers is Treasure Hider, who is somewhat local to me here in MD, out on the Eastern shore. Her images are as lovely and thoughtful as the little collections available for purchase.

Made this yesterday with tin printing plates scored during a press check. This is my favorite tin piece thusfar and will be a series, no doubt. I’ve been working with this shape in metal class too, puffing the clouds on the hydraulic. Pics to come!

The polka dot bead was etched and is suspended on wire so that it spins. Loving the idea of jewelry that not only look like toys, but that have some sort of playful or comtemplative action. Other materials include tiny black glass vintage (possibly Victorian) button, labradorite, and a sweet little vintage metal tack.

So, this post will NOT feature the work I’ve been doing in metalsmithing class… this is work I’ve been doing at home DURING the period of the metalsmithing class. There is so much that I want to say about jewelry, about art, about making and selling. But I’m going to save that for another time, and just get these images up to share. Here is a link to my flickr site where they will also be uploaded full size. Suffice to say, this has been a year of being a student again. Learning new craft and technique, pushing myself hard, getting beyond what I’ve accomplished to date. I hope these pictures will speak mostly for themselves as I need a BREAK from writing about myself!

Also, I moved out of my office and into my cozy home office a year ago… and since then, my photos have SUCKED EGGS. At the old office, I had fabulous windows and tons of natural light. Here in the basement, neither. (I often think of myself as a little mushroom down here.) But enough IS ENOUGH. I just set up a little photo station in the only place in this house that has natural light streaming in (the jewelry studio! duh!) and I’m happy with the results. Also, after experimenting with props and backgrounds I’ve decided: I’m a white seamless kinda girl. Or is that a seamless kinda white girl? I just like the way the work looks without all the fussery. Anyway, here it is. Some of these are WIP (works in progress).

Introducing… Trevor Moth. I’m making up a bunch of these and they’ll be strung on simple aged chains. Look for these on So Charmed, hopefully soon. They are so labor intensive and I’m having trouble with pricing (as always).

What we Found in the Sandbox. Mixed media, fibers, rust.

Sexy close up.

The focal is plastic, which means it’s super lightweight. The problem to solve was one of balance, it took several tries before this necklace hung properly. I test drive the complex necklaces, and other pieces to make sure they wear well.

There’s a little vintage rubber toy tire with a glass bead suspended. Suspension is something I’m playing with.

James Moth. He was my first. Was still learning my way through eyelets and rivets.

Spent a good part of a day on this guy. Trevor came along quicker.

Mrs. Eaves. A necklace named after a font named after a woman and designed by Zuzana Licko.

My company prior to designfarm, studio 405, had a logo utilzing the special st ligature built into the font. There’s a pic of the lig on the df blog.

This is what Mrs. Eaves (the lady, not the font) would look like if she were a necklace. My most proud moment pictured above, a very vintage glass bead suspended into a very vintage metal garter.

Ring and bracelet in progress. Stacks of these bracelets for sale at So Charmed, eventually. Really love making these. This bracelet has a little whatchamathingee… you know those electrical capacitors.

The ring features this CRAZY metal bead, it’s the anti-diamond ring. OMG, one of my favorite things ever.

I Like Bones & Candy.

Made this after visiting an anthropologist friend who spends a lot of time in Papua New Guinea (a place I’m longing to go). He has a collection of amazing beaded artifacts and from these I got the idea to make this beaded clasp. Mine features a tiny Victorian porcelain button. This was not easy to do properly! The polka dotted focal is made from camel bone. Ugh, I know. But it was irresistible.

This one speaks to me of Coraline and all things Tim Burton. So I named it Coraline’s Heart.

Big learning curve on this; endless hours. I could do another one faster, but not sure I will. I get so easily bored and have too many ideas to just repeat things. This is both a delight and a liability as I never want to part with anything, nor do I feel up to making another. AGHHHHH.

I seem to love me some polka dots, don’t I? This is the reverse of Coraline.

Ok, so that’s it! I want to redesign the blog to hold larger photos, these are still not looking wonderful at these sizes. But over on flickr you can see them full size and without all my blathering.

So it’s been a crazy kind of year at my fulltime graphic design gig (designfarm), which my dears is a very good thing indeed. And I say that with the utmost gratitude to the gods of fulltime work. That said, there just hasn’t been much of me left to make jewelry and So Charmed has been a somewhat neglected affair.

Then along came my birthday and a gift from the BF of a metal working class. That (the class) is really another story for another time, but suffice to say that it got the muses yammering again, forcing me to carve out time to make things and–unbelievably–to completely clean up the jewelry studio. Imagine if you will a literal explosion of tiny beads, jump rings, head pins. Every surface, every square inch. So many projects half finished! All of the good creative moves and the bad ones! Laid out to haunt me and taunt me. When this new work began steam-rollering me it was simply time to clear space… for the brain AND the hands to play.

