Gems and Jewelry

2011-10-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

Just got back in town today.

I decided to follow the advice I read about being better organized.

My question is, why is it no one told me how hard it was going to be to get organized.

First I had to find drawers I could mount to the underside of my work bench. Then order them

They arrived today, and for some unknown reason, they decided to only send them with half the number of wood screws I would need, so down to OSH.

Then I had to take everything off the work bench. Damn. That reminded me about why I needed to be organized. Following the exodus of stuff, I turned the bench on it's side, drilled pilot holes, tried to screw in the wood screws, drilled bigger pilot holes, screwed the screws into the bench. Slid in the drawers.

Oh, then comes the organization.

Well tomorrow, I get to create.

2011-10-23T17:52:00.000-07:00

For me, being a gem-cutter, who then creates his own jewelry, jewelry is an art form, not merely a fashion accessory.

Art, to me, should be something that stimulates an emotion. The art form can be the one I once practiced (music) or the one I now practice or any other form of art. I realize this is not a position all artists take, and I respect them, but to me, it is all about emotion.

As a musician, I knew how to inspire happiness or sadness with a few notes. I could create pride, nostalgic melancholy, or any number of things, with my tenor sax or my clarinet, and did, with joy. We would play Louie Louie and people smiled. We could play Kansas City, and people would just swing and smile. That to me is what music was about.

As a gem-cutter/jeweler, I endeavor to create happy thoughts. It has been scientifically proven that color can make all the difference in someones attitude. From blue to green to anything you might imagine, color can create moods. As can shapes, symbols, and all kinds of visual things do the same thing.

As a result, the jewelry of RavishingGems is big on color and small on the use of metal. This is in no way to denigrate the wonderful silver platinum, and gold jewelry that I have seen, it just isn't what I am about.

Another art form is writing. They always tell writer to write about what they know. My jewelry collections are about what I know. I am the assistant director of wine for a large wine tasting. Therefore, an ongoing part of my collection is the wine lovers collection. Recently I took a hot air balloon ride. Therefore the balloon collection.

Shortly, I will begin releasing pictures of them (I have to make more than I have been selling) and will display them at RavishingGems a site I have sorely neglected. Between cutting and creating, my website reflects my past more than my current view.

Well, for now, I would love to see from you, what colors you like, what symbols make you feel good or any other thoughts you might have about jewelry.

2011-10-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Okay. I admit it. I am one of those people who wonders why I am so slow in creating, and, it turns out, I needed a little more organization than I had. The act of becoming an artist tends to be an organic process, without planning, without blueprint, one just keeps adding and adding.

And then one day, you look at what your "work-space" looks like and shake your head in shame. Things are piled on top of other things, and all these things are in your current work, but oh wait, let me explain. What happened was I kept adding new disciplines to my repertoire, each building on the one that preceded it. However, my work-space did not grow.

So I was reading a copy of Jewelry Artist, and there was this article about getting organized. I suddenly realized my life would be so improved if I just added some drawers to my work table. I then started hunting for drawers to hang. You would thing this would be simple, but it turns out, not quite as easy as I thought.

To make a long story short, I found what I wanted at Home Depot, have ordered them, and have already figured out how to use them to my best advantage.

That said, there is a question that haunts me. What will I do if my repertoire grows again?

2011-10-17T08:13:00.000-07:00

Today's post is off topic.

I went to Philadelphia last week. The city is a wonderful city to visit. Pennsylvania has so much history and beauty, I fully recommend it to all. A Philly Cheesestake is a terrific culinary delight. A visit to the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall area (which is not just the hall itself) were wonderful. The visit to the new National Museum of American Jewish History was a deeply emotional experience.

Now for the bad part. Air travel, and in this case US Airways is just despicable. The flight there was the red eye out of LAX. I don't remember being offered so much as a glass of water. The flight back is the one that really raise my ire.

Boarding began right on time, and as we sit in the plane, the pilot gets on the intercom and say's,"someone" dropped the ball and that the flight would be delayed until the food (not so much as a pretzel is given away) is loaded. I looked around and wondered if the someone was one of the passengers, decided that was unlikely. The pilot could not even say on behalf of US Air that "we" dropped the ball. No, he had to blame some unnamed person. Pathetic!

From my seat, I could see when the food modules were delivered, and the gent seemed to be moving in slow motion. He had to know he was holding up a plane filled with people anxious to get to where ever they were going and he could not have moved any slower. Finally we take off 50 minutes late.

I am absolutely understanding of weather problems. While I have come to distrust the "mechanical" excuse, particularly when late arriving passengers come on, I would rather have a safe plane. I can even understand the mistake, but not taking responsibility for it, I have no respect for. It reeks of bad attitude.

Now some might wonder what this seemingly little delay meant to me, and, it would be very little, except, the original flight got me to the airport at 12:55 pm, which would mean I was out of there by 1:30 missing all rush hour. A half our later, puts me in the beginning of rush hour, and adds an additional 30 minutes of driving to get home. And that leads me to my anger. In the name of full disclosure, the pilot did make up about 20 minutes of the 50 and I will also give him credit for a good landing.

I could see what was coming, was tired and angry, spoke to the flight attendant, and expressed my anger. Now just so you know, I only scream at sporting events, and I only cuss when I mistake my thumb for a nail when I do carpentry, or when I think I don't need a pot holder while cooking, never at other people. She took her cue from the pilot and said there was nothing she could do. Well duh! I know she does not have her hand on the throttle, but she could have at least said she would pass along my angst to the pilot.

So, what is my bottom line? For the foreseeable future, I will do all I can to avoid US Air. I will think of it as a third rate bus line, with a third rate concept of customer service. I will not cut off my nose to spite my face, so if I need to fly it I will, but not if I have a reasonable alternative.

2011-09-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

It looks like a couple of slow days for creation of new jewelry, but, I started sketching some interesting (at least to me). The blending of shapes and colors in an original way is just intriguing the heck out of me.

2011-09-22T18:05:00.001-07:00

Oh, what a difference a day makes. 24 little hours in the day. Yesterday, everything was turning into ashes, today it was a day of creating one of a kind beautiful artwork, to be worn. I love cutting stones, then making the jewelry from the stones I cut. That is something you can't get at the mall.

2011-09-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, as Sancho Panza said, sometimes your the vase, sometimes your the rock. Yesterday I was the vase. Everything I touched didn't work. Creating beautiful jewelry sometimes takes mistakes. I think I did a years worth in one day.

2011-09-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend cutting new amethyst, sunstone, moonstone, and more, to add to my passion of making the finest most beautiful jewelry I can. I love the reactions I am getting in private showings, but am waiting till I have a fuller collection before I put it out for sale.

2011-09-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

I have created several new necklaces, and, will release them for sale shortly. It makes me think, the worst day creating wearable art, is better than the best day doing most other things that I might be paid for. This is a wonderful world!

2011-09-09T15:05:00.000-07:00

After making a beautiful necklace, I followed up with a bracelet and earrings.

It has been said that if you like what you do for a living, you never work a day in your life. I think I am on schedule to have a life of not working. I love making wearable art that brings joy to others.

2011-09-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! After decades of hard work, I have created new and exciting jewelry. Having first learned Gemology (thank you GIA) gem cutting (thank you GIA, Nancy's Rock Shop, multiple clubs and seminars, not to mention tons of mistakes...er.... experience), and now jewelry making, RavishingGems is almost ready for online display.

The question yet to be answered, is what is the best way?

Ebay? Website? Jewelry Stores?

Stay tuned!