If you're anything like me, you will love Autumn. Autumn is perhaps my favourite season although it is a tough call, because I love spring too. Where we live - in Cumbria, on the edge of the beautiful English Lake District - they are the two seasons where we get the greatest variety of colour. Winter is pretty dreary here, unless there is snow, but the exact place where we live, must be one of the mildest places or earth and although just a few miles away, the fells of the Lake District are covered, we rarely get any snow in our sleepy little town by the sea. As for summer, well, like all of Britain, it is VERY green in "... England's green and pleasant land", but there is not much variation in our countryside around here - unless you like green. There are lots of shades of green!
By contrast, there is a lot of beautiful colours in the spring. It begins with literally thousands of daffodils and then there are the crocuses, snowdrops and blossoms in the trees and, a little later, millions of bluebells if you know where to go.
However, it is the colours of autumn that I love so much and which inspire me and fill me with joy. The reds, golds, browns, yellows and oranges of autumn filling the trees and shrubs are so much more obvious and dazzle on a clear, sunny day. It is hard to believe that such beauty can accompany death, but that's what it does. There may be glory in the dying of the leaves, but only to make way for new life when spring arrives.
So with my jewellery, I always look forward to autumn as I am inspired afresh with new shapes, new combinations of colours and new beauty and I try to reflect some of those things - however imperfectly - in my jewellery. But then, nature is rarely perfect and part of the pleasure of autumn to me is seeing beauty in decay. On the ground are very brown leaves, broken leaves, leaves scarred with holes. Imperfection is all around and that makes it more interesting to me.
So, as I begin this new venture in blogging, it seems fit that it should begin with autumn colours all around me and with this season's Autumn Collection.
The set featured here wasn't my first of this autumn, but it is one I really loved. I say 'loved' because it has gone to a new home now. I was pleased with the colours and it was my first attempt at making this type of jewellery as thin and light as I could, while at the same time being sure it was strong and would last. The leaf surfaces were made using Sculpey Premo Accents polymer clay rolled out at setting 5 on the pasta machine. The leaves were then cut out and baked. The baked leaves were then coloured with alcohol inks and positioned using Sculpey Bake And Bond to 'weld' the leaves together for the second baking. Once cooled , the bail and earring eyepins were glued into place with superglue - just to hold them in place while the pieces were backed with Sculpey Premo Accents 18ct. gold clay and baked for a third time. Finally, berries were made using yellow clay coloured with red alcohol ink (Adirondack Poppyfield). It's rather messy, but it allows for the variation in shade in the berries. The Pendant and earrings were then baked for a final time and the earring hooks and chain added. Like autumn, no two sets ever turn out the same - nor do I want them to as I want every set to look different and unique. I hope you like the result.
So with my jewellery, I always look forward to autumn as I am inspired afresh with new shapes, new combinations of colours and new beauty and I try to reflect some of those things - however imperfectly - in my jewellery. But then, nature is rarely perfect and part of the pleasure of autumn to me is seeing beauty in decay. On the ground are very brown leaves, broken leaves, leaves scarred with holes. Imperfection is all around and that makes it more interesting to me.
So, as I begin this new venture in blogging, it seems fit that it should begin with autumn colours all around me and with this season's Autumn Collection.
The set featured here wasn't my first of this autumn, but it is one I really loved. I say 'loved' because it has gone to a new home now. I was pleased with the colours and it was my first attempt at making this type of jewellery as thin and light as I could, while at the same time being sure it was strong and would last. The leaf surfaces were made using Sculpey Premo Accents polymer clay rolled out at setting 5 on the pasta machine. The leaves were then cut out and baked. The baked leaves were then coloured with alcohol inks and positioned using Sculpey Bake And Bond to 'weld' the leaves together for the second baking. Once cooled , the bail and earring eyepins were glued into place with superglue - just to hold them in place while the pieces were backed with Sculpey Premo Accents 18ct. gold clay and baked for a third time. Finally, berries were made using yellow clay coloured with red alcohol ink (Adirondack Poppyfield). It's rather messy, but it allows for the variation in shade in the berries. The Pendant and earrings were then baked for a final time and the earring hooks and chain added. Like autumn, no two sets ever turn out the same - nor do I want them to as I want every set to look different and unique. I hope you like the result.
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