Solitary Companion

Solitary Companion
Treescapes
Photo by: Daniel Krucoff

Interesting title? I like the contradiction of the words. Once again, I see this little isolated tree in a sea of white. Lonely? Perhaps. Yet I have this sense that the little tree can be a companion for the wearer of the piece. Hence, Solitary Companion; another from my Treescapes series.

This beautiful Dendritic Opal came from my shopping finds with Mark Lasater of The Clamshell. Set in sterling silver, with more of the colorful oxidation that has a light coat of Renaissance Wax to help preserve the color.  The piercing in the upper right corner of the piece is my replication of the solitary tree I see in this stone.  I added some texture to represent the ‘leaves’ that those little dendrites form around the tree in the stone too.

I’m having great fun with these new pieces.  While Treescapes was originally inspired by the Dendritic Opals, other stones will be finding their way into this collection.  More to follow…..

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

Snowy Butte

Snowy Butte
Treescapes
Photo by: Daniel Krucoff

Another from my Treescapes series, inspired by the imagery in the Dendritic Opal stone. There are a number of interesting butte formations close to us. I actually found one called Chalk Butte that looks a great deal like the formation in this stone.  Yet with all the white, this one just reminded me of how things look after a fresh snow fall, so I call this Snowy Butte.

This stone is another I bought from Mark Lasater of The Clamshell.  The oxidation provided an even more colorful backdrop for the sterling silver setting.  I love the bluish tint in the upper left hand corner; a bit of an extension of the ‘sky’.  I carried the shrubs into the top of the setting with some piercings for the branches and texture.  Continuing to experiment with the look and feel of these, I added a small silver ball to the frame too.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

The Inspiration

The Inspiration
Treescapes
Photo by: Daniel Krucoff

In September 2011, I attended The Gem & Mineral Show in Denver, CO. Lexi & I spend a day together at the show and visit our favorite lapidary artists. I purchased this Dendritic Opal from Mark Lasater of The Clamshell. The minute I saw this stone, I could envision what I would make.  It became The Inspiration for my Treescapes series.

Mark and his wife, Christa, always greet us with warm smiles and enthusiasm. They know Lexi’s favorite stones and mine. This year Mark said, let me show you these little Dendritic Opals. Smaller sizes and each one had these very interesting tree shapes in them. They were gorgeous. I bought a number of them. My first selection was the stone in this setting, because, it had the most prominent and striking tree.

The first in my Treescapes series was Evening Moon, which is an Amethyst Sage that Mark gave me at the end of that shopping spree. Now the series has ‘come to life‘ and I have completed several more with the Dendritic Opals that were the impetus for the series. I will write a brief post on each of them in the coming weeks.

Each piece has an Oriental theme; most are framed with square wire and have piercings of the tree shapes replicated as part of the background in the setting. Each has been set in Sterling silver and oxidized.  Some of my recent Treescapes have a bit more color from the oxidation process. I’ve used a light coating of Renaissance Wax to help preserve the brighter colors created by this oxidation.

I am curious to know your experiences when you have seen something and it immediately generates an idea for your art work?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.

When Creativity Strikes!

Spring
Tree-Scapes
Photography ~ Daniel Krucoff

Several weeks ago, I was approached to create a piece as a gift for someone who had purchased some of my art jewelry. The people who approached me, knew that this person loved what I did and they wanted to give her a special gift for Bosses Day. I was given free reign to create whatever I liked, because they said I knew what she liked. I was delighted and it was so refreshing to just approach a commission with no restrictions.

I knew that my new Tree-Scapes series would be the right direction. The sweet little stone in this pendant is a Chrysoprase that I had purchased from Gary B. Wilson. It seemed to call to me the loudest of any I had for this piece, so I started sketching as you can see from the photo.  I find I keep returning to variations on this shape as I did in Evening Moon….only with Evening Moon, that backdrop was long and slender.

As I am prone to do, I asked Dan his opinion and he was drawn to the more Oriental shape in the upper right of the sketches pictured.  Me too, BUT I was a little concerned with how I would fabricate this piece.  Well, as I proceeded, it just came together.  Again, I see imagery in the stone.  There is a solitary tree with a mountain as a backdrop.  I was going to carry the mountain into the setting too, but as I worked on it that did not seem right.  So a few tree trunks, some leaves and the frame.  All in sterling silver that has been oxidized to emphasize the details in the metalwork and showcase the stone.

I was so happy with this piece that I knew its recipient would be too.  I can report she loves it and has since told me it is one of her favorites.  As an added affirmation, the people who gave this to her have told me that she wears it almost every day.  Wow.

You just never know when creativity will strike!  Trying to force it to happen, really doesn’t work.  Having the freedom to explore definitely helps.  I am so grateful I can solicit a second opinion from Dan when I’m not completely sure where I want to go.  Relax and it will come.

I have more to do with Tree-Scapes and I am looking forward to where the stones will lead me.

Until next time, aspire to be more as an artist and a person.