Clearly something rather tribal going on. Beadwork, for sure. Vintage bits, check. Ribbon made from recycled ancient Indian sari’s. Fibers and lightbulbs, hard and soft, east and west. Far be it for me to sort this all out. Pictured above: Lucky Wolverine.

Seriously rusty found hardware, beads including glass pearls, sari fabric, tiny treasures. A chunky bangle: Vacant Lot in Bronzeville.

Test drove this last weekend and absolutely loved wearing it. Not as awkward as you might think. Not awkward at all, actually.

Gorgeous handmade stonewear beads by ChelleV2 on Etsy, colors aren’t being captured well here. Taxidermy and more found rusty stuff. Best piece of sari ribbon in the whole skein. Bone has been drilled and sewn. Sometimes I do weird things in the studio!

Yum.

Here’s a batch of delicate tribal earrings, including the coolest blue/green tusk from Rehoboth Beach last summer. The tea green oval rings are GLASS. As are those tiny white Victorian buttons. The flamingo colored faceted vintage beads that look like glass are plastic. These all have a certain prettiness.

Here’s another pair of earrings, tribal asymmetry and such: On the Beach includes coral and vtg African beads.

I saved the best for last, a super long necklace full of vintage Czech glass candy that was hand-linked rosary style by yours truly during several hospital visits to a family member. Lotta work, that rosary beading!

Toys included: vintage transparent blue bingo chip and little chunky red gear.

Last but not least: REVERSIBLE! Just look at that image. You know I’m in typography heaven. Speaking of which, back to my deadlines.

xoxo and go find these things in the Pirates section. If not listed, they will be soon, I promise.

Oh, and a little newsletter will be forthcoming. You can sign up here; as you know, special love is offered to my charming subscribers!

Here are two new necklaces that I will not likely ever part with but which I wanted to share anyway. Above & below: (It’s a) Material Girl!

Giant early plastic baby rattle; I don’t think it’s celluloid, likely a bit later, 1950’s or thereabouts. I’m sure I had one of these. It’s filled with the most fascinating floating magenta glitter, making it impossible to stop looking at and playing with. It’s important to teach proper values to baby girls isn’t it?

Poor mousie has turned into a Death Rattle by no choice of his own. There isn’t really anything further to say.

Except maybe that this is just so wonderfully wrong.

Cheers!

Let’s go back to Paris shall we? I know I’d like to. Our rented apartment for the week was situated right between the fabulous Marais District and the Beaubourg District, making the Pompidou Centre one of our key landmarks from which we’d get lost anyway. As you know, I absolutely love gigantic modern art institutions, favorites being the Hirshhorn, MOMAnyc and MOMAsf, and the Whitney. I’m now placing this amazing museum into my top 5.

Completed in 1977 to much controversy, the Pompidou Centre is sometimes referred to as “the inside-out building” because of the incredible exo-skeletal ducts and pipes that are boldly presented on the exterior. The size of the structure is beyond breathtaking. Suffice to say it looms large, posing an incredible modern contrast to Paris’ ancient buildings.

Even the long escalator hangs on the outside of the building; riding it to the top floor for a spectacular view of the city was our first order of business once entering (free the first Tuesday [correction: first Sunday] of the month… a bonus!). It was like a slow, strange carnival ride.

We spent a rainy half day all cozy inside. The view from the top floor includes the Eiffel Tower, that fuzzy structure to the left in the above photo.

David (“the BF” to you) and Molly in one of the escalator tunnels.

Must photograph cool typography when travelling.

An exhibit of women artists was on display that day.

Niki de Saint Phalle–a recent obsession/inspiration of mine–was included. This French-born, American-raised society girl was an artist and fashion model, at 16 gracing the cover of Vogue magazine.

Her work is also on view nearby in the wonderfully playful Stravinsky Fountain (above), alongside co-conspirateur and husband Jean Tinguely‘s kinetic sculpture.

But it is de Saint Phalle’s early shooting paintings that really interest me most. Niki was known to openly reject the staid, conservative values of her family, which dictated domestic positions for wives and particular rules of conduct. However, after marrying young and giving birth to two children, she found herself living the same bourgeois lifestyle that she had attempted to reject; the internal conflict causing her to suffer a nervous breakdown. As a form of therapy, she was urged to pursue her painting. The shooting paintings were created by filling polythene bags with paint and enclosing them within layers of plaster against a blockboard backing. Spectators–including Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns at one point–were invited to shoot at these constructions, releasing the paint. The moment of action and an emphasis on chance were as important as the finished work. De Saint Phalle stopped making these works in 1963, explaining ‘I had become addicted to shooting, like one becomes addicted to a drug‘.

The series of badges above, listing next week in the Debutantes section on So Charmed as well as in the Etsy shop, took close to 2 months to design and complete. Many many things were tried before I settled on the above materials and construction. Each image of de Saint Phalle–from tiara-sporting princess, to cover girl, to shooter, and finally looking eccetric and mature–is surrounded by lush velvet pleating. Shotgun bullet charms dangle from each pin.

Bang bang modern art, dears.