Enjoying My Surroundings

Here's part of the facade of one of the buildings in Balboa Park. They're really lovely, modeled on ones in Spain I believe. If you want to see what they look like, watch the movie Citizen Kane. It's full of photos of Balboa Park, in the beginning where it they are supposedly showing his house, but they're actually shots of the Museum of Man and other buildings.

Today was a day off for me, but I went to work to do some Spanish Village paperwork. As it turned out, I didn't ever get started on the paperwork. But I did some straightening and organizing in my studio, something I always need to keep ahead of. And then I went to lunch with my cousins at the Prado, a very good restaurant in Balboa Park. On the way back, I took a whole lot of photos. Eventually, I'd like to make some of them into photoetchings. What I need to do is spend time once a week or so and take photos all around the Park and maybe in other parts of San Diego as well.

My cousin gave me a silver pendant set with a large piece of labrodite. I wanted to make a necklace to wear it on. I was in a hurry and I made up something quickly which I think has turned out to be one of my better pieces. I intended to use some small labrodite beads that I had and incoporate them with a piece of silver chain that I had. I used some of my industrial findings that are plated with fine silver. I took apart a necklace I had made but never liked, and started to add the beads. However, most of them had such tiny holes that they wouldn't go through the silver wire I had. And they are quite small, so the proportion wasn't what I would have chosen if I had planned it. So rather than struggle with the beads, I searched around on my work table and found several blue glass beads and several blue chalcedony ones. I combined those, using uneven spacing, and they look wonderful. I should do everything so haphazardly. It certainly worked this time.

Before I left my studio, I had started to cut some circles out of copper. Each one is hand done, so they'll be irregular in size and shape to some degree. I was going to punch two holes in each one and incorporate them into a chain, but I may just hang them from chain instead. I think they'd be pretty with silver chain and maybe some gold-filled wire, too. I'm not sure yet. They're so pretty and delicate. I could use them for all kinds of things, but they're time consuming to make, so I'm not sure how many I'll wind up making. I'll have to see. Of course, they could be made out of brass and aluminum as well. I have thin enough pieces that I can cut them with scissors. That's the only way I can make them at all cost effective. I'm not good at using the jewelers saw.

Now after the holidays, lots of my jewelry is gone. It's very nice, but now I need to put aside some of the fun stuff for awhile and make some new pieces. The pearls seem to be very popular. I'll probably make some more pearl necklaces and bracelets. That's the trick, a balancing act. Make some jewelry, working on new etching plates, experiment with shapes and sizes, do a little enameling, clean up my studio, start all over again. There's never enough time for everything. I suppose I could just stick to one medium, but I like so many. Maybe eventually I'll be able to narrow it down. Maybe not.