I AM ONE OF TWENTY! Excited about the B'Sue Masters Class January to March 2016

Yes, it's my second time through.  Yes, I got huge amounts out of the class last time.  BUT, in the middle of the class last time, due to chemotherapy, I lost any power I had in my hands.  I finished, but not on time.  This year, I have started in an entirely different way.  My mind in in a new place. And because of my experience last time, I am approaching the pieces I design in an entirely different way.

What appeals to me in making jewelry is the design components I can use.  But I set stupid boundaries instead of saying anything goes. I shut myself off as I want to use the old techniques of the masters. As there is no medication for this, I have to promise myself that I will play around with new thins at least once a month. So, I wanted to to play with the metal last time.  I wanted to bend and mold and curl it with tools.  And I am over that.  E 6000 may be a new friend.  When my niece hits California at Christmas, we will be using FIMO and she will be showing me how to bake it and make it.

What also appeals to me is the piece as an artistic creation.  That shows me I have a tendency to make one of a kinds.  Artistic anomalies.  Something no one else has.  But now, I need to look at fashion.  How can I present a line that is comprehensive yet diverse?  What colors do I want it to go towards for Spring?  I have yet to look at the Pantone colors which can be found here https://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/?season=Spring&year=2016&from=topNav .

I am not thrilled with the trend predictions on these, but the Rose Quartz, Serenity (kind of Lavender Blue) and Limpet Shell (light teal) are interesting. I have a tendency towards wanting to go towards classic combinations in colors from the 40's.  My SO says "Sparkle. . .it needs to sparkle!"And he's right.  So we add sparkle that is not chintzy.

As I have only perused on Vogue magazine, and will wait until Thanksgiving to score a Vogue Italia at our local Barnes and Noble, I have already started thinking of this line to be more cohesive and directed towards wearable with trending clothing styles as well as with classics.  I have a tendency to build my wardrobe around classics or as my SO says "You dress like an old lady."  I much prefer classic, thank you!

So, my twenty sisters and brother from another mother, if he accepts the invitation, on we go for three months of play and growth. Face your fears.  Run to the roar!  You are gonna learn so much!

Hugs--

Mary

Welcome to The Rose Sword's blog post on B'Sue's Blog Hop of Seeing things from a different perspective.

We had out choice of three different pieces to deconstruct and reconstruct in a new way.

I chose this piece:

At first I thought that I would use it to design a bracelet with as that was the obvious choice.  But I wasn't in love with that idea as so many people have done it before and they did it so  much better than I ever could.

So, I got my handy pair of cut metal like butter shears, available at B'Sues Boutique, and I started cutting.  

What I came up with looked a little like this. . . 

And as I am a person who was taught to use every part of the bird, I saved the middle bar piece as seen in the first picture to bend and use as a crown piece.

 Then I colored.  I wanted to mimic damascene . I colorized both pieces and decided on gigantic "Dynasty" earrings.

This was prior to the earrings being assembled.

My last stage was to add flat pearls, also from B'Sues and to use connectors as chain.  

The funny part is, I didn't know where this idea came from until I was walking into my classroom and looked at this mud stain by the door:

 

I hope you like this piece, from my viewpoint to a newer one.  Please leave a comment and let me know what you like or not!

Here's another shot of it:

Why I Like Shopping at B'Sue's Boutiques

By Joseff of Hollywood

 Maybe it all started when I was a kid. . .I mean, most of us would have to believe out predilections and habits and hobbies came out of what we did as children, wouldn't you agree?

Me, old enough to know better; young enough not to care.

I grew up in a very middle class family with a father who was a machinist and a mother who was a stay at home wife and mother. This was long before domestic engineers were all the rage. I grew up wearing hand me downs,learning to bake and cook--even if it was to earn a Girl Scout Badge, learning how to embroider, crochet and work with water color and oils, learning how to design our own patterns and sew our own clothes and learning how to string beads. Saying we did not have much money would have been an understatement. To make ends meet, my father indulged in his hobby--restoring Model A and Model T roadsters. And, to this end, we would end up at swap meets driving the most hideous yellow and green double can truck with a huge utility bed on the back piled high with "valuable merchandise." From Turlock to Harrah's Swap Meet in Nevada, we would go early in the morning, myself napping most of the way over, have breakfast that was packed in the car and then awake to slow activity of old friends our family had made over the years and new friends that we would see for years.

When I was old enough to explore alone, I was able to try on clothes from the 1920's and look at the china and the jewelry. I had my saved up allowance with me for the first time and I bought a bag of sparkling jewelry --broken bits and pieces--for 1.00.  I swear, I must have been a bird in a past life--I love shiny things so much. It was bits, but my dolls would be beautiful. My mother ,less than enthusiastic , pronounced it dirty and ordered me to take it back to the place from which it had come and of course, get my dollar back. So, good kid that I was, I took it back. But I held it in my heart. It is there still.

I opened my first online venue in 2007. A year before the housing market took a dump. When vintage was still at a premium and good stuff was still out there to be found. One of the things I always loved was finding pieces that matched what was in the books written by the experts. It was like stamp collecting where you found the stamp that was on the page that you needed after buying that yellow envelope of stamps. Except these were not all from Helsinki or Italia as those stamps seemed to be.

Loving Miriam Haskell jewelry, as I do,I went on a search for cage work components. And that is how I became acquainted  B'Sue.  From her ebay store to her online venue, I knew there was something special something different . It didn't take long to realize that some of the same stampings she was selling were identical to some of the jewelry used by established designers. When she says that they are from vintage tool dies, she is right on.

So, I wanted to share with you some of what she has sold in the past and what she is selling now. If she has it now, there will be a link to the item. The piece that is pictured at the top of the blog is by Joseff of Hollywood. Joseff designed for many films in Hollywood. The started in 1935, so they produced jewelry for movies such as Gone with the Wind and Breakfast at Tiffany's. The center plaque of that piece was sold by B'Sue's for quite a few years.

