Talk about evolution! The original design for this ring looks nothing like how this turned out. It's sort of a mish-mash of that design and my trying to figure out spinner rings. (A friend had left me her spinner ring to fix, so I got some "huh, how do they do that?....ooooohhhh" time with it.) And no, this isn't my version of a spinner ring 
though the rings do spin. Sort of looks like a spring that's sprung, hence the name Sproing. It's one-of-a-type and currently available in my Etsy shop. It's cute, huh? Vaguely anthropomorthic or bug-like or robotic. Or Sproingy.
voting against his or her opponent. Today as I watched the inauguration proceedings, I was genuinely moved and proud to be an American. I don't know if it's because he's the first African-American elected and it feels like we taken a giant step in that regard, or if it's his youth and charisma or his apparent straightforwardness - a welcome change. I don't know how Obama will do, he's got huge problems on his (our) plate, but I have faith - for the moment - that his intention is true and that he has the power to provide inspiration to a country that disparately needs it. The last 8 years have been a national and international nightmare. Perhaps we can begin to wake up from that and face a new, brighter day.
I'm really fond of the look of tumbled oxidized sterling. It becomes a stunning, shiny gunmetal grey. Here is what I hope is the first in a series of pieces that contrast the gunmetal of the oxidation with non-oxidized sterling, both brought to a high shine. The word chiaroscuro is Italian meaning the play of light and dark. It usually refers to painting and drawing (Caravaggio is a prime example), but I thought it was fitting here too. I call these Chiaroscuro Twist Earrings and they are available in my Etsy shop.
New design. They weren't originally supposed to be asymmetrical, but hey, design happens. With the first one I put together, the larger ring was just a bit too small to sit directly half and half through the rectangular piece. It really worked for me. Guess I'm just an asymmetrical kind of gal! They sat on my bench a couple of days while I picked an earwire I liked and decided to go with the loops I use a lot because I liked that they reflect the circles. Repeating patterns are another of my design fallbacks. I'm liking the strong clean lines and the high polish of these earrings. I call them Geometry Earrings and they are available in my Etsy shop.
Inspired by my vacation to Oahu...
and more can be seen here). We were only going about 12 blocks and were deciding, based on weather, if we should walk or drive. At the time we left it was overcast, but not raining - it had poured earlier in the day. We decided to walk. Five feet from the door, it starts to drizzle. In another block, it turned to light hail (yes, freaking hail). A few more blocks and it was storming hail. By the time we got to the restaurant, we were pretty wet. While we were eating it went from clearing up to pouring rain - which at one point was blowing sideways. Once it stopped, we made a break for it. A few blocks from the restaurant, the sky cleared and the sun came blazing out. We both literally stopped where we were and stood soaking it in. This was all in the course of an hour or hour and a half. Ah, crazy Portland!
