chunky monkey jewelry time

There is a long period mid-November, to mid-January where all resources go into filling orders and replacing stock. After this period of production, it is difficult getting my 'sea legs' back in regards to designing new items. The first few attempts usually find themselves in the scrap metal heap as I struggle to remember what I actually do for a living.

The first new item will probably be a heavily textured ring in larger, men's sizes. It has been some time since I specifically designed anything for men - this is also a bit cumbersome - a bit clunky. Uncomfortable is better than scrap heap.

An unfinished mindworm is making funny noises over my left shoulder, but I am not yet up to the task. A couple of successes this side of sane complexity, and I will tackle that monster.

damnation

The bar scene from Tarr's 'Damnation'.

The outside-the-wish-room scene from 'Stalker'.

Sweet, delicate Monkey - Zone color against the monochrome landscape.

julie

The warm evening sun made sultry, glowing figures of the twenty-something girls playing in the lake. James snapped several shots quickly from his bench in the grassy park.

Julie came up stealthily from behind. She slipped onto the bench, and slid toward him as close as possible. "Which one do you like?", she laughed in his ear.

It was a sweet, deep voice from the past. Before seeing her today, James had nearly forgotten it. How easily it could hold him in it's clutch. He blushed, sounding some poor excuse about an interesting sail boat beyond where the girls were playing. Julie giggled as his words stumbled over each other. The same playfulness of 12 years past. Marriage, children, the responsibilities of adult life had not changed her.

"Want me to pick one out for you?" she asked, leaning around in front of him, so that she could see his face and judge the effect she was having - he blushed to another level. Turning back toward the water, she put a finger to her chin in mock concentration before pointing out toward the swimmers, "the dark one in blue is pretty."

They sat silent for a while, bathing in sunlight and old memories.

Julie had changed clothes since lunch, from a over-sized shirt, into a one-piece swimsuit. As she leaned her chest forward against the oncoming scenery, her exposed thigh pressed hard against the bench. It was not as he remembered. What was once a thin and tanned leg was now the pale, thick appendage... of... of... someone's mother. For a moment the spell was broken.

"Do you want me to go out there and get 'blue girl' for you," she said, "or would you like to go back to the campsite and drink a beer with me before I have to leave?"

James stood obediently and followed her back to the campsite.

misdirection

I dreamt last night that i was drowning in a large can of mushrooms.

be afraid, be very afraid

The instructions were very clear: 'Maintain a 70%+ nitrogen environment to inhibit pod growth'. Pretty easy instructions, right? Just keep the pod on planet earth, exposed to air and all will be OK. We sold quite a few dormant mindworm pods, assuming everyone could follow these easy instructions. Some careless customer has failed to heed the warning. Now we have a mess...

Coming soon: Mindworm Pod #2 - Signs Of Life

original mindworm pod

mindworm pod showing signs of life

werckmeister harmonies

It is easy to forget how formulaic movies have become until we see the hand of genius sweep away - in broad and simple strokes - our preconceptions of film-making. There were only 39 shots in Werckmeister Harmonies, quite a small number for a 2.5 hour film. It would be difficult to forget a single, drawn out one.

Director Bela Tarr has succeeded in taking my perception of the world, shifting it on it's axis a degree or so, and returning it a bit richer.

the flower

Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro’ my garden-bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o’er the wall
Stole the seed by night;

Sow’d it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried,
‘Splendid is the flower.’

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

~Tennyson

pearl pod ring

Over a year past due, and millions of dollars over-budget, the pearl pod ring is now a reality. I wanted this to match the pod pendant and earrings as close as possible. It took coming up with several new techniques, and a few molds to get to where I wanted to be. The overall look is about what I imagined.

onyx pod earrings

Onyx pod earrings are done now. The naked stones had been sitting at my computer desk, staring at me for some time. It is nice to have an actual socket to poke them into. The earrings turned out very close to what I had initially imagined. I had originally intended for the upper part to have a larger loop, but became concerned about structural problems and the ever-present weight issue with earrings. I estimated they would be just over 3 grams when finished, they came in under that at 2.6 grams, which is better than expected.

I was also concerned about being able to clean up the sprue connection. (That is the stick of metal attached to the earring once it has been cast.) The sprue was connected on the left side where the earring begins to loop. Using a couple of specialized hammer setting attachments, I was able to duplicate the texture of the metal enough so it does not look like a patch job.

The onyx bullets taper from the very top, so the silver setting has a grip on the stone. This satisfied my 'never rely on glue to hold a stone in place' policy.