Another thing I’ve had the time to do is take jewelry classes.  I signed up with an online academy, my first course is saw piercing.  The intricateness of sawing these patterns is challenging enough, but it’s just as difficult to file and finish the piece after sawing it all out.   So even though I've finished sawing these three pieces out, I still have a lot of filing and finishing work before they're done.  Yikes.  (And these are the easy ones! 😂)

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Another project I’ve been wanting to get to for awhile is a ring for my mom.  I know she’d like (or tell me that she likes 😊) pretty much anything I made for her, but I wanted to try to make something in her style. Guessing someone else’s taste and style can be tricky, but she seems to be drawn to Art Deco.  I don’t know much about Art Deco style, so I did a little light reading online, looked at a lot of photographs and came up with this ring.

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And when I posted the photo of my mom’s ring on instagram, I was pretty excited when the lovely owner of this hand asked me to make one for her in onyx.  Can't wait to make another one.  What color would you like?

Most people are familiar with the traditional hammer texture, and I use it in a lot of my work.  A nicely executed hammer texture is just so classic.  It looks just as natural with jeans and a t-shirt as it does with classic evening wear.  These earrings are an example, as is the center ring on the necklace above.

Another texture I use for a lot my pieces comes from this old sledgehammer top I got from a friend awhile back.  I love the distressed look it acquired with years of use before I even acquired it, and it’s this time-worn aesthetic that I’m seeking to transfer to my metalwork.  

My cousin grew up in front of a camera, and her friend is building her new photography business.  So this fall, they offered to do a photo shoot with my jewelry!  I've always wanted to have modeled shots of my work.  Mostly, I'll be using the results of this shoot on instagram.

Actually, I keep my instagram account more up-to-date than my website, so if you'd like to see what I'm up to, this is where you'll find me:   @susiefrancesjewelry   

And if you tag me wearing my jewelry I'll give you 10% off your next purchase to say thank you!

Spirals are an intriguing and ubiquitous shape...present as symbols in many cultures throughout history, as well as in mathematics, art and design, nature and on.  Recently, I started playing with them in my studio.  Am looking forward to seeing where I go from here. 

Meanwhile, the necklace on the right side of the photo is my favorite piece so far.  Mostly I wear it just as a simple everyday necklace on its own, but I've also worn it layered with longer necklaces.

I use a lot of holes in my work.  Visually, I love the use of empty space as a design element.  And for me, holes are also a reminder of breath and space.  They remind me to breathe when I'm feeling challenged, and to create space between thoughts when my mind is on overload.

These are my Holey Path earrings.  For these, I wanted to use holes to create a path, like the path we're on in life.  The holes are different sizes, as are our experiences, and they're also reminders that quieting the breath and mind make for a more pleasant journey.

Equanimity:  mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.

Letters spelling the word equanimity cover this piece.  They are distributed in a random, chaotic fashion to represent the random chaos of life.

The hole in the center represents you...it's slightly raised, pushing through the chaos...and it is a hole, reminding you to breathe and representing your ability to let chaos pass through you. 

The 14k gold ball soldered to the outside of the piece represents detachment, our ability to stand calmly detached watching the chaos without letting it get the best of us.

The chain is pieces of different chains...linked together like the various stories we experience in life.

These pieces were inspired by someone who suggested that I create jewelry focusing on chakra points.  For my necklaces, I used holes and a stone to represent the seven chakras. 

This was a fun project and the necklaces have been well-received in my booth at art shows.  Let me know if I can customize one for you!