ARJ Sends The EBC Ambassadors Off In Style
August 6, 2009
My church, Emmanuel Baptist, has a program where members are able to host a South African child for the Summer. This year my Mom went through the necessary screening and was chosen to be one of those host parents. She hosted 9 year old Nxobile (No-bee-lay) who, though experienced loss at a young age and comes from humble means, gave much of herself. During the children’s stay, the host parents, supporters and children had many opportunities to bond. The picture below was taken at The Lincoln Monument, Washington, DC, where the children, host parents and supporters traveled a few weekends ago.
Top from left: Alison, Clive, Tommy Bottom from left: Gopolang, Nxobile, Lucky, Martin
Needless to say, because of time spent with all of the children, I’ve become very attached. It was only right for me to send them back with a token of affection. For the boys, I made wrist pieces that bear their names.
Wrist wear that bears the names of the boys
I was able to get a little more creative for the girls (I’m a girl too!) and design some neck wear for them.
Hand braided necklaces bearing the girls' names
The interpreter who came along with the children, Lorraine, was an absolute gem, with one of the sweetest spirits you could ever come across. The piece below was designed with the thought of ‘queen’ in mind.
Rose colored, faceted stone that I embellished with hammered, silver wire. The pendant sits on a hand braided suede cord
So, they will be leaving tomorrow…..(sniff, sniff) and while I’m sad to see them leave, I’m happy that I was able to experience them and learn from them. I hope I’ll see them all next summer. Below is a link to the kids’ goodbye gift to the congregation of EBC. Enjoy!
SIDEBAR…….
Funny story about the spiral portion of the pendant for Lorraine. The spiral was something that I conceptualized as I began my love affair with hammering wire. I had no idea what to do with it but I figured I’d save it because it looked interesting.
Tip for my fellow artisans, DO NOT throw away your practice pieces! You never know when you can incorporate the design into your next piece, adding the finishing touch to that special piece.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s?
August 5, 2009
There’s just something ultra feminine and Audrey Hepburn’ish about a great set of pearls. Because of this appreciation of pearls, when a friend of mine commissioned me to make a pearl set for her to wear to a wedding, I got excited. You see, people sleep on pearls and pearl like stones. The common misconception is that pearls are for older folks or simply out of price range. MAN LISTEN……..Pearls can be spiced up, dressed down, rocked by the young and adorned by the distinguished woman. They can be worn by the fashionista on a budget or stashed in a vault by a connoisseur.
Like any other natural resource, what you pay for is quality. With the pearl, the quality is graded by roundness, size and color. The rounder and bigger the pearl, the better the quality. Also, a pearl with an unaltered coloring will also yield a higher value.
Most high quality pearls are strung on silk and hand knotted. This is for appearances as much as it is for functionality. When pearls are strung on silk, the drape on the neck is better. Also, silk doesn’t fray as easily as other threads, meaning you won’t have to get your pearls re-strung as often. The knotting between each pearl gives your piece a great vintage look, but also protects your pockets. If your strand should pop, you stand to lose a pearl or two, whereas if your strand is NOT knotted, pearls go flying everywhere. Not good……
When I string pearls for a client or even for myself, I tend to incorporate the characteristics of high end strands of pearls. These qualities make for a great looking strand, whether I use pearl like stones or high quality pearls. Breakfast at Tiffany’s anyone?
Necklace, earrings and bracelet with black satin bow. The pearls were strung on silk and hand knotted. All of the pieces to this set have gold vermeil accents
Frustration Births a New Thing
August 5, 2009
So, after finally purchasing my first jewelry hammer and metal block, I went to work releasing all of my built up frustration on a couple pieces of 20 gauge wire. Poor wire…….never knew what hit it. Ahahaha. Anywho, what was birthed was a pair of citrine, hammered wire squares, custom designed for a friend who had a citrine pendant but no earrings. Glad I was able to assist her in completing a set. Enjoy girl!
My first shot at hammering wire. More to come!