Grape Leaves and Vines

Another Joseff of Hollywood piece uses the grapevine frame many of us have used. It can be found right here .

Sold as singles on the main site and sometimes as multiples on the Etsy site.

This is another Joseff of Hollywood Piece

 Birds I

Another piece that was just online at B'Sue's is the birds with arms over the flowers. The dress clips, also brass,were designed by Fred Razazadeh and are a book piece.
They are identical except for the hardware on the back.  I have shown both the front and the back so you can make comparisons.

Deer

 The deer stamping, which can be found online here , is found in the sister store on Etsy.

As you can tell, the pieces are again, identical.

 The next brooch is a sterling silver piece by Lang Silver.  It is vintage.

Porthole

Another popular piece that can be found on the site is the porthole bezel. This is a piece I like to use a lot. I found this one stylized into a scarf clip. It has been modified to have a wave in the disc itself but the pattern is the same as is the size. You can find this piece here .

This is the back of the clip and as you can see, it has been broken off

This is the piece on the website

Birds II

One of the things most collectors want in their collections are the Corocraft Duettes swallows. I believe that the body design is the same on one of the stampings. The head has been altered a bit. That is not unusual for designers.The link for the bird is here . I also have a page that talks about Coro and Corocraft.  You can follow the link here .

Here are the pictures:

The back of the piece showing the clip that fits into the setting so you can wear as a pair

The front

B'Sue's piece. . . Notice how the head is straight but everything else down to the attention in the tail is similar

Laurel Burch Piece

A prolific artisan of everything from jewelry to bags to masks in the 1980;s was Laurel Burch.  B'Sue Bird stamping is an exact match to her 1976 piece called Soaring Birds.

You  can find the stamping here .

Monkeys

Finally, one of my favorite stampings that I actually used in the Build A Line Challenge class, which, if you EVER get the chance, get into it and you will soar. . . the right and left facing monkeys.  Now , I have to tell you that this artist D. (for Daniel or Danny Pollak) is a Canadian artist who has been making jewelry out of Toronto for the past 30 years.  Only part of the stamping is used.  You will want to look closely, to create whimsy on this monkey kind.  My using the stamp and other pieces, he creates something new.  He reminds me of our own Harry Wood at Oscar Crow.  You can find Harry's shop here .

Harry sometimes uses the metal stamping to create new creates, like his bunny Marie Antoinette, or when he uses the heads from German bisque animals a top the bodies of German bisque people forms.  Fascinating and fresh!

Back to Daniel Pollak.  B'Sue carried this stamping.

 In the build a line challenge, I used it this way:

I call this Saint Simian because the top piece I used as a connector makes monkey look like he's wearing a halo!

Danny Pollak used it this way:

Picture by Sandy Campbell

Picture by Sandy Campbell

You can read more about D. Pollak here .

Butterfly

I have one final stamping to show you.  The butterfly.

This stamping is identical and beautiful and one of many different butterflies found at B'Sue's.  The piece on the right or at the top, is not Japan, China or Western German, but it is the same exact stamping that probably cam out in the 1960's.  You can find it here .

An Addendum: The Geisha Girl Heart

As I posted, one of the gals in the B'Sue Creative Group, Mary Reckmeyer, sent me a copy of of a beautiful stamping that she bought from B'Sue's that was an exact copy of a pin that she got from thrift store shopping (one of my favorite past times). You can find the link
here .

Photo Credit: Mary Reckmeyer

And that's about it for right now.  Sorry this was so long, but I had a lot to share.  I am one of those people who will use the stampings in my jewelry but also collect them.  I love history, and costume jewelry has a history of its own that links it to American in a way that nothing else quite can.  It reflects our culture and social and political landscape.  It reflects how women were perceived and how they wanted to be perceived.And it reflects metal shortages and how even through wars we kept the jewelry and ideas alive.  Little pieces of precious art.  Our heritage.

The Rest of the Story

This is a picture of my man and I.  He is the one who helped me cut when I couldn't and even bring rings to a firm close.  He was patience and very loving,  and I dedicate this collection to him. Mario--thank you!  I love you!
 
And so, here is the rest of what I wanted to put together. Please know, these are in a semi-order but some are here and there, smattered, so please, scroll if you will to the end of the page.

 

 The first, my monkies, I call Saint Simeon.  There should be another picture further down the page.  I call them Saint as I used one of the Victorian wreath connectors to glue the piece on the earring and it looked like a halo.I love whimsey and , if I had a garden that had flowers and regular tea parties, I would, no doubt, have a monkey or two in the trees.

 

 There is another close up of earring and bracelet below somewhere as well.  All components are B'sues.  The Iris have a green verdigris look on them, much like the aqua in stock now. The gingerbread is from her Paris die.

Propellers and roses--female steampunk a bit. . . 

I call this "The Ladies who Lunch."  It is the Belle themselves. 

Now , this next piece is one of my favorites.  I love the colors.  It is two sided.  One side has the clock and the other the cameo.
 

 I love these earrings, as well.  It all goes together so well.

I posted this on the third reveal.  A demi parure of the resin roses in both gold and silver tone.

Next,a series of silver and gold tone charm bracelets.  All have watch faces and hearts and acrylic/lucite flowers with crystals.

Then, when I fell in love with this IRIS piece, I knew I had to use it as a charm enhancer.
In silver and gold tones. 

I hope that you have scrolled all the way down.  This is a tie for favorite for me.  The fairy on the swing on a B'Sue cameo mount.

While these beauties were once offered in silver plate and now are offere in brass on the website, I took advantage of what I had in my stock .  Bracelet and earring set.