My quest to create miniature books around jewelry platforms…continues! After contemplating my woodworking tools (and how much work went into a single mammoth ivory needle), I decided to outsource the jewelry forms. Find people who make stunning pieces from the start, and build on those beginnings. The latest experiments start here, with five exquisite buffalo-horn…
Read More Christmas in October: Ebony and HornI recently wrote about the materials and inspiration for a series of Dia de los Muertos-themed rings. I decided to do only an edition of three books in this group, because I have different ideas for the next three. To recap: Dia de los Muertos votive bone rings. On a platform of carved bone rings,…
Read More Votive Bone RingsSooner or later, nearly every jewelry maker runs across this problem: how to join loops or links with a sturdy, practical, design-compatible connector. Closed jump rings are difficult to design around. Open jump rings may pull apart at the worst possible time. Wire-wrapped jump rings and connectors can be strong and beautiful, but time-consuming…
Read More Jewelry Maker’s PSA: Split Rings(Updated October 5, 2016) I have just made the saddest $25 win that I ever bet. (2nd update October 7,2016) I’ll keep that $25 safely unspent in case I need to return it.* Because a couple of years ago I privately bet a group of other authors that the embattled erotic romance publisher Ellora’s Cave was…
Read More Ellora’s Cave updateThis was going to be just a section in Filigree’s Rule, but I thought it deserved its own post. (Added info, as of 10/4/2016.) I have begged literary agents before: please clarify your stance on negotiating publishing offers for querying authors. We authors need to know beforehand, if you never do this and would rather…
Read More Agents, offers, assumptions, and bad behaviorWay back when, I graduated from high school in the same month I saw ‘Return of the Jedi’. Yes, that is how old I am, ha ha. From 1977 to 1983, I was a ‘Star Wars’ nerd. During the following years, I lost interest in the ‘Star Wars’ universe as expanded in dozens of books.…
Read More The Force AwakensLike a few hundred million other people last night, I watched the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. I thought Trump had a good initial ten minutes in which he attacked Clinton roundly on her support of previous disastrous trade deals (I agree with him in part.) Then…he lost it. Other people will…
Read More That first debateRemember those carved bone rings I showed off a few days ago? The first ring-book is now complete. I’ve decided the edition of 6 will have a Dia de los Muertos theme because 1) I live in the Southwest, 2) I’ve adored ‘Dia’ celebrations since I was a kid in New Mexico, and 3) It’s getting to…
Read More First look: votive bone ringHey, gang, if any of you get an email purporting to be from my filigree email addy, look closely at its address without opening it. If it comes from a place that looks like this d357cf678@pslaw.co.za It’s a phishing attempt.
Read More Phishing alert!I’m a registered Independent voter. I’ve been watching your political career since 1992. Your good points are also your bad points: you are a career politician and you show many signs of being a paid corporate shill. Okay. At the worst, that means you know that politics and business are nuanced affairs. You are also…
Read More Dear Hillary…On their way to being art. Fire Mountain Gems had a closeout sale recently, during which I got some great items that will all make incredible book or jewelry art. Eventually. The first such transformation will be these six carved bone rings, originally from China & dyed with dark brown bands and peace symbols. For…
Read More Six Bone Rings…I’m having too much fun completely re-writing this book. Should revisions be fun? Slightly different names, timelines, inciting incidents, backstory. Still a big, messy space opera romance. Still familiar to the 1500 – 2000 of you who read the first one, but hopefully much better. The new first line of the new Chapter 1…
Read More First look: Moro’s Price revisions‘Breathe’ has been on my to-make list for a couple of years, ever since I stumbled on the quartet of Latin mottos that inspired it. Is it based in soaring social feelings and a genuine wish to see good in the world? Yes. Especially in this sordid election season and social turmoil. But there’s a…
Read More First look: ‘Breathe’ fiber art bookI didn’t know when I posted a quip from ‘Blazing Saddles’ a few days ago, how poignantly topical that would become. We just lost Gene Wilder, a devastatingly funny, wickedly honest, profoundly wise man. The signal-to-noise ratio of the world just got a bit stupider, meaner, and more callous with his passing.
Read More In memoriam: Gene WilderA month or so ago I posted a progress report on a scarf project. It’s finally finished. I may or may not sell it, but I’d like to wear-test it first. Materials: natural gray-tan linen, bias-cut cotton, cotton-polyester thread, rectangular mother of pearl beads. It not only came out close to my initial sketch, it’s even…
Read More Linen Pearl Scarf – Done!Nobody’s perfect. That we all make mistakes is no excuse for not trying to prevent them, or fixing them afterward. It’s certainly not a reason to go on the offensive and try to deny there was ever a mistake in the first place. Own up, early and completely: most sane people will probably forgive you,…
Read More The importance of proofreadingAfter looking at my old 1st attempt at a fossil mammoth-ivory needle, I decided to re-create the second needle I made back in the mid-80s. Ergo, the new needle is here: This is a fossil mammoth ivory needle 62 x 4 x 3mm, hole 4 x 1.5mm. Inlaid plug of stabilized turquoise. Anchored with DevCon…
Read More A new needleSo, since I didn’t get Singer In Rhunshan into PitchWars (and knew it would be a longshot), I’m back to the revisions on Moro’s Price. For those of you who didn’t know, the latter is a big space opera-ish M/M erotic romance set against a futuristic but by no means scientific background. When wrote it…
Read More Valier, digital pastel, 8-26-2016I thought I’d step back from dire politics, horrendous wars, and unimaginable natural disasters for a look at an amazing artifact just announced to the world. This bone needle. Of probable Denisovan origin, it dates to around 50,000 years old, and was found at a very information-rich cave site in Siberia. What’s so cool about…
Read More The oldest known bone needleBecause sometimes, simple is good. Materials: Champagne SoftFlex heavy duty beading wire, sterling silver lobster clasp, heavy jump ring, crimp tubes, crimp covers, and wire guards from Plazko.com. Orange carnelian nugget beads from the Tucson Rock & Gem Show 2016. Length: 18″ I do have an ulterior motive for making this piece, which you’ll see…
Read More Orange Carnelian Necklace