As for future hammered wire projects? Yep, they will very much be a part of the next Autumn Ray Jewelry collection. Not only does the hammered effect add character to jewelry, but it helps me to release pent up aggression. Everybody wins! lol
The Children Are Our Future
July 31, 2009
When my niece, Jasmine, approached me and told me that she wanted to go into fashion design, I was shocked, but then again, not really. You see, there has always been something creative about Jasmine, just waiting to burst out. Seeing this, her Mom, and my childhood friend Tracee, decided to enroll Jasmine in some fashion design classes at Pratt Institute. Unfortunately Pratt didn’t have any Summer offerings in fashion. What they DID have, however, was an intensive summer program in jewelry design. This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to check out the work of 11 year old Jasmin Rucker, of JR Designs. Needless to say I was EXTREMELY proud and very much impressed by the creativity, innovation and skill of Ms. Jasmine.
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- On Jasmine’s first day she was instructed to create a wire worked name plate. Awesome job for the first day.
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- Leather and wire earrings, necklace and bracelet. The leather is rolled and bound by jewelry glue. Jasmine told me that all of the materials came from items that could be recycled, like pocketbooks, sweaters and scraps.
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- This concept is based off of the movie, The Wizard of Oz. This is Glenda, The Good Witch’s gift to The Wicked Witch; A set that consists of earrings, a necklace and a bracelet. The hats are made of wrapped velvet ribbon and the yellow, grey and black wire coming out of the hats represent magic. Awesome!
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- This concept is called Day and Night. See the sun and the moon? The moon is made of shell and the sun was created by wrapping yellow wire around a round object. Jas told me that initially she wanted to paint the balls yellow but didn’t have the time, so she wrapped them in yellow wire. Quick thinking and great idea Jasmine!
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- I LOVE the colors of the materials used here. This set was made with grey material from a sweater and gold wire, which Jasmine wrapped to resemble a flower. Loving the cuff bracelet too!
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- The teachers at Pratt even included concept boards into their curriculum. This tool will be beneficial to Jas for conceptualizing her collections in the future.
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- The concept board for White Fuff
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- The concept board for the Wizard of Oz concept, Dark Magic.
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- The concept board for Day and Night.
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- The designer, Jasmine Rucker, and a portion of the JR Designs collection. The rest was at home because there wasn’t enough room for it all. Creativity is a powerful thing!
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- Jasmine after being presented with her certificate of completion, but my girl isn’t finished. This is only the beginning!
If you have a child who expresses an interest and passion in something, by all means, encourage it. The sooner a person finds and develops their gifts, the better and more rewarding a life they’ll have. Two thumbs up to Jasmine’s mom, Tracee, for encouraging her child to go after her passion, whatever that passion may be.
ARJ on Etsy
July 21, 2009
Yes, yes ya’ll!!! You can now buy ARJ pieces on the web via the Etsy site. I will be adding items to the Etsy store regularly, so make sure you check back often for updates. Oww!
ARJ at UWANTGAME 2nd Annual Fundraiser
July 19, 2009
So, I attended the UWANTGAME 2nd annual fundraiser on July 15th, where I was asked to donate a few items for the silent auction.
The lucky winners received the ARJ Goddess set and three pairs of cuff links, which I titled The Trinity. Congratulations to the winners. Not only did you receive two beautifully made custom sets, but a worthy cause was supported.
Me and The Goddess necklace, made of Turquoise and Coral with gold accents. Shoulda did something with the hair but it's more fun when you're imperfect
Afro Punk Block Party 09
July 19, 2009
The Afro Punk Block Party in Clinton Hills was THE event to attend. People, young and old, came out to peruse the artistry that was on display and to hear some of the underground sound called Afro Punk. ARJ had a first hand encounter with the energy of the day as a vendor for the event.
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- Clinton between Myrtle and Willoughby was poppin!
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- My organic display. Made from rice and pods that were falling from nearby trees
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- Sade and Mootzie at the ARJ table
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- Yours truly after the ARJ table was set
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- ARJ’s right hand, Sade, assisting a customer
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- Peruser Karina Sharif rocking an ARJ tribal piece
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- My three favorite pieces. It was hard to part with these
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- Organic earring display
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- My large earring setup
Needless to say, it was an awesome experience. Afro Punk Block Party will definitely see me next year. Check the photo gallery for some of the items that were on display.
