Insects Up Close

Recently I came across Igor Siwanowicz's macro insect photography.  His photos are stunning.

I was studying images of insects and beetles quite a bit lately for jewelry concepts for my Science Project Gone Wrong sketchbook for Art House Co-op.  I have become a fascinated by their little buggy parts and they don't creep me out much any more.  Until I found Igor's photos.  Many of his photos I haven't even attempted to look at beyond the thumbnail size which is more than close enough for me.

Inspiration

While looking for new inspiration images for my next concept series on sea life I came across this fascinating radiolaria illustration.  If only Ernst Haeckel could see how many people he has touched and inspired.

Color Change Mineral

1842 Hand painted lithograph with applied mica powder depicting the mineral Alexandrite Chrysoberyl and the color change it has in daylight (left) and incandescent (right).  From the publication Schriften der Russisch-Kaiserligen Geselschaft für die gesammte Mineralogie zu St. Petersburg.

I am searching for more information on the 1842 publication and geologist Asbjørn Halvorsen.

Tourmaline

Tourmaline is one of my favorite gemstones.  The stone spans an incredible range of color from dark intense blue to pale blue, yellow, olivine, chromium green to all shades of pink and raspberry.  When I learned that I could dig through the tailings of Tourmaline mines to find treasures I could not resist.  Better yet the mines are about a two hour drive from Los Angeles.

The gems pictured here are just some of what my boyfriend and I found when we went in June last year to the Himalaya Mine and the Oceanview Mine.  These have been washed and scrubbed a bit with a bristle brush but nothing further. 

The Tourmaline in the photo above and the next two photos are from the Himalaya Mine near Lake Henshaw in San Diego County.  The mine was a prominent Tourmaline mine and although it is no longer in operation you can dig through their tailings.  We had good luck that day and found a lot including some Aquamarine and Quartz.

We also went to the Oceanview Mine which is an operating mine.  The Oceanview Mine is located off a private road near the Pala Casino in San Diego County.  It was a hot day and taking a walk into the underground mine was a great way to cool off and see an actual mine shaft.  They frequently post on their Oceanview Mine Facebook page the latest finds and what will be in the tailings for the upcoming weekend.

Below are our best finds from the Oceanview Mine.  We also found Kunzite, Lepidolite, Mica and Beryl.

Beautiful Gems

Vintage glass apothecary vials I purchased.  Wondering how I will incorporate these into a necklace or art project.

Butterfly Wings

B

Butterfly Wing x50

 Butterfly Wing x200

 Butterfly Wing x1000

 Butterfly Wing x5000

Photos by SecretDisc found on Wikimedia Commons

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe

Shoe buckles from the LACMA exhibit Fashioning Fashion | European Dress in Detail 1700 -1915.  Both pairs above are metal with paste stones.  Below pair of man's shoe buckles are steel.

Green Water

Ernst Haas, Green Water, Mazatlan, Mexico, 1963

Unclaimed

Although published late in 2008, I just read about David Maisel's book Library of Dust. 

From  BLDGBLOG written by Geoff Manaugh:

I first learned about Library of Dust when I interviewed Maisel back in 2006 for Archinect. In 1913, Maisel explained, an Oregon state psychiatric institution began to cremate the remains of its unclaimed patients. Their ashes were then stored inside individual copper canisters and moved into a small room, where they were stacked onto pine shelves.

After doing some research into the story, Maisel got in touch with the hospital administrators – the same hospital, it turns out, where they once filmed One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – and he was granted access to the room in which the canisters were stored.

Over time, however, the canisters have begun to react chemically with the human ashes held inside them; this has thus created mold-like mineral outgrowths on the exterior surfaces of these otherwise gleaming cylinders.

Please read the entire essay by Geoff Manaugh.

Since reading about the subject matter I still have mixed emotions.  The copper canisters with organic crystal forms in turquoise, green, blue and white are beautiful.   But no one should become an unclaimed patient.  Never. 

Sketchbook Project 2011

The Art House Co-op received my sketchbook and it has been cataloged and checked into the exhibition.  The sketchbooks will be on display at the Brooklyn Art Library at 103A N. 3rd Street until February 27th at which point they leave for their cross country trek.  The first stop will be Austin, Texas on March 12th.  See the full schedule for an opportunity near you to check out the artist's sketchbooks.

With my sketchbook theme "Science Project Gone Wrong" I explored jewelry design concepts that bordered and crossed into the obscure and odd.  Below are a few of my favorite sketches.

Hand Made Tools

Here are a few tools I made last year for jewelry work.  These were made with tool steel and hand filed with files and diamond bit files.  Each steel piece was heated several times to dull red then dunked in water to temper.

insectes éthérés

It arrived.  Last week.  The most amazing hammer in the world.  Okay that is a bit of an exaggeration but not by much.  What is it you ask?  Insectes éthérés is a custom engraved macro spiculum hammer for jewelery fabrication.

How did this happen?  It is sort of hard to explain how one falls in love but it went something like this.  I took a workshop led by NC Black, they teach micro forming for jewelry fabrication.  I made my first spiculum, then a furry bracelet and other cool shapes and jewelry bits.  The spiculum hammer was my favorite tool of the workshop.  I thought it was the most unique of the tools used for micro forming and when you look at the hammer shape you know it is something special.

Then I took an engraving workshop from NC Black.  While I did a good job for a beginner I am years away from being proficient.  The teacher, Les Byrant, was amazing.  An excellent, patient teacher with a great sense of humor and a huge amount of creativity and talent.  You can see Les' work on his website Le Graveur De Vol or on his etsy page Fluffy's Corner, be sure to check out the Bad Kitty cuff bracelet.

So I fell hard and wanted Les to custom engrave a hammer for me and I requested it to be in the theme of a cabinet of curiosities. 

If micro forming metal sounds appealing to you, I highly recommend NC Black's workshops and you can find dates for a workshop near you on their NC Black website or their updates under NC Black on Facebook.

So here it is, insectes éthérés with a beautiful Wenge wood handle, and the last photo is that of the first spiculum I made.

Valentine's Giveaway Winner

The winner for the Valentine's Giveaway was announced this evening on the Gossamer Bijou Facebook page.  Will she select Door #1 a furry bracelet or door #2 a pair of hoop earrings both handmade jewelery pieces by Gossamer Bijou.

Art Forms of Nature

One of my go to books.  Ernst Haekels' illustrations of bizarre sea creatures is an artist's dream.

Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel – born February 16, 1834, died August 9, 1919.  Duplication of his work has been prolific recently as his work is now in public domain.  Ernst was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor and artist.  He discovered, documented and named thousands of new species.  His publication Kunstfomen der Natur (Artforms of Nature) included over 100 detailed and colored illustrations of animals and sea creatures.

Valentine's Giveaway

Today is the last day to enter the Valentine's Giveaway.  Winner to select from either brass hoop earrings with gold filled wire or a custom furry bracelet in brass with choice of fur or faux fur.  Follow this link to my previous post to enter an win a handmade piece of jewelry by Gossamer Bijou.  Good luck!

Faux Malachite

There is a bit of me that likes interpretations of malachite better than the real thing.  The concentric green organic shaped rings fascinate me.  Above image is Fornasetti's wallcovering version.

Hand painted, source unknown

Jim Thompson Fabric

Be Mine

Vintage Italian Micro Mosaic Brooch.  This is in my treasure chest waiting to be made into a new creation as the pin is broken.

Plant Pockets

Found these plant pockets with succulents on South La Brea near 1st street.